Welcome to Patch Tuesday for October 2020

It's that time again. Please leave your PC(s) powered on tonight so security updates from Microsoft will be downloaded to your PC around 3:00 a.m. (Make sure you have configured it to avoid hibernation and sleep modes when idle, and while plugged in.) This can be adjusted with the power settings icon in the Control Panel.

Patch Tuesday Forecast

This Patch Tuesday expect to see the normal number of security patches for Microsoft products. Microsoft's new Win 10 2004 build continues to stabilize and Microsoft is encouraging people to upgrade to their latest version. This past month, 129 security updates were applied.

To see the end of life support for various builds, click here.

To see which version of Windows 10 you have, go to Settings > System > About and scroll to Windows Specifications, where you'll find the edition and version number. 

If you wish to upgrade to version build 2004, leave plenty of time on your schedule as this update must download first. Remember, you have only 10 days to revert back to your build. Then your PC is is locked in.

1. Go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update, and click Check for Updates. You should see Feature update to Windows 10, version 20H2. Click Download and install. 
2. Once the download is complete and the update is ready to install, you'll get a notification from Microsoft so that you can choose the right time to finish the installation and reboot your computer. 

Of interest this month

• October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month - To save you hours of reading, I have collected (7) quick tips for your awareness. These are 1 or 2 sheet PDF files. (See my recommendation for "quick tips")   
• Hacker's disguise malware as President Trump's COVID-19 details - (Read more)
• Protecting yourself against cyber criminals - What is phishing? Everything you need to know to protect yourself from scam emails and more (Learn more)
• Ransomware accounted for 41% of all cyber insurance claims in first half of 2020 (Read more) 

For what it’s worth

We are 20 days until the election. Politicians are working hard to get your vote. Hackers are working even harder to snare your attention and infiltrate your PC, online accounts, or install ransomware. This and every other holiday period is a rich opportunity for them to attack. While it's a pain for you to keep up, it's worth your while to harden your security defenses so they'll move along. They know there are plenty of fish in the sea. 

Do you know of anyone (friend, family, or employee) who would benefit from this Patch Tuesday Bulletin? It's easy to share the link. Have them go to My-Computer-Friend.com and click on the Subscribe button, or forward this bulletin to them. Help others help themselves.😊 

As a reminder, make sure your antivirus and malware software is up to date, and scan your PC to keep you safe. Enjoy your Halloween and be watchful for real-life gremlins from the internet.

🎃 HAPPY HALLOWEEN 👻

Gary