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Samsung cripples Windows Update to 'help your settings'
By Vlad Dudau @avladd · 8 hours ago · Hot! 45
Frustrated by Windows updates? We've turned them off for you!
If we were to tell you that your machine downloaded a file called “Disable_Windowsupdate.exe” you’d probably think we were talking about malware or viruses. But the file in question actually comes from Samsung and is designed to “help your windows configuration settings”.
Yes, that’s right; Samsung, through its own bloatware, infects your device installs a program whose sole purpose is to disable Windows Update. This was discovered by a researcher and Microsoft MVP, when taking a look at SWUpdate, Samsung’s bloatware that comes with all their PCs.
Samsung’s reasoning goes something like this:
When you enable Windows updates, it will install the Default Drivers for all the hardware no laptop which may or may not work. For example if there is USB 3.0 on laptop, the ports may not work with the installation of updates. So to prevent this, SW Update tool will prevent the Windows updates.
That may sound shocking to those of you who know that Windows Update is not only responsible for drivers and features, but much more importantly, for critical security updates. And come Windows 10, it will also be responsible for new versions of the OS, as Insiders already know.
What’s interesting here is that SWUpdate wasn’t necessarily raising red flags because it wasn’t permanently disabling the update process. Users could still start and stop it manually, though the automatic service would get disabled again with every reboot.
Obviously this isn’t the first time an OEM goes against its users. Earlier this year Lenovo’s own bumbling stupidity put its users at risk, and a big scandal resulted out of it. Perhaps it’s now Samsung’s turn to go through the same, as OEM’s need to learn that customers value simplicity and security, not made up “improvements” that compromise their machines.
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