Dell Tech Support telling users to completely disable Windows Update in Vista?

Welcome to the forums :emotion-21:

I don't know where they've got such a stupid idea as that from :emotion-3:  It certainly wasn't sanctioned/advised by Microsoft!

Nobody should disable Windows Update! 

I know many, many people... particularly on a number of other forums, who are very tech savvy - with both hardware and software.

Yet I've never known any of them disable Windows Update!?

Are you sure they actually said/meant "Windows Update" though, and not User Account Control (UAC)?

I know plenty of folks who disable UAC (I turn it off myself).

But far from being "much safer"...  turning off Windows Update could actually increase the risk of something 'untoward' happening to/with your system, because there are regular 'security risk' updates released through it!

Also could they have ment turning off autoupdateing any using manual?

Hi rdlenk, That would be a silly idea.

If I had to guess I would say that they are afraid of auto-update installing a graphics drivers that may conflict with their operating system somehow.

Just my 2 cents..........

Hello All Again,

@TheRealFireblade

Thank you for the welcome!

I completely agree with your statements about how no one should ever fully disable Windows Update. As for what they actually meant, I can only vouch for the tech support guy that was helping me and he walked me through completely disabling Windows Update and never made any mention of UAC. It is possible that the he misunderstood what he was supposed to tell me but I will probably never get to know that.

@Davet50

It is possible Dell wants their users to turn off Automatic Installation but the tech support guy walked me through completely disabling all automatic checks for updates and that part should probably never be turned off as there is no harm in checking for updates. No matter what state Automatic Updates are in users can manually check for updates but how many 'normal' users do you know that active check for Windows Updates?

@RobinBredin

I'm sorry but it is not my idea...

I was told to shut off Windows Update by Dell Tech Support and I am here on the forums talking about it because I think that it is wrong for Dell to tell its customers that.

@bandit523

That is my guess too, is that Dell either submitted a faulty driver to Microsoft for publishing on Windows Update or there was an existing driver update causing major compatibility issues and so Dell's easy fix is to just disable Windows Update.

Hopefully, someone at Dell will try and clear up the situation. There may actually be a good reason, but I would really love to hear it.

-rdlenk

I usually recommend getting all the Windows Updates. I even have the custom ones but...

Do NOT let Microsoft update your drivers. If you have a problem with a device on your computer, go to the manufacturer's website and get the latest drivers from there(Dell usually helps, too.) I've seen people get driver updates from Microsoft and then they have problems with the device working.

Windows Updates for Microsoft Windows only.

My opinion,

Rick

I for one have had Windows Automatic Updates disabled for years, using XP. Never regretted it yet.
 

I can recall instances when MS tried to install dodgy software (WGA Notification springs to mind) that conferred no security benefit to the user, and that one could not subsequently uninstall.

Instead, I install critical and security updates manually from the MS Update website/Custom option, usually a day or two after they are released monthly on "Patch Tuesday". (If the patches can wait a month, they can wait an extra day or two). This allows me to check whether others have had problems with any patch. The MSU site also allows me to check whether any given patch can be uninstalled or not before downloading it: I am very leery of  installing any patch that cannot be uninstalled.

Would I recommend this approach for the average user? NO. I think for most users, who haven't the time to keep abreast of updates, automatic updates should be enabled. The benefits out-weigh the risks. But those that choose to use automatic updates should be aware that historically MS has (albeit rarely) installed problematic patches.
 

I am going to have to disagree with you RickyVDB. Although I myself do not use fully automatic updates and instead just take the time to check myself I would never recommend this to someone that doesn't know what they are doing, ever. You say that the average user should just use Firefox and good protection? First off, just not using Internet Explorer does not remove it from the system nor does it prevent many other components of the Operating System from using it as Internet Explorer is so deeply engrained into Windows and other products. Therefore, Internet Explorer should always be kept up to date, whether it is your primary browser or not. Also, how would you define good protection? Doesn't good protection start with having all the latest security updates? All the anti-virus/firewall protection in the world cannot help you if there is a 'way into' the machine that bypasses all of it.

