Newsletter Archives

• Windows Settings today

  Posted on March 17, 2025 at 02:43 CDT by Simon Bisson • Comment in the Forums

  WINDOWS 11

  

  By Simon Bisson

  Windows Settings today is a mix of old and new.

  Windows settings applications across the years, from DOS to Windows 11, comprise a history of what were, at the time, logical decisions about how to manage and group settings, opening them up to third parties, and then freezing them as part of Microsoft’s commitment to backward compatibility.

  We’re now in a position where we have not one, not two, not three, but four different settings applications, each with different user interfaces.

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

  Windows 11 Advanced Settings, Command Line, Control Panel, Newsletters, Remote Assistance, Remote Desktop, System Center, Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Management Interface, Windows Settings

• Choosing the right device

  Posted on December 2, 2024 at 02:42 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Are you being bombarded from every corner by Black Friday and end-of-year deals — toys to technology?

  Of course you are. It’s that time of year. Whether it’s actual tech toys, smart TVs, PCs, tablets, phones, home tech, or anything else with a chip in it, vendors want to entice you in any way they can.

  Will you succumb? Well, probably — at least a little bit. The more important question is, what should you actually be looking for?

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.49.0, 2024-12-02).

  nt question is, what should you actually be looking for?

  On Security Chromebook, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Surface, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Qualcomm Snapdragon, QuickBooks, Remote Desktop, Windows 365, Windows 365 Link

• Safe remote access — from anything to anything

  Posted on September 2, 2024 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  One of the most used technologies in the Windows world is more than likely the most abused.

  Remote Desktop is one of the oldest ways to get from one machine to another, but it’s also one that relies on older technologies that Microsoft is trying to phase out. Add to that the interaction of Entra ID accounts (in the case of cloud technologies) and Microsoft accounts and firewalls, and it can be a bit confusing to set up.

  In spite of all that, the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) is a technology that many of us use and rely upon.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.36.0, 2024-09-02).

  On Security Chrome Remote Desktop, Newsletters, Port 3389, Quick Assist, RDP, Remote Desktop, Remote Desktop Connection, Shodan, Splashtop, TeamViewer

• Threats to businesses

  Posted on August 19, 2024 at 02:45 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 21.34 • 2024-08-19

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  This month’s updates include fewer vulnerabilities than normal. What is not normal is that some of the bugs have already been exploited.

  I’m not changing my stance about it being wise to wait to see whether there are side effects, but I will review that decision should the need arise. For now, review the special alert.

  There are six bugs under active attack.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.34.0, 2024-08-19).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Patch Watch Adobe Acrobat, CVE-2024-38063, CVE-2024-38143, CVE-2024-38173, CVE-2024-38213, KB5020276, KB5040430, KB5040437, Line Printer, Mark of the Web, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Remote Code Execution, Remote Desktop, Secure Boot

• Quick Assist

  Posted on July 1, 2024 at 02:40 CDT by Will Fastie

  WINDOWS

  

  By Will Fastie

  Microsoft deserves accolades for evolving remote support into a simple, approachable app.

  Remote support has been available since Windows NT 4.0. In the early days, it was technical and sometimes difficult to explain to someone needing help. It became slightly less technical in the 2000s, but it was not until Windows 10 that the aptly named Quick Assist app made it easy for everyone.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.27.0, 2024-07-01).

  Windows Newsletters, Quick Assist, Remote Desktop, Remote support

• MS-DEFCON 2: .NET and Remote Desktop

  Posted on February 9, 2023 at 02:45 CST by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.06.1 • 2023-02-09

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Defer until the February updates are fully understood.

  Even though I don’t anticipate any specific problem with February’s updates, it’s always hard to know for sure. For that reason, the MS-DEFCON level is raised to 2. Don’t be surprised by a Microsoft update before you’re prepared to deal with it!

  Anyone can read the full MS-DEFCON Alert (20.06.1, 2023-02-09).

  AskWoody Plus Alert, MS-DEFCON .NET Framework, Alerts, MS-DEFCON, MS-DEFCON 2, Patch Lady Posts, Remote Desktop, Windows 11

• August updates still dribbling in

  Posted on September 2, 2019 at 01:05 CDT by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  By Susan Bradley

  With August rapidly coming to a close, it’s time to review the status of Windows exploits and any lingering patch side effects.

  The Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) threats — BlueKeep and the follow-on DejaBlues — are still missing in action. To my knowledge, there are no in-the-wild attacks using the original BlueKeep or this month’s BlueKeep II and BlueKeep III.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.31.0 (2019-09-02).

  Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, BlueKeep, Office updates, Remote Desktop, Windows patching

• More bugses with the July Win10 version 1903 cumulative update

  Posted on July 14, 2019 at 04:19 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Microsoft has officially acknowledged two bugs created by the May 29 “optional” Win10 version 1903 cumulative update, then sent out for general consumption in the July 9 cumulative update, KB 4507453.

  To quote the Release Information Status page:

  The dGPU may occasionally disappear from device manager on Surface Book 2 with dGPU

  Some apps or games that needs to perform graphics intensive operations may close or fail to open on Surface Book 2 devices with Nvidia dGPU.

  Yes, you read that right. The latest cumulative update for the latest version of Windows on Microsoft’s most expensive piece of hardware can leave the machine gasping for breath. Martin Brinkmann has more details on the Surface Book 2 bug.

  That Surface Book 2 bug had me feeling a bit of deja vu… About a  year ago, Microsoft had a Surface Book 2 problem where the dGPU just went missing, for no apparent reason. At least this time MS acknowledged the problem. It just took a while.

  Also from the Release Info Status page:

  Initiating a Remote Desktop connection may result in black screen

  When initiating a Remote Desktop connection to devices with some older GPU drivers, you may receive a black screen.

  Gunter Born takes the black screen bug to task on Born’s Tech.

  Don’t bother looking for a bug announcement in the KB article. Microsoft hasn’t bothered adding either to the “Known Issues” listing.

  How did the bugs make it through all of that fancy Win10 1903 beta testing?

  Rhetorical question.

  Windows Patches/Security dGPU, Remote Desktop, Surface Book 2