Microsoft fixes critical flaw affecting every version of Windows

[RV_]

Today's windows updates caught me by surprise as I usually am downloading them to my systems before they are pushed out after 12 noon local. Today's you might want to go near a free hotspot if you haven't the data plan to support the downloads.

 

Excerpt:

 

"The software giant said the flaws could allow an attacker to remotely run malware if a user opens specially crafted media content that's hosted on a website.

 

This month's bumper release of security patches has one bulletin that affects every supported version of Windows.

 

Microsoft said on its regularly scheduled Patch Tuesday that users on Windows Vista and later -- including Windows 10 -- should patch as soon as possible to prevent attackers from exploiting a flaw in how the operating system handles media files.

 

The "critical" bulletin (MS16-027) patches an issue that could allow an attacker to remotely execute code or malware as the logged-in user.

 

Those who are logged in as an administrator are at the greatest risk.

 

An attacker would have to trick a user into opening a specially-crafted media file, which would let the attacker take control of the entire system.

 

The good news is that Microsoft said the flaw was privately reported and is not thought to have been actively exploited in the wild by malicious actors."

 

More details on the rest of the patches with links to related are here: http://www.zdnet.com/article/march-2016-patch-tuesday/?tag=nl.e589&s_cid=e589&ttag=e589&ftag=TREc64629f

[kountryguy1]

Will this update be done automatically on Windows 10?

[RV_]

Depends on your settings. Yes it will be pushed to all who have it set to update automagically.

[Pieere]

Thanks RV!

[Jim & Alice]

Much thanks, RV. I'll get my other two systems online and caught up.

HB

[DJW]

Thanks RV

 

Done

 

Dennis

[RV_]

YW guys. There is a very serious vulnerability patched that was listed as only important. Again, the crooks have the keys to our house and we need to do the updates to change the locks soonest.

[bigjim]

You guys may not be the best ask based on your computer time. Especially RV, Stan, & Kirk. So what happens if you are not on your computer for extended periods like say a month or even longer. Do the updates just stack up and the first thing you do when you log back on is do all the updates.

[RV_]

Jim,

The updates come out once a month usually, except when a vulnerability is being heavily exploited. I've seen that once a year or less. They come out the second Tuesday of each month. So since the online criminals work to reverse engineer what was patched, they can attack them. See, 60% of users never patch. So they can run out and successfully attack those types.

 

This is true of all OS'. It's funny but when told "their" OS can have vulnerabilities they talk about how their OS auto patches, then complain when Windows starts.

 

You should see me here doing 9 systems because I've not gotten around to advertising and selling the 5 we don't use or need. I set them up as "User" for the owner's name on setup. And have all updates done as well as open source software loaded. So keeping up is important to me. It's just a ten minute sidetrack once a month. Or we can just let them autoupdate. Does that answer or am I missing the question?

[wildmandmc]

You guys may not be the best ask based on your computer time. Especially RV, Stan, & Kirk. So what happens if you are not on your computer for extended periods like say a month or even longer. Do the updates just stack up and the first thing you do when you log back on is do all the updates.

hey bigjim, when you next login to your pc. aka turn it on again. updates will then begin, same principal if you restored pc/laptop to factory settings all updates from when it was first released will then be (re installed). also for all if your pc/laptop is not on. it can't get infected.

[bigjim]

Ok I think I am getting it. So if I didn't use it for say 3, 4, 5, months are so, it would all be waiting there for me like a big surprise. I would guess this would it woud take a while to do these updates when you log on again. (fyi) I have mine set to not auto update but almost without fail the 1st thing I do is check and do updates.

[Bill Joyce]

bigjim: Once updates stack up, some updates might have to install, reboot and then more will come down. That is because some updates require others to be installed, or an update might have installed a new version of some piece, like Media Viewer, and it has updates once installed. For example, you might have 51 updates, install and reboot, then another 6, install and reboot, and then another 2 updates before it is done.

