This ISO-9660 CD image file contains all security and critical updates for Windows released on Windows Update on January 5th and January 10th, 2006. This does not contain security updates for other Microsoft products. This CD image is intended for corporate administrators who manage large multinational organizations, who need to download multiple individual language versions of each security update, and who do not use an automated solution such as WSUS. Use this image to download multiple updates in all languages at the same time. Download it here.
hmm.... if its on a cd doesnt that mean that pirates would eb able to apply updates?!?!! coz currently, if your using pirated windoze..... ur gona get owned by malware [worms, zombie'ers etc] unless you can download, install and restart ur computer before the average time of 7 mins is up. so its not worth it, windoze isnt worth it anyway, use linux of course that an average, you might plug ur computer in and get owned (lol). the only 'safe' way to do anything with windoze, is to run it behind a firewalled router (and they all run linux...).
[ot]Please, please don't call it 'Windoze' or 'Winblows'. I don't like Windows either, but that's just as bad as when people say 'Open Sores' (Open-Source) or 'Dead Rat' (Red Hat)... just sounds ignorant. Oh, and there actually is a firewall product called ISA which runs on Windows Server. It sucks really badly and it costs way too much, but it does exist![/ot] While I do recommend that everyone utilize a dedicated firewall/router between their LAN and the Internet whenever possible, this cannot completely protect a Windows system from being cracked. If you are using the Internet, your machine is making outward connections through your firewall to other computers. That means if that computer has a nasty payload for an insecure service on your machine, your firewall won't stop it.
Yes your computer is makign outward connections, but if your only making them to trusted sites/services (AV, firewall & Anti adware / windows update) then i wouldnt have thought that would be a large risk. [ot] I have used "Micro$haft Windoze" for 4/5 years (ever since my computing took off). Old habbits die hard, if they die at all. [/ot] anyway, what i was saying has anwserd itself. The download is from the micro$oft [is that a compromise AT?] so i'm guessing that they have put some sort of validation into it.
Great, so if that's all you do on the internet is visit those few sites, I'm sure you'll be fine... maybe. Of course, even ad banners can carry a malicious payload, so even trusted sites aren't trustworty if your system has serious security holes, firewall or no. I'm not trying to start a huge debate here, just pointing out that outbound connections are as vulnerable as inbound ones.
As far as I know pirated copies can still apply updates, they just have to get them from Technet and install them individually rather than going to Windows Update and being able to get them all in one location or automatically sent to you. After all in a corporate enviroment it would be a massive headache if you had to run the validation tool on every system before you were allowed to update, especially if it's being done on a nationwide/multi national scale from head office.
Yes, you're right Syngod. I recently did some consulting work for a small company where most of the XP licenses they were running were spawned off of a single OEM copy. I don't know whether they owned enough licenses to cover all that they were running, and frankly I don't want to know unless they pay me to go in and do an audit for them. Otherwise it's between them, Microsoft and the BSA. ...Apologies for the tangent, back on track now. The systems would not update via web-based Microsoft Update (which is how I found out about their 'licensing issues'), but does work fine through the Auto Update service, as Microsoft had previously promised. The reason for Microsofts actions in this respect are twofold. Primarily, Windows unpatched is eventually going to end up in a botnet, which is a liability to everyone whether the OS is legal or not. Secondly, Microsoft would rather enable piracy of their own OS than inadvertantly advocate an alternate OS. In other words, if you're pirating Windows at least you're not running a competitor's operating system.
