Microsoft Weekly

See all installed updates

By Ed Bott

Is your installation of Windows up to date? You can probably infer that everything's in order if you check Windows Update (from Settings > Update & Security in Windows 10 or from Control Panel > System & Security in Windows 7) and it reports that there are no updates to install.

But if you insist on more details, you can check the update history, which shows details about each update that has been installed, including the date on which the update was installed. This listing also shows details for updates that failed to install properly.

For Windows 10, you can find this list by going to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update. Then click Update History to see a full list, categorized by type.

For Windows 7, the list is available in Control Panel. The easiest way to find it is to click the System And Security category and then click View Installed Updates under the Windows Update heading.

Regardless of OS, you can find details about any individual update by looking up its Knowledge Base (KB) number at support.microsoft.com/?kbid=xxxxxxx, replacing that last value with the update number.

Why patching Windows XP forever won't stop the next WannaCrypt

Security experts argue there could be unintended consequences if Microsoft provides critical security updates to old operating systems.

Windows 10's slowing growth: Should Microsoft be worried?

How to change default visualization formats in Microsoft Power BI

Seven tips for working with Office shapes

The takeaway from Build 2017: Competitive businesses must start developing for the cloud... or else

Windows 10 credential theft: Google is working on fix for Chrome flaw

Microsoft to update SharePoint with deeper personalized search support

Windows WannaCry: This separate, "bigger" malware attack also uses NSA's exploit

Apple, Windows tech support scams: US cracks down on fake security alerts

Microsoft's new Surface Laptop: Take a look

The new Surface Laptop offers an alternative to increasingly popular competitors in the education market.

The 20 best geek toys from your childhood

If your company uses a hybrid cloud solution, or is considering a hybrid cloud approach, we'd like to know about it. This Tech Pro Research survey should take about five minutes to complete. Take the survey, and get a copy of the research report.

The cloud vs. data center decision

While companies used to have to justify everything they wanted to migrate to the cloud, that scenario has flipped in recent years. Here's how to make the best decisions about cloud computing.