[German]Microsoft is currently testing the update KB4571744 with Windows Insiders. The description of the update also says that a defrag error is fixed. However, the hope that the bug that defragmented SSDs was fixed has been dashed. Also with the update, SSDs are further (erroneously) defragmented instead of optimized. I have added the details in the blog post Windows 10 Version 2004: Update KB4571744 will fix the Defrag bug.

[German]A blog German reader informed me about an interesting observation in connection with the flash update KB4561600 under Windows 8.1. After the monthly patchday his system was extremely slow. After some searching he found the root cause and a fix.

Normally the Adobe Flash Player should be available in Windows 8.1 and should be updated automatically via Windows Update. I had written something about this in the German article Windows 10: Adobe Flash entfernen. But somehow blog reader Heiko T. must have uninstalled the Adobe Flash Player under Windows 8.1.

System after August 2020 Patchday slow

A few  days ago I received an email from blog reader Heiko T. in which he shared one of his observations under a Windows 8.1 system and offered me to post the info here in the blog (thanks for that).

Dear Mr. Born,

Your blog has often helped me when I was helpless in front of a strange phenomenon in of a Windows installation. For my problem I just solved, I have, however, besides a few somewhat helpful hints in the whole net found nothing. I allow therefore, to tell you the problem and solution – for possible use in the blog and maybe to help other users or admins.

The reader suspects that the problem probably started in July 2020, under the operating system Windows 8.1 (64
bit, maybe even 32 bit) occurs. Heiko wrote about this:

Since this operating system is not (any longer) so common, also the problem rarely occurs – especially since there must be another boundary condition, see below – but, who knows…

Blog-reader Heiko T. then told me his observations under a Windows 8.1 system, which suddenly was extremely slow after the patchday. He describes the symptoms and what he found out quickly like this:

The computer is slow and nearly unusable. The reason will soon become clear: Updates were installed, it must be rebooted. The boot process remains at the “magic 30%”, then reboots correctly and remains at a later location, in “my” case at 87%.

After 10 minutes, it goes up to 98%, and then a screen appears of the format “BSoDv2” – a “blue screen of disease” with the font “We couldn’t complete the updates Undoing changes don’t turn off your computer” 

After about 30(!) minutes (now really that long) this is done, the computer reboots, and the same thing starts all over again.

I didn’t know a BSoDv2 yet – but I’ve already seen the blue screen when setting up updates including their error messages here.

The reason for this behavior

Heiko then took a closer look at the system and found that various updates had been installed after the August 2020 patchday. Among these updates was an update of the Adobe Flash Player (Update KB4561600 from June 2020). He wrote about it:

Anamnesis: In the list of recently installed updates KB4561600 must appear as failed installation. Only then probably THIS error is present.

So Windows Update failed to install this Flash Player update successfully on Windows 8.1. Heiko suggests the following steps as therapy for troubleshooting:

1) Switch off (automatic) updates, reboot.
2) Install the Adobe Flash Player from the Adobe website
3) Switch on updates again.
4) Request and install updates.
5) Uninstall Adobe Flash Player.

I’m a bit suspicious, because the Adobe Flash Player should be installed by default – at least on my Windows 8.1 system the Flash player is present – and is updated via Windows Update from Microsoft. But the blog reader wrote me that it was not available on his system. Then Heiko describes the situation like this:

Obviously the update KB4561600 installs regardless of whether the Flashplayer is present at all.

If the file replacement list is processed after the reboot, the instruction to install a faulty file in the (non-existent) player installation leads to
replace, to an update error.

Sometimes this is visualized by 0x800???????? error, sometimes not. In any case, the error number (or the associated text) is not very helpful in my eyes. The update is mandatory – so you can’t “fiddle around” with it.

Under Windows 8.1 it should be possible to hide the updates and thus exclude them from the installation. Anyway, the blog reader writes: That’s it – and made me sweat for many hours. It’s silly how you can catch consequential errors like that.

The whole subject of Adobe Flash Player will be history by the end of 2020 anyway. Because Adobe has discontinued support for the Flash Player and Microsoft has already started to deactivate the player in the browser (see following article links).

Similar articles:
How to disable Adobe Flash Player in Windows 8, 8.1, 10
Windows 10: Adobe Flash entfernen
Fake News: Flash is dead? No it’s fading out is planned 2020
Adobe Flash: End-of-Live date again announced
Microsoft: Flash in Browser will be removed end of 2020!

[German]In Windows 10 cliets as well as in Windows Server 2016 and Windows Server 2019, events with ID 650 may occur in the Event Viewer. Microsoft has provided an explanation for these entries as of August 13, 2020.

The support article KB4577004 (title Windows logs multiple events that specify Event ID 640) contains more information. The event entries with Event ID 640 indicate that the Extensible Storage Engine (ESE) has detected that a database file and its flush map file are not synchronized. Microsoft specifies the following scenarios where this can happen:

• The database was moved, but not all required files were moved along with it.
• The sector containing the header of the flush map is corrupted. This condition is extremely rare.
• An existing ESE database was deleted and then recreated, but its flush map file was not deleted or recreated.

This discrepancy from the latter paragraph typically occurs when an application migrates its data from one ESE database to another ESE database and the application is not properly cleaned. Such migrations may occur more frequently during or shortly after a Windows upgrade. After the new database is created, the system detects the old flush map file. This file is not synchronized with the new database. In this scenario, there is no risk to the data in the new database because it is in a benign state.

The event entries with the ID 640 can then be ignored. If Windows logs event ID 640 in a benign case, it may also log event ID 636, in which case you can also ignore event ID 636.

To find out if the event entries with ID 650 are benign, the support post suggests to look at the “…FromDb” fields in the event data The support post KB4577004 the scenarios to be considered for benign entries are mentioned. Microsoft writes that it is planned that a future version of Windows will contain a change that prevents the system from logging event ID 640 in the benign case. (via)

[German]A brief information: Microsoft has removed the Miracast receiver app in Windows 10 May 2020 Update (Version 2004). However, the app can be installed as an optional feature, if required. Here some information about this (annoying) topic.

What we are talking about?

Microsoft has declared a number of features as obsolete for the Windows 10 May 2020 Update (Version 2004) and is removing some of them (see Windows 10 Version 2004: Deprecated/removed features). Cortana has been adapted so that it is no longer pre-installed, but can be reinstalled as an optional feature. One user has now noticed already in June 2020 that the Connect app for Miracast reception is missing in this Windows 10 version, as can be read in this Microsoft Answers forum post.

Post OS upgradation to Version: 2004, I can’t find the Connect App

Please let know, is it something that’s not supported for this version of OS or what..?

My laptop has Miracast Support, Miracast: Available, with HDCP (Found out by running dxdiag)

A MVP colleague then replied and described that this app is no longer installed by default, but can be installed as an optional feature. Here is his answer:

In Windows 10 version 2004, the Connect app is not installed by default.

We are now required to install the “Wireless Display” optional feature to have the Connect app available.

Windows Central took it up on the weekend so that it is now meandering through the web as a theme. The MVP colleague documented the steps to reinstall the feature on Windows Ten site.

