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CrowdStrike Secure Boot Lifecycle Management Content Pack
CrowdStrike has recently released the Secure Boot Lifecycle Management Content Pack. This new feature helps Falcon for IT module users manage Windows Secure Boot certificate updates ahead of these certificates’ expiration beginning in late June 2026. The dashboard provides an at‑a‑glance view of Secure Boot–enabled devices, showing which systems are already compliant with the updated 2023 Secure Boot certificate, which are in progress, and which are blocked or require opt‑in to a managed rollout. It also highlights certificate update failures that may require investigation. In addition, overall readiness is summarized through a compliance gauge, while a 30‑day trend shows how pass and fail counts change as remediation progresses. Filters by operating system, server edition, hostname, and update status help administrators quickly identify devices that need action to help ensure systems remain secure after the certificates expire. The feature also provides management options to opt devices into Microsoft's managed rollout for gradual, tested deployment, and to block updates on hardware with known compatibility issues to prevent boot failures. Note that this feature is available as part of CrowdStrike's Falcon for IT module. CrowdStrike Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) customers who are not licensed for this module can enable a free trial from the CrowdStrike Store. To learn more about this feature, please see the content pack tutorial video.
Call me crazy, if you like...
You can call me crazy if you like, but I find it weird how Windows has not improved, at least in usability, since basically Vista. To illustrate: All my computers take around 3 minutes to load into windows. And all of them have enterprise quality NVMe drives (work laptop using 7600MB/s, gaming laptop using 8400MB/s and desktop using 7500MB/s drive; The max transfer rate in reality is 780MB/s). So why the hell are they taking so long? From my perspective, the 17 second boot seems like false advertisement. Now, what might make people think that I am crazy is: I have been waiting for an solution to make my computers into "standalone dummy machines". Where there would be separate disk for an OS revision, maybe as read-only, that would be updated only with cumulative updates keeping the disk alive for far longer. And an separate disk for registry and updates. And addition for that, an disk for custom software. I am so tired of having to reinstall Windows each time something goes wrong with settings. Once I had to do it 4 times, to get everything set-up correctly. The "Settings" (update and registry) disk can be on the same physical drive as custom software. But keeping everything on one disk is just outdated design. Namely I would like at times to boot up Windows without all the other programs, just to use word or write an email. And that does not exclude the use of Microsoft Account or Onedrive. In addition, it would be great is there was an quick registry fixer. Where with a push of a button, the registry could be reset to Windows and it's updates. And when an external drive with custom software is connected, upon application/software/game launch, it would check the registry and allow adding/fixing registry entries with one button. It is baffling how much time people spend on setting up their computers for usage. But those are my thoughts on making some improvements to Windows. And maybe then, I have an actual reason to wait several minutes for the Windows to boot from an cold-boot.The New Activation Portal Is Partly Broken But It Is a MAJOR Inconvenience For Me & Others.
I Run Windows 7 Ultimate x64 And I need to Activate Windows, I am used to the new aka.ms/aoh replacing the phone line. But I Have Activated Windows XP & Vista Without Any Problems Multiple Times, I Tested It Too, Tried 7, Starter, Home, Pro, Ultimate, Even x32 & x64. Though, No matter what, everything BUT Windows 7 Works. This Is Clearly a Server Sided Issue And I've Had This problem for the past months maybe even about a year. (The Product Key I Am Using Is Not Public on The Internet So It's Not Blocked/Used Publicly By Everyone, it is the same product key that came with the CD) And I Can Say For Certain This is a Server Sided Issue. Please Help. And Thank You For Your Time.
