Windows 10 Security Alert As Microsoft Says: ‘Do Not Install This Update’
Category:UncategorizedBy Davey Winder
Microsoft appears to have been really struggling to get updates for Windows 10 users right of late. What with advising Windows 10 users to install a critical update before any others to avoid potential problems, and then confirming the Windows Update Assistant itself had a security vulnerability. However, just days after the latest Windows 10 update, KB4520062, was released, Microsoft is advising that some users, “should not install this update,” as it can break the Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) service. So, what’s gone wrong this time and who needs to avoid this latest Windows 10 update?
What is the Windows 10 KB4520062 cumulative update?
This is the second cumulative update for Windows 10 to hit users in October, and it’s not a particularly important one from the security perspective. Or, rather, it shouldn’t be. The update, KB4520062, or OS build 17763.832 if you prefer, has several highlights, according to Microsoft. These include preventing blank tiles from appearing in the Start menu when upgrading to version 1809 from any other previous version of Windows 10 and fixing an issue with the settings app failing if you change a theme. Other “highlights” include fixing a power consumption issue in standby mode and stopping a black screen from appearing after the first sign in following an update installation. There is one notable lowlight though, as Microsoft itself has now stated:
“After installing this update, the Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) service might stop running and might fail to send reporting data. You might also receive a 0xc0000409 error in Event Viewer in MsSense.exe.”
Who is impacted by this Windows 10 update security issue?
While this won’t impact Windows 10 consumer users, it’s something of a big deal as far as those business users who rely upon Windows Defender ATP to protect them are concerned. Windows 10 Enterprise edition has this built-in, and it’s an excellent and highly recommended set of antivirus and security tools. Or at least it is if you don’t install this cumulative update. Although Microsoft said that it is “working on a resolution and estimate a solution will be available in mid-November 2019,” that doesn’t help in the meantime. “At this time, we suggest that devices in an affected environment do not install this update,” is the workaround warning that Microsoft stated to mitigate the issue. Affected environments being those running either Windows 10 version 1809 or Windows Server 2019 along with Microsoft Defender ATP. Today In: Innovation
The only good news here is that not all 900 million users of Windows 10 are impacted by this Defender-breaking update and that it’s not a mandatory one either.
I’ve said it before, and I’m going to say it again: Please don’t think that I’m a Microsoft hater as that is very far from the truth. I am a Windows 10 user myself, and I appreciate the complexity of maintaining such a behemoth of code. However, that doesn’t stop me from thinking that Microsoft can surely do better.
