Newsletter Archives

• Time to wrap up November updating — no bow required

  Posted on November 29, 2020 at 21:00 CST by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums
  

  PATCH WATCH

  By Susan Bradley

  By now, you should be getting over the side effects of too much turkey and pie.

  Getting over some Windows upgrading issues might not be as easy.

  It appears that there’s a sizable number of Win10 1909 users who are blocked from moving up to Versions 2004 or 20H2. Last week, I discussed one blocker: Conexant audio drivers. We still don’t have information on when or how this issue will be resolved.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.47.0 (2020-11-30).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Watch Antivirus support, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Upgrade blocks, Win7 vulnerabilities, Windows updating

• Microsoft will make business patching a bit easier

  Posted on September 13, 2020 at 21:00 CDT by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  By Susan Bradley

  As I look over the September updates on this smoky, orange-colored day, I see some interesting changes coming for businesses.

  The forecast for September Windows and Office updating is a bit murky as well. Woody is already tracking a variety of patch flaws, and we don’t yet know whether they’re widespread or limited in scope.

  In one example, the Bitdefender AV application was blocking the cumulative update for Win10 1909/1903 (more info), but that’s already been fixed by the app’s vendor — so it’s no longer an issue.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.36.0 (2020-09-14).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Deferring updates, Office patching, Patch reboots, Windows updating

• Win10 optional updates placed on hold

  Posted on March 30, 2020 at 01:05 CDT by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  By Susan Bradley

  As the world hunkers down in response to the COVID crisis, so does Microsoft.

  On March 24, the company announced it would pause optional non-security patches (C/D-week updates), starting in May. I assume the April releases are already mostly baked.

  The primary purpose of C/D-week updates — aka “previews” — is to let enterprises test non-security fixes before the formal releases go out — typically, two or three weeks later.

  Microsoft will reportedly continue to ship the official monthly cumulative updates, but with this announcement, the company is clearly putting its focus on critical security patching. In effect, Microsoft is acknowledging that both it and its customers already have a lot on their plates.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.12.0 (2020-03-30).

  Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, March 2020 Black Tuesday, Windows 7 threats, Windows updating

• Questions on controlling Windows 10 updating

  Posted on March 2, 2020 at 01:10 CST by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  By Susan Bradley

  With the end of free support for Windows 7, there’s a spate of new Win10 users.

  One of the most common questions I see from this group is how to manage the monthly updating task.

  Over its many revisions — culminating with Version 1909 — Windows 10 has come a long way toward making the patching experience more agreeable to rank-and-file users. But the key is to follow some important guidelines. Here are my rules for making Win10 updating as pain-free as possible.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.9.0 (2020-03-02).

  Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Group Policy Editor, malware, Patching guidlines, Windows updating

• The trials and tribulations of Windows 7

  Posted on February 17, 2020 at 01:10 CST by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  By Susan Bradley

  We’re starting the Windows 7 extended-support era … with more than our fair share of confusion.

  Before I shed some light on making Extended Security Updates (ESUs) work, here’s a bit of good news for all Win7 users.

  You might recall that the final free Win7 updates (January’s) included a bug that broke the “Stretch” wallpaper setting. Some systems ended up with black backgrounds. The easy fix was to use another “Choose a fit” option. But if “Stretch” is important to you — or you’d just like your Win7 copy to be as bug-free as possible — Microsoft released KB 4539601 to fix the flaw. Currently, however, you must manually download and install the patch.

  The February launch of extended-support updates got off to a shaky start.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.7.0 (2020-02-17).

  Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Recalled patch, Win7 ESU, Windows updating

• Closing out the patching year …

  Posted on December 16, 2019 at 01:05 CST by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  By Susan Bradley

  This is a busy time for Windows upgrading.

  Win10 1803 officially fell into the bit bucket this past November; Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 will suffer the same fate this coming January.

  Upgrading to a newer version of Windows 10 should be relatively painless. But the shift will be far more difficult and consequential for the mass of PC users still running Win7.

  Security is obviously a concern for Win7 users, but Microsoft has stated that Security Essentials updates will also end in January. However, it’s likely that third-party browsers and anti-malware apps will continue to get updates for some unknown period of time. Based on the XP experience, it could be months or years.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.46.0 (2019-12-16).

  Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Extended support, Windows 7 EoL, Windows updating

• October’s updates look promising; however …

  Posted on October 14, 2019 at 01:10 CDT by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  By Susan Bradley

  First, a mea culpa: I said I was comfortable with installing the out-of-band Internet Explorer update released October 3. I have to take that back.

  The update was designed to block the new IE vulnerability CVE-2019-1367. The October 3 release was the third time Microsoft sent out essentially the same fix, but it’s the only one I’ve called a true out-of-band update. Unlike the two previous attempts, Microsoft pushed this patch out to everyone via the usual channels: Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) and Windows Update.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.37.0 (2019-10-14).

  Patch Watch AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Office updating, Out-of-band patches, Windows updating

• Another patching debacle — how we got here

  Posted on August 26, 2019 at 01:15 CDT by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  

  WOODY’S WINDOWS WATCH

  By Woody Leonhard

  Frantic moves to fix this month’s Windows-update bugs highlight the dark underbelly of Microsoft’s patching strategy.

  August patches have been flying around like salmon in Seattle’s Pike Place Market. Now that the major bugs are fixed — for the most part — it’s time to look at what happened and speculate on whether this type of debacle can be avoided in the future.

  Here’s the short version of events.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.30.0 (2019-08-26).

  Windows Patches/Security AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Deferring updates, DejaBlue, Patching problems, Windows updating
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