Proposal: Dedicated Windows “Repair Companion” Device for Automatic Deep System Recovery
I’d like to propose a new hardware‑assisted recovery solution for Windows that would dramatically improve system reliability and reduce catastrophic failures caused by deep OS corruption. Today, Windows can repair many issues on its own, but certain types of corruption — such as servicing stack failures, broken WinSxS manifests, failed migrations, or damaged bootloaders — require offline repair or manual intervention. These situations often force users into time‑consuming troubleshooting or full reinstallations. My proposal is a dedicated, consumer‑friendly “Windows Repair Companion” device that connects to a home network and provides a trusted, isolated environment for deep system repair. This would be similar in concept to enterprise out‑of‑band management, but simplified and designed for everyday users. Key Features: • A small hardware device (similar in size to a Surface Dock or streaming box) that plugs into a router or PC. • Contains a hardened, read‑only repair OS and clean Windows recovery images. • Supports automatic network boot (PXE/UEFI) when a PC detects severe corruption or cannot boot normally. • Performs offline repairs: DISM, SFC, CHKDSK, servicing stack rebuilds, WinSxS restoration, bootloader repair, and update rollback. • Provides a true “push‑button restore” experience without requiring user technical knowledge. • Could leverage existing Surface recovery technology, secure boot chains, and cloud restore infrastructure. • Offers a new potential revenue stream for Microsoft while significantly improving Windows reliability. Benefits: • Makes Windows effectively unbrickable for most users. • Eliminates many catastrophic update failures and servicing issues. • Reduces support costs and frustration for consumers and small businesses. • Provides a clean, consistent recovery path across all OEM hardware. • Bridges the gap between consumer Windows and enterprise‑grade resilience. This device would give users peace of mind and provide Microsoft with a modern, hardware‑assisted recovery model that aligns with the direction of Surface and Windows Core OS technologies. Thank you for considering this idea — I believe it could meaningfully improve the Windows experience for millions of users.
Update KB5073723 breaks OpenSSH logins for users
Hallo, i found out that since i installed the KB5073723 Update on my Windows Server 2019 the integrated OpenSSH (which i use for SFTP) was no longer successully authorized Users when they try to login with WinSCP for example which worked for years. I have seen in the log that there was written "sshd: fatal: ga_init, unable to resolve user domain\\sftpuser" it seems that the "\\" is one backslash to much! After uninstalling KB5073723 and rebooting everything works as expected again! Pls. take a look and fix this bug. Thx WolfgangDid expediting the 2024-08 Quality Updates fail for anyone else?
Due to the CVE-2024-38063 vulnerability, we attempted to use the Expedited Quality Updates feature to enforce the immediate installation of the 2024-08 security updates. Unfortunately, the feature simply did not work. Even a couple weeks after deploying the expedited update profile, we had about 25% of our Windows endpoints still in "Pending" status, most of which were powered on 24/7. We still have ConfigMgr in our environment, so I used CMPivot to run a query for events in the System log with "2024-08" in the message. This showed me that rather than installing the update and forcing a restart one day later as configured, the update was being installed, then reverted about ten hours later, then immediately re-installed again, over and over: If I manually initiated a restart on any of the affected machines, the update was successfully finalized, so the issue wasn't a failure to install the update. I've opened a case with Microsoft Support, but it is progressing slowly. If nobody else is seeing the issue, I will throw in the towel, but if it's more widespread, I think it is worth fighting to get this fixed (assuming that Microsoft isn't already aware and has simply chosen not to publicize it — for example, in the Windows release health blade in the MIcrosoft 365 Admin Center).
win10 system freezes with solid random color on monitor
System freezes usually 10 or 20 min after reboot and a random solid color appears on monitor. Ctrl-alt-del does not work. I power off and then reboots successfully. The system is alive with all apps working until it happens again. I looked through the event logs and did not find any applicable errors. I had to reboot several times over a 2 day period. The first time it happened I was watching youtube and when the event occurred the audio got stuck and played the same sound byte over and over again while the monitor displayed a solid color.Deleted Bit-Recovery-Key in error
I made the mistake of accidentally deleting my Bit Recovery Key and now I have no idea how to restore it. Is there anyway to maintain my microsoft account and restore the key? I would be fine with erasing the computer, as long as I can still access them from the cloud with the same microsoft account. Can anyone help?[On demand] AMA: Managing Windows updates
Tune in to Tech Community Live on demand. Get tips on how to easily manage updates for your Windows devices. And, don’t worry if you missed the live stream. Q&A is open through Friday (12/5) at 12:00 p.m. PST so keep those questions coming! Go to https://aka.ms/AMA/WindowsUpdate to post your questions.
