[Infowarrior] - Microsoft downplays stealth Windows Update file updates

[Richard Forno]

Microsoft downplays stealth Windows Update file updates
Posted by Robert Vamosi
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9778152-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-
1_3-0-20

Microsoft sought today to downplay the recent, but unpublicized, automatic
update of system files on Windows XP and Vista machines as "normal
behavior." ZDNet blogger Adrian Kingsley-Hughes has been writing the last
two days about a "stealth" update that occurred on his and other machines in
late August, even though those machines are set to not install automatic
updates. "I just don't like the idea of having updates foisted upon systems
without being aware that they are coming in and having the option to
postpone them," he wrote.

A Microsoft spokesperson said, "Windows Update automatically updates itself
from time to time to ensure that it is running the most current technology,
so that it can check for updates and notify customers that new updates are
available."

"The point of this explanation is not to suggest that we were as transparent
as we could have been; to the contrary, people have told us that we should
have been clearer on how Windows Update behaves when it updates itself,"
said Nate Clinton, Program Manager Windows Update, in a blog today.

Clinton went on to say, "WU does not automatically update itself when
Automatic Updates is turned off, this only happens when the customer is
using WU to automatically install upgrades or to be notified of updates."
That would explain what happened on the machines that Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
observed. According to his blog each were set to be notified of any updates.

For the curious, the updated files on Vista are:

    * wuapi.dll
    * wuapp.exe
    * wuauclt.exe
    * wuaueng.dll
    * wucltux.dll
    * wudriver.dll
    * wups.dll
    * wups2.dll
    * wuwebv.dll

And on XP SP2:

    * cdm.dll
    * wuapi.dll
    * wuauclt.exe
    * wuaucpl.cpl
    * wuaueng.dll
    * wucltui.dll
    * wups.dll
    * wups2.dll
    * wuweb.dll

All nine files are system files related to the XP and Vista versions of
Windows Update (WU) itself.