Most updates fix newly discovered security holes in Windows. While many of these problems are obscure and not used in any rampant viruses or worms, you're much better off getting an update that you don't need than you are if you don't get any updates at all.
 | Running constant updates is a nuisance, but the alternative is really worth complaining about. Not so long ago Microsoft didn't bother fixing bugs and security problems for the unwashed masses. Only after a lot of sustained public pressure has Microsoft recognized that customers expect their systems to be patched for the most egregious bugs and holes. |
 | There have been reports that Windows Update automatically, without your consent, sends a list of your installed programs back to Microsoft. As of now, this gaffe appears to be innocent enough, but Microsoft's track record on such issues of trustworthiness leaves much to be desired. If you're concerned that Microsoft may use the data collected by Windows Update for nefarious purposes, this technique shows you how to bypass the scanning software and choose updates on your terms. |
Shortly after you installed Windows XP, or after you started your new machine for the first time, a balloon appeared in the notification area (near the clock) saying Stay Current with Automatic Updates. No doubt you clicked that balloon and followed the wizard to establish your Automatic Update settings. The settings you chose then are precisely the same ones in the following procedure; whatever good (or bad) choices you made then can be completely overwritten by this procedure.
Windows XP has a nasty habit of installing updates without your knowledge or consent. That sounds like a great timesaver, but it isn't. Why? Microsoft has a very poor track record with testing these updates. A significant percentage of the updates have show-stopping bugs that would never survive an extensive testing regimen. Microsoft is under the gun to plug security holes. There's much less pressure to, say, ensure that a specific patch works with Norton Internet Security, or any of a half-dozen major antivirus products. If you blithely install all of the updates when Microsoft says they're ready, you're exposing yourself to potential problems unnecessarily.
| It's one of those darned-if-you-do-darned-if-you-don't situations that salmon seem to encounter every year (if you'll pardon the fishy metaphor). On the one hand, if you apply Microsoft's patches as soon as they're available, there's a chance that your PC will get all screwed up. On the other hand, if you don't install the patches, some cretin who learned about a security hole when a patch was issued could come along and blast you with a worm. Your chances of getting clobbered by a bad patch are higher than your chances of getting zapped with a worm. So it makes sense to avoid applying Windows updates until you know that they're solid. |
Your first big step in taking control of Windows Update is to make it run only when you bid it:
1. Click Start, Control Panel, Performance and Maintenance, System, Automatic Updates.
Windows XP displays the System Properties dialog box.
2. If you don't mind having Microsoft's automatic scanning software run on your computer, check the box marked Keep My Computer Up to Date.
If you don't like the idea of a Microsoft sniffer program running on your PC, reporting back to Microsoft on all the software and hardware that you have, uncheck that check box.
3. Click the radio button marked Notify Me Before Downloading Any Updates and Notify Me Again Before Installing Them on My Computer.
4. Click OK.
Using those settings ensures that Windows Update doesn't go in and mangle your machine without your explicit knowledge and approval.
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