Once you start buying food to make energy for a car or a home, food price skyrocket and developing nations only get poorer.

It is also a powerful laxative !

Microsoft have the right to ask that every automatic update as to be pushed by them, since they are always pointed when PC have bug or security risk.
What about you ask for update when the customer launch your software or else you use WU. Many hardware manufacturer started using WU for updating device drivers and it is working very well.
You code for Windows, you work with Microsoft this way admin can choose what to apply and what to refuse and you stop bugging the end user.

BTW third party updates are only more like a pretext to gain visibility and to push offers to potential customers.

I am an IT and these update are PAIN IN THE ASS. Personally, I am tired of updating every single piece of software I use individually BUT it is very bad for my customers. 1. Most of them include crap like Norton scan, toolbars and other badware. 2. The majority of my customers require older version for their manufacturer system to work (old java, old acrobat reader, IE7 or less, ...) so when they do update (because they are harassed to do it) their software stop working. After that they are afraid to update anything and they become a security risk. 3. The frequency of theses updates are so high it just get people mad. 4. Why do we need to reboot for a software update, we're in 2010. Can't Microsoft put their foot down and ask anybody who want to do update to work with them ?

Another victim of the iSuck symdrome...

Fool me once, shame on you, you won't fool me twice.

My experience is very diffrent. I send 10 to 20 units a year under warranty; They ship me a box with a prepaid waybill, I put the machine in the box and use their waybill, then I receive it fixed. No charge. I have nothing negative to say about their warranty service.

That's a very good example of what I am talking about....

They are able of the best and the worst at the same time: Their old COMPAQ laptop division who's now called Elitebook are in the top best machines. But their consumer branch (Pavillon) are the worst machine ever made. They have a good marketing, they are everywhere and everybody use their product but not many people loved them. When you have warranty the service is great but if you don't and it is a common issue, they will deny the problems, and wait for a court order before making a recall which they will fix by putting exactly the same flawed part. I have tons of broken HP machine coming to my office and it is always a well-known common problem. They make good printer, but they load their half working driver with crap, spyware, crapware... They also are responsible for the ink markup, they encourage customer to buy a new printer every time the ink runs out. They spy their competitor and their customer. I don't know where they are going with palm, I don't even know if it will be for better or worst....

I am a native French Canadian, and yes my English need improvement, thanks for your understanding.

I think by definition, Mcafee and other AV are not very far from a Botnet. Hackers could find a way to exploit their update systems and put down MILLIONS of machines.

This comic explain AV on POS : http://xkcd.com/463/

We use Sonicwall's security services, their anti-virus is a crippled version of Mcafee business. And we've been hit hard: Machine where going down but WITHOUT any explanation or any warning messages (this version is silent to the user) and since svchost was killed, no chance of getting in the event monitor or using any tools, it took me couple of hour to figure it was the AV. I am sure they "forgot" to add all those third party security solution who rebrand Mcafee solutions. What is making me mad is the way they try to play with "numbers" (a small percentage, half of a percent...) and the way they hide everything and to act like it didn't happen(go navigate on their website and try to find any information about this bug, they even closed their support form in the peak of the crisis). C'mon if you screwed up, at least PLAY FAIR and be sorry, we might forgive you.Pplaying the ostrich game will make us angrier.

A buddy of mine is in IT at a college in the area. This affected almost all of their computers. Although it's harder to put a dollar figure on, the students and professors were NOT happy when all of the computer labs on campus went down, along with a "server" or two. Ever seen professors gets mad ? Now imagine your an IT guy and the professors can't access their online grade books that you pushed them into using. I really think McAfee is going to have a big problem on it's hands come contract renewal time. Pissed off IT people have long memories!