Disabling SMBv1

We are disabling SMBv1 (a file service protocol) on all Managed Workstations

What and When

We are disabling SMBv1, which is a file service protocol used by Windows, on all Managed Workstations.  The change is going out starting now, but it will not take effect until the next time each computer is rebooted.

More Info

As you may have seen from media reports over the weekend, several vulnerabilities in Windows were reported on Friday.  These reports were mostly overblown, as Microsoft had already patched most of these vulnerabilities, and basic security configurations would block or mitigate the remaining ones.  SMBv1, which is a very old file service protocol that is generally not used today, is still vulnerable in certain configurations.  To ensure that there is no risk to Managed Workstations, we are disabling SMBv1.  This change requires a reboot for it to take effect, however we are not forcing reboots on computers at this time.

If you are using a very old printer or network storage device, it’s possible that it may still be using SMBv1 and thus it will no longer be accessible after this change.  Please contact us, via help@uw.edu, if you run into this issue or have any questions or concerns.

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James Morris
Managed Workstation Service
UW Information Technology