Microsoft finally patches nasty Windows security hole, two years later

DogWalk, a security flaw in Windows first discovered in January 2020, has finally been addressed, the company has confirmed.

The remote code execution flaw, existing due to a path traversal weakness in the Windows Support Diagnostic Tool (MSDT), is being patched as part of the August 2022 Patch Tuesday, Microsoft has said.

The software that never stops updating

All maintained software updates regularly.

Now--the reasons why the update exists can be problematic.

I run Win 7 Pro on the other side of my dual boot setups. Daily driver is Kubuntu. Win 7 is not allowed to connect to the web and updates are completely turned off. Runs like the day I installed it.

I haven’t used Win yet this year though on this machine. I have a rugged tablet, Toughpad that I use Win 7 Pro on for a scan tool and auto repair info software which are available for Windows only. Likewise, updates and wifi/network adapters turned off.

> Specifics please! I have Windows 11 on laptops and desktops. It works great for me. Why is Win7 64 Pro better? And can you even update it via the corporate updates program? Not important I suppose, for machines that are never on the internet.

I prefer the Win7 UI over any UI before or after that. The Win8 Metro UI broke a lot of things, made others annoying, and wiped out still others. Win10 made the UI slightly less egregious, and Win11 is barely different from 10 in that respect. So it's really a matter of personal preference, working with the computer, that makes me say Win7 64 Pro was "peak Windows".

The underlying operating system internals have improved since Win7, no question, and Win10/11 are more secure if one is going to browse the internet. But as you correctly state, Win7 no longer gets updated for us non-corporate folks, so I only use it for non-internet operations. It's rare that I need "Windows going to the internet" and for that I have a copy of Win10 and I grin and bear it. As a result the vast majority of my internet work is done with either Linux or MacOS.

“It’s rare that I need “Windows going to the internet” and for that I have a copy of Win10 and I grin and bear it. As a result the vast majority of my internet work is done with either Linux or MacOS.”

Every 2 years or so I try out Mint Linux. What it is missing is a sophisticated, adjustable red shift app. For lowering the blue light output of my LED monitor. (and laptop screens) With Window 11, I have two ways of doing this, and I use both at night. This is the main reason I use Windows not Linux. I have minor reasons too.

Windows 7 GUI vs Windows 11 GUI -— for me one is as good as the other.

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