Incomplete Updates

I had my computers set for auto updates but not having received any for a
rather long time I went "manual" and found six critical updates available.
Hit "install" and settled back for the 90 minutes it said it would take on my
dialup. Everything went according to plan except for a message saying the
sixth update, the "malicious software removal tool" didn't load even tho it
was listed as one of the original six. When I went back to the "check for
updates" page it wasn't listed. Afterward, I went to my backup computer and
did a manual search and the malicious software removal tool wasn't among
those listed any longer. What gives?

BTW, both computers running XP Home w/SP3, both have lots of ram and disc
space available.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"waykey" wrote:

> I had my computers set for auto updates but not having received any for a
> rather long time I went "manual" and found six critical updates available.
> Hit "install" and settled back for the 90 minutes it said it would take on my
> dialup. Everything went according to plan except for a message saying the
> sixth update, the "malicious software removal tool" didn't load even tho it
> was listed as one of the original six. When I went back to the "check for
> updates" page it wasn't listed. Afterward, I went to my backup computer and
> did a manual search and the malicious software removal tool wasn't among
> those listed any longer. What gives?

Same thing happened to me did show up in downloads to install then when it
searched in Microsoft Update it wasn't in the list to be downloaded

Ran MBSA and it said i still got November 08 malicious removal tool???

why was the december 08 one listed for download on Microsoft Update?

"waykey" wrote:

> I had my computers set for auto updates but not having received any for a
> rather long time I went "manual" and found six critical updates available.
> Hit "install" and settled back for the 90 minutes it said it would take on my
> dialup. Everything went according to plan except for a message saying the
> sixth update, the "malicious software removal tool" didn't load even tho it
> was listed as one of the original six. When I went back to the "check for
> updates" page it wasn't listed. Afterward, I went to my backup computer and
> did a manual search and the malicious software removal tool wasn't among
> those listed any longer. What gives?

>> I had my computers set for auto updates but not having received any for a
>> rather long time...

How long? Prior to today, the last updates for WinXP SP3 were released on
11 Nov-08. There were only two (2) updates released and there's a chance
that neither applied to your machine. See
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=36904

A new version of the Malicious Software Removal Tool is released every Patch
Tuesday (e.g., today; 11 Nov-08; etc.). You can download/run the tool
manually if you think Windows Update didn't download/run it:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/ma...e/default.mspx
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/

waykey wrote:
> BTW, both computers running XP Home w/SP3, both have lots of ram and disc
> space available.
>
>> I had my computers set for auto updates but not having received any for a
>> rather long time I went "manual" and found six critical updates
>> available.
>> Hit "install" and settled back for the 90 minutes it said it would take
>> on
>> my dialup. Everything went according to plan except for a message saying
>> the sixth update, the "malicious software removal tool" didn't load even
>> tho it was listed as one of the original six. When I went back to the
>> "check for updates" page it wasn't listed. Afterward, I went to my backup
>> computer and did a manual search and the malicious software removal tool
>> wasn't among those listed any longer. What gives?

These five updates were downloaded and installed today:

Windows XP Update for Windows XP (KB955839) Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Windows Update
Windows XP Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP
(KB958215) Tuesday, December 09, 2008 Windows Update
Windows XP Security Update for Windows XP (KB956802) Tuesday, December 09,
2008 Windows Update
Windows XP Security Update for Windows XP (KB954600) Tuesday, December 09,
2008 Windows Update
Windows XP Security Update for Windows XP Service Pack 3 (KB952069)
Tuesday, December 09, 2008 Windows Update

They, along with the "malicious software removal tool " were listed when I
checked on what was available. What I'm wondering is, what happened to the
"malicious remover", for which I've gotten and update every month since I
can't remember when, to cause it to not be downloaded even though it was
listed as one to be downloaded, and more puzzling, why was it not shown
either when I checked after the five updates above were installed or when I
checked on my second computer?

Prior to today, the last updates were:

Windows XP Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool - November 2008
(KB890830) Wednesday, November 12, 2008 Automatic Updates
Windows XP Security Update for Windows XP (KB957097) Wednesday, November
12, 2008 Automatic Updates
Windows XP Security Update for Windows XP (KB954459) Wednesday, November
12, 2008 Automatic Updates
Windows XP Security Update for Windows XP (KB955069) Wednesday, November
12, 2008 Automatic Updates


This one leaves me scratching my head:
Windows Windows Update Agent 7.2.6001.784 Friday, November 14, 2008
Automatic Updates

Which is defined as:

Windows Update Agent 7.2.6001.784 The Windows Update Agent enables your
computer to search for and install updates from an update service. The agent
can automatically update itself as needed to communicate with the update
service when Windows searches for new updates.

