Ho1972 Offline Upload & Sell: Off
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Lutefisker wrote:
Nik tells me that you can not disable the auto update "feature," for Nik products. So now I have a new and improved software bundle that is essentially worthless on my current computer.
Start a support ticket with NIk and request that updates become an event controlled by the user and not Google.
Auto updates are undesirable and unacceptable for at least two reasons. First is the problem of dumping data on people with metered internet connections, of which I am one. I allocate my usage judiciously because I sometimes run close to the limit. An unexpected, huge download at the wrong time could cost me money.
The second, more crucial issue is the one now being discovered by some: a stealth download which causes a working computer to stop functioning or become impaired in some way. In the past, automatic Windows updates have caused serious issues for certain users, some of whom found that their machines would not boot. For people who use their computers for real work, this is more than an annoyance. At least MS has the courtesy to offer the user the ability to choose which updates to apply and when to apply them.
Google, OTOH, seems determined to shove its updates out at a time of its own choosing in a manner that can only be described as surreptitious. Not everyone is pleased by this, as is evidenced by reports ranging from disagreeably changed behavior in certain Nik modules to the failure of Photoshop to launch.
So how to keep this from happening is the question, at least for Windows users as the Mac folks seem to have a handle on this. I've created firewall rules to block GoogleUpdate.exe, two instances of which I found in C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Update. I also disabled the two Google Update Services and likewise disabled the entries for Google Update in Windows Task Scheduler. Finally, I've changed the Local Security Policy>Software Restriction Policy to Disallowed for the entire Google Update folder in Program Files (x86). That should prevent an executable from launching from there and presenting me with an update that perhaps has a few bugs, as this most recent one assuredly does.
This may or may not stop all the unwanted activity and I will take other measures if need be. Google warns that if its update functions are tampered with that its software may not function correctly or cease to function altogether. At this point, that's a risk I'm willing to take.
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