If your favorite VPN been having trouble connecting for a few days, it may not be your fault, but rather that of Microsoft. The latest Windows update actually breaks this functionality on certain machines.
Today’s operating systems are complex pieces of software and nothing proves this better than Windows Updates. The latest security patch deployed by Microsoft actually crashes some VPNs without the company completely understanding why. As a result, no fix is yet available.
No fix in sight
If you can’t connect to your VPN provider of choice, no need to dig around in your settings, as Microsoft explains on its site, the Windows April update can indeed “cause connection errors” of that type. The bug appears to affect most versions of Windows still supported by Microsoft. Windows 11 23H2, 22H2 and 21H2 are affected, as are Windows 10 22H2 and 21H2. Ditto on the Windows Server side where all versions since Windows Server 2008 seem affected.
Unfortunately, as the reasons for this bug do not yet seem to be very well understood, Microsoft has not detailed any means of correcting it, other than simply uninstalling the April update. If the company details the procedure to follow on its site, the latter requires going through a command line tool and uninstalls all the software bricks contained in the update, not just those relating to the VPN. Even security patches will therefore be removed from the machine, which is not really ideal.
Very annoying for pros
If this bug is already annoying for users who use a VPN to protect their private lives, it is even more so for professional users who often need a VPN to access their company’s resources. from a distance.
If you are affected and you absolutely want to regain access to the VPN, Microsoft recommends contacting Windows after-sales service directly via a dedicated site so that a technician can help you uninstall the update manually. If your VPN connection is working and you have not yet installed Windows updates, the wisest course is to wait a few days for Microsoft to identify and correct the problem.
Source : Bleeping Computer
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