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Once upon a time, AutoPatcher was the go to program for downloading and installing Windows Updates without connecting to Microsoft’s servers. Say you’ve got a bunch of PCs that you need to update and you don’t want to take the time to connect each to the internet and download updates one by one. Just use AutoPatcher, download the latest updates, burn the results to a CD and carry it from computer to computer.

But a few months back Microsoft effectively shut down the AutoPatcher project, saying that you could only install Windows Updates from Windows servers.

Now the AutoPatcher team is back, with a new utility that downloads updates directly from Microsoft’s servers. AutoPatcher Updater is still in early beta, but it appears that the developers are getting around Microsoft’s objections by requiring you to download updates on on the machine which you are updating. You can’t make those updates portable by burning them to a CD for carrying from PC to PC. Once you’ve downloaded the updates, you can run AutoPatcher.exe to install them. While this might all sound a lot like the built in Windows Update utility, the new AutoPatcher at least gives you a bit more control over your updates.

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After four years of providing safe, reliable access to publicly available Windows updates, AutoPatcher has been shut down. AutoPatcher provided a safe and easy way for users to download Windows updates without connecting to Microsoft’s servers. This came in handy if you wanted to update multiple computers. You could download AutoPatcher, put it on a disc and install it on PCs before connecting them to the internet, thus avoiding any vulnerabilities that may exist in pre-patched systems.

Apparently Microsoft has sent a takedown notice to the developer, saying that Windows Updates should only be downloaded from Microsoft’s servers.

The developer says he has no grounds to challenge Microsoft, and so the AutoPatcher project is for all intents and purposes dead.

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