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Windows Secrets Newsletter • Issue 128 • 2007-10-25 • Circulation: over 275,000
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Contents INTRODUCTION: Help us send you a better newsletter TOP STORY: PC rebooting? The cause may be MS OneCare KNOWN ISSUES: U3 flash drives rendered useless on some PCs WACKY WEB WEEK: Global crash reveals modern Internet addiction LANGALIST PLUS: Part five: big power supplies need good fans WOODY'S WINDOWS: My must-have tools for Windows users PERIMETER SCAN: Driver Detective finds outdated software YOUR SUBSCRIPTION: How to change your address or unsubscribe |
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For links to every topic in this issue, scroll down to the
Index |
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INTRODUCTION Help us send you a better newsletter
We write for both large and small operations We try to make our articles serve all Windows users, from someone who uses a single PC at home to the IT director of a large enterprise. By writing clearly and simply, even about the most technical subjects, we hope to provide advice you can easily follow to make Windows work better for you. At the same time, we'd like to know the size and scope of the outfit you work in, if any. Since our readers may work in multinational corporations, tiny nonprofits, or anything in between (or no work environment at all), our question asks about the size of your entire "organization," whatever that term means to you. Simply select the choice that best represents your guess of the number.
What is the total number of employees in your entire organization? Brian Livingston is editorial director of WindowsSecrets.com and the co-author of Windows Vista Secrets and 10 other books. |
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TOP STORY PC rebooting? The cause may be MS OneCare
Users surprised by change to AU settings I reported on Sept. 13 that Windows Update (WU) periodically installs a set of nine executable files without notice to users, even if Automatic Updates (AU) is set to "notify me but don't automatically install." On Sept. 27, I wrote that the executable files silently installed by AU starting in July prevent Windows XP from installing any security patches at all if XP was repaired using its original CD. Many companies and individuals have a policy of carefully testing for negative side-effects in Microsoft patches before allowing them to be installed. It's particularly surprising for these users, who've carefully configured their Windows machines to install patches manually, to find that their machines have been updated and rebooted anyway. A blog named AeroXperience posted comments on Oct. 10 saying Windows Update was forcing such reboots. Users around the globe wrote in to the blog's forum, saying their settings had mysteriously been switched to automatically install patches, and their PCs restarted at 3:00 a.m. (the default install time in the Automatic Updates control panel). Many commenters swore that they'd previously configured the control panel to prevent such installations. AeroExperience blamed Windows Update for making the changes to users' systems. ZDNet blogger Mary Jo Foley repeated the accusation on Oct. 12, adding fuel to the fire. In a response on Oct. 12, Microsoft Update program manager Nate Clinton denied that Automatic Updates had made any changes to users' AU settings. The posting was later updated to include several possible explanations, all of which include the user choosing to turn on AU when prompted by some software or installer. But user choice plays no role in changing AU settings when installing Windows Live OneCare. My finding is that Windows Live OneCare silently changes the AU settings. This explains at least some of the complaints that have been reported so far. Users could have installed OneCare — even a free-trial version — at any time in the recent past and been unaware of any changes until Automatic Updates forced a reboot in the wee hours. In repeated tests on Windows XP and Vista, I installed Windows Live OneCare, which costs U.S. $49.95 per year after a 90-day free trial. In every case, OneCare changed a machine's Automatic Updates settings to fully automatic. It did so even when Automatic Updates had been completely disabled. In Windows XP, this state is known as "Turn off Automatic Updates." In Vista, it's called "Never check for updates." In no case did the OneCare installer give any indication that a machine's Automatic Updates settings would be changed. Worse, OneCare silently enables Windows services that had been carefully disabled using Microsoft's own configuration utilities (as I explain below). Whereas OneCare is a downloadable and therefore optional security suite, Automatic Updates is a built-in service for patching Windows. AU is capable of downloading and installing updates from Microsoft at a preset time. Windows Users can choose from four options for updates: 1. Automatic; 2. Download updates for me, but let me choose when to install them; 3. Notify me but don't automatically download or install them; and 4. Turn off Automatic Updates. XP users can change these settings using the Control Panel applet called Automatic Updates. Vista users must first launch the Windows Update control panel and then click Change settings in the upper-left corner. OneCare installer turns on disabled services Surprisingly, the installation of OneCare silently changes Automatic Updates settings to automatically install patches and reboot the system, despite defensive measures a user might take to prevent this. • Users are not warned of changed settings. Early in the installation process, users are invited to read OneCare's feature summary. They are informed that using the service means agreeing to the Microsoft Online Privacy Statement as well as the OneCare privacy supplement. These documents mention the updating of OneCare's virus and spyware definitions, but they do not indicate any dependence on Windows Updates. Moreover, the statements say nothing about changing your Automatic Updates settings. Pages at the OneCare site, such as Service Overview, state that the service "works with Microsoft Update." Similarly, another overview link at the bottom of the page displays a table of features that mentions "Microsoft Update integration." But again, users are not warned that their AU settings may be changed. More important, no warning is given in the application during or after installation. Instead, the software simply reports: "Windows Live OneCare is up-to-date and your status is good." An obscure online help topic for OneCare does admit to turning on Automatic Updates, but the information is buried under "Frequently asked questions about other updates for Microsoft programs" (click "What does Windows Live OneCare to do help manage and maintain my computer's software updates?"). But this hard-to-find paragaraph is hardly adequate notice to new users of the service. • Services are affected, too. OneCare's installer even overrides settings made using the Services management console. Turning off Automatic Updates (using option 4, mentioned above) doesn't actually disable two related services, which continue to run in the background. Because these services