Windows Defender Updater

[Guest]

I would like Windows Defender definition updates to be automatic. Right now
my system is configured for Windows Update to only download and update by my
permission. Windows Defender shouldn't use Windows Update, it should have
its own Windows Defender Updater, that has nothing to do with Windows Update.
Since Windows Defender uses Windows Update, I have to give it permission to
update definitions and that is simply stupid. Yes I want to decide what
Windows Updates to apply to my system by my permission only, but I would like
Windows Defender definition updates to be applied automatically. So
obviously a Windows Defender Updater needs to be created by Microsoft.

 

[Bill Sanderson MVP]

Thanks for the feedback.

As an alternative, some have requested that Windows Defender
definition/engine updates be made a special class of update which would
install automatically even for systems set to download and notify only.

I don't believe this is possible in the current version of Windows Update,
but perhaps it will be in a future one.

 

[Guest]

Windows Defender shouldn't use Windows Update, it should have
its own Windows Defender Updater

I strongly disagree!
With Windows Update only 1 process is needed and so multiple applications
like Windows Defender, Windows Mail (in Vista), Windows updates, can share
the same service and we save memory and resources.

 

[Guest]

Windows Defender shouldn't use Windows Update, it should have
its own Windows Defender Updater

I strongly disagree!
With Windows Update only 1 process is needed and so multiple applications
like Windows Defender, Windows Mail (in Vista), Windows updates, Office, can
share
the same service and we save memory and resources.

 

[Guest]

I agree completely!
Or at least allow a manual update that does not us WU/MU and does not
trigger a System Restore Point for something as minor as a Def update.

?
Tim
Geek w/o Portfolio

 

[Guest]

I strongly disagree with You.

Windows Update is a terrible waste of resources. It creates a needless SRP
every time it updates for the most minor thing. I DO NOT WANT Office updates
and Windows updates to come down together. If I did I would use MU, which I
do not.
I really don't want to have one giant download with 17MB of Windows updates,
9MB of Office Updates and 2MB of WD updates.

If we followed this philosophy we should also let WU download the updates to
our antivirus software, and our one or two backups, our other antispyware
programs, and their backups, as well as the Java of the week and everything
else and never bother to test any of them for problems, gliches, or false
alarms.

I download what I want, when I want it, because I want it. MS has yet to
show itself worthy of my trust to let it do AnyThing without my permission.

?:-\
Tim
Geek w/o Portfolio

 

[Vanguard]

I strongly disagree!
With Windows Update only 1 process is needed and so multiple
applications
like Windows Defender, Windows Mail (in Vista), Windows updates, can
share
the same service and we save memory and resources.

You obviously never bother to interrogate the proposed updates proffered
by Windows Update BEFORE installing them to know if you want them or
not. For the lazy user that deliberately wants to remain blind
regarding updates, that would be peachy dandy for them. The rest of us
want to know what is getting changed on our computer. Yes, my antivirus
program has an auto-updater but it also offers me choices on how it will
function, and it is independent of any other auto-updater on my
computer. Imagine how stupid it would be if all programs were tied to,
say, the auto-updater in Adobe Reader.

Auto-updates of detection signatures is far different than auto-updates
for software changes. Some of us actually need to know in what state is
the host on which we test and obviously cannot let any program go making
software changes willy nilly whenever the vendor decided to make a
change. The detection signatures aren't a software change. Software
changes can incur problems with your current setup is a mission-critical
host or simply must be in a known state, problems which become new upon
the auto-update and so no one will have the experience needed to figure
out what just went wrong.

Only idiot users allow Windows Update to make changes at random to their
hosts. Gee, it was working yesterday but not today. Well, what did you
do? Nothing. Wrong. You let someone else modify your computer without
your knowledge but with your permission. Duh!

 

[Guest]

This is why I said automatically update definitions ONLY. Perhaps some
reading and comprehension lessons are required.

 

[Guest]

Hey someone gets it!

I agree completely!
Or at least allow a manual update that does not us WU/MU and does not
trigger a System Restore Point for something as minor as a Def update.

?
Tim
Geek w/o Portfolio

 

[Guest]

Gee what are you running, a dinosaur? I have more memory and resources than
I will probably ever need, it's called a modern PC, try one or better yet -
build one.

 

[Vanguard]

This is why I said automatically update definitions ONLY. Perhaps
some
reading and comprehension lessons are required.

I disagreed with BillD, not you. Perhaps some familiarity with
hierarchy of posts with a thread are required.

 

[Guest]

Ooo, sorry Vanguard.

