Microsoft Shelves All February Security Updates

Megalith

Megalith

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Microsoft wants you to know what Patch Tuesday would be like if there were no patches to actually download, as an “issue” is forcing that very circumstance. My first thought was that there was just an unforeseen bug in one of the fixes, but some are saying this could do with the “Security Updates Guide,” which succeeds the traditional security bulletin and, evidently, wasn’t well planned in terms of how it would roll out. Others suggest that updates, now being cumulative, have just gotten too darn big to eloquently manage.

Microsoft today took the unprecedented step of postponing an entire month's slate of security updates for Windows and its other products just hours before the patches were to begin rolling out to customers. "We discovered a last-minute issue that could impact some customers and was not resolved in time for our planned updates today," Microsoft said in a post to the MSRC (Microsoft Security Research Center) blog. "After considering all options, we made the decision to delay this month's updates."
 
Smart move. Cumulative or not, this was a smart move on their part.
 
I am beginning to think Microsoft's new motto is "If it is fixed, break it."

Update system was fine like it was. Each update listed separately with a description and a KB number so that you could do more research.

Humans are funny.
 
What they really meant was "We found an entirely new way of forcing updates on users by sneaking them into any update we release so we're retooling things to make the process even more underhanded than it already was..." or words to that effect. I sure hope I'm wrong but my first instinct says that's along the lines of what's going on. ;)
 
i never installed them anyway.

if you don't tell me what's incorporated in to them, i'm not using it.
 
Master_shake_ said:
i never installed them anyway.

if you don't tell me what's incorporated in to them, i'm not using it.
Click to expand...

This. Sadly, Microsoft has implemented a system that forces end users to accept unknown software being installed on their machines or skip updates altogether. Either violates Security Principles 101.

I wonder if anyone at Microsoft has done the bandwidth calculations on when the bandwidth needed to support hundreds of millions of people downloading years of cumulative patches will exceed the capacity of Microsoft's systems?
 
I have to say Windows Updates need a complete rethink from top to bottom. The take too long, they don't install, they take ages to download, they screw up reboots and shut downs. Now I don't have too many issues with my main rig but I get to support a lot of kit in all states of Windows condition and it aint pretty out there. I love it when an update wont go on and then it just screws the operation of a laptop as it has to re-download, re-prepare for install (wtf is that all about), then try to install, delay the shut down, delay the reboot, say its failed and repeat over and over.

Then I use my Chromebook, it indicates an update has happened, I reboot and 8 seconds later I'm back. All done.

In this day and age Windows updates seem increasingly stupid in how they work. Why does a 300MB update take longer to install than the entire OS?
 
DrLobotomy said:
I am beginning to think Microsoft's new motto is "If it is fixed, break it."

Update system was fine like it was. Each update listed separately with a description and a KB number so that you could do more research.

Humans are funny.
Click to expand...

More like corporate meetings are funny. Some how some way absolute shit ideas get passed around there and nobody criticizes them I guess.

"Let's force everybody to upgrade to windows 10"

"Let's force everybody to use the metro UI, even server operators!"

"Brilliant idea Johnson! You're getting a raise."
 
sirgallium said:
More like corporate meetings are funny. Some how some way absolute shit ideas get passed around there and nobody criticizes them I guess.

"Let's force everybody to upgrade to windows 10"

"Let's force everybody to use the metro UI, even server operators!"

"Brilliant idea Johnson! You're getting a raise."
Click to expand...


You are closer to the truth than you know.

In corporations there is a culture of "anti-negativity" however, its basically a cover for "Do not criticise the snowflakes!"

I worked for a big corporation. I had worked there for 18 years from boy in the post room to IT Manager. I had done all the clerical jobs, knew the business and its people inside out. For years you only worked there if you knew the business. Made sense as people knew what they were talking about.

Then around the turn of the century it got trendy to bring in people from other types of business. The 'He's so hot right now!' types. These guys would turn up and proclaim they had invented the wheel and us old guys would go "We tried that already...twice...doesnt work!"

The corp also at that time decided to push university graduates up the promotion ladder faster so we had senior managers aged around 25 with zero business experience thinking 'they are so hot right now' also telling us "Hey I've invented the wheel!"

We'd gently shoot them down too. All we were trying to do was save them and the company time and money. Our line of business was quite narrow. You couldn't go crazy with it. Our experience told us what would work and what wouldn't.

Anyway things started to change.

Us guys who knew the business were slowly left off the meeting agendas, we weren't asked along to 'brainstorming sessions', we were told we were being 'negative', we were told we were 'old school'.

Basically the dipshits could not stand being shown up for their lack of knowledge and experience so basically pushed us all out. So we left and were happy to go. If a company doesn't hold any value for experienced staff then they deserve to fail.

Since I left the company has gone through several re-orgs and had several major failed projects and products due to a lack of anyone wanting to see any pitfalls or knowing the end to process of 'how things work'. Wouldn't have happened in my day...
 
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daglesj said:
You are closer to the truth than you know.

In corporations there is a culture of "anti-negativity" however, its basically a cover for "Do not criticise the snowflakes!"

I worked for a big corporation. I had worked there for 18 years from boy in the post room to IT Manager. I had done all the clerical jobs, knew the business and its people inside out. For years you only worked there if you knew the business. Made sense as people knew what they were talking about.

Then around the turn of the century it got trendy to bring in people from other types of business. The 'He's so hot right now!' types. These guys would turn up and proclaim they had invented the wheel and us old guys would go "We tried that already...twice...doesnt work!"

