Restore Hidden Updates on Remote Computers?

[POE]

In my environment we have about 100 computers that have the IE 9 windows update hidden (along with a few other updates). We do not have a SUS server to manage the updates on all of our remote computers. What would be the easiest way to restore these hidden updates on our employees' computers?

Is there a registry entry for all the updates? Could I just create a reg file that delete's or modifies the 'hidden' attribute and have users apply the reg file to their computer? That way automatic updates would do my job for me.

Any ideas or tips would be appreciated.

I'll continue googling for a solution in the mean time.

 

[seth500]

Hi POE, I would think the easiest way is to have the user's of each computer open windows update and click on the hidden updates link and just restore it. It would be that simple.

 

[niemiro]

Hello!

Scraping very badly off here: Mark A. Ziesemer: Scripted hiding of Windows Updates under Vista

I would guess at:

var updateSession = WScript.CreateObject("Microsoft.Update.Session"); 
var updateSearcher = updateSession.CreateUpdateSearcher(); 
updateSearcher.Online = false;  
 
var searchResult = updateSearcher.Search("IsHidden!=0");
for(var i=0; i<searchResult.Updates.Count; i++)
{   
    var update = searchResult.Updates.Item(i);   
    WScript.echo("Unhiding update: " + update.Title);  
    update.IsHidden = false;
}

Richard

 

[POE]

Seth, as far as my boss is concerned, that is too much for our users to do. I told him I'd be willing to write up and send out the email myself. It would take all of 5 minutes! But our users are a bunch of Pharmacy Technicians and old corporate nuts. I've had to help these people with simple password changes more than you could imagine. Every week I get a call from these people that makes me second guess how stupid people with degrees can actually be.

Richard, thanks for digging that up. But I'm not much of a programmer at all. If it's not something that can be attached to an email and double clicked or rolled out automatically through our Active Directory environment, it won't be acceptable to Mr. Boss Man.

We do have a centralized Anti-Virus server that has application control. I was considering blocking all IE versions except for 9 and waiting for everyone to call me when they can't get to facebook.

 

[niemiro]

Seth, as far as my boss is concerned, that is too much for our users to do. I told him I'd be willing to write up and send out the email myself. It would take all of 5 minutes! But our users are a bunch of Pharmacy Technicians and old corporate nuts. I've had to help these people with simple password changes more than you could imagine. Every week I get a call from these people that makes me second guess how stupid people with degrees can actually be.

Richard, thanks for digging that up. But I'm not much of a programmer at all. If it's not something that can be attached to an email and double clicked or rolled out automatically through our Active Directory environment, it won't be acceptable to Mr. Boss Man.

We do have a centralized Anti-Virus server that has application control. I was considering blocking all IE versions except for 9 and waiting for everyone to call me when they can't get to facebook.

Hello!

You should be able to push the above script out via Active Directory.

Use this as your .vbs script:

var updateSession = WScript.CreateObject("Microsoft.Update.Session"); 
var updateSearcher = updateSession.CreateUpdateSearcher(); 
updateSearcher.Online = false;  
 
var searchResult = updateSearcher.Search("IsHidden!=0");
for(var i=0; i<searchResult.Updates.Count; i++)
{   
    var update = searchResult.Updates.Item(i);    
    update.IsHidden = false;
}

and use Active Directory to push it out to users. Please note that this will un-hide all updates. Is this OK? Otherwise please get me the KB's of the updates you wish to unhide, and I shall see what I can do.

Richard

 

[POE]

Thanks Richard. I'll run this by my developers.