I disagreed with BillD, not you. Perhaps some familiarity with
hierarchy of posts with a thread are required.

 

[Guest]

You experts are scaring me! I use auto updates because I don't realy know
how to evaluate propoesed updates so I just have to hope MS knows what it is
doing and tests for compatability before it sends out updates. I am not
running a host computer; I just am a home user of a Dell Dimensions 2350
stand alone slightly obsolete deskto, running XP Home Edition with 2 XP user
accounts. I admit that my computer seems always to have one problem or
another, such as Norton Internet Security suddenly no longer starting
automatically on computer startup, but I think that happens after I manually
update latest versions of some Firefox or Thunderbird add ons.

 

[Guest]

Microsoft does very little testing for system compatibility beyond the Wintel
scope of things. If MS does issue an update that causes problems with
particular systems, they are very good about issuing a patch for the update
that usually repairs the damage done. Applying critical updates for a novice
user is a must, just be sure that you have the computer started fresh with no
user applications started and your anti-virus software disabled. I do not
recommend applying more than 3-5 updates at a time, without restarting the
computer to download and update further. In other words, if critical updates
are telling you that you have 10 or 20+ updates to apply, don't apply them
all in one session - sometimes mass updates installed all at once just
destroys Windows.

 

[Guest]

I haven't used the steps you recommend on past updates. That could be a
reason my computer has strange behavior. Somone suggested I reload Windows
XP from the original disk. I started doing that but the computer told me
that I would be replacing a newer version of Windows with an older version,
so I stopped. Do you advise reloading Windows and then updating critical
downloads taking care to disable my virus and spyware software and not have
anything else running? Thanks so much for your advice.

 

[Robinb]

rule of thumb what i tell my clients how to do Windows Updates:
Unfortunetly Microsoft has no idea what is running on your computer and what
is going to conflict with a WU or not until a disaster hits and the
newsgroups for WU is filled with complaints.
I Have used this method with all my clients including my own computers. It
might take longer to do but in the long run you have less headaches.

I do not use the yellow shield for updates unless it is a stand alone (1
update) like a windows defender update that usually is not with the critical
updates that come the 2nd tuesday of the month.

Go to the Windows update site and do your critical updates there.
Start from the bottum up (I have found that ms puts the ones with less mbs
that way first)
Check off the first one and uncheck the rest.
Do that update. If it requires a reboot then do so.
Once the computer reboots and Windows is back up- check things out.
Click on the cntrl alt delete keys and see if windows is running hot-
meaning the cpu usage is above 4% like 50% or higher. If so give it a few
minutes to calm down and see if it drops. If it doesn't drop at all after
5minutes- restart the computer and do this process again. The update might
not have been installed correctly or it just did not catch right the first
time around. If you find it still has a high cpu then you would need to
uninstall this update- try again and see what happnes. If it still has a
problem google the update and see if others had the same problem or even go
to windows update newsgroup.

If all is fine after the update- still do some investigating. Open Word or
another large program and make sure it works, click on the start menu and
make sure it works.

If all works fine then go back to WU site and click on the next one

You should do this method for every update.

Last set of updates there were 6- it took me 30minutes- all of them.
Clients that I have it took them about an hr because they do things slower.

An hour is less of a headache then pulling the hair out of your head and
working many hours trying to fix an update that gave your computer a mess of
trouble.

robin

 

[Alan D]

Go to the Windows update site and do your critical updates there.
Start from the bottum up (I have found that ms puts the ones with less mbs
that way first)
Check off the first one and uncheck the rest.
Do that update. If it requires a reboot then do so.
Once the computer reboots and Windows is back up- check things out.
Click on the cntrl alt delete keys and see if windows is running hot-
meaning the cpu usage is above 4% like 50% or higher. If so give it a
few minutes to calm down and see if it drops. If it doesn't drop at all
after 5minutes- restart the computer and do this process again. The
update might not have been installed correctly or it just did not catch
right the first time around. If you find it still has a high cpu then you
would need to uninstall this update- try again and see what happnes. If
it still has a problem google the update and see if others had the same
problem or even go to windows update newsgroup.

If all is fine after the update- still do some investigating. Open Word
or another large program and make sure it works, click on the start menu
and make sure it works.

If all works fine then go back to WU site and click on the next one

Like you, Robin, I don't usually swallow the updates all at one gulp. My own
version of this routine is quicker and less complicated but contains far
fewer checks. Thanks for spelling this out in such detail - I'll use your
more detailed system in future. As you say, 30 mins spent now is a lot
better than days of hair-tearing, wondering what the heck happened.