The monthly release Windows 7 (KB4088875) introduces a new behavior borrowed from Windows 10 that brings new virus protection checks to the operating system.
With these checks, Microsoft is trying to make sure that Windows 7 systems are running compatible antiviruses, as the company says that compatibility issues between security software and the latest updates can significantly affect the performance and stability of the computer.
We encountered this glitch in Windows 10 in January, when Microsoft released security fixes for Meltdown and Spectre to prevent problems from occurring on Windows systems.
In other words, Windows checks whether your system is running antivirus and depending on the result of this verification, it decides whether security updates will be offered to the computer or not.
If the security product is compatible, everything works perfectly, otherwise you can't get new security updates. This means that the system remains dormant and, therefore, exposed to attacks that try to exploit emerging vulnerabilities.
Fortunately, there is an easy way to bypass these checks and enable security updates on a Windows 7 system, regardless of the antivirus running on your machine. Needless to say, the best thing you can do is install antivirus software, but if that doesn't cover you, then this small hack is your second best option.
Microsoft recommends contacting the antivirus provider to enable the updated security releases.
Enabling security updates on a Windows 7 system without a supported antivirus is easy, and it all comes down to the Registry Editor. This means you're going to be editing the registry, so first of all, you need to make sure you're logged in with an administrator account. Next, you need to create a backup, because if something goes wrong, you need to ensure you can revert to a working configuration.
First of all, launch the Registry Editor key Windows R and typing “Regedit”. Follow the path below:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\ Windows\\CurrentVersion\\QualityCompat
If this path does not exist, it is probably because you are not running whitelisted antivirus software. This means you need to create it manually, which is not at all difficult.
Once you get to this address, you need to create a new entry . Select the QualityCompat entry , right-click in the right pane and go to New > DWORD (32- bit) Value and name it cadca5 fe-87 d3-4 b96- b7 fb- a231484277 cc. Click OK, close Registry Editor, and then restart your computer to save all changes.
The next time you check for updates in the Control Panel, new patches will be ready for download.
The next updates for Windows 7 are expected to be released in April with Patch Tuesday. It's likely that Microsoft will lift this restriction in the coming months, but until then, this little hack is the best way to stay safe.
