MS-DEFCON 4: 24H2 is a work in progress

By Susan Bradley

Every month, I look back at the issues and oddities I’ve been tracking to see whether they are merely corner cases or something more widespread.

One thing is certain: I am not recommending the installation of Windows 11 24H2 now, especially for consumers and small businesses. I am testing and evaluating the release, and I will continue to keep you informed about bugs and problems. For everything else, I’m lowering the MS-DEFCON level to 4.

Anyone can read the full MS-DEFCON Alert (21.43.1, 2024-10-22).

Managing your hardware with PowerToys

WINDOWS 11

By Mary Branscombe

Find your mouse pointer, customize your keyboard layout, and shift your focus between multiple computers.

As screens get bigger and interfaces get busier, spotting your mouse pointer on the screen has gotten trickier. Instead of waggling your mouse or cranking up the cursor size so that it hides what you’re trying to click on when you do find it, you could turn on what used to be called “mouse sonar.” From Windows XP on, there’s been an option in the control panel to show a highlighted ring around the mouse pointer when you press and hold the Ctrl key, just like a target in a submarine’s periscope.

These days, that feature is actually part of the first PowerToy I’ll discuss, but it now comes with several other helpful options.

Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.43.0, 2024-10-21).
This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

Microsoft Defender could be your free antivirus fix

PUBLIC DEFENDER

By Brian Livingston

Microsoft Defender — a free antivirus app that’s included in Windows — provides a highly rated service, but it’s rarely mentioned in comparative reviews of AV programs by security blogs. Why not?

Ever since Windows 8 came out in 2012, a service originally called Windows Defender (WD) has been enabled by default in the OS. Prior to that, you might remember, was Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE), a free download that Redmond first released in 2009. MSE is no longer with us, because WD — renamed Microsoft Defender in 2018 — has completely replaced it to block viruses, rootkits, Trojan horses, spyware, you name it.

Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.43.0, 2024-10-21).

Reset Windows Update Tool — but you might never use it for that

FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

By Deanna McElveen

Like naming your entire toolbox “hammer,” sometimes a name does not do a computer tool justice.

Reset Windows Update Tool (RWUT) is a free and open-source creation by the Colombian developer Manuel Gil that does so much more than its name suggests. Sure, it will fix things when Windows refuses to update, but it will fix some of other the big issues your Windows 10 or 11 install might face.

Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.43.0, 2024-10-21).

A year and counting

WINDOWS 10

By Susan Bradley • Comment about this article

We are a year away from the official end of the road for Windows 10.

It’s pretty clear that you and I, and a lot of other individuals and companies, will be using Windows 10 after its end of life in October 2025. I want to assure you that I will continue to provide the best information available about how to keep Windows 10 PCs safe and secure.

I have business systems that will need to stay on Windows 10 for compatibility reasons. I also have PCs that I will keep on Windows 10 because there is no reason to change — they work well and do their intended jobs. But we all must eventually decide when and how to take the next step, no matter what that may be.

Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.43.0, 2024-10-21).

So what’s being exploited?

Ever wonder what’s REALLY being exploited? The government publishes a web site that lists known exploited vulnerabilities.  I like to keep an eye on it to see what’s really being exploited.

Case in point, Firefox has a vulnerability being exploited in the wild, CVE-2024-9680 that impacts Firefox < 131.0.2, Firefox ESR < 128.3.1, Firefox ESR < 115.16.1, Thunderbird < 131.0.1, Thunderbird < 128.3.1, and Thunderbird < 115.16.0.  Specifically it impacts the animation-timeline CSS property specifies the timeline that is used to control the progress of a CSS animation. Bottom line it’s a component used on a web site that attackers are targeting to gain access or as they put it in the bug “code execution”.

While I’m not ready to change the DefCon for the operating system patches, on browser updates I always recommend you install them as soon as you can. I ensure that several browsers are installed on every machine – even Mac computers – to ensure that should the odd bug or issue get introduced, I can use a different browser.  I’ll be digging into more of these Exploited bugs in future newsletters and why you should pay attention to some of them.   More in future newsletters…. in the meantime, ensure you keep your browsers up to date.

The US has banned Kaspersky software — should you worry?

PUBLIC DEFENDER

By Brian Livingston

The popular Kaspersky antivirus program quietly disabled itself on computers in the US last month, making millions of users fear malware had struck them.

The switcheroo was prompted by the US government banning Kaspersky Lab, a Russia-based company, from sending updates to American devices after September 29, 2024. Kaspersky had sent out an email — which many users didn’t read or felt was unclear — before its app shut down on September 19. Kaspersky then remotely installed on US computers a little-known antivirus alternative called UltraAV.

Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.42.0, 2024-10-14).
This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

Is Office 2024 worth getting excited about?

MICROSOFT 365

By Peter Deegan

The new single-purchase, non-subscription version of Microsoft Office, released just a few weeks ago, is a replacement for Office 2021 and Office 2019.

Those with a Microsoft 365 plan need not think about Office 2024, because the latter has a smaller set of features than the subscription version of Office.

In this column, I’ll discuss what’s in Office 2024 and what it doesn’t include — and some features that Microsoft is uncharacteristically quiet about. I’ll also mention where to buy it for less.

Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.42.0, 2024-10-14).