Samsung laptops with Windows pre-installed have disabled Windows Update, in favour of its proprietary Samsung SW Update, potentially leaving computers at risk of having unpatched security issues exploited by hackers. Samsung SW Update is pre-installed updates designed to handle software updates itself, and in the process runs the program Disable_Windowsupdate.exe. The issue was discovered by Microsoft engineer Patrick Barker, who was trying to fix a problem with Windows Update on a Samsung laptop.
When Barker contacted Samsung regarding the matter, he was told, “when you enable Windows updates, it will install the Default Drivers for all the hardware on the laptop which may or may not work… so to prevent this, SW Update tool will prevent Windows updates.”
Though Samsung SW Update is designed to perform the similar tasks as Windows Update, such as updating drivers, it does not update the Windows operating system itself, for which Microsoft regularly releases up-to-date security updates to protect users against potential vulnerabilities.
“As there are many instances of malware trying to deliberately disable Windows Updates in order to get on with their dirty work, I personally wouldn’t feel entirely comfortable if Samsung was going around doing the job for them,” independent security researcher Graham Cluley said. “Turning off Windows Update in its entirety, the Microsoft software with the responsibility for keeping your Microsoft operating system and apps like Internet Explorer updated with the latest security patches, seems like a risky move to me.”
Though Samsung left the European laptop market last year after declining sales, it still ships computers around the rest of the world. Samsung has so far declined to comment on the matter.
Thank you The Guardian for providing us with this information.
