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TonyS
AskWoody PlusJune 4, 2018 at 5:51 am in reply to: MS-DEFCON 3: Time to patch, but be aware of Network-busting bugs in Win7 #195898Thanks Woody et al
Successfully updated two Lenovo laptops (W7 x64, Group A, atheros athrx.sys driver) and one HP (W7 x64, Group A, broadcom bcmwl664.sys driver). No issues spotted so far.
Initial restore point set and Bob99 advice followed to make note of the drivers.
Now only an old desktop beast remaining (W7 x86) but the hard drive is cloned on a regular basis anyway.
Win10 22H2 Pro, MBAM Premium, Firefox, OpenOffice, Sumatra PDF.1 user thanked author for this post.
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TonyS
AskWoody PlusFebruary 22, 2018 at 5:14 am in reply to: Breaking: Susan Bradley to contribute to the AskWoody site #169448Great news. Susan’s column was the main reason I subscribed to WS and the main item I missed after I jumped ship to AskWoody following Penton’s takeover.
@Woody – given the significant slowdown in site response time in the past 24 hours (following news of Susan coming aboard?) maybe it would be a good time to remind new- (and old)-comers that contributions are welcome and keep this site going?Win10 22H2 Pro, MBAM Premium, Firefox, OpenOffice, Sumatra PDF. -
TonyS
AskWoody PlusThanks for that link – not in the UK edition!
Win10 22H2 Pro, MBAM Premium, Firefox, OpenOffice, Sumatra PDF. -
TonyS
AskWoody Plus@brundlseth that is so familiar to me!
My setup is similar (home network, three W7 machines and Android portables instead of Apple). I migrated to OpenOffice some years ago, plus Gmail contacts/calendar, Thunderbird for email and Firefox for browser. I use the NAS to store and auto-sync various data and also use off-line backups and disk clones. But I am still using a VERY old copy of Quicken (2001), plus no doubt a few other non-standard Windoze programs which I would be loathe to jettison.
I have experimented with Linux of various flavours but so far have not felt at home with it (I know, practice makes perfect etc). So I have been toying with the idea of keeping one ‘off grid’ W7 machine for legacy programs and doing all the browsing and email stuff on a Mac or ChromeBook. Hopefully in due course I’d find enough replacement compatibility to be able to ditch the Windoze machine.
I’d be especially interested if you have managed to find a replacement for Quicken which did not entail a complete rebuild of historical data and/or a nervous breakdown!
Win10 22H2 Pro, MBAM Premium, Firefox, OpenOffice, Sumatra PDF.1 user thanked author for this post.
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TonyS
AskWoody PlusJune 28, 2017 at 11:05 am in reply to: Skype for Windows vulnerability that allows remote code execution fixed in v7.37 #122481version 7.37 mentioned on website but version 7.38 now available?
Win10 22H2 Pro, MBAM Premium, Firefox, OpenOffice, Sumatra PDF.1 user thanked author for this post.
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TonyS
AskWoody PlusExactly why I’m not doing anything!
Win10 22H2 Pro, MBAM Premium, Firefox, OpenOffice, Sumatra PDF. -
TonyS
AskWoody Plus.NET Framework v4.7 appeared as optional when I checked for updates this morning. I shall leave this and all important offerings well alone until others have tested and Woody gives the relevant DEFCON.
Win10 22H2 Pro, MBAM Premium, Firefox, OpenOffice, Sumatra PDF. -
TonyS
AskWoody PlusIt might leak
CoffeeLeaks
Win10 22H2 Pro, MBAM Premium, Firefox, OpenOffice, Sumatra PDF. -
TonyS
AskWoody PlusMay 22, 2017 at 8:19 am in reply to: MS-DEFCON 3: Get patched and brace yourself for a Malware-as-a-Service future #117574Thank you! That’s just what I thought. But best to make sure
Win10 22H2 Pro, MBAM Premium, Firefox, OpenOffice, Sumatra PDF. -
TonyS
AskWoody PlusI’m not so sure a newsletter does much, apart from generating yet another email and taking away the responsibility of searching for things oneself (not to mention the work involved for you). To me, the value of AskWoody lies in the sheer range and depth of the analysis, contributions and debates, from which I can pick & choose what I read, extend my knowledge and make decisions – sometimes I even make a contribution myself!
