Newsletter Archives

• MS-DEFCON 2: Slow the rush to Copilot

  Posted on March 7, 2024 at 02:45 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 21.10.1 • 2024-03-07

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Because of the ongoing rollout of Copilot enhancements, I recommend deferring or pausing updates.

  That’s why I’m raising the MS-DEFCON level to 2.

  I continue to test and evaluate all updates on my test PCs and will provide my analysis and recommendations as soon possible. Meanwhile, defer. And while you’re doing that, those of you in North America should prepare to lose an hour of sleep this weekend.

  Anyone can read the full MS-DEFCON Alert (21.10.1, 2024-03-07).

  AskWoody Plus Alert, MS-DEFCON Alerts, Copilot, Extended Security Updates, KB5022913, KB5032038, KB5034440, KB5034441, MS-DEFCON, MS-DEFCON 2, Patch Lady Posts, Windows 10 ESU

• February 2024 patches for Windows

  Posted on February 13, 2024 at 12:13 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  Ready or not, here comes the February updates for Windows.

  Will we see a fix for our  KB5034441 for Windows 10 22H2 and in KB5034440 for Windows 11 woes? (so far, the answer is no)

  What we will see is “Highlights for Windows 11, versions 22H2 & 23H2 (cont.) •The Copilot in Windows icon will appear on the right side of the system tray on the taskbar. Also, the display of Show desktop at the rightmost corner of the taskbar will be off by default.”

  Ugh. And double Ugh.

  I’ll be adding more links to this post as I digest the info.

  And of course it’s a “dribbled” change

  • Note Windows 11 devices will get this new functionality at different times. Some of these new features roll out gradually using controlled feature rollout (CFR) to consumers.

  Remember if you get Copilot and don’t want it, we’ve got your back here and here.

  Grrrrrrrrrr and double grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

  Zero day blog on the updates released today.

  Exchange getting patched again today. SQL client fixes released in the OS patches so check those line of business database connections.  Not seeing any automated patch for the Windows RE issues. Office and specifically Outlook is getting fixed for a preview pane security issue.  Defender for endpoint getting fixes for zero day that led to malware being installed.

  Windows Security KB5034440, KB5034441, Patch Lady Posts, Windows Recovery Environment, WinRE, Zero Day

• MS-DEFCON 3: A bumpy start to 2024

  Posted on January 30, 2024 at 02:45 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 21.05.1 • 2024-01-30

  

  By Susan Bradley

  The partition-sizing problem that emerged earlier this month is not yet fixed.

  Fortunately, our deep examination of this bug has revealed nothing of a dangerous nature. Therefore, I am lowering the MS-DEFCON level to 3. It’s now time to carefully install the January updates.

  We continue to monitor the problem, described in KB5034441 for Windows 10 22H2 and in KB5034440 for Windows 11. Some, but not all, Windows 10 PCs are affected. I have urged you to check your partitions for issues with installing this update. We have written extensively about the problems, and the forums have been very active (see the From the Forums article in yesterday’s newsletter).

  Anyone can read the full MS-DEFCON Alert (21.05.1, 2024-01-30).

  AskWoody Plus Alert, MS-DEFCON Alerts, InControl, KB5034234, KB5034440, KB5034441, MS-DEFCON, MS-DEFCON 3, Patch Lady Posts, Recovery Partition, WinRE, WUShowHide

• KB5034441 and KB5034440

  Posted on January 23, 2024 at 16:36 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  I’ve been getting some emails regarding our coverage of the Windows Recovery partition problem. One question was whether this applies to Windows 10 only, or both Windows 10 and 11.

  It could be both.

  There are two specific Microsoft knowledge base posts about this  — KB5034441 for Windows 10 and KB5034440 for Windows 11. Both refer to CVE-2024-20666, BitLocker Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability.

  As I have previously noted, the problem showed up rapidly on Windows 10 PCs and, so far, rarely on Windows 11 PCs. That accounts for our slightly one-sided coverage. Also note that KB5034440 only calls out Windows 11 21H2. For Windows 11 22H2 and 23H2, the vulnerability noted in  CVE-2024-20666 is being patched as part of the cumulative windows update of KB5034123. We’ll have more on these nuances in next week’s alert.

  Windows Patches/Security CVE-2024-20666, KB5034440, KB5034441, Windows Update