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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This article is a step-by-step guide how to disable automatic restarts caused by Windows Update.

Update: I covered  this topic in more detail here: Turn off automatic Windows Update reboots

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

Usually, this restart now/restart later pop up appears when I am doing something important or when I have some remote connections open. I also like it if Windows rebooted automatically during my lunch break while several virtual machines are running.

In my view this feature doesn’t bring in extra security. All these pop up windows warning about security issues are more or less useless. People get used to them, and click on them automatically. In this way these pop-ups might even decrease security. If there ever is an important security message, the user will just click away without really reading it because he is trained to do so.

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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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