A rough patch for Microsoft
Microsoft seems to have forgotten some patch ettiquette in the latest round of fixes.
Turning automatic patching on for Windows takes a certain amount of trust in Microsoft. Generally, that's not a problem, but every so often the software giant slips up, and it's those times that you have to question the state of things.
A week ago, the software giant released a dozen patches, one of which fixed a problems in MSN Messenger, Microsoft's instant messaging client. While the main body of patches may have taken a few days to trickle down to your PC, the MSN patch was offered to anyone that logged into the service. Most people do so automatically.
That's when the fun begins: A dialog box informs the user that before they can access IM, they have to apply the patch. What the software does not say, however, is that it will automatically shutdown your PC without notice.
While Microsoft has endeavored to minimize the patches that require shutting down Windows, when a patch does require a shutdown, the company should--at the very least--notify its customers. Otherwise, lost work--among other problems--could be the thanks a person gets for trying to be security conscious.