Windows Vista testers not getting security updates via Windows Update
Microsoft has confirmed that the company is not delivering security updates to users still running prerelease copies of Windows Vista via Windows Update, including the recently released critical patches for Internet Explorer 7 (IE7).
The no-updates policy had already been spelled out to users who installed the beta and two release candidates (RC) last year, said Microsoft.
As published on the Vista security team’s blog last August, the updates for the beta would cease when RC1 appeared while the updates for RC1 and the follow-on RC2 would stop once the final code was sent to manufacturing. All these simply mean that Microsoft no longer provides service or support for the prerelease versions and this would include security updates.
Apparently, even an attempt to install manually downloadable Vista patches will not work for test users. Doing so will result to display a dialog box that reads: “The update does not apply to your system.” Clicking an OK button, the only button offered by the dialog box, will closes the dialog without installing the patch.
The company confirmed that the Vista previews will expire after May 31. Microsoft has started notifying since last month participants in Microsoft’s “Customer Preview Program†who are still using a pre-release version of Windows Vista Ultimate, a company spokeswoman said.
Microsoft also has already published guidelines on how people testing beta and release candidate (RC) versions of Windows Vista can shift to the final code. Likewise, the company warned that after May 31, customers who continue to use pre-release versions of Windows Vista will only be able to log in for 2-hour sessions to retrieve data until August 28 only. After which, users will not be able to log in at all.
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May 11th, 2007
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