[German]Microsoft released update KB5021751 for Microsoft Office 2007 – 2013 on January 17, 2023 to track down users who are still using these outdated versions of Office. There was some puzzlement as to what this was all about. Now Microsoft has at least assured that the update is not meant to spy on users and respects privacy.
[German]Microsoft has again dared to alienate some Windows users with ads for Microsoft 365. The affected users were blocked from accessing the Windows 10 desktop during a OOBE phase, because a full-screen banner permanently demanded ordering a Microsoft 365 test subscription including entering credit card data. Here's an overview of what's known so far.
[German]Microsoft has updated the Edge browser in the stable channel to version 109.0.1518.78 on February 2, 2023 (thanks to Robert for the tip). Microsoft did not reveal too much about this maintenance update, only a closed vulnerability is listed. It is a security and maintenance update, which should fix various bugs and performance problems according to the release notes. In addition, Microsoft states on this page that it has fixed the vulnerability CVE-2023-21720 in this version of the browser (details are not revealed). The browser should update itself.
[German]Another note for administrators and users of Jabra headsets (e.g. Jabra Engage 75) who use them in a corporate environment with Microsoft Teams. After there were already problems in connection with Microsoft Teams in December 2022, which were fixed via firmware update, I have now received reports of new problems. I am compiling the information that I have received from users – perhaps someone else is affected.
[German]January 2023 was the scheduled end of support for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 / R2 as part of the Extended Security Update program (ESU). February 2023 is the first month where there should actually be no more security updates. But Microsoft notes in KB4522133 that certain operating systems will receive another year of support with security updates if ESU is booked or Azure is used. Continue reading
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[German]It is well known that Microsoft closes user accounts if they have not been used for a long time. It is also well known that phishers try to lure victims with "account closure" mails to sites for harvesting credentials. However, what becomes toxic is a combination where Microsoft itself warns about closing an account due to inactivity, but sends these mails to the wrong senders. These are probably only a few cases, but it should cause those affected to either delete the mail without comment as a "phishing attempt" or to wonder about Microsoft.
[German]The developers of Thunderbird have released another update of the email client to version 102.7.1 on February 1, 2023. It is a bug-fix update, which is supposed to fix some problems. In addition, a vulnerability that was rated as high has been closed. Just updated the client on my end.
[German]Mozilla developers have released versions 109.0 .1 of the Firefox browser on January 31, 2023. It is a bugfix update that is supposed to fix some minor issues.
[German]Microsoft has surprisingly released an unscheduled out-of-band update for .NET Framework on January 31, 2023. This should fix problems with XPS documents, which were caused by security updates from December 2022 in .NET Framework – I had reported in the blog. The update must be installed separately. The workarounds issued in December 2022 should then no longer be necessary.
[German]NAS manufacturer QNAP has issued a security warning for its QNAP products. There is a critical vulnerability CVE-2022-27596 in the QTS 5.0.1 and QuTS hero h5.0.1 software that allows malicious code injection into the firmware. The critical vulnerability has been assigned a CVSS v3 score of 9.8. Firmware updates are now available to close the vulnerability. An update should be installed immediately. Pver 29,000 devices are vulnearable.
MVP:
2013 – 2016
WIMVP:
2017 – 2020
