Windows Update Agent Version 7.6.7600.256 - installed automatically

just happened minutes ago...

i have Windows Updates set to *Notify only* but this update installed without any user interaction.

that was a little unnerving because i've never seen a Windows update do that before.

i thought for a moment i was infected (when it was updating at boot) until i searched online:
http://social.technet.microsoft.com...y/thread/7c2b893b-7bfe-4090-a6a7-5533b6487456

 

It's supposed to do that for security reasons: only the latest Windows Update Agent Version can CHECK for new updates (an action that is needed to "notify" you of new updates).

 

well,

i would have liked to be notified first.

that's why i checked the box *Check for updates but let me chose whether to download and install them*

 

Old versions of Windows Update Agent can't check for new updates, so they can't notify you of new updates. Old versions are often vulnerable and can be compromised, so they block their access to the Microsoft's servers.

The only way to block the automatic update of the Windows Update Agent is to disable Windows Update entirely. When you set it to "notify", you are allowing it to do whatever is necessary to notify you.

 

it could have at least notified me *after* the fact. lol
after all, it is listed in the History changes.

if i had gone to the bathroom while the computer rebooted i would've never know this was installed.

 

Updates to the Windows Update Agent don't require reboot.

 

i just happened to be rebooting after restoring an image.
the updates installed before the Desktop came online.

 

So what's your complaint now?

 

my complaint is the same as the first post in this thread:
i was not notified.

 

This update shouldn't be notified. If you are using Windows or Microsoft Update you should've understood since day one the fact that it requires its latest components to check for updates (you accepted the EULA where this is described).

Besides, they can't automatically notify you of this *irrelevant* update (irrelevant because it can't introduce issues or whatever) without notifying everyone that uses Windows/Microsoft Update. You can, however, voluntarily access the update history (as you did).

Now relax and stop complaining about futile things. rofl

 

Seems like if he set it to notify it should notify. Kinda a no-brainer there.

 

"To notify", WUA needs "to check". And "to check", WUA needs "to have its latest components/integrity verified". Seems pretty straightforward. This has always been the case, for more than a decade.

 

Don't try to claim an issue where there is none, please. Stop spreading FUD.

 

Besides, the "notify only" option he is talking about reads as follows:

"Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them".

"To Check for updates" implies "making everything necessary to have the latest WUA Agent that is able to check for updates".

"But let me choose whether to download and install them" implies "notify about updates for Windows and let the user picks the time to download and install them".

 

See: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949104
https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=326669

 

From that link: "If Windows Update or Automatic Updates is turned on, the latest version of the Windows Update Agent will be automatically downloaded and installed on your computer. If you go to Windows Update before it gets installed automatically, you will see a message to install the Windows Update Agent"

 

How does WUA check there is an update for itself ?

 

Read here: http://blogs.technet.com/b/mu/archive/2008/07/03/upcoming-update-to-windows-update.aspx

 

false sense of security?

lol.i actually thought my computer was under attack by malware when that update decided to update automatically (and without my knowledge or consent) at boot times.

 

You had a moment of false sense of insecurity - thanks to your (previous?) ignorance on how WU works.

 

Anyway, the WUA may not install successfully in all machines. It didn't in a relative's system. More users have reported it, as you can see in this Heise Online article -http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/Update-for-Windows-Update-has-teething-troubles-1624979.html

There's a link for a Microsoft FixIt tool there: -http://diagnostics.support.microsoft.com/diagprov/provision/MicrosoftFixit.wu.Run.exe?_tenant=mats&diagid=wu&_ext=.exe

Just in case anyone is/will have issues.

 

I had a look on a Windows 7 system. It appears WUA was updated successfully on 21 June. No-one noticed.

 

Even after applying the fix, it couldn't update to the latest version. So, I had to dig a little bit, and I believe I found the solution.

This is what I did so far. I started Windows Update and looked for updates. I waited until I get the error reported at the H-Online website. Then I went to C:\Windows and opened the file WindowsUpdate.log.

To save you some steps, look for the following files: WUClient-SelfUpdate-ActiveX~31bf3856ad364e35~x86~~7.6.7600.256.cab, WUClient-SelfUpdate-Aux-TopLevel~31bf3856ad364e35~x86~~7.6.7600.256.cab and WUClient-SelfUpdate-Core-TopLevel~31bf3856ad364e35~x86~~7.6.7600.256.cab.

Here are the links:

-http://download.windowsupdate.com/v9/1/windowsupdate/b/selfupdate/WSUS3/x86/Vista/WUClient-SelfUpdate-ActiveX~31bf3856ad364e35~x86~~7.6.7600.256.cab
-http://download.windowsupdate.com/v9/1/windowsupdate/b/selfupdate/WSUS3/x86/Vista/WUClient-SelfUpdate-Aux-TopLevel~31bf3856ad364e35~x86~~7.6.7600.256.cab
-http://download.windowsupdate.com/v9/1/windowsupdate/b/selfupdate/WSUS3/x86/Vista/WUClient-SelfUpdate-Core-TopLevel~31bf3856ad364e35~x86~~7.6.7600.256.cab

If you're x64, hopefully you only have to replace x86 with x64. lol

Download them. I'm not sure if both of the first two are needed, but download them both just in case.

Then, open the cmd line with administrative rights, and type the following for each of the files. Do it in the same I order I placed here.

Code:

start /w pkgmgr /ip /m:"path-to-each-of-the-cab-files"

Press enter. Hopefully, after these steps, it will upgrade to the latest version.

 

there are also unofficial installers for WUA 7.6.7600.256 from this Wincert.org forum topic, since Microsoft has not yet provided standalone installers for this new version as noted in MS KB article 946928.

one might try those unofficial installers if WUA failed to install thru the normal methods.