Your Daily Computer Security Tips

Confusion and problems are appearing with Windows Automatic Update (AU). Some users are complaining that AU installs updates without permission, at unexpected times. Sometimes your update settings can be changed without your knowledge or consent.

Take a look at your update settings by clicking (in Windows XP) Start, Control Panel, System, Automatic Updates. My preferred selection has always been the third option, “Notify me but don’t automatically download or install them”.

If a patch download is interrupted for some reason, your update settings might get changed, or you might not see the notification on the bottom right of your screen. Then the next time you shut down or reboot your PC, updates may suddenly and unexpectedly install.

Even if you select option three as above, updates may automatically download and install. Some users claim this problem has been going on for months.

Microsoft is aware of the problem, and is working on a fix. Others claim that certain popular security programs or a malware infection changes the AU settings. It is important to know when the updates are downloaded and installed on your computer, because they can sometimes cause problems. For example, a year ago a Microsoft patch cut the Internet connection of users who had the ZoneAlarm firewall installed.

Until we get the fix, before shutting down or rebooting, you can go to the Microsoft Update site and download and install all the updates you want. Cancel notification for the remaining ones. That should hopefully prevent any surprises.

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!