Microsoft Preps New Windows Update

Testers are reporting that Microsoft is blazing down the path toward a release candidate for Windows Update 5.0. The new Windows Update will coincide with the launch of Windows XP Service Pack 2, and is a piece of a larger company-wide effort to improve the patching process.

Late last year, Microsoft indicated that version 5.0 of the service would enable upgrades for a broader range of products in the company's portfolio. Current plans call for Windows Update support to extend to Office, SQL Server and Exchange.

An e-mail containing announcement read, "We are rapidly closing in on the release of Windows Update Version 5 Release Candidate 1. Starting with Windows Update V5 RC1, testing will not be limited to Windows XP Service Pack 2. The finalized list of Windows operating systems for Windows Update V5 RC1 testing will be included in the announcement once RC1 testing begins."

In addition to retooling Windows Update, Microsoft is busy readying Microsoft Software Update Services (MSUS) 2.0 and Windows Installer (MSI) 3.0.

Shortly after the Blaster worm struck, Russ Cooper, a moderator for the NTBugtraq mailing list, claimed to have uncovered a critical flaw in the Windows Update patching process.

Cooper's report centered on the process that Windows Update uses to confirm installation of fixes. A brief check of the Windows registry catalogs installed updates, however, should an update fail, the registry may indicate a successful installation. Microsoft disputed the claim and said it was unable to reproduce the error in its labs.