40 responses to “Microsoft Security Essentials 2.0 installer flips “Automatic Update” setting”

1. 

   V Bunch December 23rd, 2010 at 01:54

   Downloaded and installed MSE2.0 two days ago. AU setting not changed. Still on “check but let me choose when to d/l and install.”

2. 

   Flashorn December 23rd, 2010 at 05:19

   Hi Woody!
   Well, updated (manually) MSE to 2.0 on my W7 64bit and so far, it did not change any of my settings in Windows Update. I have it set to Not Currently Monitored and it remained the same after the update so, alls well here anyways.Went through the Settings and saved the changes then restarted twice and still no changes made to any of MY settings except the ones I made in MSE. All is good.

3. 

   Richard December 23rd, 2010 at 06:17

   Mine is unchanged after 2.0 installation.

   Richard

4. 

   Charles December 23rd, 2010 at 06:44

   Welp, everything seems fine here. MSE 2.0 didn’t change my Automatic Update settings.

   On the other hand, the new version of Secunia PSI isn’t cooperating at all (by that, I mean the interface isn’t loading).

5. 

   Dave December 23rd, 2010 at 07:15

   I downloaded and ran the update installer on my Windows 7 netbook without incident and my windows update settings remained as, “check and notify me but let me choose what to download and install”. Not sure the exact wording but you get the picture.

6. 

   Chris December 23rd, 2010 at 09:53

   I have Automatic Updates turned off, and this setting remained after installing MSE v2.

   On a different note, the MSE v1 installed automatically in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Security Essentials\, but the upgrade removed that folder, and installed to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Security Client\. Not a huge problem, but broke my shorcuts.

   Also on two machines, the upgrade ‘lost’ all the definition files. Luckily I had downloaded these recently, so it didn’t take long to correct this. On two other machines, this was not a problem. But I would recommend anyone doing the upgrade to download the latest definition files first, to reduce the ‘uncovered’ period in case this happens.

   Chris

7. 

   James December 23rd, 2010 at 13:55

   First, I love your website; I check it daily. Second, I upgraded to MSE version 2.0 a few days ago and have noticed three times in as many days that after rebooting, starting up my computer, not for asleep, but from shutting it down completely that MSE turns red and tells me my computer is not protected, that real time protection is off and updates are out of date, though they were updated less than twelve hours earlier. This happened only a few times with version 1.0 but is becoming a daily occurrence with MSE 2.0. My computer is an ASUS laptop with 64 bit Windows 7. Keep up your excellent work and don’t move your website to Facebook.

   James

8. 

   John Juergens December 23rd, 2010 at 16:02

   Hi, Woody!

   I installed MSE 2.0 today. Win Automatic Update settings remained as “Notify but don’t download” on my machine. Thanks for all of your good advice.

   Merry Christmas!
   John

9. 

   L.V. Moschler, Jr. December 23rd, 2010 at 20:49

   I’ve manually installed all three versions of MSE 2.0 on my computers (XP Pro SP3, Win7 Home Premium 32bit,Win7 Ultimate 64Bit)in the last four days and ALL have been reset to Automatically download and install updates. At least when Win7 restarts it tells you that MSE has monkeyed with the Security Settings. Happy Holidays to you and Yours!!

10. 

    Stan Z. December 23rd, 2010 at 23:50

    I saved the download to the desktop.
    Installed MSE 2.0 today no problems after install noted at this time. No reboot required on this machine wasn’t prompt. No change in settings still has it set on notify but don’t install (windows updates)

11. 

    Gideon December 24th, 2010 at 07:27

    I downloaded and installed MSE2, to upgrade MSE1,on XPH SP3 (Windows side of a Mac laptop), and everything went fine, Automatic Updates, which was off initially, was still off afterwards.

12. 

    John December 24th, 2010 at 07:34

    Automatic update settings remain unchanged at “Notify but don’t download” after MSE 2.0 download. Also no problems with Secunia or anything else as far as I know.

13. 

    Beth Means December 24th, 2010 at 10:51

    Automatic Update settings did not change from “Notify but don’t download” after install.

14. 

    sethness December 24th, 2010 at 19:11

    My $0.02:

    On a clean Thinkpad T40 WinXP that’d been sequestered from the Internet for years & had been upgraded to SW patch #3 on the same day, MSE 2 changed the updates setting from “never” to “automatic”.

