For the second time in two weeks, Microsoft is feeling the heat from users who claim the Windows Update service has been downloading and installing updates without their knowledge.
Reports of the latest issue began trickling in Wednesday on the Windows enthusiast Website AeroXperience, with users saying that their PCs had downloaded and installed updates from Windows Update and automatically rebooted their machines.
In addition, users that had turned off the automatic updates setting for Windows Update said the option had been switched back on.
According to user comments on AeroXperience, the issue affects machines running Windows XP Professional and Home versions, but not Windows Vista.
A Microsoft spokesperson said the vendor is investigating the matter and encouraged customers affected by the issue to contact Microsoft Support.
"We are hearing some reports from around the Web regarding machines that are re-starting and having automatic updating settings set back to 'Install Updates Automatically,' despite having selected to be notified before installation of updates," said the spokesperson.
Last month, Microsoft came under fire over a batch of Windows updates the vendor silently pushed out to users' PCs this summer, which interfered with the repair function of Windows XP and created headaches for users trying to install the latest patches.
Microsoft subsequently acknowledged the problem but said the issue was limited to users that have used the "Repair From CD" function of the Windows XP installation.
