How can anyone install these Security updates?

[George Hester]

The security issues these things address are bad enough but the fixes can be devastating. I don't get it. What's up with this company?

Take a look at this security bulletin:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS04-011.mspx

You get to this by running Windows Update http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/en/default.asp and being told we need KB835732 and "Reading more..." we see this:

Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 835732 documents the currently known issues that customers may experience when they install this security update

So we go to http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;835732 and we read this:

841343 The HOMEDRIVE, HOMEPATH, and HOMESHARE environment variables may not function as you intend if you modify them in Windows 2000

841395 The domain controller does not register _GC, _KERBEROS, and _KPASSWD DNS entries when a Windows 2000 server starts

842644 Event ID 256 is logged in the system event log after you install the MS04-011 security update on a Windows 2000-based computer

http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb;en-us;841343 seems banal. But

http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb;en-us;841395 and
http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb;en-us;842644

are downright showstoppers. We need non-regression tested hot fixes to fix the issues the security fixes fix. This is UNACCEPTABLE. This is foolishness. It is sophmoric. It is irresponsible.

I don't understand the philosophy of this company. I know they are just human beings there like all of us. They have good days and bad days. Understood. But they have a nasty tendency to throw the baby out with the bath water come hell or high water. My 2¢.

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

I installed this long ago, and many other updates since, and haven't had any
problems. Have you, or are you just worried you might?

 

[George Hester]

Yes I am worried I might. Seems pretty convincing to me that my domain controller will experience those issues. I'd prefer not to have them. Are you saying you have those issues but there is no harm done or are you saying you didn't on your domain controller? Thanks.

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

Yes I am worried I might. Seems pretty convincing to me that my
domain controller will experience those issues.

Just because the KB lists potential problems doesn't mean they're
inevitable, or even common....

I'd prefer not to

have them. Are you saying you have those issues but there is no harm
done or are you saying you didn't on your domain controller? Thanks.

I have it installed on all the DCs at all my clients' offices. No problems
with it. Of course you always ought to take good backups first...

Note that this is a very critical patch & should've been applied when it was
released in April.

 

[George Hester]

I need more information than that:

I have it installed on all the DCs at all my clients' offices. No problems
with it.

I need to know if they have the issues in the Event Viewer are there and there are no problems or they don't have issues in the Event Viewer? Thanks.

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

I need more information than that:


I need to know if they have the issues in the Event Viewer are there
and there are no problems or they don't have issues in the Event
Viewer? Thanks.

I don't believe I ever saw any event log errors related to this patch. Have
you seen a lot of newsgroup posts complaining of these errors? Googled for
same?

 

[George Hester]

No I just assumed the Knowledge Base articles were describing accruately the situation. They seemed to imply the issues "did" occur not "might." But thanks that helps me to feel a little more confident they won't happen.