Windows Updates
It is extremely important that you read this notice in its entirety if you will be bringing a computer with Microsoft Windows to campus.
Microsoft Windows Update is an important, web-based program that patches your Microsoft Windows platform against malicious software worms. The Windows Update website will scan your system for any open vulnerabilities. It will provide you with a list of different types of patches that Microsoft refers to as Hotfixes. We highly suggest each resident install all "Critical" Hotfixes. Microsoft releases new Hotfixes on the second Tuesday of each month.
In past years, we experienced a great deal of difficulty with the Windows Update website. Students would be told by the Cisco NAC Agent that they needed to visit the Windows Update website and download the latest security patches. However, upon visiting the Windows Update website, students were informed that there were no available patches for their system. After a great deal of researching (which involved talking to senior Microsoft technicians, talking with Cisco engineers, and discussing the matter with other universities using Clean Access) we came to one conclusion: Microsoft Windows Update is a flawed and poorly written application.
There were numerous cases where Microsoft Windows Update informed users that they were completely updated when in fact they were not. This led to a great deal of confusion and frustration for many students because it appeared as if Clean Access was flawed and not working correctly. In addition, this caused them to "get stuck" in Temporary access without being able to use the Internet. To remedy the situation, residents were required to download and install the Hotfix manually. Residents could only determine the specific Hotfix to download and manually install by contacting us.
We found numerous causes for the broken Windows Update website on residents' computers. The majority of problems were due to spyware or virus infection. We concluded this past year finding that users who experienced some kind of problem with the Windows Update website continued to experience difficulty all school year long. We even found some computers that were brand-new, just-opened, out-of-the-box to experience some difficulty. These particular cases were related to a faulty installation of Windows. Unfortunately, we estimated that 30 to 40% of residents experienced some sort of Windows Update problem this past year.
We want you to be aware of the available choices you have to fix this problem should you encounter it once you arrive.
- You may contact us, asking for the specific Hotfix to download and manually install. This is a relatively easy process. We will give you a number, and tell you exactly where to go and what to do. Each patch takes approximately 2 minutes to manually apply. The downside to this is that you will need to contact us each time Microsoft releases new updates (which is once a month).
- You may reformat and reinstall Windows on your computer. Around 95% of the residents that chose to do this ceased to experience difficulties with the Windows Update website. The downside to this is that all your data and applications will be deleted from your computer's hard disk drive. This means that you will have to backup your data to some other type of media (like a CD-R, flash drive, or external hard drive) before reformatting and reinstalling Windows.
In either case, you should contact us for assistance. While we cannot give you Windows operating system software, we will be able to provide some guidance and help in the reinstall process. You will not be able to determine if there is a problem with your computer and the Windows Update website until after you arrive on campus. If you have any questions about Microsoft Windows Update, feel free to contact us.
Last Update: 10/6/2009
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