[softwarelist] Re: Another Windows horror story

> On 22 Dec, David Pilling wrote:
>
>> Last week it became obvious my PC had a virus. I was lucky that it
>> caught something designed to be irritating and promote virus detecting
>> software.
>
>> I watched what happened and I could find where the rogue code was in
>> Windows. However I could not unhook it from the insides of Windows and
>> neither could the anti virus software I tried.
>
>> How did this happen? - I'd turned off Windows automatic updates,
>> because I didn't want my computer changing configuration without me
>> knowing about it.
>
> You can tell Windows XP to download updates when available, but not
> install them without prompting you for permission. This way, if you
> are doing something and would prefer not to have to restart the PC,
> you can put of the updates to a time that suits you.
>
> Go in to your System Properties, click on the Automatic Updates tab,
> and chose either of the two middle options - Download but don't
> install, or notify but don't download until I tell you (paraphrased).
> --
> Brian Howlett
> --------------------------------
> "I'm Brian, and so's my wife..."

If you have XP with SP2 you should have Security Center in Control Panel
and with a shortcut on the Desktop. Double on the short cut and the select
Automatic Updates. From here there are four choices; Automatic, Download
and chose when to install, Notify but don't automatically download or
install, Turn Off Updates.

TBH after years of taking updates I have become increasingly wary of them.
A couple of years ago one update altered the way a printer driver worked
disrupting a V important printing session. More recently my networking was
knocked out until MS issued a modified version (I had removed the offender
using Add or Remove Programs with the Update box checked - sometimes a
System Restore can be used if that fails).

A Novatech laptop I set up by insalling XP Pro myself (a utilities install
disc from Novatech caused trouble by clashing with some hardware, which I
managed to sort - why do they not test these thing properly) and created a
user account and an administrator account. Trouble here is Nero CD/DVD
writing did not write from the user account until I had installed a fix
from the Nero support site. Unfortunately a subsequent MS update broke
that fix so I now have to once more switch from user account to the admin
account to burn discs. B***** MS!

Also on a desktop the USB system has changed behaviour WRT removable media
over time. Now I have trouble Ejecting media. One used to right click on
the drive icon and chose Eject from the drop down, now all that does it
cause an hour glass for ages. But another legend now appears in the left
pane of the My Computer dialogue inviting 'Eject this disc' which does not
always work.

I dread the next update, and on one machine have turned off for over a
month now. Of late I have started to suspect that MS are progressively
crippling XP in order to push folk on to that lame duck Vista to which I
will not move and lose my film scanner.

Lionel

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