Microsoft updates Windows without users' consent
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| henke54 Sep 13, 2007 8:27 AM EDT |
Quoting:Microsoft has begun patching files on Windows XP and Vista without users' knowledge, even when the users have turned off auto-updates.http://www.windowssecrets.com/2007/09/13/01-Microsoft-update... |
| dinotrac Sep 13, 2007 8:31 AM EDT |
YOUCH!!!! How smart is that? Booger up somebody's XP without even telling them you're touching it and Apple/Linux will have reason to smile. |
| jdixon Sep 13, 2007 8:46 AM EDT |
> How smart is that? Now tell me again that Microsoft is rational, Dino. :) Their behavior shows all the signs of a compulsive control freak, who has to demonstrate his dominance over those around him, regardless of the cost. |
| dinotrac Sep 13, 2007 9:03 AM EDT |
>Now tell me again that Microsoft is rational, Dino. :) I said the company is rational. I didn't say they never pulled a royal boner. |
| number6x Sep 13, 2007 9:16 AM EDT |
This will probably be overlooked in corporate boardrooms though, as most things done by Microsoft. I was working at a major insurance company, implementing a bunch of HIPAA compliancy stuff in their systems when the client upgraded from NT4 to Win XP (this was a few years ago). I read the XP Eula and noted that Microsoft reserves the right to examine data on the hard drives of computers with XP installed. I asked the legal department reviewing HIPAA compliance if they had documentation from Microsoft that made sure Microsoft would not review any HIPPA protected data on the hard drives. The result was dumb looks and stares. I never got a real answer. The closest thing to an answer was along the lines of "I'm sure Microsoft wouldn't do anything like that". These are the same guys that made the consulting company I work for send me through a HIPAA compliance training course at our expense, and post a bond to pay for fines if I looked sideways at any HIPAA protected information. How anyone would want to run software that patches itself in unknown ways in a production environment is beyond me. But Windows is not held to the same high standards as Linux, Unix and MVS, so I'm sure the management won't care. |
| Steven_Rosenber Sep 13, 2007 9:22 AM EDT |
This kind of thing is just ASKING for trouble. If MS can do this to its users, I imagine somebody else can subvert the process and access your data. Nice. |
| henke54 Sep 13, 2007 9:44 AM EDT |
read the comments of the M$-fanboys : ;-P http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/operating_systems/win... |
| henke54 Sep 13, 2007 10:11 AM EDT |
Quoting:A spokesman with Microsoft China told Xinhua, "We have only just received this filing, have not had the opportunity to review it and therefore cannot comment on the specifics of the allegations.http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-09/13/content_610522... ;-P |
| dcparris Sep 13, 2007 10:55 AM EDT |
Ha! Microsoft? "fully committed to letting customers control their personal information"? cough... choke...sputter... Elizabeth, I'm comin' to join ya! :-) |
| dinotrac Sep 13, 2007 10:56 AM EDT |
>fully committed One of the few things that everybody here should be able to agree to is that Microsoft should be fully committed. |
| henke54 Sep 13, 2007 11:09 AM EDT |
Microsoft responds to stealth update issue : http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=780 http://blogs.technet.com/mu/archive/2007/09/13/how-windows-u... |
| Bob_Robertson Sep 13, 2007 11:41 AM EDT |
Yep, I saw it happen to my wife's laptop yesterday. I didn't know how MS could get lower, but lower they went. What did Douglas Adams write about the "marketing department of United Robotics" or some such, being the first up against the wall when the revolution came? The larger the corporation, the more they seem to be completely insane. But I'm sure it's just an impression "from the outside" and that they themselves believe each bone-head move to be perfectly rational. An example of the counter-productive incentives inherent in bureaucracy? |
| Scott_Ruecker Sep 13, 2007 1:02 PM EDT |
We all know that Microsoft has forced updates before. It will happen again. |
| henke54 Sep 13, 2007 9:23 PM EDT |
>We all know that Microsoft has forced updates before. It will happen again. "Microsoft forces Messenger upgrade for 'security' reasons" : http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/09/13/Microsoft-forces-M... ;-P |
| NoDough Sep 14, 2007 7:58 AM EDT |
I'm not shocked. I have been religious (I hope that's not a TOS problem) about blocking the WGA update on my XP Pro laptop. However, In late August while doing some cleanup on my laptop, I decided to check. Sure enough, there it was in all its genuinely advantageous glory. I used to RemoveWGA.exe to rid myself of it, but who knows when it will reappear? |
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