Newsletter Archives

• A brief history of Windows Settings

  Posted on March 10, 2025 at 02:45 CDT by Simon Bisson • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 22.10 • 2025-03-10

  WINDOWS 11

  

  By Simon Bisson

  The real story about the Windows Control Panel is a long and winding road that goes all the way back to DOS.

  Windows has always had a way of managing its settings. Right from its first version, it had a control panel that let you configure your installation. Today, it’s a collection of tools that have evolved considerably over the years from that first control panel, going from a simple applet with a handful of functions to today’s one-stop Settings shop for configuring everything Windows.

  That evolution has taken us through multiple designs and redesigns, from icon-based tools with buttons and sliders, to today’s text-first Web-like interface. It hasn’t been a smooth journey either, with Microsoft’s commitment to backward compatibility leaving you switching across different generations of Windows as you drill further down into settings dialogs.

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

  Windows 11 AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS, Control Panel, CPL, Microsoft Management Console, MMC, Newsletters, Windows, Windows 1.0, Windows 10, Windows 10X, Windows 11, Windows 2.0, Windows 3.11, Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows XP

• Malicious Software Removal Tool update, KB 890830, throwing weird WinXP (!) EULA prompts

  Posted on November 15, 2018 at 05:11 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  If I’d seen it once, I’d just disregard it as another bizarre Microsoft bug. But we have three reports now, like this one from @Morat:

  I’m running Windows 7 Pro 32-bit. MSRT Nov 2018 KB890830 popup notice says, “Prerelease Version of Service Pack 2 for Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Home, Media Center, or Tablet PC Edition END-USER LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR PRERELEASE CODE”. What the heck… prerelease code for Windows XP?

  There’s confirmation from @bsfinkel and from an anonymous poster.

  Looks like there’s a bug in KB 890830 for 32-bit Win7 — Prerelease code for XP? Pshaw.

  Thx, @Microfix

  Windows Patches/Security EULA, KB 890830, Win7, Windows XP

• What’s up with the “new” XP patch KB 982316?

  Posted on May 22, 2017 at 13:37 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  I don’t know what to make of it.

  I’m seeing reports all over the internet that Microsoft has released a new Windows XP patch, KB982316.

  Yes, Windows XP.

  There’s a download link that’s dated May 19, 2017 — last Friday.

  But there’s no Microsoft Update Catalog listing.

  The KB article says it was last reviewed on June 10, 2011:

  This update implements a defense-in-depth change that some customers may decide to deploy.. This update changes the Access Control Lists (ACLs) for the following registry entry:

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Telephony

  By default, Network Service (NS) users explicitly have full permission to this registry entry. After you install this update, NS users will have Read-Only access to this registry entry. The update will apply the same ACLs to all subkeys of the registry entry.

  The KB article points to Security Advisory 2264072, Elevation of Privilege Using Windows Service Isolation Bypass, but that article’s dated Aug. 10, 2010. Version 1.0.

  Is this another supercedence screw-up? (We’ve seen many, lately.) Is it related to the Shadow Brokers trove?

  And, if it’s really a new patch – not some phantom resurrected erroneously — is Microsoft going to patch XP for NSA-derived exploits?

  Windows Patches/Security KB 982316, Windows XP

• The original WannaCry does NOT infect Windows XP boxes

  Posted on May 19, 2017 at 08:00 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  I’ve been saying that for a week now – sometimes fighting over it.

  I’m not saying the EternalBlue infection method doesn’t work on XP. (Sorry for the double negative.) What I am saying is that no Windows XP boxes were infected, in the wild, by the original WannaCry worm.

  I’m also saying that the original WannaCry worm is now a distant memory, with much nastier things to come, and you have to get yourself patched, no matter which version of Windows you’re using.

  There’s an interesting debate going on right now about infections on XP boxes that weren’t part of the first wave.

  UPDATE: The Scottish National Health Service reports that 1,500 computers came down with WannaCry. Independently, NHS says they still have 6,500 computers running XP. Somehow that’s getting reported in the press that 1,500 XP NHS computers were infected. The announcement from NHS is apparently correct. The poorly-spun media reports are clearly wrong.

  ANOTHER UPDATE: Catalin Cimpanu at BleepingComputer comes to the conclusion that we’ve known all along — WannaCry only infects Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2, which is basically the same thing as Windows 7.

  The Kaspersky graph shows a tiny, tiny number of Win10 machines infected. My guess is that’s either a false positive, or from people who were intentionally infecting Win7 machines running in a Virtual Machine on Win10.

  There’s a commenter (I know, I shouldn’t read the comments) who says:

  You want to know why Windows 10 was on the list?
  I blame Microsoft for still allowing people to opt-out of auto-updates. The mass do not always know what’s best for them, so it is our responsibility to firmly reject their demand when it’s harmful, and educate them why so.

  I could pull my hair out. Win10 wasn’t directly affected. Opting in or out of updates isn’t a problem – although if you opted out of Win7 auto updates and you didn’t check for two months, yep, you could’ve gotten stung. But Win10? Puh-lease.

  Windows Patches/Security WannaCry, Windows XP

• Windows XP Service Pack 3

  Posted on September 11, 2016 at 06:12 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Just got this from DE:

  I have Windows XP Professional, 64 bit installed on my computer.  It has service pack 3.  I’ve looked and looked for SP-3, with disastrous results.  Usually the sites that profess that they have SP-3, only download their own programs.

  This is a new computer,  I don’t have the installation disk, so I have to be careful as to what I download.

  Heres the question Woody;  I’ve found a site that says that they do have a SP-3 for the 64 bit version of Windows XP.

  Do you think that it’s safe?  I’m also going on holidays and don’t plan to use it just yet.

  Like so many things attached to Windows XP these days, I wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole.

  I’m sure you’ve heard the nagging many times before, but once again, for emphasis: Unless you’re very, very adept at protecting your computer, XP is a disaster waiting to happen. Surfing the internet with an XP computer – using ANY browser – is like walking around with a “Kick me” sign on your back.

  Chrome is no longer supported on XP. Firefox is supported on XP SP3, as is Opera, but neither gets the kind of security scrutiny you need to stay safe. Really.

  Microsoft doesn’t distribute SP3 any more, and hasn’t for more than two years. It’s safe to assume that any version of XP you find on the web is laced with the nastiest malware you’ve ever seen. Even if you find a shiny CD with all the right holograms, sealed in a factory-fresh carton, signed and notarized by Bill Gates himself, there’s a very good chance it’s fake.

  The safest way to work with XP is to get rid of it. Upgrade to Win7, or switch to Linux, or turn the machine into a doorstop.

  Sorry, but friends don’t let friends use XP.

  Other Windows XP

• Microsoft cold-shoulders Server 2003 and XP users hit with Microsoft Update error 0x80248015

  Posted on November 25, 2014 at 07:06 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Looks like it’s an internal date error – but MS hasn’t said a thing. Argh.

  InfoWorld Tech Watch

  Windows Patches/Security 0x80248015, Microsoft Update, Windows Home Server, Windows Server 2003, Windows Update, Windows XP

• Windows 8 usage declined in June while XP usage increased

  Posted on July 1, 2014 at 09:33 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  … he says, shaking his head…

  InfoWorld Tech Watch.

  Windows News market share, usage, Windows 8, Windows XP

• One for the road: Microsoft patches Windows XP for SA 2963983

  Posted on May 1, 2014 at 16:21 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Yet another good sign that Redmond is listening.

  InfoWorld Tech Watch.

  Windows Patches/Security KB 2963983, Windows XP
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