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Microsoft patches applied - EVEN WHEN AUTOUPDATE IS OFF

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Carol Haynes:
I have the same feeling about Windows Secrets and the demise of the LangList. I used to read both and LangaList was the one I read just about every word of. I still have a subscription but I don't think I will be renewing when it expires. I also really object the growing amount of blatant advertising in the paid for version.

Ralf Maximus:
Setting aside the Windows Secrets tendency to "cry wolf" occasionally, I still feel they're right to make noise about this item.  Keep in mind that the real issue here is not that Microsoft is downloading updates without our permission (though that pisses me off no end)... rather it's the amount of information they publish about what it *is* they're downloading.

Zero.  In fact, they're being evasive.  ANYONE twiddling files on my PC without permission is cause for alarm; being told nothing about what was changed is even worse.  It's not hard to describe technical changes in simple english, so why aren't they?  The possiblilities are disturbing.

If a stranger sneaks into your house in the middle of the night and "fixes" your plumbing for you, wouldn't that bother you?  Wouldn't you be concerned that they might've helped themselves to the beer or maybe installed one of those terrible 1.3 gpf toilets because THEY think it's necessary?

Wouldn't you rather they asked first? 

And in fact they DID ask, and you said "no updates to the plumbing please" but they came and did it anyway.

Even if MS publishes a complete spec for what was changed in the wau*.* files, I'd still like an explanation of the process.  Why the subterfuge?

Darwin:
I also really object the growing amount of blatant advertising in the paid for version.
--- End quote ---

Yes this is getting on my nerves as well... Perhaps an e-mail campaign to them is in order?

Ralf - great analogy re: the plumbing! You've summed up my feelings exactly, and far better than I could have to boot!  :Thmbsup:

PhilB66:
What I find worrisome is that users' security tools (FW, Intrusion Detection etc.) did not alert/prompt about this stealth install.

BinderDundat:
The stealth updates work because the update program is a "trusted" program.  I am having second thoughts about that.  Also, I recently noticed a web site that was being contacted at bootup that appears to be some web content provider called Akamai (the dotted web addresses are hardly logged at all in google, so I had to do a whois to find any reference to them).  I still don't know who has contracted out their services to Akamai, because the initiator only showed as scvhost.  Trustworthy they may be, but I don't like strangers accessing my system - and possibly different ones from time to time - these guys are doing this work on contract from someone.  I have some questions about how secure their systems, software and personnel are.  If I had to guess, it might be M$, just because they have a history of unloading anything to do with servicing customers.  It seems a bit high-handed when they "loan" you the software, and then give any service company access to your computer.  I begin to wonder if I want to have software on my computer that makes my security system look like a seive (I am making a bit of a leap here, but whoever is giving this kind of access without my permission is looking for trouble).

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