For those of you who own a Samsung PC and have installed the “SW Update” tool, you are probably unable to use Windows Update. A Microsoft security researcher discovered earlier this week that Samsung’s SW Update tool was disabling Windows Update, preventing consumers from updating and being exposed to potential critical security flaws.
SW Update is a little tool that lets you update drivers, firmware, and bloatware that comes included with every Samsung device. Unfortunately, SW Update includes “Disable_Windowsupdate.exe” which prevents Windows Update from working. Why did Samsung include this? No one knows for sure — likely because Windows Update and Samsung’s tool didn’t play along well. Kind of a messed up move on Samsung’s part by disabling Windows Update — something that is vital in keeping a consumer safe from security flaws.
Samsung has since provided a statement on the matter, reassuring consumers that they value their partnership with Microsoft and the issue will no longer exist after a new update is rolled out. “Samsung has a commitment to security and we continue to value our partnership with Microsoft. We will be issuing a patch through the Samsung Software Update notification process to revert back to the recommended automatic Windows Update settings within a few days.”
Not really an apology from Samsung, but I guess that’s a step in the right direction. If you own a Samsung PC and have yet to uninstall the SW Update tool, Samsung is set to roll out an update within the next few days. After all, who doesn’t want a functioning Windows Update on their PC? Have you encountered this issue on your Samsung device?
Further reading: Microsoft, Samsung, Windows update
