No new Windows updates since Oct 15???

So the system in question is a Windows 7 Pro clean- install, activated and free of viruses/spyware (as far as TrendMicro security knows =)
Initially I was able to get Windows Updates. That includes all the latest for Windows 7 and for the XP mode. But ever since Oct 15 of this year, when I check for updates I see that there are no new updates available for either OS. Now I know Microsoft is not the most responsive with their security fixes, but that’s more than a month and not a single new update for both Win7 and XP? Can someone tell me if they have had any new updates in the past few weeks for those OSes? And if so does anyone have a solution for this problem? Thank you guys!

 

Not sure about XP but there have been a few important and optional updates for Windows 7. Nothing critical though.

Have you tried manually searching for updates?
For Win 7 run Windows Update and select Check for Updates in the top left.

 

There was only one as I recall on the last patch Tuesday (23 Nov). Another way you can check is with Secunia at the following link:
OSI - Consumer - Products

 

Among many other things, not finding updates is a symptom of a cracked or improperly activated win7 installation.

you might want to re-try the activation process and call msft for help.

 

Thank you guys for all your insightful suggestion!

No i actually haven't done a manual search. But i didn't know what patches/updates were out since. good option tho if all else fails.

Interesting service. I'm gonna have to give this a try if fixing MS searching fails.

I had the same feeling. But i thought i had properly activated my installation. Anyways, you are right I'm gonna have to call msft for help here. would they help a OEM OS installation?

 

If I am only getting IE and definition updates does that mean my copy is improperly activated?

 

The latest W7 update that I have on my PC is from 11/9. I've got others from Office 2010 and Office 2007 on there from later than 11/9, but nothing for W7.

 

Windows 7 IMHO, and it seems as a geneal consensus, is a good OS and seems much more stable than other prior releases. I would ask why it suprises anyone that it needs less updates than the prior releases as well..........

 

tan, you're referring to only the released, KB-level fixes

A casual perusal of the SP1 RC (forget the 6 month old 'beta') reveals that more than 600 (!!!) previously request-only fixes have been tested/integrated into that package. This is on top of the publicly available fixes.

In my mind (yah, I know....), this says that MSFT has been concentrating on the SP1 package so much over the past year that only truly critical fixes have been released for RTM.

 

Ok, so today i had a chance and the time to get on the phone with MS tech support. Took the first tech support person about 40 minutes to make some changes and after all that no new updates. She considered the problem solved and said there were no new updates and as they become available i should get them. i wasn't convinced so asked to talk with someone with more experience with this sort of problem. She said someone will contact me in about an hour. 1 & 1/2 hour passed and no calls from MS. so had to call them again. this time my case was transferred to some guy with more expertise. he went through the same drill and some rootkit virus scan, uninstalled one update then was able to detect and install it back via windows update and also said he himself hadn't received a new update for his computer since 12th of Oct. He concluded that there were no new updates/patches available for my system. How can there be no patches or updates in almost 2 months?!? Ubuntu has new updates almost daily. Again i was not and am not convinced. I have attached the list of updates I have successfully downloaded and installed for my windows 7. note that those two new updates where just test updates. can you guys check your update history and confirm/disprove what MS Tech was trying to convince me? Thanks!

PS. i ran a basic OSI scan and nothing windows related turned up. not sure if i want it to do a thorough scan of my system?

 

Please delete this

 

Can anyone Let me know if they've had recent updates or post their update history? Thanks!

 

Well, he tested it and Windows Update still detects updates. I have to agree with the MS Techs. Windows Update doesn't have any new updates for your system. Looking at my history, all of my updates since October are related to installed software, except for the monthly "Malicious Software Removal Tool" updates, which you don't seem to get.

 

Hey guys, so yesterday I was able to download about ten new updates for my Windows 7. I guess MS tech and some of you guys had been correct after all. This is all good but it raises a big concern for me.
you see, i had been using Ubuntu as my main OS for the past couple of years and was used to getting updates on almost a daily basis. seems like now MS has a slower rate of OS updates/patches. But releasing new updates after TWO MONTHS is outrageous for the most commonly used OS. That means that during those two months your system is pretty much wide open to all the discovered vulnerabilities. And having been around the industry I know that MS OSes have a reputation for that.

I'd like to hear what some of you security guys think about MS' recent attitude towards Windows security.

 

The way Windows is designed, daily updates would drive users crazy. All system updates require a reboot, which annoys customers, which causes them to fall for Apple's advertising and buy a Mac. Simply put, the casual user does not like constant updates and it makes them think that the system requires these constant updates due to it being unstable. So, they made sure that Windows 7 was stable out-of-the-box, and then started strategically releasing security updates. Luckily, the major issues usually get looked into right away, but other times you have cases like this where they actually plan to release a bunch of updates all at once.

 

you sound like a MS sales rep...lol
so are you saying that loss of data or losing your entire system to some hack/malware is better than a reboot!?! %-( btw, isn't it a design flaw to require users to reboot after EVERY update? in the linux world you reboot ONLY when there is kernel update. which is rare.
I also had this update dry spell =) w/ windows xp. Are you telling me that windows xp was also secure and "stable out-of-the-box"???

 

I think it's partly a design flaw, and partly making things easy for users with a low level of competence. It's just a lot easier to say "reboot your computer", than saying something like "make sure no applications of such and such type are running, no other users are logged in, then go and restart services x, y, and z".

P.S.: Not every update, and not even every security update requires a reboot but, yes, many do.

 

And were the dry-spells more common before or after SP2?

Also, I wasn't saying anything other than the fact that most computer users don't know anything about computers and expect everything they buy to work with minimal maintenance, then get upset when it doesn't work out that way. I wasn't supporting their tactics at all, and I feel the same way as you. The average user doesn't have a clue what the word "stable" means in terms of computers. Just like they don't know that a computer with an "HD" screen isn't really high-res. Marketing is everything these days.

 

If that design flaw wasn't there then you wouldn't need to give the detailed instructions. That would add to ease of use for the end user.

BTW, now that I look at Windows, the Linux world (particularly the Ubuntu flavors) have at some level surpassed them in terms of ease of use. for one, they now have the central application repository where you can download and install your applications safely and seamlessly (much like in the IOS
App Store, It needs a bigger selection of high quality paid apps though). Similarly you can get all your OS and App updates through Update Manager. Saving you lots of time and hassle.