One suggestion I should like to make is the possibility of a daily or weekly update of threads to which folk subscribe, instead of the instant ‘chirrup’ we get now?
But some way of increasing the number of donating readers and contributors must surely be vital to it’s continuation. Maybe just an option to set up a regular PayPal donation of any amount – a sort of ‘fit and forget’ option?
Win10 22H2 Pro, MBAM Premium, Firefox, OpenOffice, Sumatra PDF. -
TonyS
AskWoody PlusMay 22, 2017 at 8:00 am in reply to: MS-DEFCON 3: Get patched and brace yourself for a Malware-as-a-Service future #117569Yes, read that, thanks. But that means 3 of the 4 old KB’s would be installed, leaving just 3021907 unchecked. I guess what I’m really asking is, is it necessary to install those three patches which are related to GWX compatability and/or telemetry? Before you ask, I have disabled Windows CEIP.
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TonyS
AskWoody PlusWoody, I made a donation when you first asked, in order to support your admirable work and the continuation of this site. Apart from the monthly Patron level contribution, have you considered implementing something along the lines of how the original Windows Secrets contribution worked, whereby people contributed what they could afford, or thought the site was worth to them, on an annual basis? Or would keeping track of such donations and annual reminders be too much admin for you?
Win10 22H2 Pro, MBAM Premium, Firefox, OpenOffice, Sumatra PDF. -
TonyS
AskWoody PlusMay 22, 2017 at 7:09 am in reply to: MS-DEFCON 3: Get patched and brace yourself for a Malware-as-a-Service future #117552Group B here – at least until this month, but in the light of the very helpful discussions on here, and the probable impending proliferation of malware, I am now considering swallowing hard, holding my breath, shutting my eyes and jumping to Group A, at least on one laptop.
Currently I’m up to date with Group B processes and patches to April 2017, all router ports are stealthed, antivirus is up to date and I’m running Malwarebytes premium. I can’t do anything about SMB1 as it appears to be necessary for accessing my NAS box.
No problems with processor as the machine is at least five years old. It’s an HP, running Win7 Home Premium x64. Currently WinUpdate is set to ‘never check’ and both ‘give me recommended updates in the same way’ and ‘software notifications’ are unticked, so I’ve got the old KB’s (2952664, 3021917, 3068708 and 3080149) all sitting as ‘Optional’ and uninstalled.
My question is, if I decide to move to Group A, should I leave settings as is and not install the old KB’s, or should I tick both ‘recommended’ and ‘software’ and install all Important updates if they are checked?
Many thanks to Woody and the usual trusty (and trusted) contributors.
Win10 22H2 Pro, MBAM Premium, Firefox, OpenOffice, Sumatra PDF.1 user thanked author for this post.
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TonyS
AskWoody PlusApril 27, 2017 at 4:05 pm in reply to: Is the “Group B” approach of installing Security-only updates still viable? #111486Late arrival at the party due to holidays etc. I’m Group B on W7 x32 and x64 and intending to stay that way for the foreseeable future. Just updated using latest April security only patches and so far, so good (as the man said when he jumped out of the twelfth floor window). I don’t use IE unless forced into it (Firefox user for years), use Open Office instead of MS Office, use Thunderbird for email and replace other ‘standard’ MS products with respected 3rd party software wherever possible. I provide support to several less knowledgeable users who are classed as Group A, but only update these machines several weeks after patches released and then only after Woody’s Defcon is favourable.
Spent many years in ‘the appliance of science’ and IT support so know my way around the block, but still send ongoing thanks to Woody, Noel Carboni, MrBrian, Canadian Tech and others for keeping me on the straight and narrow.
Win10 22H2 Pro, MBAM Premium, Firefox, OpenOffice, Sumatra PDF.1 user thanked author for this post.
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TonyS
AskWoody PlusApril 27, 2017 at 3:50 pm in reply to: Is the “Group B” approach of installing Security-only updates still viable? #111483Has anybody tried Spybot Anti-Beacon 1.6 that claims to block telemetry in win 7-8-10. I use it on my 3 pc’s but I’m not sure it really works.
I’ve been running it for several months now. As Canadian Tech says, I have no idea how well it works, but it tells me that it has disabled telemetry in addition to the MS CIEP stuff so I’m running with it until I know any better.
Win10 22H2 Pro, MBAM Premium, Firefox, OpenOffice, Sumatra PDF.1 user thanked author for this post.
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