1. You must log in under an administrator account and go to the settings page. 

2. Go to Apps – Apps & features – Optional features and click on Add features.

3. Then select the Wireless Display option and click Install. 

(Miracast Connect-App as optional feature)

Then the Connect app is installed and you can use a Windows 10 machine with the appropriate equipment as a Miracast receiver. To do this, the app, which is called ‘Connect’ in German Windows 10, has to be started. The corresponding Windows 10 machine should then be found by a Miracast source as receiver. So much for the theory … 

The Miracast disaster

Some years ago, I had blogged intensively about the topic of wireless streaming, especially with the Miracast standard (see links at the end of the article). How to use the Connect app is described in the blog post Windows 10 Anniversary Update, Miracast and the Connect app. There I had done a test with several systems at that time. The results with Microsoft’s app were sobering – Microsoft never got the Windows 10 stable as a Miracast  receiver. Some users then uninstalled the Connect app (that works). But this probably led to an update installation error in January 2020 (see Windows 10: Installation issues with Update KB4528760 due to missing Connect-App?).

Sending screen contents including sound from a Windows 10 machine to a Miracast receiver is not affected by the above story, since this function (if supported by the hardware and drivers) is part of the operating system.

Similar articles:
Windows 10 Fall-Update: Streaming with DLNA & Miracast
Windows 8.1 as a Miracast receiver (AirServer Universal 3.0.26)
Your Windows 8.1 machine as a Miracast receiver
Surface Pro 3: Fix Miracast issue with Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter
Windows 8.1 as a Miracast receiver (AirServer Universal 3.0.26)
Your Windows 8.1 machine as a Miracast receiver
Windows 10 Version 1607: Testing Miracast and Connect-App
Windows 10 V1607: KB3176932 improves Miracast capabilities
Windows 10 Fall-Update: Streaming with DLNA & Miracast
Windows 10 Version 1607: Testing Miracast and Connect-App
Surface Pro 3: Fix Miracast issue with Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter

[German]Do you have a Lenovo ThinkPad with Windows 10 version 2004 that shows a SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED BSOD error in ldiagio.sys since installing the August 2020 updates? You are not alone, Lenovo has now issued a warning about this. In addition, Microsoft has admitted further issues with Windows 10 Version 2004 at the end of August 2020 and has set an upgrade blocker for devices with WWAN LTE modems.

August 2020 updates causes BSODs

In the Lenovo Forum there is a post Win10 2004 KB4566782 breaks Intel ME, causes Vantage BSoD vom from August 24, 2020 which reports issues with the August 2020 update KB4566782 on Windows 10 version 2004 machines.

Launching Lenovo Vantage results in a BSoD within a few seconds after the loading animation completes.  This is 100% reproducible.  The BSoD is always “SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED”, and most of the time, it implicates ldiagio.sys. 

Lenovo’s advice In this forum thread is to uninstall the update KB4566782 – and someone refers to this tip from Lenovo support confirming issues with August 2020 update for Lenovo Thinkpads with Windows 10 version 2004.

After installing the August 2020 cumulative update for Windows 10 Version 2004, users may notice one or more of the following symptoms:

• Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) when booting
• Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) when starting Lenovo Vantage
• Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) when running Windows Defender Scan
• Can’t login by Face with Windows Hello
• Errors in Device Manager related to Intel Management Engine
• Errors in Device Manager related to IR Camera

Applicable Systems: ThinkPad models from 2019 and 2020

The support suggests to disable the visual settings (Enhanced Windows Biometric Security settings in BIOS Setup -> Security -> Virtualization). .

At Bleeping Computer there is this post about issues caused by August 2020 updates (reported on Reddit). These issues are caused by incompatible drivers that collide with the virtualization features of Windows 10 (see also). MSPU refers in this article to this Lenovo support article which confirms the issue.

Windows 10 2004: Upgrade blocked on devices with WWAN LTE modems

On the Windows 10 Version 2004 status page, Microsoft has not only confirmed issues with the Microsoft IME (Input Mode Editor) for Japanese or Chinese language as of August 31, 2020. They also set an upgrade block for devices with WWAN LTE modems. They wrote:

Certain WWAN LTE modems might not be able to connect after waking from sleep

After waking from sleep or hibernation, certain WWAN LTE modems might show no internet in the Network Connectivity Status Indicator (NCSI) in the notification area and might be unable to connect to the internet.

To safeguard your update experience, we have applied a compatibility hold on Windows 10 devices with affected WWAN LTE modems drivers installed from being offered Windows 10, version 2004 until the issue has been resolved.

This affects Windows 10 2004 clients. As a workaround, Microsoft suggests to briefly enable and disable the aircraft mode on Windows 10 version 2004 machines. A fix is planned for the future.

[German]On September 24, 2020, Microsoft will discontinue support for package downloads from packages.microsoft.com over connections encrypted using TLS 1.0/1.1. Here is some information on the subject.

Background to the TLS topic

Transport Layer Security (TLS)

is a hybrid encryption protocol for secure data transmission on the Internet. Historically, different TLS versions from 1.0 over 1.1 up to 1.2 and recently TLS 1.3 have been defined and are in use.

Since encryption in TLS 1.0 and 1.1 is no longer considered secure, the IT industry is gradually trying to switch to TLS 1.2 and/or TLS 1.3 for secure Internet connections.

Postponement of plans due to Corona crisis

Microsoft is also counting on the replacement of TLS 1.0/1.1 (the announcement from 2018 about the discontinuation of TLS 1.0/1.1 in Edge and Internet Explorer can be found here). However, due to the corona virus pandemic, the deactivation of TLS 1.0/1.1, which was planned for the beginning of 2020, was postponed for the time being. I had reported about this in the blog post Microsoft postpone the deactivation of TLS 1.0/1.1.

TLS 1.0/1.1 is switched off

However, Microsoft will now switch off support for TLS 1.0/1.1 in the coming weeks. In Office 365, support for TLS 1.0/1.1 will end on October 15, 2020 – I mentioned this in the blog post Office 365: TLS 1.0/1.1 support ends on Oct. 15, 2020.

On this web site Microsoft has updated the roadmap for further steps to switch off TLS 1.0/1.1 on August 15, 2020. For Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge Legacy, TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1 will be disabled by default in spring 2021 at the earliest. However, enterprise administrators can disable TLS 1.0 and TLS 1.1 before that date using Group Policy.

In this Techcommunity post Microsoft notes that TLS support for downloading all packages available for download from packages.microsoft.com will change. Starting September 24, 2020, downloads will only be available using TLS 1.2 connections. Administrators may need to become active and enable TLS 1.2 support in their environments. 

(TLS-Support in Windows, Source: Microsoft)

The table above lists which Windows versions support which TLS versions. The table can be found in this document which Microsoft has set up to solve TLS 1.0 issues. The colleagues from deskmodder.de have addressed the topic here. Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 have been upgraded to TLS 1.2 with the update KB3140245 in early 2019.

[German]ACROS Security has released a micropatch for the vulnerability CVE-2020-1337 (Windows Print Spooler Elevation of Privilege) for Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 (without ESU license).

