Microsoft is launching a new Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) scanner as part of the Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection (Microsoft Defender ATP) to bring attack and malware protection to the firmware level.
The UEFI scanner is a new feature that is built into the Microsoft Defender Antivirus for Windows 10 , and it’s capable of scanning the firmware filesystem and perform security assessments. Also, it includes insights from chipset manufacturers that further expands the Microsoft Defender ATP protection.
The company explains that the Microsoft Defender ATP UEFI scanner works by interacting with motherboard chipset to read the firmware files at runtime, and to detect threats, the feature performs dynamic analysis using multiple components, including UEFI anti-rootkit that reaches the firmware through Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI). Full filesystem scanner to analyze content inside the firmware, and detection engine, which finds exploits and malicious behaviors.
If an anomaly is detected, then it’ll be reported in the Windows Security app, under the “Virus & threat protection” section, inside the Protection history page. Information that you can use to investigate and respond to firmware attacks and suspicious activities on the firmware.
In the case of Microsoft Defender ATP (enterprise) customers, the detections will appear as alerts in the Microsoft Defender Security Center.
The new UEFI scanner is another component that Microsoft is making broadly available to help with the continued increase of hardware and firmware-level attacks, which usually compromise the boot flow that’s difficult to detect, posing a significant risk to devices and data.
Microsoft is now rolling out update KB4567523 outside of the regular schedule for devices running Windows 10 version 2004 to fix printing issues due to a bug with the June 9, 2020, update .
KB4567523 bumps the version number to build 19041.331 for the May 2020 Update, and according to the company fixes problem that might prevent certain printers from printing.
The print spooler might generate an error or close unexpectedly when trying to print, and no output will come from the affected printer. You might also see issues with the apps you are trying to print from, such as receiving an error, or the app might close unexpectedly. This issue might also affect software-based printers, such as when printing to PDF.
You can download the updates to install them manually for version 2004 with the links below:
- KB4567523 64-bit | Download
- KB4567523 32-bit | Download
In addition to update KB4567523, the company is also pushing the same fix for older versions, including for Windows 10 version 1709 (build 16299.1937) as update KB4567515, version 1703 (build 15063.2411) as update KB4567516, version 1607 (build 14393.3755) as update KB4567517, and original release (build 10240.18609) as update KB4567518.
Windows 10 version 1909, 1903, 1809, and 1803 already received this patch with the update released on June 16, 2020 .
Uninstall Windows 10 update KB4567523 to fix problems
If the KB4567523 update is causing issues on your computer, you can always uninstall it to revert the changes.
To uninstall KB4567523 or any other quality update on Windows 10, use these steps:
- Open Start .
- Search for Command Prompt , right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
- Type the following command to view the update history and press Enter : wmic qfe list brief /format:table
- Check the Windows Update history of your device, and identify the update by its HotFixID and InstalledOn information.
- Type the following command to uninstall the update from your computer and press Enter : wusa /uninstall /kb:4567523 In the command, replace “4567523” for KB number that correspond to the update that you’re trying to remove. For instance, if you’re trying to uninstall update KB4567523, then the number that you can have to use in the command is “4567523.”
- Click the Yes button.
- Continue with the on-screen directions (if applicable).
Once you complete the steps, the recently installed update will be removed from your computer fixing any issues as a result of the release.
If your computer won’t boot after installing KB4567523, you can remove update from the Advanced startup environment using these steps .
Download June 2020 update for Windows 10
These updates are available immediately, they’ll download and install automatically, but you can always force the update from Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and clicking the Check for updates button. If you’re downloading an optional update, then you’ll also need to click the Download and install option. You can find more details about the most recent updates in the Windows 10 update history tracker guide .
