Author Archives: Debra Littlejohn Shinder
Not Again! Problems with Office Patches
Patch Tuesday hasn’t been going so well lately. Last month, Microsoft had to recall patches that caused problems with Exchange and ADFS. This month, Microsoft issued a number of patches designed to fix security vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office programs, but …
September Patch Tuesday
We’re kicking off the Patch Central blog with a fairly hefty Patch Tuesday from Microsoft. This month brings us fourteen security bulletins, half of which pertain to Microsoft Office. The good news is that those who are using the latest …
The End of Patching is in Sight for Windows® XP
You can’t claim you didn’t have plenty of warning: Microsoft™ announced way back in 2011 that the end of extended support for Windows XP would come in 2014. Full mainstream support ended in 2009, but security updates have kept on …
Welcome to Patch Central!
In the wake of Patch Tuesday each month, when Microsoft™ releases its regular security updates, there is no shortage of blog posts about the latest fixes. Unfortunately, many of those posts are little more than a list of MS and …
Critical Patch Recall: Updates Cause Problems with Exchange and ADFS
Microsoft released eight updates to address 23 vulnerabilities, but within hours, serious problems were emerging. The software update process is intended to make systems more secure and head off potential problems for users and admins but as with anything else …
Windows® 8.1: Is it Enough to Drive Enterprise Adoption?
Some of my fellow “oldies but goodies” may remember a family sitcom from the late 1970s called “Eight is Enough.” Unfortunately for Microsoft™, that adage hasn’t proven true in regard to their latest operating system. After a wave of enthusiasm …
Is IT too Important to Be Trusted to IT Pros?
You didn’t always have to go to medical school and get a license from the state to practice medicine. The first licensing laws in the U.S. were passed in the 1800s but then repealed in most states, and many states …
The Endpoint Is a Moving Target
Once upon a time, when we talked about securing our networks from edge to endpoint, both ends of that route were pretty easy to define. Now not only has the perimeter blurred and blended so that it’s hard to determine …
Take Control from the Cloud
Way back in 2007, Microsoft invited me, along with several other writers from the IT community, to attend an “IT pro townhall meeting” in Redmond. I remember sitting in a room on campus, listening to Mark Minasi and George Ou …
Email Archiving Doesn’t Have to be a DIY Project
The “do it yourself” craze is big, and there’s a good reason for that. You can learn a lot, save money, and ensure that things get done your way. But there’s a down side, as well. The success (or not) …











