Hidden Windows Updates appear in the "shut down" menu

[MichaelD]

I noticed this yesterday. I went to shut down my system and in addition to the standard "Stand By" "Restart" and "Shut Down" buttons, there was a little popup there saying "Click here to install important updates and restart" and "Click here to restart w/o installing updates."

Naturally I clicked the latter. :| I did NOT get the usual little yellow shield in the SysTray notifying me that updates were available. Where'd this come from?

I read a couple of weeks ago about WindowsXP installing updates w/o user interaction even if they have "Do not install updates" selected in AutoUpdate.

My system is locked down pretty tight...I'm hoping I'm OK.

How can I see WTH this is w/o installing it? Can I get rid of it? Thanks.

 

[Robor]

I've seen this before but I don't remember if the yellow 'shield' was in the systray or not - or maybe it was there and hidden (inactive)?

The thing about XP installing updates was only in reference to Automatic Updates updating the updater and didn't happen if the system had Automatic Updates turned off.

(feel free to correct me if I'm wrong there)

 

[MrChad]

This is normal behavior if you have the Automatic Update client configured to download updates automatically. If updates have been downloaded but not installed, you are presented with the option to install them during a restart/shutdown.

Yesterday was a patch Tuesday, so your AU client should have pulled down a few updates.

 

[mechBgon]

Also, if you're running a non-Admin user account, which is a good security measure if it works for you, then you will not see the yellow shield from your non-Admin account, because your non-Admin account doesn't have sufficient say-so to interfere with the update process anyway.

If you want to see what the updates are, then shut down without installing them, then hit the Windows Update site from your Administrator-class account. It'll list them and you can research them. Like MrChad said, yesterday was Patch Tuesday for the month of October, so this would be teh normals.

 

[MichaelD]

Thanks much, Robor, MrChad and mechBgon. That's right; yesterday WAS "patch Tuesday." What concerns me is that this system has been running in it's current configuration (no reloads) for almost a year now and this is the first time anything like this happened...scared me. I like the little infection-free plastic bubble that my computer and I live in. :Q 😀

My system seems fine. No spyware reported, no virii, etc. But I can't help but feel that something...something went wrong somehow and now Auto Update is running wily-nily. 🙁

It's still set to "Notify, but dont' download or install."

*shrug* Guess I'm just paranoid...but that's not a bad thing in this e-centric day and age.

 

[mechBgon]

It's still set to "Notify, but dont' download or install."

At that setting, it may download updates to the updating software itself, even if it merely notifies you about the rest. Note the highlighted text :camera:

*shrug* Guess I'm just paranoid...but that's not a bad thing in this e-centric day and age.

As long as you're paranoid about the right things 😉 I don't think Microsoft's updates for the automatic-updating software are a worthy cause for paranoia, but some people can't abide the thought.

 

[MichaelD]

Well, I'll be darned. I never noticed that little blurb before. Really. 😱 That whole "updates to the updating software itself" thing was so foreign to me that I had to check my own system to see if it was real. Yeah, it's there. :Q

Probably, that's what the magical mystery updates were. I'll continue to keep a paranoid eye on it though. Thanks, mechB.