How Automatic Update gets unintentionally switched

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An interesting note from PKCano, about ways people accidentally turn on Automatic Update, in Windows Update: One, Users set Win Update to “Download up
[See the full post at: How Automatic Update gets unintentionally switched]

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And my Windows Update Log, on the computer I mentioned in another post the other day did not show a change in the update status until AFTER it had installed a bunch of updates.

As I looked closer at the Windows Update Log it appears that just prior to this unexpected update download (on 2016-01-10 03:44:34:824) there were multiple failures of a Security Essentials Update that triggered Windows to, on its own, to change Updates to Automatic.

I have Line Monitoring (via DSL Reports) and checking the logs there I see that there is a period of very high packet loss for several hours around the time that the non-operator change in Update method was changed.

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Fascinating. I just saw a report from Adi Kingsley-Hughes that sounds similar.

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“Fourth Scenario: IE installation, even before IE11, has had the “option Box” with “Use default settings” and “Keep Current Settings” (or something similar) on first run. And maybe Microsoft Office (before 2016 – I haven’t installed it) and maybe changing from Windows Update to Microsoft Update. If YOU CHOOSE “Default,” YOU are choosing to reset the settings. MS (didn’t) reset it. ALWAYS use the option that gives you the choice, not MS’s default.”

Internet Explorer or Microsoft Office default settings don’t affect Windows Update settings.

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I my experience, installing a new copy of MSSE (MS Security Essentials) will also change the Update setting from Disabled to Automatic. Check it after the install.

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@Woody, I understand your and others skepticism of my original claim and I understand why you mentioned checking the log file. Almost the worst job in the world is Tech Support, I’ve been there done that, and unfortunately in my Retired Senior Years I am rather impatient and too brief in my descriptions (a classic fault of too many users).

As a long time reader/lurker of your’s, thanks and keep me on my toes.

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I was very surprised to see that Adi hit a similar situation. He’s also very, very careful. And knowledgeable. https://twitter.com/the_pc_doc/status/688358355488894982

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There is no special function “IE Update.” There is no special function “Office Update.” There is Windows Update or Microsoft Update (for Windows and other MS products). IE updates and Office updates are served through one of them. If you change the defaults you are changing the defaults for either Windows Updates of Microsoft Updates. Any time the box pops up and says “get updates automatically,” (I believe this is one of the things listed in parenthesis in the box after “Use Default”) YOU are choosing to change to automatic, not MS. If you have set updates to manual updates, you should use “Keep/use current settings.”

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I haven’t installed MSSE lately to know if you are given the same pop-up box with the options after the install. But I DO know that MSSE updates and served through Windows Update. So if you are given the choice and set the update to automatic, what you are really setting is the whole sheebang, because there are no separate updates for different MS products.

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@b Microsoft Office affects the use of Microsoft Update instead of Windows Update and as such affects and in some cases resets the updates to automatic. This is all user/administrator controlled although the wording may be misleading in relation to the effect of each setting.
The difference between Microsoft Update and Windows Update is in the scope of the updates, i.e. Microsoft Update which is essentially an Active X control in IE searches for additional Microsoft product updates, like Office, Silverlight, server software, anything else not built in Windows.

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I think this is correct information.
Bottom line is that even if everything about Windows Update and Microsoft Update can be controlled by the user with administrator rights on the PC at least until Windows 10, it is made more and more difficult by Microsoft and it requires a lot of understanding of each setting and the actions performed.

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I upgraded Windows Live Essentials from 2009 to 2012 recently and that also changed my Windows Updates settings from NEVER check for updates to Automatically download & install them.

I use Essentials only for WLM and I saw no options during the upgrade for a custom install, I only saw an option to choose which programs to install. I only had WLM installed to begin with, and after deselecting all the other programs the only thing I saw was a confirmation that WLM would be “upgraded”.

Since I have zero trust in M$ anymore I’ve gotten into the habit of always checking the Windows Update settings immediately after any upgrade or update. Once again this practice paid off as I was able to change them back to Never check for updates before restarting the computer… so happily I didn’t get sniped!

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I can say with absolute certainty that a fresh install of Office 2013 (msi, not c2r) will switch you to MU from WU and reset your choices to automatic if you accept the recommended settings.

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““Fourth Scenario: IE installation, even before IE11, has had the “option Box” with “Use default settings” and “Keep Current Settings” (or something similar) on first run.”

The IE11 setting is “Use recommended security, privacy and compatibility settings”, or “Don’t”.

It does not affect Windows Update settings.

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@Woody
The above picture only takes you to an information page that tells you how to set your updates to automatic. It doesn’t change your settings.
Check your email on some research I did on “MS did it to me” (six total: Win Upd to MS Upd, 2 IE11 install, Office 2007 and 2010 installs, MSSE install). A picture is worth 1000 words.

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@Woody
And Windows Live, too

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I’ve been following the mail. Need to wade through a whole bunch of screenshots. Care to send me a synopsis that I can post here, with one or two key shots?

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Sent

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@PKCano, assuming “the above picture” you are referring is the screen capture that Woody posted in his Update, that screen is what appeared AFTER I had updated to IE11 and decided not to take IE’s offer to do default settings for me. [Unfortunately, I did not think fast enough to grab a screen cap of the initial IE offer to do the setup for me. I only thought of doing it when I specifically saw that IE wanted to change the Windows Update setting.] When I clicked the button to do the set up on my own, the three choices — including the setting for Windows Update — are what I think IE would have changed had I allowed it.

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Thanks!

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No, that button only leads to a page of instructions telling YOU how to do it. I clicked the butto, did you?

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Whoops. Sorry PKCano, I was only trying to provide some background to the screen capture (and apparently did a poor job at that). Didn’t mean to ruffle any feathers.

And no, I did not click the button because that screen was as far as I wanted to go in the process.

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The big problem is none of us trust Microsoft anymore because of what they are doing with Win10, One Drive, and all sorts of promises they are reneging on lately. Is it any wonder we all expect the worst? I did a bunch of installs in a controlled way, checking if MS was doing something sneaky. I installed (upgraded) IE11, installed MSSE, Office 2007 & 2010, Windows Live Essentials 2012, and changed from Windows Update to Microsoft Update (for other MS products). In none of these did I find MS changed the Win Update settings unless you did not read the choices and left it in their default. They gave you a choice to retain current settings, or, like the screen shot above, scared you into thinking they were going to change something. Had I not been in a safe situation, I probably wouldn’t have clicked on the green button either. But it simply takes you to an instruction page that tells you how to change the settings to automatic in the Control Panel.

If you read carefully the choices they give you, you will find they give you the choice, or they simply do nothing (as in the case of MSSE).

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