Thank you very much Microsoft

The incompetence of the Microsoft Corporation never ceases to amaze me.

I use Windows XP, because Vista after all this time is still not really “there” yet as an operating system (though it’s getting closer). Also, I have an older machine so I’d rather not over-stress it with the resource hog that is Vista. Furthermore, because Windows XP has horrible security, I have had to add my own scanners and sweepers, including Webroot Spysweeper to catch ad-ware and spyware, and ZoneAlarm Pro, which I use as my firewall (it’s far superior to “Windows Firewall,” the default, utterly useless security program that comes with Microsoft’s Windows XP system).

This week, because I had it set up to automatically find out about updates, download, and install them, WIndows XP automatically downloaded the latest security update for Windows, hotfix KB951748. This hotfix required a reboot, so what happened (as the default behavior of the system) was that on Tuesday night, as I went to shut down the machine, it notified me that new updates were installing, and I allowed it to do so. From that point on, I was utterly unable to get onto the internet.

Thank you very much Microsoft!

The first day, I thought it was some problem with BellSouth. I didn’t have a lot of time to get onto the net anyway that night, so I just ignored it and assumed that (as usually happens) by the next day the problem would resolve. When it did not, I finally called BellSouth’s customer support line, and their technician immediately told me that the hotfix was probably to blame, “especially if I used ZoneAlarm.” Her solution was to use System Restore to restore to an earlier system configuration, and just make sure not to re-install that hotfix.

Now, here is where the problem comes in. I set the system restore back a few days, to before the hotfix had been downloaded, but I knew that Windows was set to auto-update. So the instant it came up, I went into the security menu and told it to ask me before downloading or installing updates. Note the emphasis. It has to ask me before it can either download or install, right?

And here is why I hate Microsoft. Within minutes, Windows XP notified me of 4 updates pending, including this hotfix, and asked if I wanted to download them. I said “NO” to all of them (by un-checking them). Windows then, in response to me telling it NOT to download those hotfixes and patches, promptly proceeded to download them anyway. And then, even though I had it set to ask before installing any hotfixes, it automatically, without asking, installed the hotfix. This, of course, meant that I once again lost internet access!

Thank you very much Microsoft!

Once I realized what was happening, I went into the security menu once again, and completely turned off all updates. Windows XP, of course, yelled at me and inserted a red shield with an “X” into my system tray that would not go away, because it thought this was inadvisable. Meanwhile, I then went and, by hand, un-installed the four updates that had been installed without my permission by Windows after I told it that it needed my permission to do such a thing. Once those were gone, and Windows XP could no longer perform any updates whatsoever (and I had rebooted), I was again able to get onto the internet.

At this point I recalled that ZoneAlarm had bugged me recently about an update, which I had at the time ignored, and it struck me that they, being a competent company (unlike Microsoft Corporation) might have figured out a  fix for this. So I went to their website, and immediately found that they had a solution. The fix was in the new update, so I was able to download that update to ZoneAlarm. I then turned automatic updates back on, let Windows XP update itself (and once more kill my internet connection via its new clash with ZoneAlarm), and then I updated ZoneAlarm and all was well.

Now, it’s really not the loss of internet via the clash with ZoneAlarm that bothers me. Microsoft can’t know what will clash with every software package out there, and clearly something had changed in Windows XP that was not agreeing with ZoneAlarm. This is made clear by the fact that people were reporting that turning off ZoneAlarm or even lowering its security was a temporary fix to the problem. I can’t even say I expected Microsoft to have bothered about this, since ZoneAlarm is not the only other security program their system interacts with. This was ZoneAlarm’s problem to fix.

However, what I do blame them for is the fact that, after I had specifically told Windows “Do not download updates unless I tell you,” and then told it “Do not download this hotfix,” Windows proceeded to ignore my instructions and do exactly what it damn well pleased. And on top of that, even though I had issued the instruction “Do not install downloaded updates without my say-so,” Windows again ignored that instruction and did just what it wanted. What is the point of having these checkable options if Windows XP is just going to ignore them? This is an excellent example of incompetent programming at its worst. It is utterly typical of the Microsoft Corporation… to include a bunch of options for the user, none of which actually work as advertised. And I’m quite sure their answer to my problem, should I call them up and complain, would be to stop using third-party security suites and just use theirs.

Of course, that would miss the point that this is not about ZoneAlarm at all. Whatever security suite I am using, if I, as the owner of the computer, want to verify every single download before Windows executes it, and I tell it “no” to one of the downloads, then Windows XP needs to obey those instructions.

And Bill Gates wonders why so many people prefer Linux…