    I did a check immediately before the install, and a check immediately after install but before MSE2 did the immediate download-after-install of the latest virus definitions. It definitely went from “never, and don’t notify me” to “automatically download and install”.

    I reset AU to “never”, and checked periodically after that, but it did not change again.

    Curious that MSE2 alters the setting on some PCs, but not others. What’s the determining factor, here?

15. 

    woody December 24th, 2010 at 21:35

    @John -

    What do you think of the new Secunia PSI?

16. 

    Joe December 24th, 2010 at 22:36

    Did not change the settings on my W7 machine.

    However now I am being notified by windows update that the MSE update is available where as before I wasn’t. If I wait MSE updates itself and the windows update tray icon disappears.

    I checked and didn’t see a setting that controls that, other than changing the ‘important’ notification action. Which I don’t want to nor did MSE change.

    Hope that made sense.

    Thanks for the great blog.

17. 

    Dano December 24th, 2010 at 23:39

    I just downloaded version 2.0 of WSE and it DID NOT change my Windows Automatic Update settings. All remained good. Thanks for the heads up!! Love your website!!!!

18. 

    Ron December 25th, 2010 at 02:22

    Hi Woody i got the New Version of M.S.E.Yesterday and i have to say it looks really cool it did take 2 tries though to get it to go through but when it done it. It went smoothly I Had to go into wear the New programs were to set my Icons but that wasn’t to Bad. Did Some Scans with it worked as should and it Didn’t change the Notification on MS updates it still the same as far a I can Tell. Something I wanted ask You Woody Have You Heard of a Product Called ThreatFire is it a good Product Does Work like they say it Does on There Web site. I wanted to get Your Opinion on it. The place i get my P.C. worked on has it on there Computers They Sell An they say it works Excellent. But i wanted a Second Opinion and You talk About Mal-wear and that kind of stuff in your Books. And from What it says on the web site it Runs lite on P.c. an Can Work with other Products Like M.S.E. One More thing i Wanted to ask Woody When U go an Log off an do a Restart on your M.S.W. Xp Computer an log Back on Does it Show the M.S.E Icon in Red for about 10 to 15 seconds then Turns Green this is what mine has done since i got it last year and i was wondering if your computer did the same. Woody thanks for Your Time Reading this And I wanted to Tell Ya Have A Merry Christmas And a Fun Filled New Year! Later Ron

19. 

    Bruce December 25th, 2010 at 03:34

    No change of update setting here. I’m running 32 bit Win7 on a Dell and had update set to “Never check for updates”. It was still the same after install.

20. 

    bill December 25th, 2010 at 08:20

    Woody: Downloaded MSE today. No change to Windows Automatic Update so far. (1 hr down)

21. 

    rc primak December 25th, 2010 at 16:36

    Happy Holidays, Woody and everyone else!

    I upgraded to MSE 2 on my Toshiba Satellite Windows 7, 64-bit laptop. My Windows Updates setting was to Notify but Do Not Download. This setting did not change during the update. The Definitions updated twice instead of once during the initial run after rebooting.

    Maybe not connected, but my battery detection (I was on Battery at the time of my upgrade) went haywire after the upgrade. The Battery bar and Windows Battery Meters very swiftly went to zero, and the laptop hibernated and wold not restart. I plugged in the AC Power, booted, then unplugged the power. Battery Bar reported a 5% charge (normally 4% at Hibernation) immediately, and I unplugged the AC Power to see what would happen. Battery Bar and Windows went from reporting 4.5% Charge to reporting 0% Charge in about a minute, and then the computer kept running until it quit cold (no hibernation at all). And upon restarting under AC Power, both Windows and Battery Bar reported recharging from ESTIMATED charge levels of Zero. When operating normally, Battery Baer never gives Estimated Charge or Estimated Charging Rates unless it is uninstalled and reinstalled, or loses contact with its database or logs.

    So, I think there may have been some kind of issue which the Windows Battery Meter encountered related to the MSE 2 upgrade. This could be very machine-specific, but I thought it would be worth reporting. Recharging is going normally, and I will post later this weekend about full recharge and discharge performance and reporting by Battery Bar and Windows.

