Anyone remember the old movie Force Ten From Navarone? If you don’t know it and like WWII movies, I heartily recommend it.
So why Force Ten From Redmond? Microsoft’s latest update cycle seems to be doing some strange things regardless of what the users decides to choose as their update process. As you know, there are several choices you can make about how any updates from Microsoft get applied ranging from automatically downloading and installing updates to turning off automatic updates completely. It now looks like the latter option may be the only way to go.
According to Windows Secrets, people have reported that choosing any option other than turning off automatic updates results in updates installed without regard for setting or choice.
Nice.
As you know, installing updates from Microsoft sometimes breaks things so you can see where updates getting installed without approval may spoil the broth, so to speak. What to do about this? The only choice (hah!) left is to turn off Automatic Updates which results in a red warning icon but it is possible to turn that off and then check for updates manually:
Step 1: Disable Automatic Updates. In XP, open the Automatic Updates Control Panel applet and select Turn off Automatic Updates. In Vista, open the Windows Update Control Panel applet, choose Change settings in the left pane, and select Never check for updates (not recommended).
Step 2: Turn off the red warning. Open the Security Center Control Panel applet, click Change the way Security Center alerts me, and choose Don’t notify me and don’t display the icon (not recommended). Step 3: Check for updates manually. Run Microsoft Update or an independent update service at least once a month (preferably just after reading the analysis that Windows Secrets publishes two days after every Patch Tuesday). Third-party update tools such as the Secunia Personal Software Inspector and the Shavlik Google Patch Gadget can identify critical updates that both Windows and your major applications require.
I won’t go on a rant about how this kind behavior is ridiculous (I mean, MacOS doesn’t do this kind of thing, for starters) but I have neither the time nor inclination.