might some day install something without authorization, many users run a utility called services.msc to disable them. In XP, one affected service is called Automatic Updates, while in Vista it's called Windows Update. The other service is known as Background Intelligent Transfer Services (BITS) in both versions of the operating system. Even if these two services have been manually set to Disabled, the OneCare installer changes their startup type to Automatic and restarts them. • The changes are unavoidable. The silent changes made by OneCare cannot be prevented by disconnecting a system from the Internet during installation. Doing so only prevents OneCare from being installed, since its installer requires an Internet connection. Furthermore, uninstalling OneCare does not return a system's Automatic Updates setting to its previous state. AU remains set to install updates and reboot the PC automatically. How to work around OneCare's settings change If you wish to use OneCare, but you want updates to be installed only when you're first notified, the only workaround is to install the program and then change Automatic Updates back to your preferred settings. If you install OneCare when Windows is not likely to phone home, you should be able to change AU before any updates are automatically installed. (Installing OneCare at any time other than 3:00 a.m. should do the trick.) After you've installed OneCare, it doesn't change your Automatic Updates settings again. But OneCare does flag the disabled Automatic Updates as an "urgent" matter that you should correct. In this situation, the OneCare icon in the taskbar tray turns a bright shade of red, which you may find annoying. An alternative workaround is to buy and use security software other than Microsoft's. In the past, to be sure, some third-party security applications have also had the problem of changing users' Automatic Updates settings. For example, the May 25, 2006, issue of Windows Secrets noted that Norton Internet Security silently changed Automatic Updates to automatic (if auto-updating was turned on in the Norton suite). Since that time, however, most security applications have learned to refrain from tampering with user settings. For the sake of comparison, I installed Norton 360, Norton Internet Security, McAfee Internet Security Suite, and the ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite. The McAfee product and both of the two Norton products flagged Automatic Updates as a security problem if it was disabled, and provided ways to turn it back on, but none of them changed the setting. The ZoneAlarm suite did not note a disabled copy of AU as a problem, nor did it change the setting. At this point, Windows Live OneCare appears to be the only major security package that changes users' preferences without notice. If you have more information, we'd love to hear about it. Readers receive a gift certificate for a book, CD, or DVD of their choice for sending tips we print. Send us your tips via the Windows Secrets contact page. Scott Dunn is associate editor of the Windows Secrets Newsletter. He has been a contributing editor of PC World since 1992 and currently writes for the magazine's Here's How section. |
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KNOWN ISSUES U3 flash drives rendered useless on some PCs
Locked networks make U3 a bad fit Associate editor Scott Dunn on Oct. 18 reviewed free, downloadable suites of "portable software" that you can run directly from flash drives. In a related, Oct. 11 review of flash drives themselves, he wrote, "Don't base your drive choice on U3," recommending non-U3 drives that are faster and have greater capacity at a lower price. Several readers wrote to inform us that, at their corporate workplaces, U3 drives are unworkable or banned due to certain behaviors in the software. Derek Douglas says:
If you do wish to use a U3 drive (or you've already bought one), reader Melvin Lewis suggests a free utility called Package Factory that can convert some regular programs to the .u3p format that's used by U3 drives. The documentation for this utility gives the disclaimer that it works best with simple applications that don't have many support files. Comcast readers receive bounce notices Most of our subscribers who use Comcast.net e-mail addresses saw bounce messages last week. Some users of this Internet service provider, however, received the newsletter with no problem. We're working with Comcast and our e-mail broadcast service to prevent the ISP from bouncing our newsletters again. In the meantime, please remember that you can always access the free version of the newsletter on the Web. Paid subscribers can read all paid content on our Web site by logging in with their e-mail address and reader number, which is shown at the top and bottom of every newsletter. We apologize for any inconvenience the Comcast bounces caused. Readers Douglas, Lucas, and Lewis will each receive a gift certificate for a book, CD, or DVD of their choice for sending tips we printed. Send us your tips via the Windows Secrets contact page. The Known Issues column brings you readers' comments on our recent articles. Virginia Culler is managing editor of WindowsSecrets.com. |
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EDITOR'S BOOKSHELF
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WACKY WEB WEEK Global crash reveals modern Internet addiction
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YOUR SUBSCRIPTION The Windows Secrets Newsletter is published weekly on the 1st through 4th Thursdays of each month, plus occasional news updates. We skip an issue on the 5th Thursday of any month, plus the week of Thanksgiving and the last two weeks of August and December. Publisher: WindowsSecrets.com LLC, Attn: #120 Editor, 1700 7th Ave., Suite 116, Seattle, WA 98101-1323 USA. Vendors, please send no unsolicited packages to this address (readers' letters are fine). Editorial Director: Brian Livingston. Editor-at-Large: Fred Langa. Associate Editor: Scott Dunn. Contributing Editors: Susan Bradley, Mark Edwards, Woody Leonhard, Ryan Russell. Research Director: Vickie Stevens. Program Director: Brent Scheffler. Managing Editor: Virginia Culler. Editorial Assistant: Diane Korngiebel. Trademarks: Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. The Windows Secrets series of books is published by Wiley Publishing Inc. The Windows Secrets Newsletter, WindowsSecrets.com, LangaList, LangaList Plus, WinFind, Security Baseline, Patch Watch, Perimeter Scan, Wacky Web Week, the Logo Design (W, S or road, and Star), and the slogan Everything Microsoft Forgot to Mention all are trademarks and service marks of WindowsSecrets.com LLC. All other marks are the trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. HOW TO SUBSCRIBE: Anyone may subscribe to this newsletter by visiting our free signup page. WE GUARANTEE YOUR PRIVACY: 1. We will never sell, rent, or give away your address to any outside party, ever. 2. We will never send you any unrequested e-mail, besides newsletter updates. 3. All unsubscribe requests are honored immediately, period. Privacy policy HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE: To unsubscribe from the Windows Secrets Newsletter,
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