PC Security and Other Useful Information

Security Mailer Volume 20 Number 19

• Mozilla updates
  • Firefox (twice)
  • Firefox ESR
  • Thunderbird
• Cisco security advisories
• Linux updates and patches
• Microsoft security advisory
• General Security reviews last week

Windows 10 v1903 Upgrade Blocked Due to Some Intel Drivers

“Microsoft and Intel discovered that on some computers with Intel display drivers users might have issues adjusting their display’s brightness because of a driver compatibility issue after applying the Windows 10 May 2019 Update.

“After updating to Window 10, version 1903, brightness settings may sometime appear as if changes applied took effect, yet the actual display brightness doesn’t change,” says Microsoft.

To make sure that user experience is not affected, Microsoft has added a compatibility hold on devices with certain incompatible Intel display drivers from being offered the latest Windows 10 release until the issue is resolved.

Until a resolution for the driver compatibility issue will be offered with an upcoming Windows 10 release, Microsoft advises all users to “not attempt to manually update using the Update now button or the Media Creation Tool until this issue has been resolved.”

Looks like MS has released the “May 2019” Update. So far no problems on my end. Update took less than 5 minutes!

May 21, 2019—KB4497934 (OS Build OS 17763.529)

How to get the Windows 10 May 2019 Update version 1903

Windows release health dashboard

“As part of our commitment to increasing transparency, the new Windows release health dashboard is now live, offering timely information on the current-roll out status and known issues (open and resolved) across both feature and monthly updates. The new dashboard provides a single page for each currently supported version of Windows so you can quickly search for issues by keyword, including any safeguard holds on updates, see the current status of each issue, and find important announcements. In addition, you can easily share content via Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and email, and even use Dark mode (the same popular feature recently introduced in Windows 10). Watch a walk-through on all the new dashboard features in this video.”

How to do a clean installation of Windows 10

I’ve seen a lot of “How To” articles on installing Windows 10. As many of us will tell you a clean install of W 10 is always the best option when possible. This article is one of the best I’ve seen in a while…

Security Mailer Volume 18 Number 46

PART 1

• Adobe security updates for
  • Flash Player
  • Reader
  • Photoshop
• Browser Pale Moon updated 2x
• Cisco Security Advisories
• Open Source updates
  • Apache Struts
  • Apache Mod
  • Linux updates
• Microsoft
• • Tuesday updates released
  • Windows 10 1809 problems continue
  • updates revised
  • Security Advisories released
• General Security review of last weeks vulnerabilities
• VMware Security Advisory

PART 2

• EXCEL spreadsheet listing all the Microsoft security patches released for November including KB numbers, CVE listings and links. Both XLS and XLSX versions are provided.
• Just for fun – Short listing of the most memorable Worms throughout history and some are still out there

Resuming the rollout of the Windows 10 October 2018 Update

Supposedly, everything is OK (that’s what they said a month ago!)…

Patch Tuesday, October 2018 Edition

Updates for Windows 10, version 1809 & Known incompatibilities upgrading to Windows 10, version 1809

Windows 10 October Update Is Deleting Content, Users Beware

Bottom line: BACK UP YOUR DATA BEFORE UPGRADING!!

Advisory: SafeGuard file encryption – Local Cache corruption interrupts Windows 10 update to version 1809 (Windows 10 October 2018 Update)

When updating to the Insider Preview of Windows 10 October 2018 Update a.k.a. Redstone 5 / version 1809, the system may unexpectedly shut down due to a Local Cache corruption.

This is known to happen when the following conditions are met:

• At least one SafeGuard 8.10 file encryption module (File Encryption, Synchronized Encryption, Data Exchange or Cloud Storage) is installed, pure BitLocker clients and previous versions of SafeGuard are not affected.
• The OS has been updated from a previous Windows version before and the “Windows.old” folder still exists.

Symptoms:

• Unexpected shutdown during the Windows 10 update
• System not booting any longer

The failed update may render the installation useless. In that case you can only re-image or freshly install the system again. The user data should be recoverable.