Updated, June 25 @ 17:00 BST, 12:00 EST: We have another update from Samsung, though it seems to miss the point. The accusation is that Samsung is blocking Windows Update itself, not any specific update. "It is not true that we are blocking a Windows 8.1 operating system update on our computers. As part of our commitment to consumer satisfaction, we are providing our users with the option to choose if and when they want to update the Windows software on their products."
Microsoft has also issued a statement: "Windows Update remains a critical component of our security commitment to our customers. We do not recommend disabling or modifying Windows Update in any way as this could expose a customer to increased security risks. We are in contact with Samsung to address this issue."
Updated, June 24 @ 23:20 BST, 17:20 EST: We finally heard back from Samsung, though it isn't very informative: "We are aware of Mr. Barker’s claim regarding Windows 8.1 updates on our computers. We take security concerns very seriously and we are working with Microsoft to address this matter."
Original story
Microsoft MVP Patrick Barker, who spends a large portion of his life analysing, debugging, and helping other people troubleshoot Windows, has discovered that Samsung is actively disabling Windows Update on some of its PCs.
Barker stumbled across the issue while trying to assist a user who found that Windows Update "kept getting disabled randomly." By using Auditpol and registry security auditing, Barker discovered that a program called Disable_Windowsupdate.exe was being run every time the PC booted up—and that EXE file, unfortunately, belonged to Samsung's SW Update suite.
SW Update is exactly what it sounds like: it's one of those bundled OEM tools that ostensibly keeps all of your PC's software and drivers up-to-date. In this case, though, SW Update also installs a service that regularly downloads and executes a file called Disable_Windowsupdate.exe directly from Samsung's servers. The file is even digitally signed by Samsung (but don't run it unless you want to disable Windows Update).
Obviously, considering SW Update is meant to keep your computer updated, Barker was a little bit perturbed—so he opened up a chat window with Samsung support to find out why Windows Update was being disabled. Here's what the support rep had to say:
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.
We don't have a recent Samsung laptop to hand (Samsung left the laptop market in Europe last year), but it sounds like the default class drivers, which are pushed out via Windows Update, are perhaps not compatible with Samsung's implementation of USB 3.0 on at least one model of laptop.
Disabling Windows Update is an incredibly brute-force way of making sure a user's USB ports still work, especially as users get no say in the matter. Even if you happen to be poking around Control Panel and notice that Windows Update has been disabled, and re-enable it, it will get disabled again on the next reboot. Who would think to go back to the Control Panel to make sure their setting hasn't been overridden?
We have reached out to both Samsung and Microsoft for comment, but they hadn't replied at the time of publishing. We'll hopefully update this story later today. SW Update is included on many Samsung PCs, but it's possible that Disable_Windowsupdate.exe is only being executed on a subset of devices that are "incompatible" with Windows Update. If you have a Samsung laptop, perhaps go and check if Windows Update is still enabled?
reader comments
211