Vulnerability CVE-2020-1337

CVE-2020-1337 was issued for a privilege escalation vulnerability in the Windows print spooler service. The vulnerability exists because the Windows print spooler service incorrectly allows arbitrary writing to the file system. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could execute arbitrary code with elevated system privileges. An attacker could then install programs, view, modify, or delete data, or create new accounts with full user privileges.

To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would have to log on to an affected system and execute a specially crafted script or application. I had addressed the vulnerability in the blog post Windows PrintDaemon vulnerability CVE-2020-1337 details.  

Microsoft released security updates for Windows 7 through Windows 10 on August 11, 2020. However, users of Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 who do not have an ESU license will no longer receive the security updates released by Microsoft.

0patch-Fix for Windows 7 SP1/Server 2008 R2

ACROS Security has developed a micropatch for the vulnerability CVE-2020-1337. I got aware of the information about the release of the micropatch for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 via Twitter.

(0patch Fix for CVE-2020-1337 )

This micropatch is now available for 0patch users with PRO license and is already applied to all online computers with 0patch Agent (except in non-standard enterprise configurations). As always, there is no need to restart the computer and users’ work is not interrupted.

For information on how the 0patch Agent works, which loads the micro-patches into memory at runtime of an application, please refer to the blog posts (e.g. here) I have linked below.

Similar articles:
Windows 7: Forcing February 2020 Security Updates – Part 1
Windows 7: Securing with the 0patch solution – Part 2
Windows 7/Server 2008/R2: 0patch delivers security patches after support ends
Project: Windows 7/Server 2008/R2 Life Extension & 0patch one month trial
0patch: Fix for Internet Explorer 0-day vulnerability CVE-2020-0674
0patch: Fix for Windows Installer flaw CVE-2020-0683
0patch fix for Windows GDI+ vulnerability CVE-2020-0881
0-day vulnerability in Windows Adobe Type Library
0patch fixes CVE-2020-0687 in Windows 7/Server 2008 R2
0patch fixes CVE-2020-1048 in Windows 7/Server 2008 R2
0patch fixes CVE-2020-1015 in Windows 7/Server 2008 R2
0patch for 0-day RCE vulnerability in Zoom for Windows
Windows Server 2008 R2: 0patch fixes SIGRed vulnerability
0patch fixes CVE-2020-1113 in Windows 7/Server 2008 R2

[German]Microsoft got a hint from a Google developer from the Chrome team about the slow jump lists in the taskbar. Now the company is investigating the matter. Here are a few details.

Regarding the user interface, Windows 10 is in many places only to be understood as a broken and tinkering grave for failed developers. Different context menu styles, broken start menu or not working search etc. A corpse in the cellar are probably also the slow opening jump lists, as MSPU reports here. The Google Chrome for Windows developers Bruce Dawson was annoyed about the fact that jump lists only open after 200 milliseconds. Instead of going to the hamster wheel feedback hub, Dawson chose his own way (I do the same). Dawson has published a post on GitHub that deals with slow jump lists.  

I frequently right-click on items in the task bar in order to view their properties or close them. Last year I reported a ~500 ms delay due to massively redundant ReadFile calls. This was fixed. However, closer analysis shows that there still remains a 200-250 ms delay from the moment that the mouse button is released until the menu appears. This is well beyond the ideal human interaction times and is a constant frustration. I don’t want to wait for my computer, especially when doing simple and repetitive actions that I know it should be able to do roughly ten times faster. Closing multiple programs in this way becomes frustrating, even after the ReadFile fixes.

Dawson has a fairly well-equipped Windows 10 machine, but it is too slow to react to jump lists, he writes. Last year he had complained about a delay of 500 milliseconds to open a jump list. Currently, the delay from releasing the mouse to displaying the jump list is 200 to 250 milliseconds – too long for an optimal GUI design.

The comments go back and forth a bit – and an MS employee tries to lure Bruce Dawson onto the ‘read, laughed, punched’ feedback hub loop. But a few days ago, Microsoft employee  Rich Turner (bitcrazed, a senior program manager at Microsoft) sent a comment. Once he reopened the already closed case and forwarded it to the product team. The team is investigating the behavior – as soon as there is something new, they want to get in touch.

The problem might be (in my eyes) that all the GUI stuff is described in XAML. And that is just slow in the interpretation of the configuration files.

[German]On August 31 and Sept. 1, 2020, Microsoft has released another batch of microcode updates for Windows 10 Version 1809 through 2004 (but these are probably old updates). Here is some information about these updates.

Windows 10: Intel Microcode Updates

Blog reader EP has left a comment about about the Intel microcode updates (thx). Intel has revised the microcode updates in the period August 31 and Sept. 1, 2020: Here are the relevant entries at Microsoft:

• KB4497165 Intel microcode update “V5” for Windows 10 version 1903/1909 on MS Update Catalog
• KB4494174 Intel microcode update “V4” for Windows 10 version 1809 on MS Update Catalog
• KB4558130 Intel microcode update for Windows 10 version 2004 on MS Update Catalog

According to deskmodder.de there are also the following Microcode Updates for older Windows 10 builds:

• KB4494452: Windows 10 1709 V5, im Update Catalog: KB4494452
• KB4494453: Windows 10 1703 V5, im Update Catalog: KB4494453
• KB4494175: Windows 10 1607 V5, im Update Catalog: KB4494175
• KB4494454: Windows 10 1507 V5, im Update Catalog: KB4494454

The microcode updates must be manually downloaded from the Microsoft Update Catalog.

[German]At the beginning of September 2020, I would like to take a look at the current figures for desktop operating system share as of the end of August 2020. Furthermore, there is a look at the browser shares on the desktop.

In July 2020 I had omitted this overview – so I was curious to see what the figures would look like.

Windows on the desktop

Looking at the latest figures from netmarketshare.com (to the end of August 2020), Windows still runs on 86.98% (previous month 87.03) of desktop systems. Mac OS comes to 9.55% (previous month: 8.95%), while Linux falls to 2.59% (previous month: 3.57%). So no real change in market share, Windows continues to dominate the desktop, although it has had to give up a little bit every now and then in the last few months.

(OS share Desktop 8.2020, Source: Netmarketshare)

There is this article on Softpedia, where the trend towards Linux is stated. The reason was that Zorin OS announced that 900.000 downloads had taken place. But this is nothing against 1 billion Windows 10 systems – statistically not relevant. 

Desktop OS versions at a glance

In the analysis of the distribution by operating system version, the NetMarketShare for Desktop Operating Systems web page shows the following distribution: 

• Windows 10 comes to 60.57% (previous month 59.37%),
• Windows 7 is at 22.31% (previous month 23.34%),
• Windows 8.1 comes nevertheless still on 2,69% (previous month 2,87%),
• and macOS 10.15 comes to 5.03 % (previous month 4.53 %).

So Windows 10 has gained a little ground compared to the previous month, the end of support for Windows 7 in January 2020 shows little effect. Windows 7 continues to run on almost every fourth desktop system.

(OS Share Desktop 8-2020, Source: netmarketshare.com)

Compared to June 2020, macOS switched to OS X 10.15 and made a strong leap to the 5.03%. Linux does not actually appear in the above chart. Which one can state however also: The change from Windows 7 to Windows 10 did not take place in the previous month 2020 either. The people remain on the currently used operating systems. The distribution of Windows 10 on the systems is not shown in the above list – and I don’t comment on AdDuplex numbers here in the blog (too uncertain). Therefore I refer to this article from MSPU, where the speculative figures from August 2020 are outlined.

