Windows Updating Automatically?

Posters over at Email Battles have worked themselves into a tizzy claiming that Microsoft patched and rebooted their computers without permission.

Allow me to call "bullshit."

Here is a screenshot from an XP Pro system that still hasn't installed the update for the WMF vulnerability. You can see the pop-up in the system tray telling me that there are updates, and to click there to install them. Why didn't it reboot my computer willy-nilly without my permission? That would be because of the other part of the screenshot -- where Automatic Updates are set to check with me first before installing.

I'll update this post if anything changes, e.g., the update is mysteriously installed without my knowledge. Until then, some of those "expert" admins might wanna look into their Automatic Updates settings. They can get there by opening up the "Security Center" applet in the Control Panel. Consult tech support if you're having trouble finding the Control Panel.

(from InsideMicrosoft)