Newsletter Archives

• MS-DEFCON 2: Is it still safe to defer?

  Posted on March 3, 2022 at 02:45 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 19.09.1 • 2022-03-03

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Global troubles lead to patching worries.

  Even with all the heightened concerns regarding cybersecurity, my deferral strategy and recommendations for patching will not change. Use the time between now and next Tuesday (Wednesday for those of you outside the northern hemisphere) to wrap up whatever patching and updating you are doing, and get ready to defer updates. Hopefully, a window will open toward the end of the month, when we can have high confidence that applying patches and updates will be safe.

  Anyone can read the full AskWoody Plus Alert 19.09.1 (2022-03-03).

  AskWoody Plus Alert, MS-DEFCON AskWoody Alert, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, MS-DEFCON, MS-DEFCON 2, Patch Lady Posts

• MS-DEFCON 4: A very complicated patching month

  Posted on January 25, 2022 at 02:45 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ISSUE 19.04.1 • 2022-01-25

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Thanks, Microsoft, for a very messy January.

  This month will be somewhat convoluted for patching, due to the high number of side effects. To make it worse and more complicated, Microsoft has left it up to us to figure out what to install — rather than pushing out the fixed updates via Windows Update or WSUS. The side effects for those with servers are extreme. In some cases, you’ll need to install two updates before rebooting the servers you manage to successfully patch this month.

  I’m lowering the MS-DEFCON level to 4 in spite of these difficulties, but business users must be cautious.

  Anyone can read the full AskWoody Plus Alert 19.04.1 (2022-01-25).

  AskWoody Plus Alert, MS-DEFCON AskWoody Plus Alerts, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, MS-DEFCON, MS-DEFCON 4, Patch Lady Posts

• Browsers with the best security and privacy in 2021

  Posted on November 29, 2021 at 02:45 CST by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  ISSUE 18.46 • 2021-11-29

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  Most of us use a Web browser on our personal computers or smartphones every day, but few of us truly know what those browsers are really doing for us — or to us.

  Too many browsers “leak” information about us and our everyday activities to backend servers, which are run by ad-tracking firms, search-engine giants, or the browser makers themselves.

  It’s extremely difficult to guess which browser is the “most secure” for surfing the Web. There are, to be sure, many respectable review sites that rank browsers. But most of the reviews weigh a browser’s security against unrelated features — ease of use, speed of throughput, memory usage, etc. — producing only a composite score.

  In this article, I focus solely on how well browsers deliver security against malware and protect the privacy of your personal identity.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.46.0 (2021-11-29).
  This story also appears in the AskWoody Free Newsletter 18.46.F (2021-11-29).

  AskWoody FREE Newsletter, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Public Defender AskWoody Plus Newsletter, browsers, Public Defender

• MS-DEFCON 3: We’re not out of the printing woods yet

  Posted on November 23, 2021 at 02:45 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ISSUE 18.45.1 • 2021-11-22 By Susan Bradley The big news last week was Microsoft’s finally releasing Windows 10 version 21H2 and aligning the Windows 10 and Windows 11 annual feature release cadence. Changing the feature release cadence for Windows to an annual schedule is long overdue. From the first moment Microsoft announced that Windows 10 feature updates would be released on a semiannual basis, I’ve felt that the constant release process was too often, too fast. It’s good to see Microsoft finally listening to the feedback. Granted, it was pushed into this decision by the release of Windows 11, but I’ll take the win nonetheless. Now that 21H2 is officially out, I recommend sticking with 21H1 for the moment. That said, 21H2 will be a relatively easy and fast update with very few side effects. But I’m a cautious patcher and never install feature releases during the first week they are out. As November comes to a close, it’s again time to evaluate whether you can perform the basic process we all call “printing.” I discussed the annoyance of these constant and seemingly intractable printing problems in yesterday’s On Security column. The ongoing issues with printing force me, once again, to set our MS-DEFCON status at level 3. Exercise caution. Consumer and home users If you install the updates for November and can still print, pat yourself on the back and relax until next month. If you are still having issues with printing, I recommend installing the preview updates listed in the Master Patch list. For certain shared printers in peer-to-peer networks, we are still seeing issues triggered by the November 9 updates. While Microsoft has released out-of-band updates for authentication issues, they have not put the same priority on printing issues triggered by the updates. Business users Already, we’ve seen the out-of-band update KB5008602 to fix a known issue triggered on domain controllers and single sign-on that might cause authentication failures related to Kerberos tickets you acquired from Service for User to Self (S4U2self). This issue occurs after you install the November 9, 2021, security updates on domain controllers (DCs) that are running Windows Server, and you need to install this update on your domain controllers to fix this issue. References AskWoody Master Patch List Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Alert 18.45.1 (2021-11-22).