[Pieere]

This old Dell W/7 must have done close to 200 updates as it hadn't been used for close to a year!. Just recharged the battery about once a month, use it quite a bit now, too old of a model to upgrade to W/10 according to the manufacturer website! Tried it once recently and it never even tried to download!

[RV_]

Pieere,

One of my soon to be sold laptops is an old Compac with DDR2 RAM and only 2 GBs of that, and a single core Celeron. Even with Windows 7 it took several minutes to complete booting. I upgraded it to 4GB of RAM matched, and cloned the 160 GB HD to a 256GB SSD. It is fast now, not screams but doesn't drive me to drink when I am waiting for it to boot.

 

I actually was curious if the old system would take 10 but like yours it would not even try for about three months. It said that as soon as the hardware drivers were updated by the manufacturer it would then upgrade. I doubted HP would spend the money on a computer as old as this one, and then one day it said it was ready and upgraded just fine. It took forever it seemed.

 

Remember even the Windows tablets of today are using Quad core Atoms that are faster feeling than the i5s and 7s of five years ago. I own right now two i5s, a Surface Pro and a Lenovo All In One (AIO) desktop and one Dell i7 AIO, an Atom Z3795, another Atom Z3770, and a desktop mini with the Z3735, then a couple of AMD quad core A6 and 8, and one Celeron. So the old single core Pentiums and Core2 duos are slugs by comparison with the Z3735 found in the smallest least expensive Windows tablets for normal use.

 

But if it uses DDR3 RAM it's newer than the Compaq I upgraded just fine. Keep checking as 10 runs faster than 7 on my machines.

[bigjim]

I like the way you explained Dutch. Much as I appreciate RV sometimes he makes my head hurt.

[steve101]

The touch screen on my dell 3000 series quit working, notification said updates ready to install. Installed updates and touch worked again. First time touch had quit working on it. Will run security scans (Avira and Malwarebytes)

[RV_]

I would too.

 

Hey Jim! That is what is good about forums, if the thingamajig that's connected to the doolywhatsis can be explained five ways then it usually is. And there will be five people who each likes only one.

 

The important thing to me is for the info to get across whoever has the best way to communicate it.

 

I had a coworker at Lackland AFB Small Arms Training unit tell me that when I first got there he was convinced I looked up "Big Words" every night to try to impress them. But I turned to be an OK guy. I told him that my previous 4 year's of duty as a Medic in charge of hospital infection control, sterilization of instruments, and physiology and anatomy to give emergent care and do minor procedures in the field, as well as assisting in surgeries and doing all the treatments and tasks for our patients in recovery was suddenly ended by the overage of medics at the drawdown from Vietnam. We were given the choice of three critical career fields. I did not get my first choice, bioenvironmental health technologist. I got my last choice, teaching AF personnel to shoot, and fixing the weapons when they broke. It worked out anyway.

 

I told him that coming from professional health care, and working closely with fellow health care professionals as well as teaching them parts of it, makes my normal vocabulary what it is. If I changed it to only use small words and became careful around others to not speak normally then I would be looking down on them in acting as if they were unable to understand me. He said he liked it better since I told him to stop me whenever I used a word they did not fully understand, and with no ego or superiority I'd give them the definition and they'd have it too. I realized a in my mid 20s, that when folks became antagonistic with me because of education or languages, It was not my problem. (I speak two languages fluently and another almost, and two I can get by in with the normal necessaries like where is this and directions to that,and a list of phrases I needed, and can do phrases in a few more.)

 

So I stopped apologizing or thinking it was my problem. I never looked for anyone to look down on to feel big myself. In fact I am a very happy guy with my life and my wife. No one can please everyone. But some folks intentionally try to knock some folks down because they feel threatened either in position or standing.

