Thanks to Swordmaker for the ping!!
Posted on 09/30/2015 10:00:37 PM PDT by Citizen Zed
If you're still on Windows 7 and received a notification for an update with a very uncommon and suspicious name, don't worry, it's just Microsoft testing the update service.
The company has mistakenly released a test patch to Windows 7 consumers, making everyone believe that the Update service got hacked and now users are infected with malware.
There are hundreds of posts everywhere you look online pointing to this patch which, let's be honest, doesn't look at all as a legitimate Windows update. Its name is a long string of random letters and numbers and its description says absolutely nothing about the things it attempts to patch, so people were worried that Microsoft's servers got compromised and the company's Windows Update service is now being used to spread malware.
Despite the worries, some people actually tried to install the patch, but the process failed because Microsoft rapidly removed it from its servers.
And in a statement released shortly after that, the company confirmed that it “mistakenly” pushed the 4.3MB update to consumers and that it was just an internal test patch that was supposed to be available only for its own PCs.
Microsoft tight-lipped despite so many worries
Microsoft hasn't detailed the release of this test update too much beside the fact that it was an accidental patch rollout, so there still are plenty of users out there who believe that their laptops and PCs were compromised.
“We had the update repeatedly show up as available and repeatedly it failed (never blindly accept updates. However seems to have gone, but we NEED to know what it was. Has the laptop been compromised? Just a short answer will do,” one user wrote on the company's Community forums.
So no, you're computer hasn't been compromised and you're as safe as before this patch, so just ignore it and you should be all fine.
I should not have selected automatic installs of recommended updates.
DOH!
I should not have selected automatic installs of recommended updates.
I’m using Windows 7. Where do I go to not accept recommended updates?
Thanks. I’m not very savvy in these matters.
Something like ... Start >> Programs >> Windows Update >> Change Settings
That long update just failed on my machine and I still have Windows 7.
Schwoo.
Windows IS malware.
Thank you. I appreciate it.
I’m happy to hear the update failed.
I get at least two pop-ups a day wanting me to go to windows 10.
Easy to just check "notify" and then ignore recommended and optional.
I think an Invidia graphics driver was the only one I did over the last 1.5 years.
I fell for their hard sales pitch, and wished I hadn’t.
I have Windows 7, kept getting message after message asking what date and time i’d like to have Windows 10 installed.
I thought it would increase my connection speed and increase clarity with less advertising.
It took a long time to install itself.
Once done, I felt as though i had a completely different laptop computer. Not necessarily better for my simple needs, but different. My home page was gone, my usual formats to navigate were gone or recalibrated. Im not tech savvy, nor do i worry about having all the latest bells and whistles available. In short, i didn’t want to have to learn how to use and become comfortable with this new system.
So what did i do? The next morning i took my laptop to a used computer and repair shop.
I had all that Windows 10 sht ripped out, or uninstalled.
It was worth the $90.00 just to get my old W7 laptop back.
The repair staff says after 2017,
Windows 7 will be phased out.
I will wait and deal with all those improvements then.
Windows 7 extended support ends in 2020.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/lifecycle
FYI it is possible to make Windows 8 and 10 look like older versions of Windows by installing Classic Shell:
OOPS PING!
Thanks to Swordmaker for the ping!!
On the other hand, major egg-on-face events like this should help Microsoft focus on how to avoid them, which is good.
Keep your eyes open for evidence of the effects of this "learning experience"...
I agree they've had some missteps (I still remember NT4 SP6) but realistically, what percentage of the patches you've ever installed have gone sideways?
It's just the potential for massive damage in the event something goes haywire and folks don't have a clue what happened because they weren't able to avoid or schedule the update installation themselves.
bkmk
Start > Control Panel > Windows Update > Change Settings... change in drop-down box. “Check for updates but let me choose...”
This episode is an example of why I think MSFT is making a mistake with the forced Windows 10 updates. Let the early adopters take them, and lag by a week, I say.
So far, so good with Windows 10. But, I predict that one day a forced upgrade will screw the pooch.
Thanks for both pieces of information. I have till 2020.
Thanks very much, carriage_hill.
Thanks for sharing that. That’s scary.
We sound about the same in our needs (simple for me) and level of knowledge in these things. LOL
I’d have done the same and spent the $90.00.
I’ll continue to close those pop ups.
Yes, we’ll deal with 2017 changes when that happens.
Thanks for the reminder about Classic Shell. The main usability complaint I’ve been hearing with Win-10 is the Edge browser. When I show people how to switch to IE-11 most of their anxiety with Win-10 dissipates.
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