Microsoft’s latest update fixes six zero-days and two critical bugs – but is it a buggy mess again?

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The main conclusions of ZDNET

• The February update continues to renew Secure Boot certificates.
• The update also fixes a number of feature and security issues.
• Let’s hope this month’s update contains fewer bugs than January’s.

Another month, another Patch Tuesday rollout from the folks at Microsoft. This month’s roundup addresses several feature and security bugs. But just as importantly, it also continues to renew expiring Secure Boot certificates to ensure your PC remains protected from bootkit malware.

Safe boot

A security feature that aims to thwart nasty bootkit malware. Secure Boot uses certificates to ensure that only trusted programs run during the boot process. Because many of these certificates expire in June, Microsoft will need to update them on most Windows PCs. This process started with the rollout of Patch Tuesday in January and now continues with February.

Also: Your PC’s critical security certificates may be about to expire – how to check

On the client side, the new Secure Boot certificates are designed for both Windows 11 and 10. But those of you still using Windows 10 will need to be enrolled in the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program. The ESU ensures that your Windows 10 PC continues to receive important security updates and patches through October 2026.

Function solutions

The latest Patch Tuesday updates for Windows 11 And Windows 10 also fixes some bugs in the features. For Windows 11, the update fixes an issue that affected playing games in full-screen mode, and another issue that prevented some PCs from connecting to certain WPA3-Personal Wi-Fi networks.

Also: How to upgrade your ‘incompatible’ Windows 10 PC to Windows 11 for free

As for Windows 10, the latest monthly update fixes issues with Chinese fonts, with certain graphics processing units, and with custom folder names in File Explorer. It also fixes a bug introduced with the January update that caused some Secure Launch-compatible PCs to restart instead of shutting down or going into sleep mode.

Security solutions

No Patch Tuesday update would be complete without the usual security patches. Here the number of repairs was dramatically lower than in January: only 55 repairs compared to a whopping 114 last month. While only two of this month’s security vulnerabilities were rated as critical, six of the 55 were zero-day bugs. turning this into a more urgent updateaccording to patch management provider Action1.

Also: Microsoft and ServiceNow’s exploitable agents reveal a growing – and avoidable – AI security crisis

One vulnerability already being exploited in the wild could allow an attacker to gain system privileges on affected Windows systems. Another one exploited in the wild can affect network connectivity on your PC. With a third vulnerability discovered in real-world attacks, a hacker could disable security controls and gain access to sensitive data. All this means that the February update is important.

Update your PC

To update your Windows 11 PC, go to System, select Windows Update and then click the button to check for updates. In Windows 10, go to System, select Update & Security, choose Windows Update and check for the latest updates.

With all these bug patches, does this mean you should install the February update as soon as possible? Normally I would say yes. However, Microsoft has been wreaking havoc lately with its buggy updates. January’s Patch Tuesday update was a glitchy mess, introducing a host of bugs that forced Microsoft to release two emergency patches in response.

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If you’re concerned about the security issues and other bugs fixed in this month’s update, you should install it as soon as possible. But if you can possibly wait, I’d recommend delaying it for a few days to ensure the February rollout is more stable and reliable than January’s.

If you do install the update, know that you can always uninstall it if it turns out to be another buggy mess. However, it’s clear that Microsoft needs to focus more on quality control of its monthly updates to ensure bugs are fixed rather than creating more.