I hate automatic updates

So my computer decided to restart itself in the middle of an FEA analysis that is probably going to take about 8 or 9 hours last night. Damn you Windows!

Yeah I like how they never tell you that if you refuse to update your stuff, it'll take over and do it for you, even if you have automatic updates turned off.

Bwahahahaha! Suckerz!

I am about three YEARS behind in updates on this Winblowz machine.....

Ranger50 wrote: I am about three YEARS behind in updates on this Winblowz machine.....

You should probably apply some updates .. they are a pain in the ass but they are actually important from time to time.

In reply to dculberson:

Then tell me why. I have a machine that runs just fine as-is. It mostly surfs the net, runs an occasional spreadsheet or word doc, and stores pictures. You make it sound like I should upgrade to a new car even though my old one runs just fine.

Dude, it's not at all like upgrading to a new car, it's like replacing brake pads when they're worn out. Surfing the net - even just being connected to the net - exposes you to countless hazards. Windows machines are constantly under attack by hackers and hacked machines. I've helped countless friends and neighbors out that had the same mindset as you and ended up with viruses, trojans, and malware. One neighbor just had me help him because his machine was running slow, turned out he had a nasty password stealing trojan on his machine. And yes, he had anti-virus software but that's only one part of ensuring security.

You don't have to but you should. If you like not having all your data stolen and like not having all your online accounts - including bank accounts - open to access by others then you should.

On windows 7:
Go to Control Panel --> Windows Update --> Change Settings --> on important updates select "download updates but let me choose whether to install them"

On Windows XP:
Go to Control Panel --> Automatic Updates --> click on "download updates but let me choose whether to install them"

In reply to scardeal:

I know how to change but I am not allowed to on my work computer... Stupid IT.

Yeah you should keep your updates...updated, unless you want to get pwned by the next infected Office file or website ad you run across, but it's too bad Windows has to be so stupid about the restarts. At least in Win7 you can tell it "I'll restart later, don't bug me about it for 4 hours."

dculberson wrote: And yes, he had anti-virus software but that's only one part of ensuring security. You don't *have* to but you *should*. If you like not having all your data stolen and like not having all your online accounts - including bank accounts - open to access by others then you should.

And what was the first and probably the second, third, and fourth thing he failed to do to insure his security?

I still haven't seen the immediate need to update, just a whole lot of shoulda, woulda, coulda's, and haveyaseenthat's.

Ranger50 wrote:

dculberson wrote: And yes, he had anti-virus software but that's only one part of ensuring security. You don't *have* to but you *should*. If you like not having all your data stolen and like not having all your online accounts - including bank accounts - open to access by others then you should.

And what was the first and probably the second, third, and fourth thing he failed to do to insure his security? I still haven't seen the immediate need to update, just a whole lot of shoulda, woulda, coulda's, and haveyaseenthat's.

So you have anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, NAT router, all in place and up to date but refuse to apply updates to Windows? I somehow doubt it but if that's the case you've got some bizarre methods.

You can ignore advice from knowledgeable people but don't act like it's bad advice. You are taking a serious risk. Accept the risk if you like, but it's your personal info that you're risking and not mine. I'm not even clear on why you would act all smug about it rather than admitting you're lazy and don't want to do it.

In reply to dculberson:

No, I choose to not exclusively use M$ products, like all the other lemmings that have problems.

You want to know what my biggest beef with automatic updates? What do the hackers attack? The latest and greatest as soon as it is available. Sure it isn't foolproof, but it has worked for me for years. I choose to be updates behind for that reason. Also just adding more and more code to fix problems isn't an answer either.

Edit - Also don't assume I blindly surf everywhere and give away information for anything out there. I don't. There are reasons I don't play the FB games or do a lot of online commerce.

In a somebody died thread there's the obligatory picture of Abe Vigoda so in this thread here's the obligatory - if you used a Mac wouldn't need all that stupid stuff you have to get on Winblowz.