The corp also at that time decided to push university graduates up the promotion ladder faster so we had senior managers aged around 25 with zero business experience thinking 'they are so hot right now' also telling us "Hey I've invented the wheel!"

We'd gently shoot them down too. All we were trying to do was save them and the company time and money. Our line of business was quite narrow. You couldn't go crazy with it. Our experience told us what would work and what wouldn't.

Anyway things started to change.

Us guys who knew the business were slowly left off the meeting agendas, we weren't asked along to 'brainstorming sessions', we were told we were being 'negative', we were told we were 'old school'.

Basically the dipshits could not stand being shown up for their lack of knowledge and experience so basically pushed us all out. So we left and were happy to go. If a company doesn't hold any value for experienced staff then they deserve to fail.

Since I left the company has gone through several re-orgs and had several major failed projects and products due to a lack of anyone wanting to see any pitfalls or knowing the end to process of 'how things work'. Wouldn't have happened in my day...
Click to expand...

That's basically what I assumed, nice to see it confirmed. I've worked for large corps and the story is the same there as with you and another person I talked to who worked for one for over 20 years. Meetings all day every day where almost nothing gets done. That's how they look like they're being productive but actually sit around drinking coffee. Seriously the place I worked over half the time I ran into a big enough issue where I had to talk to the boss about how to proceed he would be in yet another meeting and I would have to wait an hour or two and hope he wasn't in another one by the time I checked again. Then he would come out and see the issue "I came all the way down here for this? It's fine."

What happened to better safe than sorry? Yeah that's a small taste of why I don't work there anymore.

We also had a guy fresh out of college in a semi high level position who everybody admitted he didn't have enough experience for. Sure he had the schooling but he could have used a year or two real world job experience to understand the place before going higher up. He also looked and acted stoned 24x7. Now I don't mind indulging myself once in a while but seriously, he always had this dopey grin and squinty eyes and talked like "yeah man" all the time. God it makes even me embarrassed and I'm not even him. Haha. He is still in "college mode" mindset apparently. Nice guy and everything. This was a bit ranty. Mostly it was just he was a great example of what you were saying how they over promote new grads as part of the "hot new thing" agenda.

Yeah the anti-negativity is something I have observed a lot in corporate culture. I remember reading one man on reddit who said he was up high in the microsoft business and was in meetings with VPs and other really high up people all the time. When they were developing bing I guess one of the guys in charge was saying it all enthusiastically every time like "Bing!" like a quick energetic "Bing!" why go to google when you can just "Bing!" I guess was his argument for saying it that way. Made it sound spunkier or whatever. What an asshole. Anyway. So this guy on reddit he's just saying it like a normal human bean and the high up guy calls him on it says you better start saying it like I am with enthusiasm and the guy didn't so he got fired LOL. Man. What a shitshow corporate meetings can be.

Yeah he was absolutely devistated because he had been making the big bucks at ms.
 
sirgallium said:
That's basically what I assumed, nice to see it confirmed. I've worked for large corps and the story is the same there as with you and another person I talked to who worked for one for over 20 years. Meetings all day every day where almost nothing gets done. That's how they look like they're being productive but actually sit around drinking coffee. Seriously the place I worked over half the time I ran into a big enough issue where I had to talk to the boss about how to proceed he would be in yet another meeting and I would have to wait an hour or two and hope he wasn't in another one by the time I checked again. Then he would come out and see the issue "I came all the way down here for this? It's fine."

What happened to better safe than sorry? Yeah that's a small taste of why I don't work there anymore.
.
Click to expand...

I remember before I left I needed to get some new software in for a group of 60 engineers. The old software and system was being switched off on say September the 1st and I had been trying to get approval from certain "hotshots" to get the new system in place a few weeks before then. I had to have meeting after meeting and no one was interested. I basically got told "we don't think it's that important blah blah!" I just needed budget sign-off and a cost centre to give me the budget. I would do the rest.

So I sent an email to all the hotshots saying -

"Guys,

Thanks for your help and support on this project for the past few months. I'm disappointed that no one has the required interest or budget to arrange to sort this issue bu these things happen. We all have our priorities.

However, I would like one of you to nominate yourself as a point of contact for the CEO for when he calls up on the 2nd of September asking why hundreds of his customers are ringing in to complain they cannot get their cars repaired. I don't mind who it is, I can pick one if no one wants to choose?"


Guess what... I had a cost centre and budget within 8 minutes of sending that email!

Often before I left I just flat out challenged these people with "So the reason you won't do it is, you are either lazy or incompetent? Which is it?"

You could tell by the end I just didn't care anymore.
 
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February 2017 security update release

UPDATE: 2/15/17: We will deliver updates as part of the planned March Update Tuesday, March 14, 2017.

Our top priority is to provide the best possible experience for customers in maintaining and protecting their systems. This month, we discovered a last minute issue that could impact some customers and was not resolved in time for our planned updates today.

After considering all options, we made the decision to delay this month’s updates. We apologize for any inconvenience caused by this change to the existing plan.

MSRC
 
Dead Parrot said:
I wonder if anyone at Microsoft has done the bandwidth calculations on when the bandwidth needed to support hundreds of millions of people downloading years of cumulative patches will exceed the capacity of Microsoft's systems?
Click to expand...

Then they'll go P2P with updates. I'm kind of surprised that hasn't happened already.
 
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