14 DAY TRIAL // It's a well-known fact that some of the patches that Microsoft is shipping via Windows Update cause issues on our computers, so it's no surprise that many users out there prefer to disable automatic updates, just to be on the safe side. Despite the fact that Microsoft recommends everyone to keep them enabled to always be on the safe side, that is.
But it turns out that Samsung doesn't really care about Microsoft's recommendations, so the company uses some of the apps it deploys on its devices running Windows (call it bloatware, junkware, or however you want) to disable Windows Update without telling users.
It's all possible through the SW Update software installed by Samsung on its devices and which apparently deploys a new file called Disable_Windowsupdate.exe to disable Windows Update.
You can't enable automatic updates
Users can manually enable Windows Updates on their computers, but after a reboot, the application automatically turns them off again, so no matter how hard you try, your device might still be unable to receive updates.
The issue was spotted by a Microsoft MVP who also contacted Samsung's representatives to get a statement on why exactly they attempt to disable Windows Update and their answer was pretty surprising.
“When you enable Windows updates, it will install the Default Drivers for all the hardware no laptop which may or may not work. For example if there is USB 3.0 on laptop, the ports may not work with the installation of updates. So to prevent this, SW Update tool will prevent the Windows updates,” a company support engineer said.
So basically, Samsung disables Windows Update on your computer because some of the updates that might be delivered this way could break down your PC.
But the biggest problem isn't necessarily the fact that Samsung disables automatic updates, but the fact that it does it without informing users, so their customers are unknowingly left unprotected in case any security flaws are found in the operating system.
The easiest way to deal with this issue is to remove the Samsung bloatware from your computer and turn Windows Update back on, but let's just wait until Microsoft provides a statement on this and see if there's any workaround to continue running Samsung apps.