Old Posted News

[TheAPGuy]

technically I can give you any badge you want as long as it fits within the area. Just as wide and 3 times as tall is the area width. As For titles I can create any title as well.

[ChrisJ]

I thought I would toss out there that AutoPatcher.Net could make use of a few more subforums for specific topics - possibly?

As an example(s) it wouldn't hurt to maybe have a subforum for the numerous technological news stories that get posted, and maybe one specific to the AP.Net forums, where you get help or make comments about the forum, posting, etc. As it stands now "other" IS "anything&everything".

[DesertJerry]

Who cares? Back in 2008 I donated to Autopatcher when that was possible - and asked for at the time. Since then I had to sign in as a new user and all the 'info' about my postings disappeared so whatever I have now has been reduced significantly.

[ChrisJ]

This was not about member rank but how the forum sorted them. It was, as I stated, something I found funny.

Everyone had to create a new account, the forum was new, the forum software was new, the host - new. If you want to complain about not being appreciated or whatever you're getting at, please don't bring down what was meant to be - tongue-n-cheek - start a new thread or PM the ownership about the issue, ask for a donor badge, I'm sure one exists or can be created.

For what it's worth, I logged in to the old forum (didn't know you could), did a search for "DesertJerry" content, it seems the posts are there.

[DesertJerry]

It's obvious my sarcasm was mis-interpreted. My who cares concerned rank - last time I found it to be an something to think about was during my 27+ years on active duty - beyond the military and rank -who cares?

[ChrisJ]

I definitely missed the sarcasm.

[Pendraguin]

More info on blocking the Windows 10 upgrade.

Apparently, aside from uninstalling the appropriate Windows updates, you can use the Group Policy Editor to block it as well.

This info comes from comments to an article on The Register titled "How Microsoft will cram Windows 10 even harder down your PC's throat early next year."
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/10/30 ... 0_updates/

A) This was posted by "Joe User" in the comments:

There appears to be a way to block a Windows 10 forced upgrade:
1. Open gpedit.msc (Group Policy Editor)
2. Go to "Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update".
3. In the list of settings, find "Turn off the upgrade to the latest version of Windows through Windows Update".
4. Double-click this one and set it to "Enabled".

This setting was originally meant for use by administrators in business environments, where random upgrades to Windows 10 could wreak havoc. Microsoft is unlikely to remove this option, and this setting will probably remain the most effective way to block uninvited upgrades.

Note -- The Group Policy Editor normally isn't available in Windows 7 Home editions, but there's a way around that, too:
How to Enable "Group Policy Editor" (gpedit.msc) in Windows 7 Home Premium, Home Basic, and Starter Editions
http://www.askvg.com/how-to-enable-grou ... -editions/

B) Further down in the comments, "Jos V" lists some of the relevant updates. I got the titles from MS's website:

KB2952664 Compatibility update for upgrading Windows 7
KB2999226 Update for Universal C Runtime in Windows
KB3035583 Update installs Get Windows 10 app in Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 SP1 (the GWX nag that everyone loves lol)
KB3068708 Update for customer experience and diagnostic telemetry aka CEIP (superceded KB3022345)
KB3080149 Update for customer experience and diagnostic telemetry (not sure the difference between this & the above one; the descriptions are the same.)
KB3075249 Update that adds telemetry points to consent.exe (aka UAC) in Windows 8.1 and Windows 7

Direct link for the comments to that article:
http://forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/1 ... 0_updates/
The GP Editor post is about the 4th comment down; the other one is further down. Other good suggestions (and plenty of complaining lol) in the comments too.

The Register is where I get most of my IT and related news (and also BOFH stories).

[Pendraguin]

I uninstalled the updates, hid them in AP, and set Windows Updates to only get Important Updates, as well as check for updates but not install them automatically. So far I have yet to be nagged again. I think I'll try installing gpedit too; we use it at work and I know there are lots of interesting settings (that I won't need to change but will anyway.)

