An open letter to Microsoft management regarding the Windows update

Finally, I asked an open question about what could be changed in Windows 10 to make it better for The business of the respondents.You can read the answer to question 6 here .

I have also done a similar survey for consumers .The results of the survey consumers were similar to those of consultants and patch administrators. The complete results of the Microsoft Consumer Survey can be found here .

I invite you to take the time to consider both the results correction administrators as well as consumers and domestic users in detail. You will see similar trends in both surveys.

The insider process does not identify problems

It seems like there is a break in the testing process. The Windows 10 Insider Process is not able to identify issues on published products. When your own products break with these versions it is clear that the current test processes are not good enough .

It is disturbing that problems with Microsoft software versions have damaging side effects with other Microsoft software. Example: the recent [19659005] Net 4.7.2 and Azure AD connect that causes side effects and problems with a high CPU .

At one point, you had a program called Security Update Validation Program that allowed companies with special nondisclosure agreements to test security updates before they were released. I urge you to expand this program and include a broader testing process. While your MSRC communication says that for best practices, you have to install updates immediately, the reality is that the cautious patcher waits at least a week or more before installing the updates. I hope you find this trend as disturbing and disturbing as I do

Feature films cause fatigue patches

I'm confused when I see users and consultants talking about taking drastic measures to regain control. Some disable Windows Update as a drastic action to ensure that updates do not restart systems when they are not desired. It is clear that your team also recognizes that unexpected updates are problematic. But your clients deserve better than "promising" results. They deserve a stable platform that only restarts when they want it. The operating system must communicate better with the end user and in particular with the patches administrator when a machine receives an update. The addition of Windows Update for Business settings that often conflict with other Group Policy settings is confusing and not clear.

While it is commendable that you have listened to comments and made changes to Windows Update during these three years, the fact is that these changes in each release have caused confusion and in some cases unexpected behavior. Dual Scan is one of those changes that caused confusion, and as a side effect, administrators had to install updates when they did not want them. The lack of clear communication regarding update changes leads to this confusion. Administrators must follow various blogs and sites and even Twitter strings to be able to understand the changes. The lack of basic documentation of Windows update error codes, the fact that it took several versions of functions to modify illegible Windows update log does so that it took several versions of features before the publication of symbols shows that changes in the Windows update have had a major impact on the maintenance and management of Windows 10. I personally know several large companies that are not on the current version of 1803 several versions of features behind. Constant change and churn do not help companies in their deployment strategies

Patch communication must work

Since January of this year with the release of Specter / Meltdown patches, there is had many cases of, the registry entries detailed in the Knowledge Base articles regarding the registry key application were initially incorrect and updated or the vendor updates had to be stopped . We understand that coordination with other providers means that this communication process has not been easy, but it goes without saying that communication and follow-up of known side effects and problems must be faster and easier. more communicative. On a regular basis, it is difficult to identify if there are known issues with an update and if our businesses will be directly affected. Often, known patch issues relate to undefined "third party software" and we often have to ask each other in the patch community if we were impacted and which vendors we were using. Clarity in the documentation of known issues would be greatly appreciated.

Impact on Azure

When we download a Windows 10 virtual machine in Azure and it deploys it, it is often built from a version dating back to it. many months ago. These corrective side effects that we see in traditional operating system channels also impact patches on Azure. Recently, an RDP patch released in March and finally fully implemented in June had an impact on Azure VMs. The fact that you had to post a KnowledgeBase article to explain to customers how to work around this problem shows that delays in Azure fix and the lack of clear patching communication result in effects that can occur. Training on your cloud platforms.

A Question

I ask you to take the time to review your busy schedule to review the results of the investigation and see customer dissatisfaction. Many of your customers are not happy. We need an action to solve these problems with the quality of the patches.

As a Microsoft user and shareholder of Microsoft, I ask you to please consider these comments as we wish: install all updates and patches immediately without reservation. In the current state of things, we do not have enough confidence in the software and the quality of the patches.

Thank you in advance for the opportunity to share with you the opinions of your customers.

Susan Bradley

Moderator at Patchmanagement.org

Writer on the subject of patches for Askwoody.com

July 29, 2018