Ranger50 wrote: You want to know what my biggest beef with automatic updates? What do the hackers attack? The latest and greatest as soon as it is available. Sure it isn't foolproof, but it has worked for me for years. I choose to be updates behind for that reason. Also just adding more and more code to fix problems isn't an answer either.

Updates don't just add code they're usually replacing the bad code, sometimes even reducing the overall size. Black hats attack the latest, but do you know what they've had a lot more time to work on? Anything that's not the latest.

carguy123 wrote: In a somebody died thread there's the obligatory picture of Abe Vigoda so in this thread here's the obligatory - if you used a Mac wouldn't need all that stupid stuff you have to get on Winblowz.

Except I can't actually do anything with a Mac. It doesn't run MathCAD or Solidworks so it is about as useful as a door stop.

Macs can run Winblowz too, but then you need all that other crap.

I have a PC for the 1 piece of software and the 2 websites I need to go to that require WinX. And I sympathize with you completely.

Only thing I use Windows for is games. But my other computers run Linux.

GameboyRMH wrote:

Ranger50 wrote: You want to know what my biggest beef with automatic updates? What do the hackers attack? The latest and greatest as soon as it is available. Sure it isn't foolproof, but it has worked for me for years. I choose to be updates behind for that reason. Also just adding more and more code to fix problems isn't an answer either.

Updates don't just add code they're usually replacing the bad code, sometimes even reducing the overall size. Black hats attack the latest, but do you know what they've had a lot more time to work on? Anything that's not the latest.

That much very must depend on the update. My last laptop filled up the harddrive, even though I never added anything onto it. watching the virus scanner, most of the stuff on it were updates. Put on new, and just keep piling on. that thing was very slow at the end.

if not for the poor battery, I was going to put in some version of linux. but that's old news now.

alfadriver wrote:

GameboyRMH wrote:

Ranger50 wrote: You want to know what my biggest beef with automatic updates? What do the hackers attack? The latest and greatest as soon as it is available. Sure it isn't foolproof, but it has worked for me for years. I choose to be updates behind for that reason. Also just adding more and more code to fix problems isn't an answer either.

Updates don't just add code they're usually replacing the bad code, sometimes even reducing the overall size. Black hats attack the latest, but do you know what they've had a lot more time to work on? Anything that's not the latest.

That much very must depend on the update. My last laptop filled up the harddrive, even though I never added anything onto it. watching the virus scanner, most of the stuff on it were updates. Put on new, and just keep piling on. that thing was very slow at the end. if not for the poor battery, I was going to put in some version of linux. but that's old news now.

There's no way updates would cause that much space increase, even with Windows' practice of backing up the old files every single time. I'm thinking various temp files are more likely to blame.

In reply to GameboyRMH:

They did. Not sure why all of the directories were in the windows area.

I cleaned the machine pretty often, keeping as few temp files as possible, doing regular maitence (disk cleaning and de-frag), and yet it still slowly filled up and SLOOOOWED down. I'm no fan of XP.

I never used the machine but to hang out on the net- so unless it was just a bunch of viruses, it was all XP updates.

I'm guessing it was a small drive then. They were in the Windows area because all the update backups go in C:\ Windows\ $NTUninstallKB#####$.

If you want to clear them you just show hidden and OS files, delete any folders that match that pattern then attempt to uninstall all updates and answer Yes when it asks if you want to remove the uninstall entry.

In reply to GameboyRMH:

Never expected 80G to be too small. sad.

What really sucked was that I replatformed the machine, and in short order, the updates came fast and furious, to end up where I started.

The machine now needs to go to a materials recycler.

My bitch: I have one machine left with Macafee virusscan. I will kill it with fire someday, but I don't use that machine very often. It ignores any and all instructions about when to update, and seems to decide to do it whenever I am trying to do something important, and it locks the machine almost solid for 20 minutes. I think its fighting with the built in Windows Defender.

I'm not really against updates, but I don't really worry about them either.

I kind of miss DOS.