Microsoft forces a re-release of Oct patch for IE browsers

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 4 Nov 2009 3:32 pm

Today, while I was working on a blog article about updates to Spybot Search and Destroy, I noticed something odd in the System Tray and on-screen. Without any user interaction from me, Windows Updates downloaded and installed a re-released patch for a critical patch that was released on October 13, this year. The item that got my attention was a countdown timer, ticking away behind my Firefox browser. By the time I realized it was there, there was 15 minutes left before a forced shutdown occurred.

Fortunately, I was able to save my work in progress, close Firefox, NoteTab Pro, Windows Live Mail, Mailwasher Pro and Trillian, before the timer reached zero. When the PC rebooted, instead of logging back into my Power User account, I logged into an Administrator level account to see what had happened. After opening Internet Exploder and going to Windows Update > Review Update History, I learned that Microsoft had pushed out a hotfix patch for Internet Exploder browsers.

All Windows PCs will receive this patch, unless you have totally disabled Automatic Windows Updates. And, worst, the "Restart Later" button was disabled.

I have written a blog article about the re-released Internet Explorer update, what it fixes, and how it forces itself on users. You should read it so you know what to expect the next time they release a broken Windows Update, then push out a hotfix with little or no notice.

Mitch Drumm · Post by **Mitch Drumm** » 4 Nov 2009 3:51 pm

Wiz:

I have Windows Update configured to notify me only.

If I understand your blog post correctly, I therefore would not be victimized by this process??

I haven't noticed anything yet.

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 5 Nov 2009 5:32 pm

Mitch Drumm wrote:Wiz:

I have Windows Update configured to notify me only.

If I understand your blog post correctly, I therefore would not be victimized by this process??

I haven't noticed anything yet.

I think you will be affected by the automatic installation feature anyway. Let me know how this plays out on your PC.

Many people see this forced Windows Update installation only when they decide to restart or shutdown their PCs. In my case I was forced to shutdown while still logged in (as an XP Power User) to my Windows desktop.