Newsletter Archives

• Planning for the unexpected

  Posted on March 10, 2025 at 02:41 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  We all have a tendency to take many things for granted.

  We take utilities, such as electricity and water, for granted. We assume fuel will be there on demand. We expect our computers and other devices to turn on every time. We assume that our software will run properly the next time we use it. Then comes the day when one or more of these things are impacted. Are you prepared? What can you do without?

  I’m going to discuss several items of technology that I rely on that suddenly failed last week. For some, I had ready backups. For others, I was reminded that I need to take better steps to have a Plan B.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.10.0, 2025-03-10).

  On Security Battery Backup, Disaster Planning, Electricity, Email, Internet, Microsoft 365, Newsletters, Outages, Password management, Patch Lady Posts

• MS-DEFCON 2: March Madness is upon us

  Posted on March 6, 2025 at 02:45 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 22.09.1 • 2025-03-03

  

  By Susan Bradley

  As usual, I recommend caution just before Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday and thus have raised the MS-DEFCON level to 2.

  Let others (aka me) take the slings and arrows. There’s simply no way that those interested in headlines just as clickbait can assess the implications of any Patch Tuesday in just a few hours. I do some testing on my assorted PCs, follow other experts closely, separate fact from fiction, and aggregate what I learn into a Patch Watch column you can trust.

  And so, relax and use your favorite method to forestall updates.

  Anyone can read the full MS-DEFCON Alert (22.09.1, 2025-03-06).

  AskWoody Plus Alert, MS-DEFCON Alerts, AutoCAD, Daylight Saving Time, KB5052077, KB5052093, MS-DEFCON, MS-DEFCON 2, OneDrive, Patch Lady Posts, Windows Updates

• To reboot, or not to reboot

  Posted on March 3, 2025 at 02:42 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Why do we need to reboot our computers?

  Why can’t they just run 24/7 without issue? And why is Windows more likely to require rebooting than other systems?

  Normally, I take rebooting for granted, as a matter of fact. This dates very far back. I remember tech support agents on the phone, asking whether I had rebooted a PC and then — regardless of the answer — asking me to reboot again. Recently, I stumbled upon a bug that was interesting enough to cause me to raise this question.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.09.0, 2025-03-03).

  Patch Watch Linux, macOS, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Rebooting, Windows

• Got Exchange online problems?

  Posted on March 1, 2025 at 15:10 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  You are not alone.

  

  All of my Microsoft based email accounts are not working – my iphone wanted all of them reauthenticated. My OWA isn’t working.

  Bottom line, it’s not you, something is up.  Stay tuned.

  Microsoft 365 Patch Lady Posts

• Even 96 year olds get tripped up by Copilot

  Posted on February 28, 2025 at 03:00 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  So my dad calls me today: “I can’t get into my tax software.” Yes, he’s 96 years old and still works on taxes on occasion. “Every time I launch the icon it won’t let me log in.” No problem, says I, and I use a remote tool to log in and see what’s up. And immediately see the problem.

  He’s running a Windows 10 PC on which the Copilot app slid in quietly and pinned itself to the toolbar. And why was that a problem? Because it was right next to the browser icon that gets him into the cloud tax software he uses. Yes, he uses a cloud-based tax software. At 96. If he’s doing taxes, he’s obviously still sharp. But even he got tripped up, mistaking the Copilot icon for the browser icon (location, location, location).

  I promptly removed the icon from the taskbar and uninstalled the app from his computer. Problem solved.

  Windows 10 Copilot app, Patch Lady Posts

• Should all BIOS be updated?

  Posted on February 27, 2025 at 03:00 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  This is a follow-up to my Patch Watch column on Monday. Should you update all computer systems and search out a new BIOS? In a word: No.

  If you are running Windows 10 on an older computer that will not support Windows 11 or you do not plan to upgrade to Windows 11, and your computer is running just fine, I see no reason to upgrade the BIOS.  My advice to seek out and upgrade your BIOS is only for those running Windows 11 23H2 who will be looking to go to 24H2 or are already there.

  Updating your BIOS isn’t quite as scary as it used to be, but when you have a functional system that you do not plan on upgrading, I don’t see a reason to. Do you?

  Windows Patches/Security Patch Lady Posts, Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows 11 24H2, Windows patches

• Still not fixed

  Posted on February 26, 2025 at 03:00 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  Windows 10 KB5052077, the preview update, was released on Tuesday. I do not recommend installing preview updates because as far as I’m concerned, they are for testing purposes. If you’ve selected Get the latest updates as soon as they are available in Settings, then you will be offered up/pushed these updates. Ensure that setting is Off in your Windows update settings.

  Next, be aware that the error spotted back in January is still there:

  The Windows Event Viewer might display an error related to SgrmBroker.exe, on devices that have installed Windows updates released January 14, 2025 or later. This error can be found under Windows Logs > System as Event 7023, with text similar to ‘The System Guard Runtime Monitor Broker service terminated with the following error: %%3489660935.”

  This error is only observable if the Windows Event Viewer is monitored closely. It is otherwise silent and does not appear as a dialog box or notification.

  I’ve seen some folks attribute all sorts of weird things to this event log bug. Be aware that this is a cosmetic bug. If you are experiencing any rebooting/freezing or general weirdness on your Windows 10 PC and think this event log item is the culprit, it is not.

  Windows 10 KB5052077, Patch Lady Posts, Windows, Windows 10

• MS-DEFCON 4: Beware of clickbait

  Posted on February 25, 2025 at 02:45 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 22.08.1 • 2025-02-25

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Don’t be taken in by ‘The sky is falling!’ headlines.

  It’s been my experience that what is purported to be news is often based on a limited number of users, not everyone on the planet. Based on my own research and testing, I’m comfortable in lowering the MS-DEFCON level to 4.

  As a small case study, consider that Will Fastie and I each have several Windows 11 PCs. During the month, we compare and contrast the news with what we are seeing on our own equipment. For the most part, we don’t see the effects described by those headlines.

  Anyone can read the full MS-DEFCON Alert (22.08.1, 2025-02-25).

  AskWoody Plus Alert, MS-DEFCON Alerts, CVE-2025-21420, HP printer, KB5014754, KB5050021, MS-DEFCON, MS-DEFCON 4, Patch Lady Posts, USB Audio, Windows 11 24H2
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