Browser share on the desktop

Also for the past month I would like to take a look at the browser distribution on the desktop, because in January 2020 the Chromium Edge was released as an innovation. Among browsers on desktop systems, Google Chrome is the undisputed leader with 70.89% (previous month 71.11%), followed by the Edge, which rises to second place with 8.52% (previous month 8.09%). The share of the Chromium Edge is increasing – as Microsoft is using tricks to push the browser onto the systems and support for the Legacy Edge will end in early 2021. Firefox has to be satisfied with 7.11 % (previous month 7.36 %), but is losing market share. Internet Explorer comes to 3.64% (previous month 4.06%), so it is fading out slowly.

[German]Microsoft has released the Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20206 for Windows Insider in the Dev Channel on September 2, 2020. The announcement was made in the Windows Blog, where the list of fixes and known issues can be found. This time Microsoft has focused on input features.

[German]Microsoft released version 0.21.1 of PowerToys a few hours ago as a bug-fix update for Windows 10 users. These tools are free of charge and offer additional features for Windows 10. Additionally the developers are now starting to create something like previews, the 0.22.0-Experimental is here.

The announcement came to my attention during the night on Twitter about this post by Clint Rutkas. The release of version 0.21 seems to have never happened, so they skipped a build.

PowerToys 0.21.1 with bug fixes

The goals for the 0.21 release cycle were to focus on stability, localization and quality improvements for both the development team and users. The release notes on GitHub indicate the following changes: 

PT Run:

• Removed need for space in action keywords. This means you now can type >ipconfig
• Icon caches fixed and now has colored icons
• Improved font rendering via ClearType (Shout out to @AnuthaDev doing the heavy lifting here)
• Result speed improvements
• URLs are supported
• Fixed bugs including calculating bugs

FancyZone:

• Win+Arrow key is directional based on zone rect
• Fixed bugs

Runner:

• Fixed toast notifications running elevated from non-admin account

Shortcut Guide:

• Improved vkey catching which will fix some use cases of it not showing up

SVG in File Explorer:

• Embedded image tags will now render in Explorer

Color Picker:

• Fixed bug where it would launch via false positive keystrokes

Accessibility:

• Settings, PT Run and KBM undergoing improvements

Localization:

• Pipeline is now setup and will be doing a full E2E pass on all utilities shortly.

Dev quality of life improvements:

• Continued warning count reduction. This release ~80 removed
• StyleCop enabled E2E
• FxCop starting to be added in E2E

The download is available on GitHub.

PowerToys 0.22.0-Experimental

Microsoft has also released a PowerToys 0.22.0-Experimental build. This version contains the experimental mute function for video conferences and everything from version 0.21.1, but there are still some problems with the build.

Similar articles:
Windows 10: First Open Source PowerToys released
PowerToys v0.12 Beta released
PowerToys v0.13 released
PowerToys 0.14.0 released
PowerToys 0.14.1 released
Windows 10: PowerToys get QuickLauncher
PowerToys 0.15.0 released
Windows 10: PowerToys Version 0.16 released
Windows PowerToys 0.16.1 released
PowerToys 0.17 with Auto Update released
PowerToys 0.18 with Run launcher released
PowerToys 0.18.2 released
PowerToys 0.19 released
PowerToys 0.19.1 with bug fixes (change log)
PowerToys 0.19.2 released
PowerToys 0.20 with Color Picker released (Change log)

[German]A note about update KB4576754, which seems to be distributed on begin of September 2020 on some systems with Windows 10 version 2004. A blog reader asked me about it because he could not find any information about it.

A reader is wondering about update KB4576754

Blog reader Matthias T. contacted me by mail late yesterday evening and asked for the update KB4576754, which he is offered. Matthias wrote:

Since today I find an update on my Win 10 Enterprise 2004 system called “2020-08 Microsoft Edge Update for Windows 10 Version 2004 for x64-based systems (KB4576754)”. It has already been downloaded automatically and is now waiting for installation.

But neither a Google search nor a search on the Windows pages was successful.

I have never had anything like this before. At least at Microsoft the KB numbers were visible. Either I am the first in the world with this update or what kind of a prank is this again? 

Maybe you could do something with it and help.

Since the topic is of interest for more people, I took it up here in my blog.

What is update KB4576754?

Update KB4576754 seems to have somehow released unintentionally by Microsoft. It is  offered to Windows 10 Version 2004 users as a forced update to the Chromium Edge browser. In tensformum there is this post:

Ok, just now I checked Windows Update and under a different KB number I got MS Edge Chromium, forced on me again.

[…]

THEN, MS threw another curve ball. Every time I check for Updates…that same Edge Chromium is force installed again. It’s now KB4576574. So, I removed it again… and ofc, every time I check for Updates it’s back again.

This is an update for the Chromium Edge Browser, but it hasn’t been officially distributed yet. Only WZOR points this out here, and on this page I found the information that this version was created on August 25, 2020. And in this forum post someone reports installation errors during the Edge update. I would put it back from installation under Enterprise for now. Anyone else who was offered this update?

[German]Administrators using Trend Micro’s Apex One, Apex One as a Service (SaaS) and Office Scan XG products as a protection solution on Windows and macOS need to act. The products are vulnerable through four vulnerabilities, but an update is available.

Apex One and Apex One as a Service (SaaS) are two security solutions from Trend Micro that scan endpoints for malware infection and protect the relevant devices against malware or ransomware. Office Scan XG from Trend Micro is also designed to protect Windows clients in the office from malware.

Security Advice for Trend Micro Apex One

As of September 1, 2020, Trend Micro has released SECURITY BULLETIN: August 2020 Security Bulletin for Trend Micro Apex One and Apex One as a Service. Product updates were released on August 28, 2020 to address vulnerabilities in Apex One and Apex One as a Service (SaaS). The manufacturer writes about this:

Trend Micro has released new patches for Trend Micro Apex One and Apex One as a Service (SaaS).  These patches address several vulnerabilities related to the escalation of hardlink privileges, improper read disclosure and improper access control.

The vulnerabilities CVE-2020-24556, CVE-2020-24557, CVE-2020-24558 and CVE-2020-24559 are closed. Here is an excerpt with details about the vulnerabilities:

CVE-2020-24556: Trend Micro Apex One Hard Link Privilege Escalation Vulnerability (Windows)
CVSSv3: 7.8: AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
A vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex One on Microsoft Windows may allow an attacker to create a hard link to any file on the system, which then could be manipulated to gain a privilege escalation and code execution.
An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability.
Please note that version 1909 (OS Build 18363.719) of Microsoft Windows 10 mitigates hard links, but previous versions are affected.

CVE-2020-24557:  Trend Micro Apex One Improper Access Control Privilege Escalation
CVSSv3: 7.8: AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
A vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex One on Microsoft Windows may allow an attacker to manipulate a particular product folder to disable the security temporarily, abuse a specific Windows function and attain privilege escalation.
An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability.
Please note that version 1909 (OS Build 18363.719) of Microsoft Windows 10 mitigates hard links, but previous versions are affected.