    Regarding Charles and the Secunia PSI 2.0 Interface not loading, if this is Windows XP with SP3, Secunia Support has several threads about what to check for in their Forums. I participated in one at:

    http://secunia.com/community/forum/thread/show/5718/windows_xp_pro_sp3_not_detected_correctly_by_psi_1_5_0_2

    (I hope this long URL doesn’t mess with the formatting in this blog!)

    Secunia has recently released a new (and hopefully final) version of PSI 2.0. In my experience, except for a misconfigured Client for Microsoft Networks on my Windows XP Pro SP3 32-bit laptop, I find PSI 2.0 to be fully functional. The interface takes forever to load, especially on a single-core processor, but once loaded, it is a nice interface. The colors make things easy to interpret, although combining the Insecure and End of Life Programs into the Scan Results List does make those findings a bit less convenient to work with. Updating (which I seldom use, preferring to go to original sources for updates) has worked quite well. With Flash Player, using PSI 2 to update saves the step of removing the pernicious Adobe Download Manager after installing the update. Java sometimes is better updated by direct download, but the Secunia downloads have always worked once installed.

    I will update on the Microsoft Security Essentials issue, if it is indeed real, or if it goes away and does not return. This could be an unrelated glitch, so I don’t think I can pin the battery meter issue on the MSE upgrade just yet.

22. 

    peter prewett December 26th, 2010 at 03:05

    I do not think it is updating itself as I keep getting a prompt new updates available and it for MSE 2 only

23. 

    Tim December 26th, 2010 at 09:04

    I clicked on MSE’s upgrade button and it told me I have the latest software version of the program. Weird though, I have no recollection of ever updating to 2.0.

24. 

    woody December 27th, 2010 at 07:31

    @Tim -

    If you click the Update button, MSE isn’t smart enough to know that version 2.0 is available. That’s the way it’s supposed to work, for now. To get version 2, you have to manually download it from the linked site, and install it manually, too.

25. 

    Gary December 27th, 2010 at 10:48

    Had to download the update manually. It did not change my windows XP patch update install selection. PS, Keep the Ask Woody website.

26. 

    rc primak December 28th, 2010 at 03:04

    MSE 2 found malware on the laptop where things went a bit haywire over the weekend. This has been removed and the computer is clean now. Nice to know that MSE does occasionally catch things. Super Antispyware was only partially successful in removing the same infestation which MSE just finished cleaning up. Usually it’s the other way around — with SAS cleaning up what MSE has missed. Maybe Microsoft is making progress…

27. 

    Tim December 28th, 2010 at 09:11

    Thanks, Woody. I’ve now got the program upgraded to 2.0.

    No issues or problems to report. No settings were changed on my Win7 64-bit machine.

28. 

    John December 28th, 2010 at 23:33

    With XP, no change in settings. However, it DID pop up a screen which asked you to change things. I said no.

29. 

    flavet December 28th, 2010 at 23:33

    Downloaded and installed MSE2 on 12/26. It did not change any settings on my Security Center, but it seemed to change my Desktop color settings (and perhaps some related settings).
    Why do I attribute this change to MSE2? Because I did not do anything else that day that may have been the reason. I did
    have a devil of a time with MSE2, having forgotten that it would not install itself. First, I was not able to find where I could download from (did not know there was a ‘drop down’ with an ‘update’ option. Found this later). Then I downloaded and could not find the download files (actually, at that point only one file, an .exe file, in the folder where MSE1 files were stored).
    Then I found the ‘drop down’ in the MSE1 screen that contained the “About..” text (Still did not notice the ‘update’ option). This showed me that MSE2 was not installed.
    That led me to the .exe file. I clicked it to install the app.
    Clicking on my desktop shortcut after the install gave an error condition – could not find the target file. Looking for it, I could not find any MSE1 files in the MSE folder except the .exe file. Finally, found a new folder named Microsoft Essentials Client after closing and reopening Windows Explorer.
    The install process did not place a new shortcut on my desktop nor update the info in the existing shortcut. After straigtening all that out, I was able to run MSE2, move the
    .exe file to the new folder and delete the old folder named Microsoft Security Essentials.

30. 

