Resistance is futile ... we will assimilate

[muckshifter]

"If you have configured WSUS to "auto-approve" Update Rollup packages (this is not the default configuration), Windows Internet Explorer 7 will be automatically approved for installation after February 12, 2008 and consequently, you may want to take the actions below to manage how and when this update is installed. You will need to take action if:

• You use WSUS 3.0 to manage updates in your organization.

• You have Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2)-based computers or Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1)-based computers that have Internet Explorer 6 installed.

• You do not want to upgrade Internet Explorer 6 machines to Windows Internet Explorer 7 at this time.

• You have configured WSUS to auto-approve Update Rollups for installation."

My bold emphasis ...

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;946202

It is important to highlight the change highlighted in the Knowledge base article because of the, err, mess that occurred when, if my memory serves me right, Windows Desktop Services (Windows Desktop Search) was released as an Update Rollup. Because of a combination of circumstances (including a non-default approval setting), WDS was auto-approved on some networks, sometimes leading to severe system slowdowns.

Some WSUS administrators started screaming blue murder, it was picked up by the popular press and Microsoft was the target of heavy criticism.

Microsoft have learned from that incident, and are warning administrators via the KB article that if they have changed their auto-approve settings for Update Rollups then their users may receive IE7.