CVE-2020-24558:  Trend Micro Apex One Out-of-Bounds Read Information Disclosure
CVSSv3: 5.5: AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
A vulnerability in an Trend Micro Apex One dll may allow an attacker to manipulate it to cause an out-of-bounds read that crashes multiple processes in the product.
An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability

CVE-2020-24559:  Trend Micro Apex One Hard Link Privilege Escalation Vulnerability (macOS)
CVSSv3: 7.8: AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
A vulnerability in Trend Micro Apex One on macOS may allow an attacker to manipulate a certain binary to load and run a script from a user-writable folder, which then would allow them to execute arbitrary code as root.
An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability.
Please note that the updated macOS client for Apex One (on-premise) is available via Trend Micro’s Active

Further details and the download of the update is possible via the Security Advisory. (via)

Trend Micro OfficeScan XG

There are also vulnerabilities in Trend Micro OfficeScan XG, which the manufacturer disclosed in the security advisory SECURITY BULLETIN: Trend Micro OfficeScan XG Hard Link Privilege Escalation Vulnerability dated September 3, 2020. Trend Micro has also released a new patch XG SP1 Patch 3 b5684 for Trend Micro OfficeScan XG SP1 for Windows on August 28, 2020. This patch fixes the CVE-2020-24556 vulnerability (escalation of hardlink privileges). However, it is recommended to have a look at the readme file and study the known issues before some installation. 

The vulnerabilities are rated as high, whereas the exploitation of hardlink privileges Escalation from Windows 10 version 1909 on was stopped by a patch on the operating system side. Further details can be found in the security advices of the manufacturer.

[German]Microsoft has released the update KB4571744 for the Windows 10 May 2020 Update (Version 2004) on September 3, 2020. It is a preview update which is also valid for Windows Server Version 2004.

This update was already distributed to Windows Insider for testing in August 2020 (see Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 19042.487 (20H2)). So now it has been released as a general preview update. The information about the update can be found on the Windows 10 Update History page.

Important: From July 2020 on all Windows updates disable the RemoteFX vGPU featuresdue to the CVE-2020-1036 vulnerability (see also KB4570006). After installing this update, attempts to start virtual machines (VM) with RemoteFX vGPU enabled will fail. This feature is no longer supported. More information can be found in the linked KB articles.

Update KB4571744 for Windows 10 Version 2004

Update KB4571744 is available as a preview for the Windows 10 May 2020 Update (Version 2004) and for Windows Server Version 2004.  It raises the OS build to 19041.488 and contains a lot of bug fixes, but no security fixes. Microsoft lists the following highlights:

• Updates an issue that might prevent ActiveX content from loading.
• Updates an issue that might cause apps that use the custom text wrapping function to stop working in certain scenarios. 
• Updates an issue to reduce the likelihood of missing fonts. 
• Updates an issue that prevents users from reducing the size of a window in some cases. 
• Updates an issue that causes the touch keyboard to close when you touch any key. 
• Provides the ability for Dolby Atmos for Headphones and DTS Headphone: X to be used in 24-bit mode on devices that support 24-bit audio.
• Updates an issue with a blurry sign in screen. 
• Updates an issue with Windows Update becoming unresponsive when checking for updates. 
• Updates an issue that causes File Explorer to stop working when you browse directories of raw images and other file types. 
• Improves the tablet experience for convertible or hybrid devices in docked scenarios. 
• Improves the user experience of the Windows Hello enrollment pages for face and fingerprint setup. 
• Updates an issue that prevents you from unlocking a device if you typed a space before the username when you first signed in to the device. 
• Updates an issue that causes applications to take a long time to open.
• Addresses an issue that prevents apps from downloading an update or opening in certain scenarios. 
• Updates an issue that causes Microsoft Office applications to close unexpectedly when using a Korean IME.
• Updates time zone information for the Yukon, Canada.

Below is the list of all improvements and bug fixes. 

