Newsletter Archives

• MS-DEFCON 3: Yep, it’s time to get patched

  Posted on November 30, 2017 at 15:50 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Lots of warnings this month for odd bits and pieces, but it’s time to get everything caught up. There’s a nasty Equation Editor malware exploit making the rounds.

  Details in Computerworld Woody on Windows.

  With no small amount of fear and trepidation, I’m moving us to MS-DEFCON 3: Patch reliability is unclear, but widespread attacks make patching prudent. Go ahead and patch, but watch out for potential problems.

  UPDATE: You know how I said in the article….

  I’ve been waiting to see what Microsoft would do with Win10 version 1709. There was an entry in the Win10 Update History listing for a cumulative update called KB 4051963, which would bring 1709 up to build 16299.96, but that entry mysteriously disappeared yesterday.

  That was this morning. Guess what? Microsoft just released KB 4051963, which brings 1709 up to build 16299.98.

  Per SB, that new patch not only fixes the bug in this month’s Windows security updates that took out all Epson dot matrix printers (which is documented), it also fixes the bug in RDP/remote printing with certain printers (which is not documented).

  We also got KB 4054022, a new Servicing Stack update for 1709 (Servicing Stack updates are always OK to install); an improvement to “ease the upgrade and recovery experience to Windows 10 version 1709” KB 4055237; and an “update [that] changes the upgrade experience to Windows 10 Version 1709,” KB 4052342. No, I have  no idea what those last two entail.

  Windows Patches/Security KB 4051963, KB 4052342, KB 4055237, MS-DEFCON 3, November 2017 Black Tuesday

• Patch Alert: Where we stand with this month’s mess

  Posted on November 28, 2017 at 15:30 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  This month’s “security” patches bring forced upgrades, broken Epson printers, a vanishing patch, yanked .NET patches that underscore confusion inside Microsoft itself, blocked cumulative updates, and a self-induced memory violation error.

  Computerworld Woody on Windows.

  Windows Patches/Security November 2017 Black Tuesday

• Roundup of bugs in the November Patch Tuesday crop

  Posted on November 17, 2017 at 07:36 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Patch Tuesday problems continue, with a new acknowledgment from Microsoft about a dot matrix printer bug, continued reports of Win10 1703-to-1709 upgrades, one unconfirmed report of a forced 1607-to-1709 upgrade, and a memory violation error with CDPUserSvc

  If you have an Epson dot matrix printer, you’re hosed. EVERY patch this month will kill the driver — and it ain’t Epson’s fault.

  Computerworld Woody on Windows.

  Windows Patches/Security Epson dot matrix printer, November 2017 Black Tuesday

• Problem reported with folder permissions on Win10 1709, Office 2016

  Posted on November 10, 2017 at 05:36 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  I bumped into an odd problem, reported by Sulpher212 on Reddit:

  Office Standard 2016 64 bit – MAK – Volume Licensing

  Users are having issue if they try to save Word or Excel documents they get errors regarding to permissions, or “Document could not save”, this is only on 1709, if the user is rolled back to 1703 documents save fine.

  Poster that_computer_guy123 confirms:

  We recently installed 1709 update for Windows 10 Enterprise N and Office 2016 Pro Plus. Two days ago we started having an issue where users couldn’t save from within any Office apps to their redirected folders or share drives, only to the local C:\ drive.

  As you can see from the Reddit thread, this appears to be a hard bug and may be related to this month’s non-security Office updates – but it’s only showing up on Win10 Fall Creators Update, version 1709.

  Has anybody out there seen this?

  Office Patches/Security, Windows Patches/Security November 2017 Black Tuesday, Win10 1709, Windows 10 Fall Creators Update

• Office non-security patches for November 2017 have been released

  Posted on November 7, 2017 at 14:26 CST by PKCano • Comment in the Forums

  These are November patches. We are under MS-DEFCON 2. You do NOT want to install them yet (unless you want to be an unpaid Beta tester).

  Office 2007

  Update for Microsoft Office Publisher 2007 (KB4011203)

  Office 2010

  Update for Microsoft Office 2010 (KB4011188)

  Office 2013

  Update for Microsoft Office 2013 (KB3172533)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2013 (KB4011228)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2013 (KB4011229)
  Update for Microsoft OneNote 2013 (KB4011075)
  Update for Microsoft Outlook 2013 (KB4011252)
  Update for Microsoft PowerPoint 2013 (KB4011168)
  Update for Microsoft Project 2013 (KB4011235)
  Update for Microsoft Word 2013 (KB3162081)
  Update for Skype for Business 2015 (KB4011255)

  Office 2016

  Update for Microsoft Office 2016 (KB4011138)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2016 (KB4011216)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2016 (KB4011223)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2016 (KB4011224)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2016 (KB4011226)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2016 (KB4011259)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2016 Language Interface Pack (KB4011145)
  Update for Microsoft OneNote 2016 (KB4011137)
  Update for Microsoft Outlook 2016 (KB4011240)
  Update for Microsoft PowerPoint 2016 (KB4011219)
  Update for Microsoft Project 2016 (KB4011227)
  Update for Skype for Business 2016 (KB4011238)

  The Office Publisher 2007 update and the Office 2010 update are UNCHECKED important updates.
  Security patches for all current supported versions of Microsoft Office are released on the second Tuesday of the month (Patch Tuesday)

  Office News, Office Patches/Security November 2017 Black Tuesday, Office non-security updates, Office patches

• MS-DEFCON 2: Non-security Office updates due today

  Posted on November 7, 2017 at 04:10 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Which means it’s a good time to check and make sure you have Automatic Updates turned off.

  If you’ve been following along, you already have Automatic Updates turned off. If you aren’t sure about your Auto Update status, see my new article in Computerworld Woody on Windows.

  You need to patch sooner or later, to be sure. But you don’t need to install non-security patches right away.

  We’re at MS-DEFCON 2: Patch reliability is unclear. Unless you have an immediate, pressing need to install a specific patch, don’t do it.

  Office Patches/Security MS-DEFCON 2, November 2017 Black Tuesday