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General discussion

Root Certificates Updates

Dec 10, 2003 2:54AM PST

I have Win 98SE and recently downloaded the Windows Updates and have stored them on a CD for future use. My Installation History at MS website lists a few Root Certificates Updates. Can't find them to download. Can anyone enlighten me?

Thanks for your help.

Discussion is locked

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Re:Root Certificates Updates
Dec 11, 2003 12:22AM PST

When at home (tomorrow) I'll have a look for you in my own update history and see what I can find. In the meantime: let's assume they are contained in the most recent cumulative patches for IE.

Kees

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Re:Re:Root Certificates Updates
Dec 11, 2003 12:45AM PST

Thanks, Kees, for taking the trouble to help me. I'll be looking forward to your reply. In the meantime, I have a suspicion these updates are buried as entries in the Registry.

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Here it is!
Dec 11, 2003 11:27PM PST

In my Windows update history I find two updates for Root Certificates. One is from November 29, 2002, the other from August 16, 2003. May I assume that your date of 11-25-2003 is a typo?

But indeed, the documentation is scarce, and there is no KB-article mentioned as with other security updates. However, using the procedure outlined by Cursorcowboy (many thanks!) I could download the last update (it clearly doesn't make sense to download an earlier one). Click on 'see also' (when enabled), select OS Windows 98, select advanced options, fill in it should contain the word root, keep all checkboxes checked, click search, and it returns with 1 recommended update. Clicking on that give an 'update for root certicates', 189 kB, posted on august 12, 2003. Then, if I click on the green arrow it lets me specify a download-location and download the file. At which point I stopped, and you probably will continue.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/security/news/rootcert.asp notes the way Microsoft handles root certicates. For XP there is no more need to use Windows update anymore (it's done automatically behind the screens, like it or not, anybody!), for other OS'es there is. Apparently, no new one was accepted after august 12, 2003.

By the way, I wonder if Bob Proffit's company regulations will find this automatic update acceptable. As it seems it's coupled to the OS, not to IE, a change to Mozilla (like the change from MS Office to Open Office) might not help. But Microsoft isn't clear on that at all. Which leaves me wondering how Mozilla handles new root certicates if Microsoft doesn't do it for them. So one question leads to another.


Hope this helps,


Kees

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Re:Here it is!
Dec 13, 2003 1:45AM PST

Thank you so much, Kees, for the info. I will use that & Cursorcowboy's advice to investigate what I need. I really appreciate the help from both of you.

To answer your question - No, the Root Certificate Update dated 11-25-03 is not a typo. Go figure. Others listed on my Installation History are dated 9-13-03, 9-29-02, and 2-4-02.

You might find this a little curious, too. A while back, so that I would have a hard copy to work from, I printed the Installation History and it is not a pretty sight - 26 duplicates of various updates - but I'm not concerned about that.

Thanks again for your help.

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Re:Root Certificates Updates
Dec 11, 2003 12:43AM PST

I for one, want to download what I want and when I want rather than have the automate windows update option set. To see what patches are available to download, follow these steps:

a. Go to the "Windows Update" web site.

b. In the left pane, under Other Options, if Windows Update Catalog exist, click it and go to step e below, else select Personalize Windows Update.

c. Under Set Options for Windows Update, select the checkbox for Display the Link to Windows Update Catalog under ?See Also?, then click Save Settings.

d. Refresh the Windows Update web site page from the browser Tool bar to ensure the catalog item is listed.

e. In the left pane, under See Also, select Windows Update Catalog.

f. Select Find Updates for Microsoft Operating Systems.

g. Select the operating system and language of your choice.

h. Select Critical Updates and Service Packs.

i. Select all of the patches you?d like to download, then click on Go to download basket to download and place them in a convenient folder to do with as you like.

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Re:Re:Root Certificates Updates
Dec 11, 2003 12:59AM PST

Thank you, Cursorcowboy, for your input. I have all the Critical Updates & Service Packs - it's the Root Certificates Updates I'm concerned about. The last update available to me at Windows Update was on 11-25-03 & it was a Root Certificates Update all my itself. My problem is I can't find them as such at Windows Update for downloading & saving to a CD for future use.