• Addresses an issue with pinned Add-ins that cause Microsoft Outlook to become unresponsive. 
• Provides the ability to sync the Microsoft Edge IE Mode unidirectional session cookie when an administrator configures the session cookie. 
• Addresses an issue with rendering PeerDist-encoded content in Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge. 
• Addresses an issue that might prevent ActiveX content from loading. 
• Addresses an issue that displays a black screen to Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) users when they attempt to sign in. 
• Addresses an issue that might cause apps that use the custom text wrapping function to stop working in certain scenarios. 
• Addresses an issue with Start menu apps and tiles in virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) environments. The issue occurs after you sign in to the VDI environment a second time and use a Remote Desktop User Profile Disk in a non-persistent virtual desktop pool. 
• Addresses an issue that generates an error when printing to a document repository.
• Addresses an issue that prevents Visual Basic 6.0 (VB6) applications from using ListView in MSCOMCTL.OCX after upgrading to Windows 10, version 1903 and later. 
• Addresses a runtime error that causes VB6 to stop working when duplicate windows messages are sent to WindowProc().
• Addresses an issue that causes a stop error when the initialization of the graphics adapter fails. 
• Addresses an issue to reduce the likelihood of missing fonts. 
• Addresses an issue that prevents users from reducing the size of a window in some cases. 
• Addresses an issue that causes the touch keyboard to close when you touch any key. 
• Addresses an issue that adds an unwanted keyboard layout as the default after an upgrade or migration even if you have already removed the layout. 
• Addresses an issue the prevents applications from closing even though programming code directs them to close. 
• Addresses an issue that causes attempts to take a screenshot of a window using the PrintWindow API to fail. 
• Addresses an issue with a memory leak in ctfmon.exe that occurs when you refresh an application that has an editable box. 
• Addresses an issue that truncates a potential list of characters (candidates) when you type characters in the Simplified Chinese (Pinyin) input method editor (IME). When this happens, Chinese characters do not appear. 
• Addresses an issue that prevents the first key stroke from being recognized correctly in the DataGridView cell. 
• Addresses an issue that causes an application that uses msctf.dll to stop working, and the 0xc0000005 (Access violation) exception appears. 
• Addresses an issue with Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) that causes a memory leak when multiple clients connect to the same server. 
• Addresses an issue that prevents Cortana Smart lighting from working as expected if you shut down the machine while Fast Shutdown is enabled. 
• Provides the ability for Dolby Atmos for Headphones and DTS Headphone: X to be used in 24-bit mode on devices that support 24-bit audio. 
• Addresses an issue that prevents the IME user dictionary from being used when leveraging folder redirection with user profiles. 
• Addresses an issue that causes Microsoft Office applications to close unexpectedly when using a Korean IME.
• Addresses an issue that displays incorrect folder properties in File Explorer when the path is longer than MAX_PATH. 
• Addresses an issue with a blurry sign in screen. 
• Addresses an issue with Windows Update becoming unresponsive when checking for updates. 
• Addresses an issue that prevents the correct lock screen from appearing when the following policies are set:
  • Policy “Interactive Logon: Do not require Ctrl+Alt+Del” set to “Disabled”
  • HKLM\SOFRWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System
  • DisableLockScreenAppNotifications = 1
  • DisableLogonBackgroundImage = 1
• Addresses an issue that causes File Explorer to stop working when you browse directories of raw images and other file types. 
• Improves the tablet experience for convertible or hybrid devices in docked scenarios. 
• Improves the user experience of the Windows Hello enrollment pages for face and fingerprint setup. 
• Prevents accounts from a different tenant from signing in to a Surface Hub device. 
• Updates time zone information for the Yukon, Canada. 
• Addresses stop error 0xC2 in usbccgp.sys. 
• Addresses an issue that causes the Event Viewer Microsoft Management Console (MMC) to stop working when the secondary monitor is above the primary monitor. An out of bounds exception appears. 
• Addresses an issue that prevents the migration of the Windows Remote Management (WinRM) service startup type. 
• Addresses an issue with object performance counters. 
• Addresses an issue that prevents Microsoft User Experience Virtualization (UE-V) settings from roaming to enable the signature files that are used for new messages, forwarded messages, and replies. 
• Addresses an issue that prevents users from setting the REG_EXPAND_SZ keys in some automated scenarios. 
• Addresses an issue with the EnhancedAppLayerSecurity node in modern device management (MDM) that prevents its setting from being applied correctly to client devices. 
• Addresses an issue that causes a memory leak in the LsaIso.exe process when the server is under a heavy authentication load and Credential Guard is enabled. 
• Addresses an issue that might cause a delay of up to two minutes when signing in or unlocking a session on Hybrid Azure Active Directory-joined machines. 
• Addresses an issue that prevents hash signing from working correctly when using the Microsoft Platform Crypto Provider for Trusted Platform Modules (TPM). This issue might also affect networking software, such as virtual private network (VPN) applications. 
• Addresses an issue that continues to display the previous username hint in the smart card sign in box after a different user has used the machine with domain credentials. 
• Addresses an issue that causes communication with the TPM to time out and fail. 
• Addresses an issue that sometimes prevents AppLocker from running an application whose publisher rule allows it to run. 
• Addresses an issue in which AppLocker publisher rules might sometimes prevent applications from loading software modules; this can cause partial application failure. 
• Addresses an issue that causes the promotion of a server to a domain controller to fail. This occurs when the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS) process is set as Protected Process Light (PPL). 
• Addresses an issue that prevents you from unlocking a device if you typed a space before the username when you first signed in to the device. 
• Addresses an issue that causes a system to stop working and generates a 7E stop code. 
• Addresses an issue that causes applications to take a long time to open. 
• Addresses classification failures caused by the wrong User Principal Name (UPN). 
• Addresses an issue in cluster scenarios that causes handles to .vmcx and .vmrs files to become invalid after storage failover. As a result, live migration and other virtual machine (VM) maintenance activities fail with STATUS_UNEXPECTED_NETWORK_ERROR. 
• Addresses an issue with interrupt targeting that might cause an interrupt to arrive at an incorrect processor. 
• Addresses an issue that causes delays during shutdown when running the Microsoft Keyboard Filter Service. 
• Addresses an issue that causes a machine to request a new IP address after authentication. 
• Addresses an issue that causes the Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) to download data while a device is in cellular mode without explicit user permission. 
• Addresses an issue that prevents Always On VPN (AOVPN) from automatically reconnecting when resuming from Sleep or Hibernate. 
• Addresses an issue that causes AOVPN user tunnels to use an incorrect certificate. 
• Addresses an issue with AOVPN that occurs when user and device tunnels are configured to connect to the same endpoint. 
• Addresses an issue that causes VPN apps to stop working in some cases when they attempt to enumerate VPN profiles. 
• Addresses an issue that causes the Optimize Drives dialog to incorrectly report that previously optimized drives need to be optimized again. 
• Addresses an issue that fails to turn off the host memory buffer (HMB) when you force the shutdown of a device. As a result, solid-state drives (SSDs) do not delete HMB contents. 
• Addresses an issue that prevents apps from downloading an update or opening in certain scenarios.
• Addresses an issue that might cause a stop error (0xC00002E3) at startup. This issue occurs after installing certain Windows Updates that were released on or after April 21, 2020. 
• Addresses an issue that might cause stop error 7E in nfssvr.sys on servers running the Network File System (NFS) service. 
• Addresses an issue with Server Message Block (SMB). This issue incorrectly logs the Microsoft-Windows-SMBClient 31013 event in the Microsoft-Windows-SMBClient/Security event log of an SMB client when an SMB server returns STATUS_USER_SESSION_DELETED. This issue occurs when SMB client users or applications open multiple SMB sessions using the same set of Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connections on the same SMB Server. This issue most likely occurs on Remote Desktop Servers. 
• Addresses an issue that causes SMB to incorrectly use the original, cached non-Continuous Available handle to a file. This handle becomes invalid after a network error or storage failover. As a result, applications fail with errors such as STATUS_UNEXPECTED_NETWORK_ERROR. 
• Addresses an issue that causes the loss of written data when an application opens a file and writes to the end of the file in a share folder.
• Addresses an issue with some apps, such as Microsoft Excel, that occurs when using the Microsoft Input Method Editor (IME) for Chinese and Japanese languages. You might receive an error, or the app might stop responding or close when you attempt to drag using the mouse.

The update is optional and is only offered if the user explicitly lets the system search for updates in the settings page. The update can also be downloaded and installed from the Microsoft Update Catalog. However, make sure that the latest Servicing Stack Update (SSU) is installed. Microsoft lists difficulties with the Input Method Editor (IME) for Japanese or Chinese language as a known issue with this update. 

Additionally, Microsoft has made direct improvements to the Update Client for Windows 10 V1903/1909 to improve its reliability.

Similar articles:
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 19042.487 (20H2)
Windows 10 Version 2004: Update KB4576754
Windows 10: Intel Microcode Updates Aug. 31, Sept. 1, 2020

[German]Microsoft points out in a new post that support for the Adobe Flash Player will generally be discontinued at the end of 2020. Then the Flash Player will be removed from Windows 10. Users should be able to uninstall the Flash Player from autumn 2020, the company announces.

Planned Flash support end

Adobe had already announced in July 2017, together with technology partners like Microsoft, that Adobe Flash Player would no longer be supported after December 2020. The decision to discontinue support for Flash Player was made by Adobe due to the lower usage of the technology and the availability of better, more secure options such as HTML5, WebGL and WebAssembly.

In the blog post Fake News: Flash is dead? No it’s fading out is planned 2020 I mentioned the announcement of Flash support end. And Microsoft had outlined the roadmap for phasing out Flash.

• In 2017 and 2018 Microsoft Edge asked the user to display Flash content in the browser, and Flash has been updated so far.
• Since 2019, Flash is deactivated by default in Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer. However, the user can activate Flash in both browsers. Then Microsoft Edge asks at each session whether Flash content of a site should be executed.
• From late 2020, the ability to run Adobe Flash in Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer will be removed in all supported versions of Microsoft Windows. 

This was the status until now and Microsoft has only provided Flash with security updates. Now the next step has been announced.

Microsoft details the end of Adobe Flash

In the blog post Update on Adobe Flash Player End of Support, Microsoft then confirms that support for Adobe Flash Player in the Microsoft Edge (both the new Microsoft Edge and Microsoft Edge Legacy) and Internet Explorer 11 will be terminated at the end of 2020.

