Can Someone Explain How Opatch WIN7 EOS Extension Works?

[Sniggler]

[FONT=&quot]Can someone please explain how this Opatch works? It appears that you sign up, pay a fee, and they send you the updates after WIN7 support ends....
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/windows-7-and-server-2008-get-0patch-security-fixes-after-eos/[/FONT]
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[Paul Black]

Hi Sniggler,

[FONT=&quot]Can someone please explain how this Opatch works? It appears that you sign up, pay a fee, and they send you the updates after WIN7 support ends....
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Windows 7 and Server 2008 Get 0patch Security Fixes After EoS[/FONT]

What don't you understand in the article?

 

[Paul Black]

Hi Sniggler,

Does this help clarify things =>
Micropatching Keeps Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 Secure After Their End-Of-Support?

I hope this helps!

 

[Snick]

And as with XP they will continue to provide pay as you go support for Enterprise Win 7 for the near future.

Snick

 

[RolandJS]

"...they will continue to provide pay as you go support for Enterprise Win 7 for the near future..."
only enterprise w7, or all W7s? 0patch.com says many windows versions are supported, for how long, it depends.

 

[nord899]

FYI. I signed up for Opatch's Free option. As I read their blurb, they will, at their discretion, patch what they consider to be major bugs.

Will post-EOS Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 micropatches also be available to home/personal users? – Help Center

Yes, our post-EOS (post-End-of-Support) Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 will be available to all users with 0patch PRO or 0patch Enterprise license. So whether you're a home user with just one or a couple of computers, a small business with dozens of computers, or a large organization with a Windows fleet of tens of thousands, you'll be getting these micropatches.

We may occasionally decide to provide some of these micropatches to 0patch FREE users as well, for instance to help slow down a global worm outbreak.

 

[nord899]

FYI... joined Opatch Free, the one that claims it will provide you with bug fixes if and when they decide it is imperative, not the paid version which supposedly will do everything but clean your house.

It runs at startup and sits in the tray... Right now it soothes me with a little popup message (when you put your mouse on its icon) that says "Everything is OK."

FWIW.

 

[AK6DN]

I signed up and installed it on a couple of Win7 64b systems (Pro, Ultimate) and an older WinXP 32b system I still use (cause I have to for some legacy hw/sw).


So far it hasn't broken anything (that is good), but nothing is really being patched so far as basically all the systems were up to date WRT Microsoft and vendor patches. So time will tell as to what the effectiveness of this product is.


Supposedly it will tell you if there are paid patches that are available (but not applied in the free package) to be applied.


Nothing seen yet, but it is kind of too early to make a definitive analysis.

 

[nord899]

I signed up and installed it on a couple of Win7 64b systems (Pro, Ultimate) and an older WinXP 32b system I still use (cause I have to for some legacy hw/sw).


So far it hasn't broken anything (that is good), but nothing is really being patched so far as basically all the systems were up to date WRT Microsoft and vendor patches. So time will tell as to what the effectiveness of this product is.


Supposedly it will tell you if there are paid patches that are available (but not applied in the free package) to be applied.


Nothing seen yet, but it is kind of too early to make a definitive analysis.

Agreed... too soon to tell if it is useful or not.

Nick

 

[nord899]

"...they will continue to provide pay as you go support for Enterprise Win 7 for the near future..."
only enterprise w7, or all W7s? 0patch.com says many windows versions are supported, for how long, it depends.

FYI.... 0patchFREE just now applied a patch on my Windows7 Ultimate laptop. It purported to stop the JavaScript flaw in IE 11.

 

[maxseven]

...Supposedly it will tell you if there are paid patches that are available (but not applied in the free package) to be applied...

FYI.... 0patchFREE just now applied a patch on my Windows7 Ultimate laptop. It purported to stop the JavaScript flaw in IE 11.

Good stuff. I have been meaning to try 0patch and need to get this installed. Hopefully AK6DN you are right and it will tell me if/when I need to spend any money on it!

 

[nord899]

Good stuff. I have been meaning to try 0patch and need to get this installed. Hopefully AK6DN you are right and it will tell me if/when I need to spend any money on it!

Went just now to the 0patch blog and found this:

My previous post where I saw a message from 0patchFREE saying it had fixed the IE 11 JS bug now seems to be accurate, according to 0patch's blog post.


"Last Friday, Microsoft published an advisory about a remotely exploitable memory corruption vulnerability (CVE-2020-0674) that was reported to them by Qihoo 360 as being exploited in the wild. These attacks were reportedly limited so Microsoft decided not to rush with issuing a patch but will rather provide one as part of February's Patch Tuesday. They did, however, provide a workaround.