  AskWoody Plus Alert, Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, MS-DEFCON, MS-DEFCON 3, Patch Lady Posts, Printing

• Why is printing so hard to get right?

  Posted on November 22, 2021 at 02:45 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ISSUE 18.45 • 2021-11-22

  Look for our special issue on November 29!

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  I work in an industry that keeps promising we are going paperless, but we still find ways to kill trees. Even though I regularly print to PDF, I continue to print to various desktop and network printers.

  Physical printing is still very important to me and many other professionals. Any problem with printing will affect productivity. Each month, when new updates come out, one of my top priorities is to test printing. Can I print? If I can, then I know I can keep the new patches installed. But why are we constantly fighting issues with printing, and why are we constantly patching our systems for printing?

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.45.0 (2021-11-22).
  This story also appears in the AskWoody Free Newsletter 18.45.F (2021-11-22).

  AskWoody FREE Newsletter, On Security AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Lady Posts, Print Spooler, Printing, Security

• Windows 11: Not quite ready for prime time

  Posted on November 22, 2021 at 02:44 CST by Fred Langa • Comment in the Forums

  LANGALIST

  

  By Fred Langa

  These early days of Win11 are looking a bit rough. Driver issues remain the leading cause of serious upgrade problems, and some solutions are out of end-users’ hands until Microsoft and various OEMs and software publishers catch up.

  To make matters worse, Win11’s Device Encryption may stumble when upgrading a Win10 BitLocker drive, and the Win11 interface repeats some of the same mistakes Microsoft made in Windows 8!

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.45.0 (2021-11-22).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, LangaList AskWoody Plus Newsletter, LangaList, Windows, Windows 11, Windows upgrades

• Take a selfie – NOW!

  Posted on November 22, 2021 at 02:43 CST by Max Stul Oppenheimer • Comment in the Forums

  LEGAL BRIEF

  

  By Max Stul Oppenheimer, Esq.

  Deepfakes are a growing problem. Could taking a selfie be your best defense?

  In the last column, we saw why law must lag technology. It must, because legislators have no better crystal ball than the rest of us — and judges, faced with the task of extrapolating existing statutes to situations that were not foreseen, reach different conclusions as to how to draw the curve. Therefore, a period of uncertainty — until a legislature reacts or a judicial consensus is reached or imposed by the Supreme Court — is inevitable.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.45.0 (2021-11-22).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Legal AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Copyright, Deepfakes, Legal Brief

• Understanding Office 2021 and Office LTSC

  Posted on November 22, 2021 at 02:42 CST by Peter Deegan • Comment in the Forums

  MICROSOFT 365

  

  By Peter Deegan

  What are Office 2021 and Office LTSC, and should you care?

  Office 2021 and Office LTSC are the latest nonsubscription versions of Microsoft Office. Microsoft calls each a “perpetual license,” but historically we might have called them the “boxed” editions of Office. These two Office versions are very similar and deliberately limited in new features, licensing, and even support.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.45.0 (2021-11-22).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Microsoft 365 AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Microsoft 365, Office, Office 2021, Office LTSC
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