Samsung is not having a particular good week.  First, as I reported to you in June 21st’s Scam of the Day a long standing security flaw in millions of Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones was disclosed and, as of today, still remains unpatched and now, Microsoft engineer Patrick Barker has found a program with Samsung’s computer software that disables Windows Updates from running automatically.  This means that if you have a Samsung computer, it is necessary for you to manually update your computer with the latest Windows security patches each time they are issued.  Not only is this an inefficient way to install critical security updates that are necessary to protect you from hacking and other dangers, but most Samsung computer users probably did not even know that this Samsung disabling program even existed.  For regular readers of Scamicide, you are at least protected to some extent because whenever Microsoft issues a new Windows security update, we publish it with the links you need to download the necessary patches.  However, automatic updating of your computer’s software is always the better option.  Hackers and identity thieves consistently take advantage of people, companies and government agencies that fail to promptly update their software when security patches are released.

TIPS

If you have a Samsung computer, there is nothing you can do to turn off your computer’s software program that disables Windows Updates from running automatically because even if you turn Windows Updates back on, your computer will automatically disable it again the very next time your computer is rebooted.  Therefore it is incumbent upon you, if you have a Samsung computer to make sure that you update your Windows software with the latest security patches on your own as soon as they become available.  You can either monitor Microsoft’s website or just follow Scamicide each day and we will alert you when updates are issued.