Newsletter Archives

• Don’t patch while traveling

  Posted on June 17, 2024 at 02:41 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Recently, a Plus member asked whether they should patch before leaving for vacation or could patch while on vacation.

  Then a coworker let me know about their own imminent multiweek vacation and wanted to know the same thing.

  Both requests reminded me of my stance on updating machines right before, during, or just after travel. Don’t.

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

  Patch Watch AuthLite, Azure, CVE-2024-30078, CVE-2024-30103, KB5002600, KB5039211, KB5039212, KB5039214, KB5039217, KB5039227, Master Patch List, Newsletters, NTLM, Patch Lady Posts, Travel

• The good and bad of 24H2

  Posted on June 3, 2024 at 02:41 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  We’re getting closer to the next round of Microsoft’s feature releases, this time in the form of Windows 11 24H2.

  Microsoft took advantage of its recent developer conference, BUILD, to talk about what 24H2 will include. But unless you have access to Entra ID, many of the features are ho-hum at best. And if you are a consumer, you’ll skip most of the enhancements.

  Unless you like living on the edge, prepare your system now to hold back 24H2.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.23.0, 2024-06-03).

  Patch Watch ARM, Newsletters, NTLM, Patch Lady Posts, Qualcomm, Recall, Snapdragon X Elite, Surface, Windows 11, Windows 11 24H2

• MS-DEFCON 2: May updates are right around the corner

  Posted on May 9, 2024 at 02:45 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 21.19.1 • 2024-05-09

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Patch Tuesday is only a few days away. As usual, caution is in order.

  I’ve therefore raised the MS-DEFCON level to 2. Make sure your system is backed up and you have deferred updates.

  In addition, I urge you to take stock of the other software that is installed on your system. Often, it’s this third-party software that may result in side effects.

  Anyone can read the full MS-DEFCON Alert (21.19.1, 2024-05-09).

  AskWoody Plus Alert, MS-DEFCON Alerts, Android, Android Phone, InControl, iPhone, KB5036979, MS-DEFCON, MS-DEFCON 2, NTLM, VPN

• Microsoft is not fixing its mess

  Posted on May 3, 2024 at 03:00 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 21.18.1 • 2024-05-03

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Microsoft has now made it official. It does not plan to fix the mess it made with KB5034441.

  As you may recall, I was not pleased with how Microsoft handled this vulnerability. It took a sledgehammer to a problem that should have been handled with a precision tool. Instead of explaining the risks and letting business patchers make their own deployment calls, it shoved out an update that to this day is blocked on my sister’s Windows 10 PC due to the lack of sufficient space in the recovery partition.

  Read the full Plus Alert (21.18.1, 2024-05-03).

  AskWoody Plus Alert Alerts, Anywhere Access, BitLocker, Copilot, Edge, KB5034441, NTLM, Patch Lady Posts, VPN, WinRE

• Controlling the Moments

  Posted on April 8, 2024 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Microsoft releases more changes to Windows 10 and 11.

  Last year, Microsoft announced that 22H2 would be the last version of Windows 10 and hinted that no more changes would be rolled out. The reality is vastly different.

  Included in the preview updates for Windows 10 22H2, and therefore in the April updates, are the following changes for Windows 10.

  • Windows Spotlight is added to your desktop background.
  • More content is added to your lock screen, such as weather, sports, traffic, and finance.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.15.0, 2024-04-08).

  Patch Watch Copilot, Copilot app, KB5035942, Kerberos, Lock screen, Moment Updates, Newsletters, NTLM, Patch Lady Posts, SMB Signing, Windows Server 2025, Windows Spotlight

• A new patching year

  Posted on January 8, 2024 at 02:43 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Tomorrow, as usual, Microsoft will release the January patches.

  Today, as usual, I’m recommending that you not install the patches right away. If you’ve been dealing with and following patching as long as I have, you’ll know that it takes about a week or so for problems to bubble up.

  Side effects are somewhat sporadic — some see them, some don’t. Those who see none sometimes move along to the next vulnerability. Lately, however, Microsoft has been taking a long-term look at vulnerabilities thus and taking several months to implement changes. 2024 looks to be no different, with many long-term issues needing resolution.

  This week’s edition of Patch Watch focuses specifically on business patching and what we may see in the coming months. For consumers, you probably will not have the same side effects or concerns as business patchers.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.02.0, 2024-01-08).

  Patch Watch CVE-2021-42291, CVE-2023-24932, Exchange Server, KB5008383, KB5025885, Newsletters, NTLM, Patch Lady Posts, Secure Boot

• Closing the year on patching

  Posted on December 18, 2023 at 02:42 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  We need a little Copilot, now.

  I have a favorite Christmas song called “We Need a Little Christmas” (now). That comes to my mind because for those of you who want to partake in the artificial intelligence experiment know as Windows Copilot, you may end up humming the slightly modified song “I Need a Little Copilot” (now).

  The December updates start to bring Copilot into Windows 10. I say “start” because, like many things in Microsoftland, features and changes are no longer released en masse to everyone in the form of a service pack. Instead, the changes are dribbled out or limited to certain geographical areas.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.51.0, 2023-12-18).

  Patch Watch Apple, BitLocker, CVE-2023-20275, CVE-2023-35628, CVE-2023-35636, KB5008383, KB5025885, Newsletters, NTLM, Patch Lady Posts, VPN, Windows Copilot, Zero Day