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MS-DEFCON 4: Secure Boot expiration deadline

ISSUE 23.25.1 β€’ 2026-06-23 By Susan Bradley Tomorrow is the drop-dead date. Tomorrow, June 24, 2026, the Microsoft Corporation KEK CA 2011 certificate will expire. But your computer will still boot. Life will go on. The sun will rise. On June 27, 2026, the second certificate will expire for the Microsoft UEFI CA 2011 certificate. […]

MS-DEFCON 2: Fixes for Windows 11

ISSUE 23.22.1 β€’ 2026-06-04 By Susan Bradley Microsoft is starting to roll out its much-promised, dribbled fixes. Included in the upcoming June updates β€” and already included in the preview updates released on May 26, 2026 β€” KB5089573 includes the Secure Boot fixes and the beginning of many changes about which you’ve complained. Nonetheless, it’s […]

MS-DEFCON 4: Is Microsoft starting to clean up the mess?

ISSUE 23.21.1 β€’ 2026-05-25 By Susan Bradley Microsoft is slowly but surely starting to roll out Secure Boot security fixes to more and more machines. I’m therefore lowering the MS-DEFCON level to 4. The May updates include not only the Secure Boot fixes but also a variety of other security-related patches. Start by installing KB5089549 […]

MS-DEFCON 2: Sometimes there’s no fix

ISSUE 23.18.1 β€’ 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 […]

MS-DEFCON 3: KB5083769 causes backup issues

ISSUE 23.17.2 β€’ 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 […]

MS-DEFCON 4: Is Secure Boot fixed?

ISSUE 23.17.1 β€’ 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 […]

MS-DEFCON 2: Tax season edition

ISSUE 23.14.1 β€’ 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 […]

MS-DEFCON 4: Outlook leads the pack in patching issues

ISSUE 23.12.1 β€’ 2026-03-24 By Susan Bradley This month has been relatively quiet for Microsoft Windows updates. Sure, there are the occasional β€œwon’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, […]

A little weak on being right

ISSUE 23.11.1 β€’ 2026-03-19 By Will Fastie Great care must be taken when conversing with AI bots. In what can only be a galactic coincidence, I corresponded with two people this past Monday, both of whom had chatted with bots. One was an 87-year-old Plus member with a long background in technology and the other […]
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