This marks the very first time I've had anything but smooth sailing with
updates, just wondering where the glitch originated.




"waykey" wrote:

> BTW, both computers running XP Home w/SP3, both have lots of ram and disc
> space available.
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> "waykey" wrote:
>
> > I had my computers set for auto updates but not having received any for a
> > rather long time I went "manual" and found six critical updates available.
> > Hit "install" and settled back for the 90 minutes it said it would take on my
> > dialup. Everything went according to plan except for a message saying the
> > sixth update, the "malicious software removal tool" didn't load even tho it
> > was listed as one of the original six. When I went back to the "check for
> > updates" page it wasn't listed. Afterward, I went to my backup computer and
> > did a manual search and the malicious software removal tool wasn't among
> > those listed any longer. What gives?

[Mark, please reply to and quote my posts, not your own. Thanks.]

I dunno why the December release of the MSRT didn't download/run. Could be
due to excessive demand on the servers. (Several others have reported this,
too.) Is it offered & downloaded if you go to Windows Update website right
now? Again, you can download/run it manually:

[I posted:]
> A new version of the Malicious Software Removal Tool is released every
> Patch
> Tuesday (e.g., today; 11 Nov-08; etc.). You can download/run the tool
> manually if you think Windows Update didn't download/run it:
> http://www.microsoft.com/security/ma...e/default.mspx

You wrote:
> This one leaves me scratching my head:
> Windows Windows Update Agent 7.2.6001.784 Friday, November 14, 2008
> Automatic Updates

That version of WUAgent was released in July-08. See
http://blogs.technet.com/mu/archive/...ws-update.aspx

And you should soon see a similar entry for v7.2.6001.788. See
http://blogs.technet.com/mu/archive/...nt-update.aspx

As long as Automatic Updates is enabled, these WUAgent updates will happen
silently in the background (i.e., you won't be aware of it, even if your
Automatic Updates setting is "Notify Only").
--
~PA Bear

waykey wrote:
> These five updates were downloaded and installed today:
>
> Windows XP Update for Windows XP (KB955839) Tuesday, December 09, 2008
> Windows Update
> Windows XP Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 7 for Windows
> XP
> (KB958215) Tuesday, December 09, 2008 Windows Update
> Windows XP Security Update for Windows XP (KB956802) Tuesday, December
> 09,
> 2008 Windows Update
> Windows XP Security Update for Windows XP (KB954600) Tuesday, December
> 09,
> 2008 Windows Update
> Windows XP Security Update for Windows XP Service Pack 3 (KB952069)
> Tuesday, December 09, 2008 Windows Update
>
> They, along with the "malicious software removal tool " were listed when I
> checked on what was available. What I'm wondering is, what happened to the
> "malicious remover", for which I've gotten and update every month since I
> can't remember when, to cause it to not be downloaded even though it was
> listed as one to be downloaded, and more puzzling, why was it not shown
> either when I checked after the five updates above were installed or when
> I
> checked on my second computer?
>
> Prior to today, the last updates were:
>
> Windows XP Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool - November 2008
> (KB890830) Wednesday, November 12, 2008 Automatic Updates
> Windows XP Security Update for Windows XP (KB957097) Wednesday, November
> 12, 2008 Automatic Updates
> Windows XP Security Update for Windows XP (KB954459) Wednesday, November
> 12, 2008 Automatic Updates
> Windows XP Security Update for Windows XP (KB955069) Wednesday, November
> 12, 2008 Automatic Updates
>
> This one leaves me scratching my head:
> Windows Windows Update Agent 7.2.6001.784 Friday, November 14, 2008
> Automatic Updates
>
> Which is defined as:
>
> Windows Update Agent 7.2.6001.784 The Windows Update Agent enables your
> computer to search for and install updates from an update service. The
> agent
> can automatically update itself as needed to communicate with the update
> service when Windows searches for new updates.
>
> This marks the very first time I've had anything but smooth sailing with
> updates, just wondering where the glitch originated.
<PASTE>
PA Bear [MS MVP] wrote:
>>> I had my computers set for auto updates but not having received any for
>>> a
>>> rather long time...
>
> How long? Prior to today, the last updates for WinXP SP3 were released on
> 11 Nov-08. There were only two (2) updates released and there's a chance
> that neither applied to your machine. See
> http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=36904
>
> A new version of the Malicious Software Removal Tool is released every
> Patch
> Tuesday (e.g., today; 11 Nov-08; etc.). You can download/run the tool
> manually if you think Windows Update didn't download/run it:
> http://www.microsoft.com/security/ma...e/default.mspx
</PASTE>
>
>> BTW, both computers running XP Home w/SP3, both have lots of ram and disc
>> space available.
>>
>>> I had my computers set for auto updates but not having received any for
>>> a
>>> rather long time I went "manual" and found six critical updates
>>> available.
>>> Hit "install" and settled back for the 90 minutes it said it would take
>>> on my dialup. Everything went according to plan except for a message
>>> saying the sixth update, the "malicious software removal tool" didn't
>>> load even tho it was listed as one of the original six. When I went back
>>> to the "check for updates" page it wasn't listed. Afterward, I went to
>>> my
>>> backup computer and did a manual search and the malicious software
>>> removal tool wasn't among those listed any longer. What gives?

