c't Offline Updater

I probably should have mentioned this long ago, as I've known about it forever: c't has created a program (well, set of AutoIt scripts) which downloads the Microsoft updates for the platform you choose and fashions it into a CD-ROM image (ISO) for you. Click the link above to see. This project is in line with the Microsoft's redistribution EULA, so it will not be receiving a takedown notice.

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The Autopatcher group apparently never read any of the EULAs for the files they were redistributing and were thus 'cease-and-desisted'. Let that be a lesson to you: follow the EULA attached to Microsoft's files when you create a project such as this and don't be surprised if you are told to stop once you are breaking the rules.

A lot of folks are upset about how long it took Microsoft before the project was told to stop. I don't think the latent notice was malicious. I firmly believe that the "right person(s)" at Microsoft never caught wind of the Autopatcher project until now. By "right person(s)" I mean Microsoft's intellectual property watchdogs. A lot of people at Microsoft didn't mind the project – but that's because it wasn't their job to chase people down and tell them to stop. When enough support calls roll in from annoyed users of Autopatcher (who don't realize it's not Microsoft's job to fix Autopatcher's issues) the "right person(s)" eventually find out about it.