I would not mind the free upgrade to the latest OS, but my computer can barely handle Windows 7. Minimum specs are only recommended for people with lots of patience or are gluttons for punishment.

[Whatacrock]

KB3097877 Update Causing Issues on Windows 7, Windows 8.1

One of the updates that Microsoft shipped on this month’s Patch Tuesday is causing trouble on a number of computers, and probably the only good news is that Windows 10 seems to be on the safe side for now.

Windows update KB3097877, which was part of security update MS15-115, is the source of a major problem experienced by users on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, with some seeing network login issues and crashes of the ASUS Audio Center happening all of a sudden.

At the same time, a number of Windows 7 users have also revealed that their gadgets are crashing after installing this update, as the sidebar that stays on the desktop no longer seems to run for more than a couple of seconds.

And last but not least, both Windows 7 and 8.1 appear to be impacted by an Outlook issue that makes the email client crash completely when users attempt to open HTML links. Both Outlook 2010 and Outlook 2013 are reportedly affected.
No “official” fix

For the moment, Microsoft is yet to acknowledge the problem and the update is still up for grabs, so if you are looking into an easy method to resolve all these issues, the only way to do it is to completely uninstall the update and hide it until a fix is provided.

To do that, go into Control Panel > Programs and features > Installed updates, and then search for KB3097877. Right-click, uninstall, and you’re good to go.

In case you’re wondering, KB3097877 is an update that’s specifically developed to address a vulnerability in OpenType fonts, with Microsoft saying that attackers who successfully exploit it can get the same privileges as the logged-on user. This is clearly a major risk, so the company had better look into reports and fix the problems as soon as possible.

In the meantime, make sure you don’t click any malicious files, links or documents landing in your inbox and coming from unknown and untrusted sources.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/kb309787 ... 6053.shtml

[parkd1]

Microsoft surreptitiously reissues botched patch KB 3097877 for Windows 7

As best I can tell, around 1:30 a.m. Redmond time on Thursday, Nov. 12, Microsoft re-released KB 3097877 -- the horribly messed-up security patch I talked about yesterday that freezes Outlook, blocks network logons, crashes the Asus DX Xonar driver, and kills Win7 sidebar gadgets and SolidWorks, among others.

The patch is part of security bulletin MS15-115, a "critical update," in Microsoft's lexicon, designed to prevent remote code execution triggered by malicious fonts. Yes, fonts.
[ Everything you need to know about Windows 10, in a handy PDF. Download it today! | For the latest changes and updates, see "Where Windows 10 stands right now." | Stay up on key Microsoft technologies with the Windows newsletter. ]

The KB article was updated at 1:42 a.m. Redmond time to say:

This security update was rereleased on November 11, 2015 for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 to resolve an issue where crashes occurred in all supported versions of Microsoft Outlook when users were reading certain emails.

I've seen no other official description of the problem or its solution. The master list of Windows updates doesn't list a re-release. Several TechNet threads mention a second version of KB 3097877, but I haven't seen any official confirmation or description. It's mushroom patch management time.

It looks like the patch was only re-released for Windows 7, not for any of the other Windows versions. I had anecdotal evidence on AskWoody.com that the patch had been pulled for Windows 7 on the night of Nov. 11, at least for a short time.

That means it took Microsoft 30 hours or more to pull the bad KB 3097877 and 36 hours to get a new version posted. That's the kind of timescale we were accustomed to earlier this year. Considering that the failure seems to affect all versions of Windows 7 running all versions of Outlook, it's hard to understand why the problem wasn't caught in testing -- and why it took so long to make it right.

It's also not clear why Microsoft re-released the patch with the same KB number as the bad patch. That's going to make life difficult for some admins. For those who hang their tails out in the breeze and turn on Windows Automatic Update, though, it means that a run through Windows Update will solve the old problems, and you're not likely to notice that anything's been updated.

If you can get to Windows Update.

If the new version really solves all the problems.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/300444 ... ows-7.html