Newsletter Archives

• Freeware Spotlight — WPD

  Posted on November 11, 2019 at 01:05 CST by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  BEST UTILITIES

  By Deanna McElveen

  Back in the day, if Windows 95 had sent out today’s Win10 telemetry, our 56K modem connections would have constantly ground to a standstill.

  Let’s face it, we’re all Microsoft’s lab rats!

  Yes, Windows offers various tools for managing privacy. But a third-party utility — WPD — makes the task far easier. It’s a one-stop privacy dashboard that digs deep into Windows settings. It will, for example, let you easily change some privacy-related Group Policy options. WPD lets you wear your foil hat with pride!

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.41.0 (2019-11-11).

  Best Utilities 7-Zip, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Windows privacy, WPD

• Fix for the bad “Microsoft – WPD – 2/22/2016 12:00:00 AM – 5.2.5326.4762” driver

  Posted on March 28, 2017 at 18:49 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  I have no idea if it works or not, but there’s a new patch coming down the Automatic Update chute for Win7, 8.1, and apparently Win10 1511 and 1607.

  I talked about it in InfoWorld earlier this month, and there was a lot of discussion here on AskWoody.

  See KB 4016754.

  This update includes a fix for an incorrect device driver (“Microsoft – WPD – 2/22/2016 12:00:00 AM – 5.2.5326.4762”) that was released by a third-party on March 8, 2017 that affected a small group of users with USB connected phones or other media devices that rely on Media Transfer Protocol (MTP). If the driver is on your system, when any of these devices are connected, Windows will try to install this driver. These devices will not be connected until the driver is removed. This incorrect driver was removed from Windows Update the same day, but it may have been downloaded to your computer. After installing this update the incorrect driver will be removed.

  Any reports on whether it works or not? “Released by a third party” but distributed through Automatic Update.

  Only took three weeks to fix it.

  More info – and a rant – in InfoWorld Woody on Windows.

  Thx, @PKCano

  Windows Patches/Security 5.2.5326.4762, KB 4016754, WPD

• Microsoft confirms – and pulls – botched WPD driver

  Posted on March 10, 2017 at 07:31 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  If you checked the box to install the Optional driver update, rolling back isn’t too difficult.

  If you’re using Windows 10, you may well be shafted. Welcome to my world.

  InfoWorld Woody on Windows

  UPDATE: Günter Born has published more details about Microsoft’s proposed solutions. Take particular note of the “Method 2 Part 2” discussion, which I mention briefly in the InfoWorld article.

  Windows Patches/Security Drivers, forced updates, Restore Point, WPD

• More info on the debilitating WPD driver update

  Posted on March 9, 2017 at 07:08 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Based on info from Günter Born…

  Avoid the driver – and roll it back if you’re having problems with Android devices connecting to Windows machines.

  InfoWorld Woody on Windows

  Windows Patches/Security driver update, WPD

• Mysterious driver update “Microsoft – WPD – 2/22/2016 12:00:00 AM – 5.2.5326.4762”

  Posted on March 8, 2017 at 11:25 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  I now have reliable reports of this WPD driver being offered on Win 7, 8.1 and 10 machines.

  Don’t install it if offered.

  If you’re using Win10, you’ll have to use wushowhide.

  InfoWorld Woody on Windows

  Windows Patches/Security Windows 10 drivers, WPD