mommalina
05-16-2006, 02:02 PM
Excerpts from "Brian Livingston" Newsletter,
Subject: When Automatic Updates can be harmful [Newsletter Comp Version]
Date: Thu, 11 May 2006 08:59:15 -0700
When Automatic Updates can be harmful
By Woody Leonhard
But if you're even moderately conversant with Windows — certainly if you're reading this newsletter — check one of the other buttons. I recommend "Notify me but don't automatically download or install them." That way I have two chances to catch myself before installing everything Microsoft pushes out the Patch Tuesday door.
With auto updates disabled, the next time Microsoft has a "critical" patch that it wants to push onto your machine, a balloon will pop up out of a yellow shield in the system tray, next to the clock at the bottom of the screen. The balloon will ask your permission to download and/or install whatever software Microsoft has on offer. Your job is to refrain from giving that permission until millions of clueless Windows users have an, uh, opportunity to beta test Microsoft's latest missives.
From where I stand, Microsoft has shown that it'll use Automatic Updates to shove any software change onto any system that it darn well pleases, any time it likes. This isn't a conspiracy theory. Microsoft isn't a monolith. There's no Big Brother or master plan behind it all, no Mini-Me lurking in the shadows. Instead, what we're seeing is a bunch of stupid decisions, propagated to a hundred million PCs, by people who have demonstrated, repeatedly, that they can't be trusted with the task.
I say it's time for Windows consumers to take their patching destinies into their own hands. Turn off Automatic Updates. Sit and watch and listen, and judge for yourself when it's time to patch or not to patch. Keep your eyes on this newsletter, on my Microsoft Patch Reliability Ratings page, watch the newsgroups, and any other places you can find that have an independent point of view. Listen to people you know and trust before letting Microsoft monkey around with your PC.
........Yes, you need to patch your system. No, you don't need to do it right away, particularly if you keep the rest of your security arsenal updated and working properly.
Take your time. The machine you save may be your own.
Subject: When Automatic Updates can be harmful [Newsletter Comp Version]
Date: Thu, 11 May 2006 08:59:15 -0700
When Automatic Updates can be harmful
By Woody Leonhard
But if you're even moderately conversant with Windows — certainly if you're reading this newsletter — check one of the other buttons. I recommend "Notify me but don't automatically download or install them." That way I have two chances to catch myself before installing everything Microsoft pushes out the Patch Tuesday door.
With auto updates disabled, the next time Microsoft has a "critical" patch that it wants to push onto your machine, a balloon will pop up out of a yellow shield in the system tray, next to the clock at the bottom of the screen. The balloon will ask your permission to download and/or install whatever software Microsoft has on offer. Your job is to refrain from giving that permission until millions of clueless Windows users have an, uh, opportunity to beta test Microsoft's latest missives.
From where I stand, Microsoft has shown that it'll use Automatic Updates to shove any software change onto any system that it darn well pleases, any time it likes. This isn't a conspiracy theory. Microsoft isn't a monolith. There's no Big Brother or master plan behind it all, no Mini-Me lurking in the shadows. Instead, what we're seeing is a bunch of stupid decisions, propagated to a hundred million PCs, by people who have demonstrated, repeatedly, that they can't be trusted with the task.
I say it's time for Windows consumers to take their patching destinies into their own hands. Turn off Automatic Updates. Sit and watch and listen, and judge for yourself when it's time to patch or not to patch. Keep your eyes on this newsletter, on my Microsoft Patch Reliability Ratings page, watch the newsgroups, and any other places you can find that have an independent point of view. Listen to people you know and trust before letting Microsoft monkey around with your PC.
........Yes, you need to patch your system. No, you don't need to do it right away, particularly if you keep the rest of your security arsenal updated and working properly.
Take your time. The machine you save may be your own.