Samsung has taken an unusual, extraordinary measure with some of their laptops by turning off Windows Update. As you know, Windows Update includes many different types of improvements to your computer, including patches to improve functions of the operating system, drivers for hardware and most importantly, security patches. Without Windows security updates, users are vulnerable to many types of malware on the net.
A Microsoft support engineer, Patrick Barker, identified the issue with the Samsung laptops while trying to to troubleshoot a Windows Update problem. Samsung includes software called Samsung SW Update with their laptops to maintain any pre-installed software that comes with the computer. Yes, you've guessed it, this program is meant to keep your bloatware intact and up to to date. One part of the Samsung software is called “Disable_Windowsupdate.exe.”
Mr. Barker contacted Samsung support and was told that “when you enable Windows updates, it will install the Default Drivers for all the hardware on the laptop which may or may not work... so to prevent this, SW Update tool will prevent Windows updates.” It does seem an extreme measure, leaving thousands of customers vulnerable to attacks. Samsung has not yet released a statement regarding this dangerous behavior in their software.
Samsung left the laptop market in Europe last year after poor sales, but continue to sell them in other parts of the world. This news will not help their reputation in those other markets.
You can read the original findings by Mr Barker at his blog.
