If you have Windows 8.1, you have a little less than a month to install Windows 8.1 Update, or you will miss out on future security updates.
Microsoft announced a fairly large update for the most recent version of its Windows operating system, with the unoriginal moniker “Windows 8.1 Update” (Win8.1U), as part of its April Patch Tuesday release last week. Users who download and install the update (or have updates installed automatically), don’t have anything to worry about. They will continue to receive security updates going forward. Users who don’t install Win8.1U will
not be able to install future patches from Microsoft. If they attempt to install the patch anyway, they will receive a message stating the update is “not applicable.”
Failure to install Win8.1U will prevent Windows Update from patching your system starting in May, Microsoft warned. After businesses protested, Microsoft has extended the deadline for enterprise customers to August, but the deadline for consumers remains May 13.
The new update “reflects Microsoft’s commitment to providing a more rapid cadence of feature improvements for our customers,” Brandon LeBlanc, a senior marketing manager at Microsoft, wrote on a TechNet blog Wednesday.
Who Has to Update by Next Month
In case you were wondering, this doesn’t apply to Windows 8 users who have not yet upgraded to Windows 8.1. They have until January 12, 2016 to upgrade to Windows 8.1—and then will need Win8.1U (or whatever the latest version would be) to continue receiving patches. Windows 8 users, along with Windows 7 and Vista users, will continue receiving security updates. Windows XP users won’t get any security updates, ever, since Microsoft finally, officially, yanked support for the OS last week.
“You cannot afford to miss out on receiving your Windows security updates, so you’ll just have to adjust to the new world order—and hopefully find Microsoft’s changes to the way Windows 8.1 works a positive step,” Graham Cluley, an independent security consultant, wrote on the Lumension blog.
Many of Microsoft’s business customers criticized the move, noting that in the past, Microsoft gave businesses 24 months to install a service pack update. They also said five weeks was not enough time to accommodate the time necessary to test and deploy patches. The problem was compounded by the fact that many users were also having trouble installing the update when originally announced last week.
Microsoft released the fixed update this week, and said enterprises have until August 12 to comply. The same August deadline also applies to Windows Server 2012 R2 Update, also announced last week.
The May 13 deadline is still in place for consumers. “For our consumer customers, Windows 8.1 Update is a required update and needs to be installed to receive new updates from Windows Update starting on May 13th,” said LeBlanc. “The vast majority of these customers already have Automatic Update turned on, so they don’t need to be concerned since the update will simply install in the background prior to May 13th.”
It’s worth taking the time to manual check, since some users report having to manually start the update despite having Automatic Update enabled.
What is Win8.1U?
Windows 8.1 Update offers a slew of user interface changes, such as more friendly support for users who prefer to use the keyboard and mouse over a touch interface, an improved version of Internet Explorer 11, and the ability to boot directly to a traditional desktop rather than the Windows 8 Start Screen. Many of these changes “will probably be warmly welcomed by users,” Cluley said.
Microsoft wants to ensure that customers are running the latest versions of the operating system. The new update for Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 8.1 RT and Windows 8.1, “will be considered a new servicing/support baseline,” wrote Steve Thomas, a senior consultant at Microsoft, on a TechNet blog last week.
Even so, it will be difficult for small businesses—the ones who don’t have the expensive enterprise support contracts—to test and install a major update, 707 MB in size, with less than a month to go. The clock is ticking, again, for Windows administrators
Microsoft announced a fairly large update for the most recent version of its Windows operating system, with the unoriginal moniker “Windows 8.1 Update” (Win8.1U), as part of its April Patch Tuesday release last week. Users who download and install the update (or have updates installed automatically), don’t have anything to worry about. They will continue to receive security updates going forward. Users who don’t install Win8.1U will
Failure to install Win8.1U will prevent Windows Update from patching your system starting in May, Microsoft warned. After businesses protested, Microsoft has extended the deadline for enterprise customers to August, but the deadline for consumers remains May 13.
The new update “reflects Microsoft’s commitment to providing a more rapid cadence of feature improvements for our customers,” Brandon LeBlanc, a senior marketing manager at Microsoft, wrote on a TechNet blog Wednesday.
Who Has to Update by Next Month
In case you were wondering, this doesn’t apply to Windows 8 users who have not yet upgraded to Windows 8.1. They have until January 12, 2016 to upgrade to Windows 8.1—and then will need Win8.1U (or whatever the latest version would be) to continue receiving patches. Windows 8 users, along with Windows 7 and Vista users, will continue receiving security updates. Windows XP users won’t get any security updates, ever, since Microsoft finally, officially, yanked support for the OS last week.
“You cannot afford to miss out on receiving your Windows security updates, so you’ll just have to adjust to the new world order—and hopefully find Microsoft’s changes to the way Windows 8.1 works a positive step,” Graham Cluley, an independent security consultant, wrote on the Lumension blog.
Many of Microsoft’s business customers criticized the move, noting that in the past, Microsoft gave businesses 24 months to install a service pack update. They also said five weeks was not enough time to accommodate the time necessary to test and deploy patches. The problem was compounded by the fact that many users were also having trouble installing the update when originally announced last week.
Microsoft released the fixed update this week, and said enterprises have until August 12 to comply. The same August deadline also applies to Windows Server 2012 R2 Update, also announced last week.
The May 13 deadline is still in place for consumers. “For our consumer customers, Windows 8.1 Update is a required update and needs to be installed to receive new updates from Windows Update starting on May 13th,” said LeBlanc. “The vast majority of these customers already have Automatic Update turned on, so they don’t need to be concerned since the update will simply install in the background prior to May 13th.”
It’s worth taking the time to manual check, since some users report having to manually start the update despite having Automatic Update enabled.
What is Win8.1U?
Windows 8.1 Update offers a slew of user interface changes, such as more friendly support for users who prefer to use the keyboard and mouse over a touch interface, an improved version of Internet Explorer 11, and the ability to boot directly to a traditional desktop rather than the Windows 8 Start Screen. Many of these changes “will probably be warmly welcomed by users,” Cluley said.
Microsoft wants to ensure that customers are running the latest versions of the operating system. The new update for Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 8.1 RT and Windows 8.1, “will be considered a new servicing/support baseline,” wrote Steve Thomas, a senior consultant at Microsoft, on a TechNet blog last week.
Even so, it will be difficult for small businesses—the ones who don’t have the expensive enterprise support contracts—to test and install a major update, 707 MB in size, with less than a month to go. The clock is ticking, again, for Windows administrators
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