Microsoft pulls a patch and How to remove installed Windows Updates and block them afterwards

How to remove installed Windows Updates and block them afterwards

If you have installed the updates that Microsoft released on this patch day you may have noticed issues with your machine afterwards.

Users on Windows 7 started to notice that Windows Defender would not start up anymore for example, and that the Diagnostic Tool of the operating system was not working correctly as well.

Some users reported that Windows would not start at all anymore and several other issues such as that the Microsoft Management Console would ask for admin credentials while logged in as an admin or that the installation of Microsoft Security Essentials failed.

The update that caused the issue this time is KB3004394. It is an update for the Windows Root Certificate Program which speeds up the updating of root certificates from once per week to once every 24 hours.

Windows users who ran into issues with the update had no choice but to remove it from the system again. This guide walks you through the steps of uninstalling Windows Updates and blocking them from being installed automatically.

Uninstall a Windows Update

The way you do that works similar in all recent versions of Windows.

1. Tap on the Windows-key on your keyboard and type remove a program.
2. Select the result add or remove programs from the list of search results.
3. This opens a Windows Control Panel window which lists all installed programs on the system.
4. Select view installed updates on the left side of the window.
5. This displays all updates installed on the system.
6. You can use the search at the top now to find the update you are looking for, or browse the listing manually if you prefer it that way. If you do the second, click on the installed on header to sort the updates chronologically which often helps find the problematic update faster.
7. Once you have located the update right-click it and select uninstall from the menu.
8. This removes it from the system.
9. Note that you may need to restart the PC before the process ends.

GO HERE TO READ MORE

http://www.ghacks.net/2014/12/11/how-to-remove-installed-windows-updates-and-block-them-afterwards/

 

Microsoft Security Bulletin Releases for December 10, 2014
Posted by Philipp Esselbach on: 12/11/2014 08:54 AM [ Print | 0 comment(s) ]
Microsoft has updated security bulletin MS14-075 Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server Could Allow Elevation of Privilege





Summary
=======

The following bulletins have undergone a major revision increment.

* MS14-075 - Important


Bulletin Information:
=====================

MS14-075 - Important

- Title: Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server Could Allow
Elevation of Privilege
- https://technet.microsoft.com/library/security/ms14-075
- Reason for Revision: V2.0 (December 10, 2014): Revised bulletin
to remove Download Center link for Microsoft security update
2986475 for Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 3 to
address a known issue with the update. Microsoft is working
to address the issue, and will update this bulletin when more
information becomes available. Microsoft has removed update
2986475 and recommends that customers uninstall update 2986475
if they have already installed it.
- Originally posted: December 9, 2014
- Updated: December 10, 2014
- Bulletin Severity Rating: Important
- Version: 2.0


Other Information
=================

Recognize and avoid fraudulent email to Microsoft customers:
=============================================================
If you receive an email message that claims to be distributing
a Microsoft security update, it is a hoax that may contain
malware or pointers to malicious websites. Microsoft does
not distribute security updates via email.

The Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) uses PGP to digitally
sign all security notifications. However, PGP is not required for
reading security notifications, reading security bulletins, or
installing security updates. You can obtain the MSRC public PGP key
at https://technet.microsoft.com/security/dn753714
http://www.ntcompatible.com/news/story/microsoft_security_bulletin_releases_for_december_102014.html

 

Microsoft pulls a patch and offers PHANTOM FIX for the mess
KB3004394 is a hot mess and the replacement KB3024777 was elusive

Another Patch Tuesday, another mess for Microsoft, which has pulled update 3004394, aka “December 2014 update for Windows Root Certificate Program in Windows”.

Redmond says the patch “is causing additional problem on computers that are running Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1. This includes the inability to install future updates. “


The advisory for 3004394 offers a page called “3024777 You cannot install Windows updates after KB 3004394 is installed on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2” as the source of a fix.

3024777 is now live, but the Web offers plenty of mentions of Windows Update popping up and pointing to the new update several hours before it became available.

Sevenforums.com, for example, carries a thread in which posters report a greyed-out download option for 3024777 and a web page offering no information.

Those reports of 3024777 as a phantom appeared about 20 hours before your correspondent wrote this story.

3004394 is the second fluffed update this month. Microsoft also pulled a patch in October and also made a mess of updates issued in August .

Microsoft personnel yesterday told your correspondent that security is now one of the company's strengths and that the enhanced security features coming in Windows 10 will make customers even more confident that Microsoft has their back.

Redmond will need something to improve if that prediction's to be realised, because fluffing patches in three out of four months is neither a good look or a sign of an organisation that's on top of security. ®
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/12/12/microsoft_pulls_a_patch_and_offers_phantom_fix_for_the_mess/

 

Merry Christmas Mr Gates.

 

Microsoft pulls buggy Patch Tuesday updates
Two updates were beset by technical issues, forcing Microsoft to issue another update to remove the faulty software.

Microsoft's December Patch Tuesday didn't exactly ring in the holidays in a merry way.

Launched this past Tuesday, the latest round of Microsoft updates contained two that were beset with technical woes. In response, Microsoft had to pull one of the updates and advise enterprise customers to roll back the second one.

Known as KB3004394, the first buggy update related to Microsoft's Windows Root Certificate Program, which automatically distributes trusted root certificates in Windows. The update created trouble specifically with computers running Windows 7 Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 by clobbering their ability to install future updates.

In response, Microsoft has issued a new update that removes the KB3004394 update from affected systems.

The second buggy update is geared toward enterprise customers and IT administrators as it affects Microsoft Exchange. On December 10, Microsoft announced that an issue was found in the Exchange Server 2010 SP3 Update Rollup 8, which could impact the ability of Outlook clients to connect to an Exchange server. In response, Microsoft has recalled the specific update and is trying to revise it to fix the problem. The company advises enterprise customers to hold off on this update or roll it back if already installed.

read more here
http://www.cnet.com/news/microsoft-pulls-buggy-patch-tuesday-updates/

Microsoft Updates