The MSRT was pulled because of a False Positive and, puportedly, fixed
and reissued. Found this on a private anti-malware site with no
attribution of where it came from:

> Note: On 19th November a signature for TrojanDropper:Win32/Renos.N started detecting particular
> uninstall files. This incorrect detection affects users of all Microsoft Antivirus solutions,
> including MSRT (Malicious Software Removal Tool) December 2008 (version 2.5.2419.0). On 9th December
> Microsoft released a new signature that addresses the issue. Signature versions 1.49.299.0 and higher
> include this fix, as does the latest version of MSRT December 2008 (version 2.5.2423.0).

Here's a thread discussing the issue:
http://www.simforums.com/forums/foru....asp?TID=28749

So far I haven't been able to find any 'official' info from MS nor have
seen the MSRT offered to my systems via Windows nor Automatic Updates.

MowGreen [MVP 2003-2009
===============
*-343-* FDNY
Never Forgotten
===============



waykey wrote:

> These five updates were downloaded and installed today:
>
> Windows XP Update for Windows XP (KB955839) Tuesday, December 09, 2008
> Windows Update
> Windows XP Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP
> (KB958215) Tuesday, December 09, 2008 Windows Update
> Windows XP Security Update for Windows XP (KB956802) Tuesday, December 09,
> 2008 Windows Update
> Windows XP Security Update for Windows XP (KB954600) Tuesday, December 09,
> 2008 Windows Update
> Windows XP Security Update for Windows XP Service Pack 3 (KB952069)
> Tuesday, December 09, 2008 Windows Update
>
> They, along with the "malicious software removal tool " were listed when I
> checked on what was available. What I'm wondering is, what happened to the
> "malicious remover", for which I've gotten and update every month since I
> can't remember when, to cause it to not be downloaded even though it was
> listed as one to be downloaded, and more puzzling, why was it not shown
> either when I checked after the five updates above were installed or when I
> checked on my second computer?
>
> Prior to today, the last updates were:
>
> Windows XP Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool - November 2008
> (KB890830) Wednesday, November 12, 2008 Automatic Updates
> Windows XP Security Update for Windows XP (KB957097) Wednesday, November
> 12, 2008 Automatic Updates
> Windows XP Security Update for Windows XP (KB954459) Wednesday, November
> 12, 2008 Automatic Updates
> Windows XP Security Update for Windows XP (KB955069) Wednesday, November
> 12, 2008 Automatic Updates
>
>
> This one leaves me scratching my head:
> Windows Windows Update Agent 7.2.6001.784 Friday, November 14, 2008
> Automatic Updates
>
> Which is defined as:
>
> Windows Update Agent 7.2.6001.784 The Windows Update Agent enables your
> computer to search for and install updates from an update service. The agent
> can automatically update itself as needed to communicate with the update
> service when Windows searches for new updates.
>
> This marks the very first time I've had anything but smooth sailing with
> updates, just wondering where the glitch originated.
>
>
>
>
> "waykey" wrote:
>
>
>>BTW, both computers running XP Home w/SP3, both have lots of ram and disc
>>space available.
>>
>>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>"waykey" wrote:
>>
>>
>>>I had my computers set for auto updates but not having received any for a
>>>rather long time I went "manual" and found six critical updates available.
>>>Hit "install" and settled back for the 90 minutes it said it would take on my
>>>dialup. Everything went according to plan except for a message saying the
>>>sixth update, the "malicious software removal tool" didn't load even tho it
>>>was listed as one of the original six. When I went back to the "check for
>>>updates" page it wasn't listed. Afterward, I went to my backup computer and
>>>did a manual search and the malicious software removal tool wasn't among
>>>those listed any longer. What gives?