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Windows 7 Users Who Installed January Update Report Network Issues; Some Say the Update Has Also Incorrectly Flagged Their OS License as 'Not Genuine' (itpro.co.uk)
Some Windows 7 admins are feeling the pain of Microsoft's latest updates in this week's Patch Tuesday releases. From a report: Users who've installed this Tuesday's KB4480970 cumulative January update have been complaining of network connectivity issues on those devices based on a network that uses the SMBv2 file sharing protocol. Microsoft released its update to fix several identified vulnerabilities, including a remote execution flaw in PowerShell and to add robustness against side-channel attacks like those targeting the Meltdown and Spectre flaws. But a number of users immediately complained of networking issues, with Microsoft confirming there are now three known problems with the January patch. The other issues comprise an authentication error, and a file-sharing issue affecting some user accounts. ZDNet adds: Regarding the 'Not Genuine' Windows 7 error, Microsoft confirms that "some users are reporting the KMS Activation error, 'Not Genuine', 0xc004f200 on Windows 7 devices". "We are aware of this incident and are presently investigating it. We will provide an update when available," writes Microsoft on both KB4480960 and KB4480970.
These "patches"are getting to be almost as complex as the feature updates. Why would security updates be changing so much? Even mitigating a complex attack shouldn't require a registry hack to fix broken functionality.
Looks like Home and Pro users are guinea pigs for more than just the semi annual updates now. How did this even make it out of testing?
Every single update of windows 10 comes with a desactivation bug lately.
It has to be a feature to sell more licenses which is in beta mode, it will be recognized as official soon or later...
Sorry, I forgot that guinea pigs don't get paid.
Not AGAIN.
Turn off auto updates
Check for updates by hand
Only if the update was at least a week old update at a time of my choosing
Of course when I tried this on windows 10 check for updates is now check for the latest alpha updates and immediately apply them.
Did you know 80 to 90% of the moderators on slashdot wouldn't recognize a troll even if one dragged them under a bridge.
Deja vu all over again.
The house of cards is coming down. Microsoft has become as unstable and unreliable as a company as Windows used to be, and the incompetence has surged to business-threatening levels.
Get out ASAP, for your own sake. Denial will not help.
Yeah, I read the patch notes last night. I saw the long list of known issues and thought, screw that. This 'security rollup' clearly isn't ready for prime time.
Home users still actually use them and business users still install them without testing? Sorry but Windows 7 exists on my PC only for gaming and all updates are disabled. If I want secure banking I use Linux or a secure PC dedicated for that stuff. Updates mostly are made to break stuff and force the user to upgrade. This is true for many vendors and not just M$.
All 3 issues have now been officially acknowledged by MS
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4480970/windows-7-update-kb4480970
1) the shares issues. Workaround, don't use local account with local admin.
2) the disconnecting NIC issue. Workaround, reinstall NIC
3) the lost activation issue. Workaround, they don't know.
Way to go MS!
At this point, it's difficult to distinguish Microsoft's own ineptness where they put out updates that break things, and actively trying to break those systems so people have to upgrade.
Unfortunately, after many years in the industry, I have learned with Microsoft to never attribute to incompetence what can be attributed to malice.
My cynical view here is that someone issued a directive to break Windows 7. I could be wrong, but I don't extend the goodwill to Microsoft to assume I am.
Really?
I remember the simpler days when things were stable and worked.
This crap is all just a way to convince people to "upgrade" to Windows 10 and even then, Win10 updates are a crap shoot.
Experienced this issue with remote desktop which the update killed. Found others were experiencing the same. Uninstall the update and remote desktop works again.
I copied a 2 GB file, and it took nearly threee weeks. It finally completed and the md5sum checked out, but that's ridiculous. I don't need to access our Windows file share often, but some of my coworkers do. It's driving them nuts.
Every time Windows reboots without explicit user acknowledgement, which invariables causes many problems to the users, Microsoft should pay $1,000 to each user affected by this controlled crash.
Microsoft completely disrespects its users but because of its past and current monopolistic practices many users are forced to put up with it.
the new samba code is painful in Ubuntu 18 (network discovery doesn't work) -- new samba also caused permissions issues on work computers - 2014 or maybe 2015 was probably the best year in computing - since then, change for the sake of changing (and collecting and selling private customer info) has lead to non peaceful operating systems - thankfully I built many offline PCs and VMs based on2015 and earlier OSs where I can peacefully get my work done instead of non-stop researching fixes for broken patches and upgrades
I know I've pulled a random relative's Windows 7 computer out and turned it on after a random amount of time, reinstalled the system with the key on the system, and got it flagged as not genuine.
I think Microsoft just wants you to call up their activation helpline in these edge cases, for a variety of small reasons. Not the least of which would be subtle pushes to want an upgrade on old systems.
But for systems you just want as a garage tool system, or something like a Plex or random file server a relative can maintain, there's no real desire for that.
Ryan Fenton
Should happen sometime in the next six months.
Microsoft dosen't really care about Windows 7 anymore, it is mostly used by third world countries and businesses that are too lazy to upgrade their IE only web apps. So Windows 7 isn't a priority for MS. They will throw a bone to Windows 7 in the form of Chrome-Edge but Windows 7 is basically dying, and Microsoft is paying netcraft to confirm it.
I think the summary meant to say "Users who had their mouths held open and were force fed updates"?
