Windows Stealth Updates

Do you have your automatic update turned on? I don’t. I like to know what patch level I’ve got, and I like to have a complete system image before I let the Redmondians make [potentially lethal] modifications. If you are running XP SP2 or Vista it doesn’t matter — Micro$oft is updating your PC anyway. Read about the stealth update HERE (Hardware 2.0, a ZDNet blog). Your EULA says Micro$oft is doing nothing wrong — after all, it’s their OS, not yours. [UPDATE] Scott Dunn, Windows Secrets, has observed the same behavior. Read his article HERE. {UPDATE 9/14} Micro$oft says it’s an update for the update process itself — and they apologize for not being more transparent about it. They also claim it doesn’t happen if automatic update is off. Not true. Read the original ZDNet post. (PONDERING 9/17) How long will it be before some hacker discovers how to use this “feature”?