• MS-DEFCON 2: Make sure Automatic Update is turned off

    Posted on April 4, 2017 at 10:05 CDT by • Comment in the Forums

    It’s the first Tuesday of the month. You no doubt know the drill.

    In the next few hours, Microsoft will likely issue a big bunch of “Optional” Office updates. You don’t want to install them. Of course.

    If you followed my directions for installing the March patches, your system is already set to block updates. If you didn’t follow those directions, you should make sure Automatic Update is turned off.

    In Windows 7 click Start > Control Panel. In Win 8.1, press Win-X and choose Control Panel. Click System and Security. Under Windows Update, click the link marked “Turn automatic updating on or off.” Make sure Windows Update is set to “Never check for updates (not recommended).”

    In Windows 10, the situation’s a bit more complex, but I have full details in the InfoWorld article Woody’s Win10Tip: Block forced Windows updates. Short version: With Win10 Pro, bring up gpedit, click Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update. On the right, double-click Configure Automatic Updates. At the top of the resulting settings box, choose Disabled, click OK, and close out of the Group Policy editor. Reboot and you’re done. With Win10 Home, if you’re on a Wi-Fi connection, set it to metered (see the article). If you’re on Win10 Home and you don’t have a Wi-Fi connection, your options are considerably more complex.

    Let’s wait and see what surprises this month will bring.

    Office Patches/Security, Windows Patches/Security
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