I also would have to disagree with not installing the latest versions of the optional software, again for reasons of security. It is the same situation as with IE; Windows Media Player and the .NET Framework may not be directly used by the user but there are parts of the operating system and other applications that will use them so keeping them up to date is important because the latest version will have all the latest security updates and will also be the version supported by Microsoft.

What works for you is just fine, but the real topic of this thread is that Dell Tech Support is telling ALL users that Windows Update needs to be disabled completely. Ideally, it would be nice if everyone put in the time and effort to look into each and every update and make sure it is something that needs/should be installed, but can anyone really believe that the average user is going to do this? The answer should be no because the average user tends to just not care enough or doesn't really know what they are doing with regards to updating the Operating System and that is why Dell telling customers to disable Windows Update is a bad thing.

-rdlenk

I agree with you totally, rdlenk. Well said.

Whether done via Automatic Updates, or manually, it is important to keep all Windows apps current with security patches.

I agree.  Those of us who do this for a living know full well the risks of Windows Automatic Updates, so we can choose to install updates manually.  The average user has to "trust" Microsoft that an Automatic Update will not adversely effect system operation.  I seriously doubt that Dell Tech Support is telling ALL users to turn off Automatic Updates.

I just repaired an XP Pro system Friday for the local office of a national insurance company.  IT support was checking security and recommended that the XP SP3 update be installed.   Upon completion of the update, the workstation could not access the Internet.   An unsigned; i.e., "unknown" browser extension, was the culprit.  The browser extension's properties revealed no manufacturer, version number, etc., so I suspect that either IE7 or McAfee (nee Symantec) was detecting its presence and preventing Internet access.  However, McAfee did not "flag" it as a potential risk when I scanned it manually.

Tony 

My original post got deleted because I used 2 words not accepted by the forum.:emotion-16: It was a reply and agreement with Muddy Yorkville and I still stand by it.

Me too, no automatic updates ! Not only do I not have reliable internetconnection, so the slow and sometimes big MS downloads fail, but I am very causious about what I let MS install on my PC. Remember the update which had a problem with ZoneAlarm? No internet connection. I don't use Internet Explorer, always problems with it, why would I want to install all those updates? Every time you install an update from MS, there is a chance that something goes wrong and doesn't work anymore. I choose which patches I need, wait a week after they are released and google them for problems , then I install some of them. Every time I go to MS update, they want to install SP3 . With an automatic update you don't have a choice. Why the risks of XP SP3? It works just fine on the pre-installed XP SP2 , and many people have problems with installing SP3. Even the optional updates IE 7, WMP 11, .netframework3, all things you don't need. For the average computer user : use firefox and good protection. So I would say the Dell technician is right!

In answer to rdlenk:

You are right, for the average user is it not recommended, but also remember that 99% has a OEM OS, so no free software support from neither Dell nor Microsoft, and if an automatic update goes wrong in any way, they don't even know what caused it, and need paid assistance to rectify it. Of course if they get infected, they also need assistance!

Why would I use IE , which is such an intrigal part of the OS, and allways has had leaks , to expose it to the dangers of the internet. I surf "sometimes" to the "alternative" sites, allways problems with IE, Firefox with java off, no problems. Explorer itself no problem, why update?

"The way into" depends a lot of you're browser and security.

About the optional software: I tried IE7 and WMP11, the first didn't install right, and made changes I didn't want ( a lot of people had problems with installing IE7), WMP11 I didn't like. The newest isn't always better. Some applications ask for .netframework, true , but I haven't had one who wanted version 3, so why install it?

Ok maybe it would be bad for Dell to tell all not to use automatic update, but if they do,  Dell should give a list, or give the ones you really need on their drivers & downloads page.