Windows Update is certainly one of the most important components of Windows. Do you remember how time-consuming patch management was before this feature was added to Windows? The only thing is that some genius in Redmond managed to somehow implement Murphy’s Law into the Windows Update client. I don’t know how they did it, but it is amazing how accurately the Update client determines the worst time for installing updates or requesting reboots. WuInstall 1.2 Pro is a command line tool that enables you to overrule Murphy’s Law when it comes to Windows updates. You can use the tool together with Microsoft’s update service, or with WSUS.

Its publisher, hs2n, is now raffling off five licenses for WuInstall 1.2 Pro, each worth US $250. It authorizes to use the tool for 50 clients and 5 servers. Non-commercial institutions may run WuInstall 1.2 Pro on an unlimited number of machines. Please note that a former version of WuInstall can be found on the 4sysops list of free Windows administration tools. The new version, however, includes quite a few important new features.

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Submitted by hs2n

WuInstall is a command line tool for Windows, which enables you to install Windows-updates for a certain workstation in a controlled way by using a command line script instead of the standard Windows update functionality.

It can be used by administrators for updates on many workstations using scripts or for users who do not want to us the automatic Windows upates.

WuInstall uses the windows update API and is written in C++. It searches either on the Microsoft – Update – Server or at the internal WSUS-Sever (depending on system configuration) for currently available updates for the current workstation and can also download and/or installs these updates. It is roughly comparable with a simplified apt-get command like in Linux.

WuInstall

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WSUS 3.0 SP1 RTM has been released. This time it is not just a “fake release” like that of Vista SP1. You can really download it! Another question is if you really need this service pack. I tried to find out what the new features of WSUS 3.0 SP1 are.

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Microsoft offers an update that allows you to manage WSUS 3.0 SP1 with Server Manager. I think this is the first non-Windows Server 2008 product that can be integrated in Server Manager. It seems that Microsoft is indeed copying the concept of Linux management tools such as SuSE’s yast.

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Microsoft released WSUS 3.0 SP1 RC. You can download it from Microsoft Connect now. You might be tempted to install it already on a productive server. However, I would recommend waiting for the release of the final version.

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Whenever I have to deal with Microsoft’s update services, I get confused about the different terms. When I configured the security health validator (SHV) policy of NAP (Network Access Protection) in Windows Server 2008, I was puzzled again by the difference of the phrases “Automatic Updates”, “Windows Update” and “Microsoft Update”.

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I didn’t know that one can upgrade Firefox to Internet Explorer. At least this is what Microsoft recommends when you access the new Microsoft Update Catalog with Firefox. This catalog allows you to perform a full-text search in Microsoft Update database and download the patches. You can import these updates in WSUS or System Center Configuration Manager 2007. This is all quite useful.

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I wanted to try Forefront Client Security (FSC), Microsoft’s new desktop antivirus software for the enterprise, already for quite some time. Today, I thought I could just have a quick look at it even though I am still busy exploring Windows Server 2008.

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It’s my first day after vacation, and I am somewhat overwhelmed by the number of new releases relevant to my work, even though, I tried to keep myself updated through my RSS feeds. This post is more or less a to-do-list for me. If you are sys admin in a Windows shop, you’re probably in the same situation.

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You can now download WSUS 3.0 at Microsoft Connect. It looks like the final release of WSUS 3.0 (Windows Server Update Services) is just around the corner. We have been working with Microsoft’s patch management solution since the availability of SUS and were always quite satisfied with it. I never liked its user interface, though.

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I always liked the functionality of WSUS, Microsoft’s patch management tool. However, in my view its web-based user interface is a mess. Recently a colleague told me that WSUS 3.0 will get a “real” user interface, i.e. one with a “normal” graphical user interface. Now, I saw some screenshots of WSUS 3.0 Beta 2 at Windows Connected. I don’t know yet about the new features of WSUS 3.0, but I am already prepared to bid good bye to WSUS 2.0.

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The Windows Automatic Updates feature is great, however those nagging reboot reminders can drive you crazy. I can only recommend to turn this off.

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WindowsNetworking.com has an interesting 2-part article about tweaking Windows Update using Registry Keys. The first part covers “Elevation of Privileges”, “Target Groups” and “Assigning a WSUS Server”. The topics of Part 2 are about “Disabling Windows Update”, “Reboot Reminders”, “Applying Missed Updates”, and “Scheduling Installations”. I like the part about the reboot reminders most.

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