 

So I have heard that before Jim. If I ever cornfuse again, just ask. I don't use those questions as an opportunity to feel big because I was a beginner in every one of them once myself. I wasn't too proud to ask for help from the locals in learning every language, and asked for them to correct me. I sure needed a lot of help in Combat Arms as a new guy with four stripes but a beginner in that field. Some a-ciphers used those as opportunities to laugh behind my back but I found the answers with another and rose to the top of that field too.

 

No harm no foul Jim. Glad you got your answer.

[RV_]

Steve101,

Which 3000? Full model number? (Not Service tag or express code or serial number but the full model number?)

[steve101]

Hey RV it is a Inspiron 3147 i3147-3750sLV , just starting scans

[RV_]

The next time this happens check your touch screen settings and make sure it is enabled like this:

 

1. Press and hold the “Windows Key” and then press the “Q” key on the keyboard.

2. Type “Control Panel” in the search box.

3. Open “Control Panel”.

4. Open “Hardware and Sound”. (If you are viewing your control panel with icons switch the "View by" in the upper right of the Control panel main screen and change it to view by category. Then you will see Hardware and Sound)

5. Go to “Pen and Touch”.

6. Move to the “Touch” tab.

7. Ensure “User your finger as an input device” is checked. See the image below:

 

 

If touch is enabled then a driver was at fault that was replaced in the last update. I hope it was not malware. Good luck and let me know if any malware shows. Another very good tool is Norton Power eraser found here: https://security.symantec.com/nbrt/npe.aspx

 

Install it and when you run it it will immediately ask to restart the computer always let it as it will check for Rootkits before Windows loads and then will continue to scan the drives/partitions when it reboots. I also scan with Malwarebytes as a back up but I paid for Malwarebytes premium lifetime license with real time protection as a back up to Windows Defender. The free is as good but you have to manually update and it will not do real time protection. But once installed and updated, and when used you update it before running the scan, it gives the same great scan detection and cleaning as Premium.

 

BTW the touch screen is actually a USB input device on the USB bus.

[bigjim]

I was just yanking your chain a little as I had not made anyone mad today. I know most of the time the issue is on my end. Stan helped me once years ago and when the dust cleared I found I had followed his instructions perfectly except for clicking on the "radio knob" as I couldn't figure out what that was and wasn't computer intuitive enough to just google it. I may be slow but I keep on plugging away.

[steve101]

Both scans ran and did not show any malware, I did check the touch settings but did not touch the test icon, but it was active. I wish I had bought the premium version of Malwarebytes when it was a one time purchase. I guess the touch was disabled when the update was downloaded until it was installed and a restart was done. The dell came with 8.1 and I did not like it, upgraded to 10 recently and after a month or so I have become comfortable with 10 enjoy using it.

 

Thanks for your help and thoughts on this issue, Steve

[RV_]

Same here! But I did early 8 developer previews and then the real thing with touch on first my non touch desktops and MS did make it too touch oriented like they expected all to go out and replace all their systems. I just so happened to get a Surface RT Tablet in Jan 2013 ( debuted in October 2012 with $14.99 special offers for Windows 8 until 31Jan 2013,) and was about to uninstall 8 on all my systems when I got the RT tablet. Even though not Windows 8, it we set up the same and I learned what I needed to really make 8 fly, so I bought the HP x2 hybrid tablet/ultrabook with full 8 and was hooked. When 8.1 came out it was better adding the red x top right to close programs in desktop. Now 10 and I never use tablet mode on my tablets or desktops. four months ago or so I had: Non-touch screens 3- one Windows 7 HP Tower max RAM/SSD'd desktop my wife had, and two Win 7 laptops. The rest with touch screens were two Windows 8.1 Tablets, one 8.1 All In one touch desktop for my main system, and one 8.1 mini non touch I forgot about.

 

I too was tired of trying to remember which way to do what thing on the three OS'. I finally got them all on 10 and it is great!

 

My pleasure bud, ask away if I can be of any help again.

[RV_]

No harm no foul Jim.