Because the provided workaround has multiple negative side effects, and because it is likely that Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 users without Extended Security Updates will not get the patch at all (their support ended this month), we decided to provide a micropatch that simulates the workaround without its negative side effects.

The vulnerability is in jscript.dll, which is the scripting engine for legacy JScript code; note that all "non-legacy" JScript code (whatever that might be), and all JavaScript code gets executed by the newer scripting engine implemented in jscript9.dll.

Microsoft's workaround comprises setting permissions on jscript.dll such that nobody will be able to read it. This workaround has an expected negative side effect that if you're using a web application that employs legacy JScript (and can as such only be used with Internet Explorer), this application will no longer work in your browser."

 

[maxseven]

I've implemented 0patch and my first impression is "awe-struck". Looks good. Thanks for your posts nord899 they inspired me!

 

[nord899]

I've implemented 0patch and my first impression is "awe-struck". Looks good. Thanks for your posts nord899 they inspired me!

maxseven,

Well, so far so good. My feeling is that 0patch needed to show their bona fides right away and the IE 11 flaw was a good way to start things off. I suspect that they want everyone to pay the monthly vig, just like MS, so I hope that they will continue to provide the rest of us on the free wagon bug fixes good enough to keep W7 safe. Here's hoping!

 

[maxseven]

Re: free fixes I agree, OTOH $26 bucks per year is darn cheap huh.

 

[nord899]

Re: free fixes I agree, OTOH $26 bucks per year is darn cheap huh.

maxseven,

Agree.... 26 bucks a year is cheap.... I shall closely watch to see how their patchwork goes and if it appears that 0patchFREE isn't doing the job, I shall probably go for the pro version. Thanks for the info.

 

[maxseven]

Today I see that a 2nd patch has been applied: to goopdate.dll, "DropBox Updater".

Wonder nord899 if you have been seeing, as I have, that the taskbar icon is amber when I wake my PC, indicating no connection with server. Then I open it and click "Sync Now" and it works and all is OK.

Can't say I understand it completely, for example the Patch Activity segment says "2 patches were applied" and under that 15 TIMES and "5 applications were patched". Guess I should do some more exploring of the Agent.

EDIT: Ah, I see when I click "PATCHED APPLICATIONS" that there are the 5: two Aviras, two Dropbox, one Quicken. So now I know if I have any anomalies with these I can suspect the 0patch actions and disable if necessary

 

[nord899]

Today I see that a 2nd patch has been applied: to goopdate.dll, "DropBox Updater".

Wonder nord899 if you have been seeing, as I have, that the taskbar icon is amber when I wake my PC, indicating no connection with server. Then I open it and click "Sync Now" and it works and all is OK.

Can't say I understand it completely, for example the Patch Activity segment says "2 patches were applied" and under that 15 TIMES and "5 applications were patched". Guess I should do some more exploring of the Agent.

EDIT: Ah, I see when I click "PATCHED APPLICATIONS" that there are the 5: two Aviras, two Dropbox, one Quicken. So now I know if I have any anomalies with these I can suspect the 0patch actions and disable if necessary

maxseven,

Did you go for the yearly rate or the 0patchFREE option. I cannot check on the dropbox or quicken patches as I use neither. Last I saw was the IE11 patch.

My 0PatchFREE notification icon says "Everything is OK."

Nick

 

[maxseven]

maxseven,

Did you go for the yearly rate or the 0patchFREE option. I cannot check on the dropbox or quicken patches as I use neither. Last I saw was the IE11 patch.

My 0PatchFREE notification icon says "Everything is OK."

Nick

I emailed 0patch support about my amber/unable to connect concern and they responded right away that the app itself needs not to check for connection so quickly on computer wake.

I haven't purchased a license yet but likely will soon. FWIW "Installed patches" now total 320!!! My opinion will likely change the instant my PC starts acting-up, but I'm finding 0patch to be way more reassuring than MS ever has been, what with telling me exactly what is being patched where. Will be interesting to follow it along and see if I ever need to un-enable a patch.

 

[nord899]

I emailed 0patch support about my amber/unable to connect concern and they responded right away that the app itself needs not to check for connection so quickly on computer wake.

I haven't purchased a license yet but likely will soon. FWIW "Installed patches" now total 320!!! My opinion will likely change the instant my PC starts acting-up, but I'm finding 0patch to be way more reassuring than MS ever has been, what with telling me exactly what is being patched where. Will be interesting to follow it along and see if I ever need to un-enable a patch.

maxseven,

Yes, 0patchFREE has made updating painless, unlike MS. And the comforting fact is their assertion that, when necessary, their patches can be modified. I too shall closely monitor it to see how it goes, down the road.