Windows Update Agent 7.6.7600.256

[Jeff Layman]

Just got this installed automatically without any intervention, although
I have Windows Update set to warn me before downloading and installing.
I saw it coming in during boot and wondered if malware had found its way
in.

Very naughty of Microsoft to do this without any warning. They really
respect their user base, don't they?

 

[Big Steel]

Just got this installed automatically without any intervention, although
I have Windows Update set to warn me before downloading and installing.
I saw it coming in during boot and wondered if malware had found its way
in.

Very naughty of Microsoft to do this without any warning. They really
respect their user base, don't they?

I don't see a problem here. A Windows Update and the Windows Update
Agent that controls Windows Updates are two different things. And I
wouldn't trust the user base on this either and do it without their
approval. Hell 99.9% of them don't have a clue about securing the
machine in the first place.

 

[Andrew Rossmann]

Just got this installed automatically without any intervention, although
I have Windows Update set to warn me before downloading and installing.
I saw it coming in during boot and wondered if malware had found its way
in.

Very naughty of Microsoft to do this without any warning. They really
respect their user base, don't they?

This update secures the update mechanism and fixes some issues that were
exploited by the Flame virus. I'd consider it a hyper-important update.
Without it, a virus could disable Windows Update entirely.

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

I don't see a problem here. A Windows Update and the Windows Update
Agent that controls Windows Updates are two different things. And I
wouldn't trust the user base on this either and do it without their
approval. Hell 99.9% of them don't have a clue about securing the
machine in the first place.

While as Andrew Rossmann says this is an important update, I think Jeff
still has a point; an update is an update, whether it's to the update
agent itself or to anything else. The update agent is still (possibly an
optional, I don't know) part of Windows, and thus any change to it is
arguably still a Windows update. (Or A Windows Update, For Those With An
Obsession With Capitalizing Everything.)

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

If you gave the end-user the choice on this, they would blow it 99.9%
of the time like they do everything else.

Couldn't agree more. However, if you're going to imply that the option
is _there_ to turn off automatic updating, then having exceptions - no
matter what they are - is dishonest.

One wonders why the option to turn off auto-update at all survived into
Windows 7. (Well, I don't, but I'm sure many do.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G.5AL-IS-P--Ch++(p)Ar@T0H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Would you like to go to the moon? I'd love to have gone. You'd need a very
massive rocket to launch me, of course. But I had no chance - I was the wrong
age, the wrong nationality ... Patrick Moore, in Radio Times 3-9 February 2007.

 

[Jeff Layman]

I don't see a problem here. A Windows Update and the Windows Update
Agent that controls Windows Updates are two different things. And I
wouldn't trust the user base on this either and do it without their
approval. Hell 99.9% of them don't have a clue about securing the
machine in the first place.

The point is that Microsoft should have announced this in a pop-up box
after logon. Something like "A very important security update has been
automatically downloaded and installed, even if your update setting is
to not allow automatic updating." Arguing over the semantics of whether
it is an update or not is pointless - something was downloaded and
installed which changed the OS. Whether you call that an update or not
does not matter; that it happened without warning is what matters.

Noticing the damn thing coming in when it did is worrying, as it almost
certainly was downloaded and installed before my antivirus program ran,
as it was so early on during the boot process.

 

[nothing but net]

The point is that Microsoft should have announced this in a pop-up box
after logon. Something like "A very important security update has been
automatically downloaded and installed, even if your update setting is
to not allow automatic updating." Arguing over the semantics of whether
it is an update or not is pointless - something was downloaded and
installed which changed the OS. Whether you call that an update or not
does not matter; that it happened without warning is what matters.

Noticing the damn thing coming in when it did is worrying, as it almost
certainly was downloaded and installed before my antivirus program ran,
as it was so early on during the boot process.

You noticed it that time - just think of all the other times.

So, you should check to see if you are connected to the internet
before your security programs (firewall/AV/whatever) start. If
connected first, you need new security programs or do some
reconfiguring. That will take care of the worrying part.

I have Windows Update disabled. I control updates. I trust myself a
bit more than I trust that MS will do me a favor. Does that make me
part of the 99.9% or the 0.1%?

Just now restarted to see if the disable would get overridden - did
not.

 

[Big Steel]

You noticed it that time - just think of all the other times.

So, you should check to see if you are connected to the internet
before your security programs (firewall/AV/whatever) start. If
connected first, you need new security programs or do some
reconfiguring. That will take care of the worrying part.

That won't stop anything as far as a solicited inbound traffic request
that was requested by outbound traffic from a program running on the
machine behind the firewall that imitated the contact. That Update Agent
sent outbound traffic to see if it needed to be updated. It determined
that a new version was there, and it requested the traffic.

The last I heard the Windows Firewall is the only personal firewall
solution that can get the the connection first during the boot process
to protect the machine from unsolicited inbound traffic on connection to
a network. No other personal FW solution can do it on the MS platform.

