ISSUE 23.18.1 • 2026-05-07 By Susan Bradley It’s time to prepare for the May updates, which includes pausing and deferring them. That’s why the MS-DEFCON level is going to 2. There may be some confusion about the recent changes to the level. You’ll recall that I changed the level to 4 on April 28 and […]

ISSUE 23.17.2 • 2026-04-29 By Susan Bradley This is a trending story. On the same day I sent out an MS-DEFCON Alert recommending installing the April updates, Ira Shapiro alerts us to issues with backup software. I’m not seeing this with all backup software, but some vendors have mentioned the matter in various forums. The […]

ISSUE 23.17.1 • 2026-04-28 By Susan Bradley The April updates continue to dribble out more fixes for Secure Boot certificates for some systems. But once you receive the April updates, you still may be waiting for the new certs to be installed. That happened to me on some systems. Nonetheless, the patching world is relatively […]

ISSUE 23.14.1 • 2026-04-09 By Will Fastie Fresno is experiencing a freak taxation event. Reports remain sketchy, but it appears that an unusual event has occurred in the Fresno area. Apparently, a well-known accounting firm is undergoing a targeted forms attack. Its building has been completely covered with paper tax documents, trapping the staff inside […]

ISSUE 23.12.1 • 2026-03-24 By Susan Bradley This month has been relatively quiet for Microsoft Windows updates. Sure, there are the occasional “won’t install the update” situations that are usually fixed with a repair install over the top. I’ve become tired of seeing them. And there were two out-of-band updates for Windows 11 Enterprise 25H2, […]

ISSUE 23.09.1 • 2026-03-05 By Susan Bradley For once, I don’t anticipate any issues with the forthcoming March updates. Nonetheless, I’ve raised the MS-DEFCON level to 2. It’s always wise to pause updates until thorough examinations are made and any bugs have been worked out. A little patience goes a long way. I’m excited by […]

ISSUE 23.08.1 • 2026-02-24 By Susan Bradley I’m not a superstitious person. But there are times — especially around printers, copiers, or other technology devices — when I jokingly say, “Shush, don’t talk about how they are working. It will jinx them.” And there are times I talk about how well the devices are working […]

ISSUE 23.05.1 • 2026-02-05 By Susan Bradley Unless you really want to be an unpaid beta tester for Microsoft, it’s wise to pause, defer, and mainly sit on the sidelines. That’s why I’m raising the MS-DEFCON level to 2. I realize the opportunity to install January patches was brief, but that’s a combination of calendar […]

ISSUE 23.04.1 • 2026-01-27 By Susan Bradley The January updates present no issues for some, but lots of issues for others. I’m always hopeful of giving everyone some time every month to apply updates after we’ve vetted them. This month, I can lower the MS-DEFCON level to only 2.5. Unfortunately, we don’t have that, so […]

ISSUE 23.01.1 • 2026-01-08 By Susan Bradley The holidays are behind us, so now we can get back to business as usual. You know — when to pause updates so we can test and evaluate the January patches. Thus, the MS-DEFCON goes up to level 2. For those of you still running Windows 10, rest […]

ISSUE 22.51.1 • 2025-12-24 By Susan Bradley We’re ending 2025 with a mixed bag of issues. To be on the safe side, I’m lowering the MS-DEFCON level just one notch, to 3. Even though the holiday season offers many users the time to apply updates, this year it’s not quite as quiet. Use caution. For […]

ISSUE 22.48.1 • 2025-12-04 By Susan Bradley Here we go again: This month brings the first security patches to be released to Windows 10 during the Extended Security Update program. Because last month, Microsoft released an additional update to all Windows 10 PCs to fix an underlying issue with the ESU deployment. As a result, […]

ISSUE 22.47.1 • 2025-11-26 By Susan Bradley It’s a little rocky. For the most part, the November updates have gone well, albeit with a few expected hiccups. That includes the first suite of updates that are included with the Windows 10 ESU enrollment. A lowering of the MS-DEFCON level to 4 is warranted. Spend some […]

ISSUE 22.44.1 • 2025-11-06 By Susan Bradley This month marks the first time that security updates will be released to Windows 10 under Microsoft’s Extended Security Update program. If you’ve enrolled in the ESU plan, you should see them offered in Windows Update. But that does not mean you should install them now. Nothing has […]

Mike Felch // Meet ‘The Box’ Bomb For the last few years at the security conference DEF CON in Las Vegas, the Tamper Resistant Village has hosted a challenging contest called […]

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