• After December 2020, Microsoft will no longer provide a “Security Update for Adobe Flash Player” for Microsoft Edge Legacy and Internet Explorer 11.
• From January 2021, Adobe Flash Player will be disabled by default and all versions older than KB4561600 (released in June 2020) will be blocked.
• Downloadable resources related to Adobe Flash Player hosted on Microsoft websites will no longer be available.

In the fall of 2020, Microsoft will provide an update entitled “Update to remove Adobe Flash Player” through the Microsoft Update Catalog, Windows Update and WSUS that permanently removes Adobe Flash Player as a component from Windows. This update will be offered as optional under Windows Update and WSUS in early 2021 and will be recommended a few months later. Please note that this update will be permanent and cannot be uninstalled.

In the summer of 2021, all APIs, Group Policy, and user interfaces that specifically govern the behavior of Adobe Flash Player will be removed from Microsoft Edge (legacy) and Internet Explorer 11. This will be done via the latest “Cumulative Update” on Windows 10 platforms and via “Cumulative Update for Internet Explorer 11” or “Monthly Rollup” on Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 and Windows Embedded 8 Standard. The “Update to remove Adobe Flash Player” will also be included as part of the “Cumulative Update” and “Monthly Rollup” from this point on. If you are working with Adobe to continue receiving support, you should not be affected by these changes. (via)

Similar articles:
Fake News: Flash is dead? No it’s fading out is planned 2020
Microsoft: Flash in Browser will be removed end of 2020!

[German]A security researcher points out that so-called custom themes for Wndows 10 are a security risk. These allow to access login data if necessary.

Windows allows users to create custom themes that contain custom colors, sounds, mouse cursors, and the background image that the operating system will use. There are a vast number of downloadable so-called custom themes that can be used to design Windows 10. Such custom themes are quite popular in certain user groups, but they are a security risk.

Security Risk Custom Themes

Specially crafted Windows 10 themes and theme packs can be used in “pass-the-hash” attacks to steal Windows account credentials from unsuspecting users.

A user with the alias @bohops points to the Credential Harvesting Trick on Twitter. Using a Windows .theme file, the wallpaper key (desktop background image) can be configured to point to a remotely required http/s resource. When a user activates the theme file (e.g. opened via a link/attachment), the user is shown a Windows login.

The key for the desktop background is located in the “Control Panel\Desktop” section of the .theme file.  Other keys may be used in the same way. According to the user, this may also work for the netNTLM hash specification when set for remote file locations.

The default handler loads rundll32.exe (themecpl.dll) and the theme setting dialog. The user discovered this a while ago and reported it to MSRC earlier this year. Because he had seen that similar “disclosure” errors were patched. The reported theme bug was not patched because this vulnerability is a “feature by design”.

Lawrence Abrams took up the whole thing in this article on Bleeping Computer. To protect against malicious theme files, the Twitter user recommended that the .theme, .themepack and .desktopthemepackfile extensions be blocked or re-assigned to another program.

[German] Chinese manufacturer Lenovo released version v6.0.8978.1 of the Realtek HDA driver in a 64-bit version for Windows 10 on September 4, 2020 (thanks to EP for the comment). This driver should be installable on other machines as well.

Realtek Audio Driver for Windows 10

Blog reader EP writes of 32- and 64-bit drivers, though. But I only found the 64-bit version for Windows 10 as download link on this Lenovo web page. Lenovo lists the following systems for which the Windows 10 driver may be used.

• ThinkCentre M900z, M910z
• Lenovo V410z
• AIO 720-24IKB
• AIO 310-20IAP
• AIO 310-20ASR
• AIO 330-20AST

But since it is probably a generic driver, it could be installed on other hardware as well. The readme.txt contains detailed information about the installation and uninstallation of the driver.

[German]Intel has updated its Bluetooth and WiFi drivers for Windows 10. This is to fix BlueScreens that could occur. Here is some information on the topic.

Windows 10 users have actually been plagued by BlueScreens caused by Intel’s Bluetooth and WiFi drivers for years. Now Intel has released an update of its WiFi driver for Windows 10, which will again fix BlueScreens on Windows 10. The download page states that as of September 1, 2020, the Intel Wi-Fi driver for Windows 10 version 21.120.0 is valid for the following Intel® Wireless Adapters:

• 21.120.0.9 for AX201/AX200/9560/9260/9462/9461 (Only available in 64-bit version)
• 20.70.18.2 for 8265/8260 (Only available in 64-bit version)
• 19.51.30.1 for 7265(Rev. D)/3165/3168

The drivers are available as 32 and 64 bit versions, but some adapters are only supplied with 64 bit drivers. This update does not include new drivers for the Intel® Wireless 7265 Family (Rev.C), Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 3160, and Intel® Wireless 7260 Family adapters. The latest available drivers can be found here under the following link. In the release notes the following improvements for the new driver version are indicated.

• Shutdown errors (BSOD) caused by the Intel Wireless driver occur.
• Shutdown errors (BSOD) can occur when playing online video and turning on Windows 10 mobile hotspot.
• Shutdown errors (BSODs) can occur when the system is restarted.
• In some circumstances, a system may fail to automatically reconnect to the access point after returning to RF range.
• Wake on Wireless LAN can fail on a system with wireless AMT (Intel * Active Management Technology).
• With some HW / SW configurations, random network disconnection may occur that requires reconnecting manually.
• Data transfer performance may be degraded when the PC to mobile connection switches from Wi-Fi direct to 2.4 GHz Access Point.
• When resuming from Sleep mode on Modern Standby systems, Windows * Stop Shutdown Errors (BSOD) caused by the Intel wireless driver.
• Stop Errors (BSOD) may occur on Modern Standby systems, along with the WiFi Event ID 5010 driver in Event Viewer.
• After resuming from Sleep mode on systems with Modern Standby, throughput performance may be reduced.
• A network disconnection may occur after the system is idle.
• A network disconnection may occur, along with the Event ID 5005 Wi-Fi driver, when streaming online video at 2.4 GHz.
• Wireless connection problems can occur with Cisco AnyConnect software.
• Intel® Wireless Adapters may not connect to access points with TKIP encryption.
• Intel® PROSet / Wireless Software 21.120.0 has been updated to include features and security updates. Users need to upgrade to the latest version.

The driver can be installed from the download. Or you can download the Intel® Driver and Support Wizard to automatically detect and run updates. (via)

[German]On September 8, 2020, Microsoft released security updates for Windows clients and servers, for Office, Internet Explorer, etc. Here you will find a compact overview of these updates.

A list of the updates can be found on this Microsoft page. Details about the update packages for Windows, Office etc. are available in separate blog posts.

Servicing Stack Updates

Microsoft now publishes an overview of all current Servicing Stack Updates (SSUs). The list of SSUs can be found at ADV990001 (but is not always up to date).

Notes on the updates

Windows 10 version 1903 and 1909 use a common core and have an identical set of system files. Therefore, the same security update is delivered for Windows 10 version 190x. Information on how to enable the features of Windows 10 version 1909, which is done by an enablement package update, can be found in this Techcommunity article.