    Jordan December 29th, 2010 at 00:15

    After upgrading to MSE 2.0 on a Windows XP box, my Windows Update settings changed to auto download and install. Thanks for the heads-up. I was wondering why, after the latest black tuesday, my computer told me there were no patched available to download….they had already been installed!

31. 

    B. Williams December 29th, 2010 at 07:55

    No patch Update changes to my four computers:

    XP Pro SP3, Windows 7 Pro 32bit, Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit, and Windows 7 Pro 32bit after correct manually downloaded upgrades for each; and scans. So far, same for over +50 various client computers. I’ll continue to monitor. Thanks.

32. 

    Bert December 29th, 2010 at 09:46

    I have now updated 12 stand-alone computers here in Tasmania, Australia from version 1 of MSE to the latest incarnation, 2.0. In no case were the Windows Update settings changed. These computers were a mixture of XP SP3, Vista SP2 Ultimate and Windows 7 Ultimate and Home Premium. (The Win 7 computers are 64 bit.) I consider MSE to be an excellent product. I set the settings tab for heuristics scanning on an XP computer, and just after the upgrade it detected and removed the nasty Java/CVE-2010-0840.W malware. You can’t beat the price of MSE!

33. 

    Scott December 30th, 2010 at 23:51

    I just bought a new computer (Win 7 64 bit). I set Automatic Updates to tell me when updates were available, but that I would decide when to download & install them. I then got MSE 2, set it up, and went to bed. When I got up the next morning, I discovered that updates had been downloaded & installed. I went to AU, and found that the setting had been switched back to Update Automatically. I switched it back to where I wanted it, and the setting has stayed where I want it since.

34. 

    Geoff December 31st, 2010 at 17:01

    Installed MSE2 over existing version. Had automatic updates set to ‘Notify but not install’ prior to installation. Confirmed settings remained the same after installation.

35. 

    rc primak January 4th, 2011 at 23:09

    My MSE-2 upgrade battery meter incident just repeated itself with the original Toshiba 6-cell Li-Ion Battery. It had been reading with both the Windows 7 Battery Meter and the Battery Bar gadget (from Osirus Software) as having about three hours of battery life and about 5 percent wear from its original capacity. Now, it reads about 12 percent wear and about two and a half hours runtime. All in on single discharge cycle. I think there is something in the Windows 7 System which has been changed by the MSE-2 upgrade installation. This is weird!

36. 

    Richard January 7th, 2011 at 07:39

    Manual, clean install of MSE 2, 6Jan11. AU changed from Never to Auto. I changed it back to Never before restart, seems to be happy with my change. Win7 64bit.

37. 

    rc primak January 8th, 2011 at 02:15

    Further update on the MSE-2 upgrade and my Windows Battery Meter behavior change:

    Now, after two more run-down and recharge cycles, both the Windows Battery Meter and the Battery Bar Gadget from Osiris Software arre reading my 12-cell Toshiba Satellite battery as less than one-percent wear, and at nearly its original capacity, with twenty minutes added run-time reported by both meters. Weird that a Security Update would cause such a change in the Battery Meter behavior, isn’t it?

38. 

    woody January 8th, 2011 at 06:34

    @Bob -

    VERY weird….

    Wonder if it’s just a coincidence?

39. 

    Ruud January 18th, 2011 at 19:17

    Fresly installed on a few desktops and laptops with Windows Vista & 7 64-bit. All settings were changed from notify to automatically install. Even changing it back to notify will revert after a few reboots. First few times it seems the change will stick, but a day or a few more reboots later it changes the setting againg to install automatically. Véry annoying.

40. 

    Jester January 30th, 2011 at 02:36

    I recently checked for updates on my Win 7 x64 machine, and was told MSE2.0 was available. I dl/installed it and some other updates, so I started the dl/install and went to bed. When I got up the next morning, Auto Update was TOTALLY changed from NEVER CHECK to AUTO, AND 4 or 5 OTHER updates were dl/installed. ALSO, I had sound going thru my HDMI cable to my monitor B4 I installed MSE2.0, now it WILL NOT WORK through my HDMI AT ALL!! Speaker plugs still work, just not the HDMI sound. Did not get any new drivers thru auto update, and all my settings are the same.