I haven't updated since they started pushing out the Windows 10 "upgrade assistant."
Actually RDP also broke in win10 with KB4483234 ... (as well as win7)
instead of uninstalling the patches, you can fix it like this:
Run gpedit.msc
Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System -> Credentials Delegation -> Encryption Oracle Remediation
Change it to Enable and in Protection level, change back to Vulnerable.
enjoy! :) (and yes, as a sysadmin, I'm really tired of MS bs patching)
You youngsters always eager to use things right away. When you grow a little common sense will learn that impacience has consequences.
> I was able to roll back the updates and even disabled future updates, but that poses security issues.
Major security issues. If you're not being targeted by the NSA, the vast majority of attacks on Windows machines are taking advantage of known issues that have been addressed via updates. So lacking the updates makes a big difference to security. The "mean time to compromise", how quickly an internet-connected machine is hacked, is under 10 minutes for an unpatched Windows machine.
Thank you Microsoft! May I have another?
And yet . . . the affected Windows 7 machines are still more useful than their Windows 10 brethren . . .
I have been continually satisfied and reassured that I disabled all Microsoft updates two years ago when they started to push their BS spyware updates and Lose 10 on users. I use Linux for browsing and network apps so I couldn't care less about MS' crappy patches.
At least I now know why things that were working (i.e. network sharing) are now COMPLETELY BROKEN AND THAT THE REMEDIAL STEPS TO RESTORE NORMAL SERVICE DON'T FUCKING WORK. Thanks for fucking nothing Microsoft.
EVERYTHING is to be a 'service'. Bethesda ruined the insanely popular worlds of Elder Scrolls and Fallout with 'gaming as a service' philosophy. And 'as a service' means the customer is always WRONG.
Want to download from MS's app store- well that tries to force you to move Windows 10 to an ONLINE account where MS collects all your data, including every keystroke. Don't want to use UWP 'apps' (like every current Win7 user). You like the freedom and quality of win32 programs? Not for much longer.
ARM based Windows 10 (the 'new' version) doesn't run third party win32 programs, unless wrapped in a UWP container- and then the emulation means performance is a joke. And win32 programs are now BANNED from most Windows 10 shell functions- including file associations, and other 'right mouse button' click menu options.
Worse, by 'service', all computer companies mean BUGGIER, more difficult to use, more expensive (almost everything is an additional 'microtransaction' whi9ch is anything BUT micro in cost), and ever changing with constant massive downloads before use.
Sane people want Windows to be just a non-online OS, and leave the user programs to the user's choosing. But MS is trying to revert to the proprietary mainframe ecosystem of the bad old days- the very thing MS et al destroyed in the first place.
And Linux- well with that disfunctional neo-liberal SJW scumbag in charge, Linux will never ever evolve to replace Windows for ordinary users- it had its chance, but that window has long since closed. The nightmare is a world where Microsoft is the ONLY choice, yet day by day Microsoft gets ever more insane.
Just yesterday, I was fixing a computer of an acquaintance whose HDD started to make weird clacking noises and would not boot their Windows 7 Pro any more.
Ordered an SSD, downloaded the latest Win 7 Pro 64 image and created a bootable usb drive. Installation of hard and software went without any issues. Fortunately the new install would recognize the old drive. So I ran ProduKey which found the old key.
Activation would not work. I called the helpline (which is usual here in Germany for activating OEM Windows, therefore I've lost count of how often I've done this), followed the robocall instructions. It said the key was invalid and let me talk with a technician. The technician with the funny accent then told me that the key was blacklisted and that I should contact the system vendor and hang up.
Now I know for a fact that their licence was genuine, because we found the original key later. Well, thanks for nothing Microsoft helpline.
Fortunately acquiring a new, genuine OEM key costs only something like 5€.
The ability to authorized an operating system is clearly a national security risk. Once a operating system is paid for, there should be not allowed way to deauthorize--else or enemies will surly take advantage of it.
Additionally, this happened with the last update on my machine; is Microsoft testing rolling operating system blackouts?
https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendaEM
I stopped updating my old Win7 box when an update blasted me off the net and I had to recover with a System Restore point.
I recently went full time to Linux Mint and I plan on running Win7 in a VM for a few older Windows programs I still have to use.
Microsoft is, in my opinion, deliberately crashing older versions in order to force people onto Windows 10. That's just never going to happen on any of my computers, never never never.
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
> Maybe for non-power users. Who let every JS ad script run by default and open every email attachment without a care.
Careless users are a problem, a mostly separate problem. No it is needed. The MTC figure I mentioned is for an unpatched Windows machine simply connected to the internet, with no user doing anything.
One thing stupid users can do is turn off automatic updates on Windows. Another stupid thing that stupid users can do is enable (or leave enabled) UPnP. Those two combine to virtually guarantee the machine is compromised quite quickly.
Yup - O'll Billy Bob, much as I dislike him, was both CEO and Chief of QA. When he left, all pretense of QA stopped.
> Manually check every Tuesday ... If you are incapable of remembering to perform one task a week, please give your computer to someone not quite as mentally disabled.
Patch Tuesday is second Tuesday of the month, not every Tuesday.
Once or twice a year they do one on a fourth Tuesday.
You were saying people who are too "mentally disabled" to know when to update Windows shouldn't touch computers? I assume you'll be unable to reply to this since you'll have to "give your computer to someone not quite as mentally disabled."