PrintNightmare! *article for the more advanced user(s)*

 

Researchers at a security firm, has found a Windows vulnerability that affects the Windows Print Spooler service, and have labelled it PrintNightmare. This vulnerability allows hackers or those able to exploit this to remotely gain access to the operating system, and install programs, view and delete data, and even create new user accounts with full admin rights. 

Microsoft has released an update to patch this flaw, and is urging everyone to install this update immediately.  They have released updates for Windows 10, Windows 8, and even Windows 7 (for which support ended in 2020). Microsoft has released an update for several server versions as well.

The updates, labelled - July 6, 2021—KB5004945 (OS Builds 19041.1083, 19042.1083, and 19043.1083) Out-of-band & July 7, 2021— KB5005007 (OS Build 17784.1769) Out-of-Band in order to install these updates via Windows update service, make sure you have May 11, 2021—KB5003173 (OS Builds 19041.985, 19042.985, and 19043.985) installed first.  All these updates, should automatically be installed via Windows update, so you shouldn't have to worry about them. Only thing, is if you have automatic turned off, I'd suggest to turn it on, or do an update scan to get these.

Bleepingcomputer.com has some excellent articles on this topic, including great explanations for the flaw itself and the patches that have been released. They also provide many links as well to the various versions of the patch(es).

Bleepingcomputer.com article on Microsoft: PrintNightmare now patched on all Windows versions

Here's another good article, just detailing that the patch still has some flaws: Microsoft's incomplete PrintNightmare patch fails to fix vulnerability.

Although the majority of us "common" users :) , don't really have much to worry about with this vulnerability, as most end users are not common targets. The majority of targets here will be commercial and higher end companies that have a lot more to exploit than my little lenovo thinkpad. 

So, unless you are running a multi-million dollar, bitcoin mining farm, or the like in your basement and you have several printers set-up, I'd say you are pretty safe by just doing regular windows updates regularly. 

Stay Safe!

Vince

Windows 11 leaked release date!

Well, Microsoft has sneakily done it again. After announcing that Windows 10 would be the final release of Windows, here comes Windows 11! It has been leaked that in October 2021, Windows 11 will be available to all! It is currently in the Beta phase, and I for one am using it currently. 

Now first thing you need to know, is that Windows 11 is not an OS or system upgrade, it is mostly cosmetic. There is a new look to the desktop, new wallpaper, rounded corners on windows, etc.  Mostly just flash in the pan stuff. Right now, Windows 11 is available to anyone who is part of the Windows insider program (Dev channel), so if you are looking at reviewing or want it right now, feel free to join the insider program. You will need a Microsoft account in order to join the program. Don't forget though, with the insider program, these are NOT stable releases of the OS, and they will have bugs etc in it, and if installed wrong may even screw up your system! Remember to back-up anything before you proceed.

A few of the new "changes" are really bright, sharp wallpaper! You can see the desktop quite easily now! Also, a re-located start button, which now resides in the bottom, middle of the screen, as well as a revamped "widgets" screen, and even a new start-up sound! See screenshots below:

 

 

 

Of course, there are specific hardware and software requirements in order to run Windows 11. I will list below the table of minimum requirements for Windows 11.  They will soon release a "PC health check tool" which will basically tell you if your system will run Windows 11.  Here is a link for the Feature-Specific Requirements as well - Feature-Specific Requirements for Windows 11.

In all, this release of Windows 11, was more or less designed to have people purchase new systems in order to get the new OS.  I have been using Windows 11 for a week now, (I am running it on a virtual box) and am not really that impressed so far. There are some driver issues and incompatibilities that still need to be addressed before it becomes more usable.  Keep coming back here for updates, and new links and recommendations!

Processor:	1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with 2 or more cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or System on a Chip (SoC)
RAM:	4 gigabyte (GB)
Storage:	64 GB or larger storage device Note: See below under “More information on storage space to keep Windows 11 up-to-date” for more details.
System firmware:	UEFI, Secure Boot capable
TPM:	Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0
Graphics card:	Compatible with DirectX 12 or later with WDDM 2.0 driver
Display:	High definition (720p) display that is greater than 9” diagonally, 8 bits per color channel
Internet connection and Microsoft accounts:	Windows 11 Home edition requires internet connectivity and a Microsoft account to complete device setup on first use. Switching a device out of Windows 11 Home in S mode also requires internet connectivity. Learn more about S mode here. For all Windows 11 editions, internet access is required to perform updates and to download and take advantage of some features. A Microsoft account is required for some features.