All Windows 10 updates are cumulative. The monthly patchday update contains all security fixes for Windows 10 and all non-security related fixes up to the patchday. In addition to the security patches for the vulnerabilities, the updates contain measures to improve security.

Windows 7 SP1 is no longer supported since January 2020. Only customers with an ESU license (or workarounds) will still receive updates. ESU Bypass is likely to experience problems in the August 2020 version, the update cannot be installed at this time (see this German discussion). Updates can also be downloaded from the Microsoft Update Catalog. The updates for Windows RT 8.1 and Microsoft Office RT are only available through Windows Update.

Information about the support period for Windows 10 can be found in the Windows Lifecycle Facts Sheet. However, due to the coronavirus crisis, Microsoft has postponed the end of the lifecycle for Windows 10 version 1709 (Enterprise/Education) and Windows 10 version 1809 (Home and Pro) until October 2020.

The security updates from September 2020 cover 129 security vulnerabilities (CVEs) in Microsoft products. Affected are Microsoft Windows, Edge (EdgeHTML-based and Chromium-based), ChakraCore, Internet Explorer (IE), SQL Server, ASP.NET, Office and Office Services, Web Apps, Microsoft Dynamics, Visual Studio, Exchange Server, ASP.NET, OneDrive and Azure DevOps. Of these 129 patches, 23 are classified as critical, 105 as important and one as moderately serious. Twelve of these patches were reported by the ZDI program. None of these bugs are listed as publicly known or actively attacked. A list of all security updates including CVEs can be found on the Zero Day Initiative blog and at Bleeping Computer(details are covered separately in blog posts).

Critical Security Updates

Internet Explorer 11
ChakraCore
Microsoft Edge (EdgeHTML-based)
Windows 10 for 32-bit Systems
Windows 10 for x64-based Systems
Windows 10 Version 1607 for 32-bit Systems
Windows 10 Version 1607 for x64-based Systems
Windows 10 Version 1709 for 32-bit Systems
Windows 10 Version 1709 for ARM64-based Systems
Windows 10 Version 1709 for x64-based Systems
Windows 10 Version 1803 for 32-bit Systems
Windows 10 Version 1803 for ARM64-based Systems
Windows 10 Version 1803 for x64-based Systems
Windows 10 Version 1809 for 32-bit Systems
Windows 10 Version 1809 for ARM64-based Systems
Windows 10 Version 1809 for x64-based Systems
Windows 10 Version 1903 for 32-bit Systems
Windows 10 Version 1903 for ARM64-based Systems
Windows 10 Version 1903 for x64-based Systems
Windows 10 Version 1909 for 32-bit Systems
Windows 10 Version 1909 for ARM64-based Systems
Windows 10 Version 1909 for x64-based Systems
Windows 10 Version 2004 for 32-bit Systems
Windows 10 Version 2004 for ARM64-based Systems
Windows 10 Version 2004 for x64-based Systems
Windows 7 for 32-bit Systems Service Pack 1
Windows 7 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1
Windows 8.1 for 32-bit systems
Windows 8.1 for x64-based systems
Windows RT 8.1
Windows Server 2008 for 32-bit Systems Service Pack 2
Windows Server 2008 for 32-bit Systems Service Pack 2 (Server Core
installation)
Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems Service Pack 2
Windows Server 2008 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 2
Windows Server 2008 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 2 (Server Core
installation)
Windows Server 2008 R2 for Itanium-Based Systems Service Pack 1
Windows Server 2008 R2 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1
Windows Server 2008 R2 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1 (Server Core
installation)
Windows Server 2012
Windows Server 2012 (Server Core installation)
Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows Server 2012 R2 (Server Core installation)
Windows Server 2016
Windows Server 2016 (Server Core installation)
Windows Server 2019
Windows Server 2019 (Server Core installation)
Windows Server, version 1803 (Server Core Installation)
Windows Server, version 1903 (Server Core installation)
Windows Server, version 1909 (Server Core installation)
Windows Server, version 2004 (Server Core installation)
Microsoft SharePoint Enterprise Server 2013 Service Pack 1
Microsoft SharePoint Enterprise Server 2016
Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 Service Pack 2
Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 Service Pack 2
Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2013 Service Pack 1
Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 Service Pack 2
Microsoft SharePoint Server 2019
Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 Cumulative Update 16
Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 Cumulative Update 17
Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 Cumulative Update 18
Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 Cumulative Update 5
Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 Cumulative Update 6
Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 Cumulative Update 7
Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 Update 5
Microsoft Visual Studio 2013 Update 5
Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 Update 3
Microsoft Visual Studio 2017 version 15.9 (includes 15.0 – 15.8)
Microsoft Visual Studio 2019 version 16.0
Microsoft Visual Studio 2019 version 16.4 (includes 16.0 – 16.3)
Microsoft Visual Studio 2019 version 16.7 (includes 16.0 – 16.6)
Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations

Important Security Updates

Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise for 32-bit Systems
Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise for 64-bit Systems
Microsoft Excel 2010 Service Pack 2 (32-bit editions)
Microsoft Excel 2010 Service Pack 2 (64-bit editions)
Microsoft Excel 2013 RT Service Pack 1
Microsoft Excel 2013 Service Pack 1 (32-bit editions)
Microsoft Excel 2013 Service Pack 1 (64-bit editions)
Microsoft Excel 2016 (32-bit edition)
Microsoft Excel 2016 (64-bit edition)
Microsoft Office 2010 Service Pack 2 (32-bit editions)
Microsoft Office 2010 Service Pack 2 (64-bit editions)
Microsoft Office 2013 RT Service Pack 1
Microsoft Office 2013 Service Pack 1 (32-bit editions)
Microsoft Office 2013 Service Pack 1 (64-bit editions)
Microsoft Office 2016 (32-bit edition)
Microsoft Office 2016 (64-bit edition)
Microsoft Office 2016 for Mac
Microsoft Office 2019 for 32-bit editions
Microsoft Office 2019 for 64-bit editions
Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac
Microsoft Office Online Server
Microsoft Office Web Apps 2010 Service Pack 2
Microsoft Word 2010 Service Pack 2 (32-bit editions)
Microsoft Word 2010 Service Pack 2 (64-bit editions)
Microsoft Word 2013 RT Service Pack 1
Microsoft Word 2013 Service Pack 1 (32-bit editions)
Microsoft Word 2013 Service Pack 1 (64-bit editions)
Microsoft Word 2016 (32-bit edition)
Microsoft Word 2016 (64-bit edition)
Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based)
ASP.NET Core 2.1
ASP.NET Core 3.1
OneDrive for Windows
SQL Server 2017 Reporting Services
SQL Server 2019 Reporting Services
Visual Studio Code
xamarin.forms

Moderate Security Updates

Internet Explorer 9

Similar articles:
Microsoft Office Patchday (September 1, 2020)
Microsoft Security Update Summary (September 8, 2020)
Patchday: Windows 10-Updates (September 8, 2020)
Patchday: Windows 8.1/Server 2012-Updates (September 8, 2020)
Patchday: Updates für Windows 7/Server 2008 R2 (September 8, 2020)
Patchday Microsoft Office Updates (September 8, 2020)