Newsletter Archives

• Businesses in the crosshairs

  Posted on March 17, 2025 at 02:41 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  But first, a personal note.

  As you know by now, the founder of this site, Gregory Forrest “Woody” Leonhard, passed away unexpectedly on March 8, 2025.

  When Woody retired from freelance writing in 2020, he reached out to ask whether I wanted to take over the AskWoody.com site. He wanted to spend more time with his family and pursue other, personal interests. I didn’t hesitate for a second.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.11.0, 2025-03-17).

  Patch Watch Apple, CVE-2025-24984, CVE-2025-24991, CVE-2025-24993, CVE-2025-26633, Internet Printing Protocol, iOS, IPP, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Remote Code Execution, SQL Server 2019, USB Printers, Web Browsers, Windows 11 24H2

• MS-DEFCON 4: Holiday patching

  Posted on November 26, 2024 at 02:45 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 21.48.1 • 2024-11-26

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Thanksgiving in America is a mere two days away. I often use the holiday to multitask while the turkey is roasting.

  One task for you is applying updates. I’m lowering the MS-DEFCON level to 4; other than my recommendation to avoid Windows 11 24H2 for now, patching should be safe.

  Thanksgiving signals the approaching end of year. For both home and office, it’s a great time to reflect on the challenges of the past year and develop a technology plan for the upcoming year. In my case, I’ll be looking at retiring some devices that I no longer need or use, upgrading some existing equipment, replacing aging devices with new ones, and looking for simplifications wherever I can find them.

  Anyone can read the full MS-DEFCON Alert (21.48.1, 2024-11-26).

  AskWoody Plus Alert, MS-DEFCON Alerts, Copilot+ PCs, CVE-2024-44308, CVE-2024-44309, Email, iOS, KB5046613, KB5046633, KB5046714, macOS Sequoia, MS-DEFCON, MS-DEFCON 4, Outlook (new), Patch Lady Posts, Recall, Windows Server 2022

• Apple owns ‘AI’

  Posted on June 17, 2024 at 02:42 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  APPLE

  

  By Will Fastie

  Its marketing skills are legend, but the Spaceship has taken it to a new galaxy.

  Everything is about AI now. It’s getting to the point that a loaf of bread at the grocery will be marked “Baked in AI-enhanced ovens!”

  We all know that “AI” is an abbreviation for “artificial intelligence.” But in the keynote address for Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference last week, presenters announced “Apple Intelligence.” No one specifically suggested that Apple would co-opt the abbreviation “AI” — just consider it a fait accompli. And also consider it a spectacularly brilliant marketing move.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.25.0, 2024-06-17).

  Apple AI, Apple Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, macOS Sequoia, Newsletters

• Apple zero days fixed – November 30, 2023

  Posted on November 30, 2023 at 14:11 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  End of the month zero days for Apple
  Apple pushed updates for 2 new zero-days that may have been actively exploited.

  CVE-2023-42916 (WebKit),
  CVE-2023-42917 (WebKit):
  – iOS & iPadOS 17.1.2
  – macOS Sonoma 14.1.2
  – Safari 17.1.2

  Link at the Apple site

  Apple CVE-2023-42916, CVE-2023-42917, iOS, macOS, macOS Sonoma, Patch Lady Posts, Safari

• The season of devices

  Posted on September 4, 2023 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  It’s the time of the year when PSLs hit the menu.

  What? You don’t know what PSL means? Of course you do, because Pumpkin Spice Lattes arrive at those coffee shops you find on nearly every street corner. You can’t miss them.

  As summertime fades into fall, it’s also the season of rumors about the new phones and tablets that will soon hit the headlines. And that means it’s time for me to take a hard look at all my devices in this category.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.36.0, 2023-09-04).

  On Security Android, Backups, Battery charging, Battery life, iOS, iPhone, Newsletters, Password managers, Passwords, Patch Lady Posts

• How to manage your browser cookies

  Posted on April 17, 2023 at 02:44 CDT by Lance Whitney • Comment in the Forums

  INTERNET

  

  By Lance Whitney

  Browser cookies can be helpful or harmful, depending on how and why they’re used in your browser. The key lies in taking control of them.

  You probably already know that Web browsers use cookies to save certain information. Over the years, cookies have developed a bad rep because many websites and advertisers use them to track your online activities for the purpose of sending you ads and other targeted content.

  But cookies can also help you by storing key details at websites that you frequently use. The trick here is knowing which cookies are good and which are bad, and how to manage them in general.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.16.0, 2023-04-17).

  Internet Android, Chrome, Cookies, Edge, Firefox, iOS, Newsletters, Privacy, Safari, Security, Web Browsers, Windows

• When should you retire your Apple device?

  Posted on November 21, 2022 at 02:45 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 19.47 • 2022-11-21

  Look for our BONUS issue on November 28!

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Apple’s recent releases encourage new hardware.

  There are several people at my office who constantly purchase the latest iPhone or iPad, turning in their old devices in the process. I’m not that adventurous — I don’t recommend updating quite that fast.

  However, I do recommend an upgrade if your phone is an older model, such as iPhone 8. Why? Because the best security is provided on the newest hardware, and because Apple has become more like Microsoft in requiring newer hardware to protect against snooping, zero days, and other risks.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.47.0, 2022-11-21).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Patch Watch Apple updates, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts

• Keeping out the bad applications

  Posted on September 26, 2022 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Both Microsoft and Apple are trying to tackle an ongoing problem that plagues us — keeping our systems secure and protected.

  But the vendors are not tackling the problem in the same ways.

  Apple has a huge user base of small devices, especially the iPhone, which provide the user with instantaneous access to real-time human interaction. Microsoft, on the other hand, has a huge user base of “traditional devices” (e.g., PCs) that certainly connect to the Internet but don’t involve phone calls, text messages, or anything else — such as FaceTime, the built-in visual medium.

  Although the companies share the overall security challenge, their approaches are different.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.39.0, 2022-09-26).

  On Security iOS, iOS 16, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts
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