Updating Windows Update Flap

A minor flap about how Microsoft's Windows Update works surfaced yesterday. Scott Dunn, a columnist for the "Windows Secrets" web site claimed that Microsoft was updating his computer without notification. He claimed that "Microsoft has begun patching files on Windows XP and Vista without users' knowledge, even when the users have turned off auto-updates."

It turns out that Mr. Dunn wasn't telling the whole story. First, the files that were updated were the Windows Update program files themselves, not any patches to other parts of Windows or Microsoft applications.

Second, Mr. Dunn apparently had his Automatic Update settings set for either "download and notify but don't install" or "just tell me when updates are available". He did not have Automatic Updates turned off.

Since his settings had Automatic Updates enabled, at the daily "update check", the Windows Update program noticed that there were updates to Windows Update, and proceeded to download and install those -- essentially updating itself.

Which is exactly what Mr. Dunn's computer was supposed to do. There were no 'stealth updates' of anything other than Windows Update itself.

Microsoft has released a clarification to this issue (here http://blogs.technet.com/mu/archive/2007/09/13/how-windows-update-keeps-itself-up-to-date.aspx from Nate Clinton, the Program Manager of Windows Update).

The so-called 'stealth updates' were the Windows Update program updating itself. This is done only when Windows Update process contacts Microsoft: by the Automatic Updates daily check (if enabled), or by manually going to the Windows Update web site, or by the computer 'contacting' it's Windows Update Server (used in corporate environments).

The files that were updated (as described in the Scott Dunn column) are all *Windows Update* files. I suspect that Mr Dunn's computer had Automatic Updates set to "download but not install" or "notify me when updates available". If he had set Automatic Updates to "don't update", he wouldn't have seen the updated files.

Perhaps a bit more research was in order before Mr. Dunn complained.