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Exploit Wednesday & Uninstall Thursday: Stay safe after Patch Tuesday
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Updated onDecember 9, 2019
updated onDecember 9, 2019
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Those of you that are actively following the continuous development ofMicrosoftproducts surely know aboutMicrosoftPatch Tuesday.
For those of you that are just casual users,Patch Tuesdayis an unofficial term used to refer to whenMicrosoftreleasessoftware updatesfor its products. It is also called that way because it is always the second Tuesday of each month.
WhilePatch Tuesdaymay be popular, fewer people know aboutExploit Wednesdayand Uninstall Thursday.
What exactly are Exploit Wednesday and Uninstall Thursday?
What is Exploit Wednesday?
Just like you read thepatchnotes to see what are the new features included in the latestupdate, cybercriminals analyze thepatchnotes to see what the weak points are.
The day afterPatch Tuesdaythere is usually a rise in the number of attacks against unpatched systems. This has been dubbed by some asExploit WednesdayorDay Zero.
More so, plenty of malicious parties will also hold off on exploiting bugs found inWindowssoftware until afterPatch Tuesday.
How do I stay safe during Exploit Wednesday?
Malware launched duringExploit Wednesdayspecifically targets those that have not updated their system yet. Because of this, there are a few things you can do to avoid being a target:
While these steps should be followed at all times,Exploit Wednesdayis when you should be particularly careful.
What is Uninstall Thursday?
More of a joke in the Microsoft Community, it pokes fun atMicrosoft’stendency to never deliver aPatch Tuesdayupdate without critical issues for some users.
Thus, Uninstall Thursday is basically the day after you realize what exactly inPatch Tuesdayis causing issues with your PC, and you uninstall that particular component.
Normally, Uninstall Thursday is followed quickly by a day in which Microsoft releases hotfixes, so it is sometimes short-lived or doesn’t get to happen at all.
How do I stay safe during Uninstall Thursday?
Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do about Uninstall Thursday, except for the following:
By following these steps, you should be able to get through everyPatch Tuesday,Exploit Wednesdayand Uninstall Thursday with minimal casualties (or hopefully, none at all) to your PC’s well-being.
What are your experiences withpatch Tuesdayand the days that follow it? If you found this article helpful, let us know in the comments section below.
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Radu Tyrsina
Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time).
For most of the kids of his age, the Internet was an amazing way to play and communicate with others, but he was deeply impressed by the flow of information and how easily you can find anything on the web.
Prior to founding Windows Report, this particular curiosity about digital content enabled him to grow a number of sites that helped hundreds of millions reach faster the answer they’re looking for.
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