I have Windows Update disabled. I control updates. I trust myself a
bit more than I trust that MS will do me a favor. Does that make me
part of the 99.9% or the 0.1%?

Just now restarted to see if the disable would get overridden - did
not.

Well if you have disabled it, then of course its not going to do it,
that is to check that there is a new version of the Agent. On the other
hand, I have notification only enabled with Windows Update, and I
control when the updates for other things not related to the Update Agent.


As far as the Update Agent updating itself without notification, myself
I am not concerned about it.

 

[Jeff Layman]

On Sat, 23 Jun 2012 16:35:01 +0100, Jeff Layman
(snip)



You noticed it that time - just think of all the other times.

So, you should check to see if you are connected to the internet
before your security programs (firewall/AV/whatever) start. If
connected first, you need new security programs or do some
reconfiguring. That will take care of the worrying part.

I have Windows Update disabled. I control updates. I trust myself a
bit more than I trust that MS will do me a favor. Does that make me
part of the 99.9% or the 0.1%?

Just now restarted to see if the disable would get overridden - did
not.

It's a good point about not connecting to the internet and/or turning
updates off completely until the AV has started.

But at some time or other you will switch updating on to get some update
you want. Then you will get the Windows Update Agent:

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=117301"

"If Windows Update or Automatic Updates is turned on, the latest version
of the Windows Update Agent will be automatically downloaded and
installed on your computer."

 

[Big Steel]

It's a good point about not connecting to the internet and/or turning
updates off completely until the AV has started.

That is not going to stop anything, and the AV vendor writers do not
have the means to go to the O/S and request that it doesn't allow
connections until some AV starts. The only solution that the Windows O/S
is going to wait for before it allows connections on a network is the
Windows firewall.

But at some time or other you will switch updating on to get some update
you want. Then you will get the Windows Update Agent:

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=117301"

"If Windows Update or Automatic Updates is turned on, the latest version
of the Windows Update Agent will be automatically downloaded and
installed on your computer."

I would say they Windows Update Agent has to be enabled, and it's going
to check for a new version by itself and it doesn't matter what setting
is controlling the updates auto or not.

 

[Paul in Houston TX]

Just got this installed automatically without any intervention, although
I have Windows Update set to warn me before downloading and installing.
I saw it coming in during boot and wondered if malware had found its way
in.

Very naughty of Microsoft to do this without any warning. They really
respect their user base, don't they?

Mine required my ok to download and install the updated
download and update installer, 7.6.7600.256.
Otherwise it would not download the other, normal, updates
which also take me ok'ing each one to download and install.

 

[Stan Brown]

The point is that Microsoft should have announced this in a pop-up box
after logon. Something like "A very important security update has been
automatically downloaded and installed, even if your update setting is
to not allow automatic updating."

When I log on after Windows updates have run automatically, there's a
balloon pop-up in the notification area that says something on the
order of "Windows has been updates. Click here for information on
these updates."

Are you saying that does not happen with the update in question?

 

[Jeff Layman]

When I log on after Windows updates have run automatically, there's a
balloon pop-up in the notification area that says something on the
order of "Windows has been updates. Click here for information on
these updates."

Are you saying that does not happen with the update in question?

The only things I saw were during boot. There was no separate message
in the notification area. I decided to check the update history to see
what had been done.

 

[Jeff Layman]

Mine required my ok to download and install the updated
download and update installer, 7.6.7600.256.
Otherwise it would not download the other, normal, updates
which also take me ok'ing each one to download and install.

I can only assume that normally WU tries to download updates in the
chronological order that Microsoft presents them. But in this case MS
were so concerned about malware downloading first that they stopped any
updates downloading until Windows Update Agent 7.6.7600.256 was
installed first. It's still surprising that WU asked for approval
before downloading and installing the WUA.

 

[Big Steel]

Nym shitting little clown the only thing you can do is lick the shitoff of my shoes with your tongue and shine them.

 

[Big Steel]

Nym shitting little clown, it is good that shit like you cannot goto the MSDN forums with your BS. All this is due to you getting bitch slapped

 

[Big Steel]

On 6/24/2012 9:24 AM, Stan Brown wrote:

<snipped>

The only skills that little nym shifting clown has is racism and nym
sifting skills. But the clown can't change the nasty spots on its back
or its smell. It's a little lunatic clown that should be kept locked-up
but somehow it continues to slither out from its 4*4 padded cell.

 

[Stan Brown]

On 6/24/2012 9:24 AM, Stan Brown wrote:

<snipped>

The only skills that little nym shifting clown has is racism and nym
sifting skills. But the clown can't change the nasty spots on its back
or its smell. It's a little lunatic clown that should be kept locked-up
but somehow it continues to slither out from its 4*4 padded cell.

You must be on drugs.

 

[DirtyDiggs]

Anyone know if this update can be delayed or switched off in the registry?. I am using MDT to build my Win7 PC's, and this update has screwed up my task sequence (even though I scripted to disable WUA, until my software has been installed - then it used to get switched back on). This is quite annoying!!!