Windows Updates

[Old Bob]

My automatic update will not run automatically. It will
work manually. the scheduled task reads to run
C:\WINDOWS\system32\wupdmgr.exe
to run weekly on Wed and Friday..It wdoes not run. any
suggestions?

 

[Guest]

Assuming you have checked all yer options--NO?
I went into my programs---windows updates---
there is a notice there Mine is turned on---
pick a time to install---under more options---
there is a turn off automatic options --check box, might look?
there is also a trouble shotter there?
I will keep looking in case you have researched all this?????

 

[Tom Pepper Willett]

Many posts in other newsgroups that Automatic updates have failed, including
our company.. 30 computers with WinXP SP2 had to be done manually.

Tom
| My automatic update will not run automatically. It will
| work manually. the scheduled task reads to run
| C:\WINDOWS\system32\wupdmgr.exe
| to run weekly on Wed and Friday..It wdoes not run. any
| suggestions?
|

 

[Malke]

My automatic update will not run automatically. It will
work manually. the scheduled task reads to run
C:\WINDOWS\system32\wupdmgr.exe
to run weekly on Wed and Friday..It wdoes not run. any
suggestions?

You have malware on your system. See this link for a description of
wupdmgr.exe, which is *not* a Windows file:

http://www.liutilities.com/products/wintaskspro/processlibrary/wupdmgr/

Remove malware as follows, doing everything with updated tools in Safe
Mode:

1) Scan in Safe Mode with current version (not earlier than 2004)
antivirus using updated definitions.

Before you remove malware, get LSPFix (or WinSockFix for XP which you
can get from MajorGeeks) - see links below.

2) Remove spyware with Spybot Search & Destroy and Ad-aware. These
programs are free, so use them both since they complement each other.
There is a new version of CWShredder from Intermute. I would not
install the other Intermute programs, however. Alternately, there are
CoolWebSearch malware removal steps at SilentRunners.

Be sure to update these programs before running, and it is a good idea
to do virus/spyware scans in Safe Mode. Make sure you are able to see
all hidden files and extensions (View tab in Folder Options).

If the malware remains even after you used Ad-aware and Spybot, you can
scan with HijackThis. HijackThis is an excellent tool to discover and
disable hijackers, but it requires expert skill. See below for
HijackThis links, including sites where you can post your HJT logs. A
combination of HijackThis and About:Buster works well in removing the
About:Blank homepage hijacker. Again, this is an expert tool and
novices should get help with it.

3) If you are running Windows ME or XP, you should disable/enable System
Restore after the system is clean because malware will be in the
Restore Points. With ME, you must disable System Restore completely.
With XP, you can delete all but the most recent (presumably clean)
System Restore point from the More Options section of Disk Cleanup
(Run>cleanmgr).

4) Make sure you've visited Windows Update and applied all security
patches. Do not install driver updates from Windows Update.

5) Run a firewall.

Links to help with malware:

Software/Methods:
http://www.safer-networking.org - Spybot Search & Destroy
http://www.lavasoftusa.com - Ad-aware
http://www.majorgeeks.com - good download site
http://www.intermute.com/spysubtract/cwshredder_download.html
http://www.silentrunners.org/sr_cwsremoval.html. - SilentRunners
http://www.cexx.org/lspfix.htm - Repair Winsock 2 settings after
removing spyware
http://www.spychecker.com/program/winsockxpfix.html - WinsockXPFix.exe

HijackThis:
http://www.aumha.org/a/hjttutor.htm - HijackThis tutorial by Jim
Eshelman
http://aumha.net - forums
http://spywarewarrior.com/viewforum.php?f=5 - Spyware Warrior HijackThis
forum
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/
http://forums.tomcoyote.org/

General:
http://aumha.net - look under "Security" for various forums
http://rgharper.mvps.org/cleanit.htm
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
http://www.aumha.org/a/parasite.htm - The Parasite Fight
http://www.spywarewarrior.com/rogue_anti-spyware.htm

Malke

 

[Old Bob]

thank you for your reply but I think your remedy is far
beyond what I am capable of doing. Would it help if I
delete the "tasK" and then fin the file "wupdmgr.exe"
and delete it?

 

[MedRxman]

If "wupdmgr.exe" is really malware, Adaware, Spybot and McAfee Virus Scan do
not treat it as so.

 

[MedRxman]

Old Bob...I suggest you do not do anything until one of the MVP addresses
the issue.
BL

 

[Old Bob]

I scanned with my updates Norton and no virus was
detected. I did a search for wupdmge and ther were 3
files . Onein C:Windows\prefetch, one in
c:windows/system32, one in c:windows\system32\dllcache.
If I right click on the last two files they say they are
from Microsoft corp with a description of Windows Update
manager for NT. How can these be spyware?

 

[Malke]

I scanned with my updates Norton and no virus was
detected. I did a search for wupdmge and ther were 3
files . Onein C:Windows\prefetch, one in
c:windows/system32, one in c:windows\system32\dllcache.
If I right click on the last two files they say they are
from Microsoft corp with a description of Windows Update
manager for NT. How can these be spyware?

Antivirus software will not necessarily find non-viral malware. The file
name you originally posted was "wupdmgr.exe", a file that can belong to
a variant of the Worm_Spybot. It can also be a legitimate Windows file
and yours apparently is. However, since your original question was that
you weren't able to get updates, the usual first step in t-shooting
Windows machines is to determine if the computer is 100% virus and
malware-free. Having malware on the system can definitely cause
problems like you described.

If you feel that your computer *is* clean, then you need to look
elsewhere for the cause. Possibly you are trying to run a scheduled
task from either a Limited account or from an Administrative account
with a blank password. See this MS Knowledge Base article about that:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;311119

Malke

 

[Old Bob]

I removed the task in the task scheduler and set the
updates in the contol Panel-auto updates to occur at
5PM.. no update as of 5:10 so I did them manually, after
all 10 updates were downloaded and the install began, the
auto update icon in the tray appeared and said I had
updates available. Being confused, I clicked on the icon
and said to download them but that screen went away and
the (what I think) the original manual screen continued
the installation. Do you think I had the schedule for
once a day in the control panel but a varied time in the
task manager confused the issue and removing one solved
the problem. I guess I will never know until there are
more updates. Is this description of being from
Microsoft in the search for wupdmgr.exe the reason you
are confident this particular file is ligit and not
malware?

 

[Malke]

I removed the task in the task scheduler and set the
updates in the contol Panel-auto updates to occur at
5PM.. no update as of 5:10 so I did them manually, after
all 10 updates were downloaded and the install began, the
auto update icon in the tray appeared and said I had
updates available. Being confused, I clicked on the icon
and said to download them but that screen went away and
the (what I think) the original manual screen continued
the installation. Do you think I had the schedule for
once a day in the control panel but a varied time in the
task manager confused the issue and removing one solved
the problem. I guess I will never know until there are
more updates. Is this description of being from
Microsoft in the search for wupdmgr.exe the reason you
are confident this particular file is ligit and not
malware?

Just set your computer to automatically download the updates and inform
you when they're ready instead of setting a time. See if that works.

Yes, since your wupdmgr.exe is from MS and you have a current version AV
in force, you are probably fine. It never hurts to scan regularly with
Ad-aware and Spybot Search & Destroy (both free, get them from
www.majorgeeks.com), either.

Malke

 

[Old Bob]

Thank you for all your help--I can maybe sleep tonight..

 

[Malke]

Thank you for all your help--I can maybe sleep tonight..

You are most welcome, although losing sleep over computer stuff is
wasted energy.

Malke