Full Disclosure mailing list archives
Re: Windows Update
From: Barry Fitzgerald <bkfsec () sdf lonestar org>
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2004 16:34:31 -0400
Michael Schaefer wrote:
It looks like windows update requires Automated Updates to be set to automatic startup, but does not require the process to actually be running...It's a little bit more than seriously annoying, though. It represents a very poor design choice.So the statement that they are "required" is obviously false.As a work around, I can manually change the startup status, do the windows update, then change the startup status back to manual.Seriously annoying, but doable.
Obviously, if this setting change works, it means that the automatic update client is not actually necessary to install patches from windowsupdate. I could see the service requirement *if* Microsoft were piggybacking the installation code off of the client in an effort to no longer rely on installing the code with an ActiveX control, however what this demonstrates is that the only reason to do this check is strictly to ensure that automatic updates is running.
This is either a bug or a very poor design choice. If the idea is to ensure that everyone has automatic update running, then it's going fail. The people who are getting their updates from WindowsUpdate are not the people you generally need to worry about getting their patches -- it's the people who don't know about WindowsUpdate and who don't have automatic update running that you have to worry about.
What I'm saying is that warning people is good; blocking people is bad.It's kind of like not letting someone get a medical checkup if they don't check their blood sugar everyday. It hurts people more than it helps.
-Barry _______________________________________________ Full-Disclosure - We believe in it. Charter: http://lists.netsys.com/full-disclosure-charter.html
Current thread:
- Re: Windows Update, (continued)
- Re: Windows Update Über GuidoZ (Aug 21)
- RE: Windows Update joe (Aug 22)
- RE: Windows Update Dave Aitel (Aug 22)
- Re: Windows Update Über GuidoZ (Aug 24)
- RE: Windows Update joe (Aug 25)
- Re: Windows Update ASB (Aug 23)
- Re: Windows Update Michael Schaefer (Aug 23)
- Re: Windows Update Michael Schaefer (Aug 23)
- Re: Windows Update Barry Fitzgerald (Aug 23)
- RE: Windows Update joe (Aug 24)
- Re: Windows Update Barry Fitzgerald (Aug 24)
- RE: Windows Update joe (Aug 23)
- Re: Windows Update ASB (Aug 23)
- Re: Windows Update David Vincent (Aug 23)
- Re: The 'good worm' from HP Florian Weimer (Aug 20)
- Re: The 'good worm' from HP Valdis . Kletnieks (Aug 20)