Friday, July 18, 2014

Microsoft To Make Windows Update Mandatory

Latest reports that Microsoft is taking away the security update privileges of Windows 7 users who didn’t install the April update has turned out to be a shock for many. The April update codenamed MS14-018 is believed to improve the security features of Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 7 operating system.

However, it was also reported that only users with consumer or business versions of Windows 7 are affected by the update stoppage. If users are to continue receiving security updates and patch fixes from Microsoft, they are supposed to download the missed update. Microsoft’s new decision mandates that all valid users install every update released through Windows Update if at all they want to avail any particular update in future.

April update features

According to sources privy to Microsoft, the April update MS14-018 released via Windows Update service did not add any security patches to the operating system but the Internet Explorer 11 web browser. Users who failed to install this update faced problems when they tried to download the June update. Unlike the April update, the June update contains major security fixes and patches. Microsoft had recently made a similar mandate for Windows 8 users too. Users who didn’t upgrade to Windows 8 updates were blocked from receiving future updates.

Is Windows Update mandatory?

Microsoft encourages all licensed Windows users to download and install latest security updates and patch fixes from its Windows Update service. However, the service is mainly utilized by businesses. Individual users with limited internet packages avoid regular Windows update as it consumes a large amount of data. But, now Microsoft wants every user to update their operating system on a regular basis. If they skip any update, they will be disqualified from receiving any future updates.

Microsoft offers grace period for users to download April Update

Meanwhile, in its recent blog post, Microsoft said that it would allow Windows 7 users who missed the April update to download the update from Microsoft support site. The update will be made available for a limited grace period. During this period, users are required to download the update and install it. Microsoft warns saying that the April update is mandatory if users have to upgrade to Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 in future.

Microsoft’s decision to make Windows Update mandatory for all users has both advantages and disadvantages. It will certainly improve the security features but individual users with limited data plans will lose a large chuck of their data on Windows update.

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