Microsoft fiddles with your Windows without permissionEven if you have auto-updates switched offBy Nick Farrell: Thursday 13 September 2007, 15:48SOFTWARE GIANT, Microsoft has been caught updating punters' Windows machines without asking them.Scott Dunn of Windows Secrets has noticed that Windows Update (WU) has recently started altering files on users' systems without displaying any dialogue box to request permission.Nine small executable files on XP and Vista have been altered so far in what Dunn dubs a stealth move by the Vole. What is strange is that the updates were carried out while the automatic Updates dialogue box in the Control Panel was set to prevent updates from being installed automatically.The Vole has previously pushed updates out to users who prefer to test and install their updates manually, but at that time Vole notified them first. This time the update was a complete surprise. The Vole's website does not mention the update at all.So far, there is no indication what the changes actually do either. There are no software conflicts caused by the patches and no reason to kill them off.However as Dunn said it is more of a concern that Microtus Sneakicus thinks it is allowed into your computer to tinker with files without asking. You never know what they could get up to.
When you think about it, it would be so easy for them to do this eh. In this broadband world of today,our PCs are almost always connected to the internet. Of course MS wrote the software, so they knowall the 'back doors'. I'm always very wary of their updates, and I always check to see what each updatedoes or changes before I even download it.*checks firewall*
