14 DAY TRIAL // The July 2019 Patch Tuesday rollout brought, just as expected, new updates for Windows 7, including a monthly rollup that resolves both vulnerabilities and other bugs, as well as a security-only patch that only targets security flaws.
But as it turns out, this security-only update isn’t only about fixing security issues in Windows 7, as it also enables telemetry features that were previously included in a separate update.
Woody Leonhard of AskWoody writes that the security-only update for Windows 7, which is labeled KB4507456, comes with telemetry capabilities that were originally shipped as part of KB2952664.
Described as a “Compatibility update for keeping Windows up-to-date in Windows 7,” KB2952664 was last updated on March 7, 2019, according to the official KB page (linked here).
“This update performs diagnostics on the Windows systems that participate in the Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program. The diagnostics evaluate the compatibility status of the Windows ecosystem, and help Microsoft to ensure application and device compatibility for all updates to Windows. There is no GWX or upgrade functionality contained in this update,” Microsoft says in the description of KB2952664.
No word on telemetry features
Meanwhile, the official page of KB4507456 shows no information regarding the telemetry capabilities that this update might enable, explaining instead that its purpose is to ship a number of security fixes.
“Security updates to Windows Server, Microsoft Graphics Component, Windows Storage and Filesystems, Windows Shell, Windows Input and Composition, and Windows Kernel,” the KB page reads.
As noted by the cited source, the first time Microsoft embraced a similar approach was in September 2018 when it actually included the telemetry features in the Security Quality Monthly Rollups for Windows 7, only that at that point, the software giant publicly announced its plans.
We have reached out to Microsoft to ask for more information regarding this new update and we’ll update the article if an answer is offered.