Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Microsoft Forces Shutdown of Autopatcher

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the hooray-for-lawyers dept.

kaufmanmoore writes "Posts on Neowin and Autopatcher's site announce Microsoft has forced the closure of the Autopatcher download section. Details are scarce as to the exact reason for the take down after over 4 years of availability, but an official from Microsoft legal says that it has nothing to do with Windows Genuine Advantage. Goodbye to another useful tool that helped sysadmins apply Microsoft's numerous patches."

8 of 290 comments (clear)

  1. One down, X to go. by c0l0 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Whilst skimming over the About-Section of the page, this tool's description reminded me of heise's "offline update" ( http://www.heise-security.co.uk/articles/80682 ). It's an alternative tool, allowing the download of selected Microsoft Windows update packs for later, offline (re-)use. Nice to have - if you're still on Windows, that is. Wonder if/when it's gonna be shot down as well.

    --
    :%s/Open Source/Free Software/g

    YTARY!
  2. Are they making the arguement that..... by 8127972 · · Score: 5, Informative

    ... this is some sort of DMCA violation? That's bizarre because Microsoft has known about them for some time and according to their site, they didn't care:

    "Q: Is AutoPatcher legal?
    A: Yes, Antonis Kaladis (our project manager) once spoke to a Microsoft employee and apparently they know about us but don't care what we do! The AutoPatcher project has been going strong since 2003 and never had a sniff of trouble from Microsoft."

    From http://www.autopatcher.com/faq/

    --
    This is my opinion. To make sure you don't steal it, it's covered by the DMCA.
  3. Torrent links here for August ... by trolltalk.com · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://autopatcher.m2ys4u.co.uk/mystats.php

    http://autopatcher.m2ys4u.co.uk/torrents/AutoPatch er_DirectX_Aug07_x86_ENU_Addon.exe.torrent
    http://autopatcher.m2ys4u.co.uk/torrents/AutoPatch er_Extras_Jul07_x86_ENU_Addon.exe.torrent\
    http://autopatcher.m2ys4u.co.uk/torrents/AutoPatch er_Office02_Aug07_ENU_Core.exe.torrent
    http://autopatcher.m2ys4u.co.uk/torrents/AutoPatch er_Office03_Aug07_ENU_Core.exe.torrent
    http://autopatcher.m2ys4u.co.uk/torrents/AutoPatch er_Office07_Aug07_ENU_Core.exe.torrent
    http://autopatcher.m2ys4u.co.uk/torrents/AutoPatch er_OfficePack_Aug07_ENU_Addon.exe.torrent
    http://autopatcher.m2ys4u.co.uk/torrents/AutoPatch er_Win2K3_Aug07_x86_ENU_Core.exe.torrent
    http://autopatcher.m2ys4u.co.uk/torrents/AutoPatch er_Win2K_Aug07_ENU_Core.exe.torrent
    http://autopatcher.m2ys4u.co.uk/torrents/AutoPatch er_WinVista_Jul07_Core.exe.torrent
    http://autopatcher.m2ys4u.co.uk/torrents/AutoPatch er_WinX64_Jul07_x64_ENU_Core.exe.torrent
    http://autopatcher.m2ys4u.co.uk/torrents/AutoPatch er_WinXP_Aug07_x86_ENU_Core.exe.torrent
    http://autopatcher.m2ys4u.co.uk/torrents/AutoPatch er_WinXP_MCE2005_May07_x86_ENU_Addon.exe.torrent
    http://autopatcher.m2ys4u.co.uk/torrents/AutoPatch er_WinXP_WMP10_May07_x86_ENU_Addon.exe.torrent

    Found via google cache :-)

    --
    Kevin Smith on Prince
  4. It was good, but by Toreo+asesino · · Score: 4, Informative

    Patches can be slipstreamed anyway, and for the mother of all 'off-line patching systems' there's Windows Server Update Services.

    That said, the overall rhetoric of this move still isn't nice. AutoPatcher was at the very least, a handy tool for people that didn't know about the above methods, and to leave it 4 years in the game before sending in the lawyers isn't a nice way of treating the user community. A shame if you ask me.

    --
    throw new NoSignatureException();
  5. Still many useful tools by ThanatosMinor · · Score: 4, Informative

    I have found that a combination of Heise Security's ctupdate and nLite can be used to create a very nice custom Windows installation CD that not only includes any updates you choose to include, but you can also specify a large number of custom registry settings that will be set when you install.
    Is very nice

  6. What about the DVD ISO on MS's download page? by Arctech · · Score: 5, Informative

    I haven't heard of this before, (just found it, actually), but would this be a reasonable facsimile?
    http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=913086&SD=tech

  7. Re:Morons. by William-Ely · · Score: 4, Informative
    I used it a lot as a PC tech. Microsoft might not realize that some people use dial-up still and downloading large updates isn't really practical. With Autopatcher all I had to do was pop in a CD or a thumb drive and get down to business patching up Windows. At least then I could be sure that when I left my clients computer fully patched up no matter what their connection was like. Way to go MS.

    /em Pours out a '40 for the departed Autopatcher ; ;

    --
    Mod me down with all of your hatred, and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
  8. Just grab the script from MS that does it for you. by JediJorgie · · Score: 4, Informative

    MSDN's Version:
    http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-US/library/aa387102. aspx

    My modified version that forces cscript.exe and adds an /auto switch:
    http://b0n.us/WUA_SearchDownloadInstall.vbs

    It usually takes 3 times with reboots in between to get all the patches.

    It will use your WSUS settings and get the patches from a local server if you have one.

    Yes, they are VBS, don't run them without reading them and understanding them!

    jorgie