Patch Tuesday takes place tomorrow and brings tons of fixes

Nov 7, 2016 11:02 GMT  ·  By

This month’s Patch Tuesday will kick off tomorrow and in addition to the typical release cycle that includes security patches for Windows, Office and other software, there are also two highlights that everyone should have in mind.

First and foremost, Microsoft will release new cumulative updates for all Windows 10 versions released so far, including the original July 2015 version, November Update, and Anniversary Update.

These cumulative updates will be shipped through Windows Update and will bring computers fully up to date, supposing that they are actually capable of installing them - in the last few months, cumulative updates have caused quite a lot of problems on Windows 10 computers and there were many cases when they simply failed to install due to bugs that are still unknown.

The changelog of each cumulative update will be revealed tomorrow, but keep in mind that they require a system reboot, so IT admins should save work on Windows 10 computers before deployment.

Patch for Google-disclosed flaw

In addition to new cumulative updates, Microsoft will also deliver a patch for the security flaw that Google publicly disclosed last week and which is already being exploited in the wild.

Microsoft confirms that it recorded attacks from a group of Russian hackers known as Fancy Bear, but explained that Edge browser users were already secure thanks to patches that were shipped to Windows 10 systems. Everyone else would get patches this week on Patch Tuesday.

“We have coordinated with Google and Adobe to investigate this malicious campaign and to create a patch for down-level versions of Windows. Along these lines, patches for all versions of Windows are now being tested by many industry participants, and we plan to release them publicly on the next Update Tuesday, Nov 8,” Microsoft said.

System reboots are also expected to be necessary in this case, which should be handled with particular attention by IT administrators, but given the fact that this Patch Tuesday is likely to be a large release, backups and restore points are also recommended.