There was an interesting article posted on the AutoPatcher.com Blog today that talks about the history and future of AutoPatcher.  They talk about the Blaster worm which spread like wildfire across the Internet and rendered many computers unusable until the infection was removed.  Here is a short excerpt from the AutoPatcher.com Blog:

We will be working on a web-oriented solution which we hope will give use two great benefits: easier and more efficient upgrades and easier “all-in-one” creation. Since I’m in the middle of exams, I will probably start coding in about a week from today. Although we can’t really provide an estimate on when the next AutoPatcher will be available, we will do our best to have everything ready (and above all Microsoft-free) just in time for an October release.

One of my experiences with the Blaster worm:

I remember the days of the Blaster worm well since I had to clean many computers infected with it (as well as some similar ones).  I remember one instance very well.  At the time some of the colleges around here were huge breeding grounds for computer viruses upon the arrival of new students.  My girlfriend (at that time) needed to have Windows XP reloaded on her computer.  I think it was because it was infected with the Blaster worm but I can’t remember for sure.  I grabbed the Windows XP SP1 CD, reformatted the hard drive, and reinstalled Windows.  Installing Windows XP SP2, all of the latest security updates, and Anti-Virus software were my top priorities after installing Windows.  However, I learned a lesson the hard way that day.  As those of you in the IT industry know Windows XP SP1 didn’t include the built-in firewall.  That important security feature came as part of the SP2 release.  The tiny problem was that I had left the network cable plugged into the computer when reinstalling Windows on a network with thousands of laptops owned by college kids.  Needless to say, a bunch of these computers didn’t have the latest security updates or current Anti-Virus programs installed which resulted in a bunch of computers on the network becoming infected.  Since I had the network cable plugged-in it didn’t take long for the fresh install of Windows XP SP1 to get infected with the Blaster worm even though I started installing SP2 almost immediately after reinstalling Windows.  To make a short story longer, I ended up reformatting the computer and reinstalling Windows XP again.  This time I was sure to unplug the network cable and install SP2 before plugging it back into the network.  That day I learned an important lesson:  install the latest security updates before connecting the computer to a network, especially one that you don’t manage yourself.  This is where I think AutoPatcher comes in really handy.  It allows you to get almost all of the latest security updates installed before connecting to the Internet.  Of course, now I usually slipstream SP2 into the Windows XP CD but AutoPatcher is still very useful because there have been a lot of updates released since SP2 came out. 

A tech community called Lunarsoft had a talk with a member of the Microsoft Team and found out the reason behind why AutoPatcher received the takedown notice. They also have another story about all the talk of why AutoPatcher got their takedown notice and people wanting to help.

More can be read at http://lunarsoft.net

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Other related Lunarsoft articles:

• AutoPatcher project receives takedown notice - Aug. 30
• [Exclusive] The reason behind the AutoPatcher takedown notice - Aug. 30
• More trouble for AutoPatcher and other projects? - Aug. 31
• AutoPatcher Ray of Hope? - Sept. 2

I just saw on the AutoPatcher Blog that Microsoft sent them a takedown notice requiring them to remove the download page from their website.  For those of you who don’t know what AutoPatcher is it is basically a compilation of Windows updates released since the most recent service pack.  On August 20th, 2007 they announced that they now had AutoPatcher releases for Microsoft Office XP/2003/2007 in addition to the standard Windows updates.

The nice thing about AutoPatcher was that it was a great time saver for computer technicians who work on multiple computers for clients.  It has saved me countless hours when updating computers for clients, which translates into increased savings and adds value to my services.  I still occasionally run into new clients who are still running Windows XP SP1 and even a few that don’t even have SP1 installed.  Even with all of the updates bundled into one file that you can download and burn onto a CD or DVD it still usually takes 1-2 hours to install all of the service packs and recommended updates.  That is without downloading the updates from the Internet on every single PC.  If I had to download all the updates from the Internet and the client was on dial-up it would take all night.  Even on high speed Internet it usually takes a little while to download the few hundred MBs of updates released since Windows XP SP2.  It is especially inefficient use of your time if you are onsite at a client’s office or house.

The other nice timesaving feature of AutoPatcher was the automated installer that installed all the patches one after another without prompting.  I would just select all the updates I wanted to install, click on start, and then work on something else for an hour or two and let it finish.  Microsoft Update basically does the same thing but it takes a lot longer since it needs to download the updates from the Internet before it installs them.

I must say I’m going to miss AutoPatcher and I hope Microsoft reconsiders their actions.  However, I was expecting this to happen for quite awhile and I doubt Microsoft will change it’s mind.  At least I have most of the latest AutoPatcher releases burned to a DVD and I will probably keep using them until they become obsolete.

I found a nice surprise in my Inbox this morning.  I went into an e-mail message that contained an Adobe Acrobat PDF file and clicked on the file to preview it like I normally would.  However, I happened to notice that it didn’t say Foxit PDF Preview Handler above the preview window anymore.  I wondered if Adobe had finally included an Outlook 2007 PDF Preview Handler in one of their recent software updates.  I did a little more research and found out that with the release of Adobe Acrobat/Reader 8.1 they did include a PDF Preview Handler for Outlook 2007.  Adobe’s version of the preview handler doesn’t seem to have as many features as the Foxit preview handler but it is still pretty decent.

More information on the Adobe 8.1 update:

• PDF Preview for Outlook 2007 via Adobe Acrobat Reader 8.1 Update
• PDF Preview Handler included with Adobe Acrobat 8.1
• New features and issues addressed in the Acrobat 8.1 Update - Adobe TechNote KB401730

Download Links:

• Adobe Reader 8.1 Download
• Adobe Acrobat 8.1 Professional/Standard Update 

If you would like to run Office 2003 and Office 2007 on the same computer I would highly recommend checking out the following tips from David Overton’s Blog:

• Installing Office 2003 and Office 2007 on the same system
• How to get rid of the installer / configuration dialog when running Office 2007 and Office 2003 on the same system - for Vista and other versions of Windows
• Information about using 2007 Office suites and programs on a computer that is running another version of Office (Microsoft KB928091)

I was just reading an interesting post on David Overton’s Blog talking about why small businesses should use Office 2007.  Here is a summary of the topics he covers in his post:

• For those with a version of Microsoft Office, but not 2007
  • More Professional and Impressive documents and materials
  • Customer Management
  • Mobile access to information
  • Greater Efficiency
  • Understand information better
• For those without a version of Microsoft Office - All of the above, plus
  • Document compatibility
  • Suite that has tools for 21st century
  • Access to thousands of applications that plug into the Office platform

If you would like some assistance with the deployment of Office 2007 at your workplace please feel free to give us a call.