Editing Windows Update (section)

=== Third-party services ===
A number of tools have been created by independent software vendors which provide the ability for Windows updates to be automatically downloaded for, or added to, an online or offline system. One common use for offline updates is to ensure a system is fully [[Patch (computing)|patched]] against [[security vulnerability|security vulnerabilities]] before being connected to the [[Internet]] or another network. A second use is that downloads can be very large, but may be dependent on a slow or unreliable network connection, or the same updates may be needed for more than one machine. [[AutoPatcher]], WSUS Offline Update, PortableUpdate, and Windows Updates Downloader are examples of such tools.<ref>{{cite web|title=4 Tools to Update Windows Offline and install Hotfixes from a Local Source|date=14 November 2005|url=https://www.raymond.cc/blog/offline-windows-update/1/|publisher=raymond.cc|access-date=22 November 2018|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020175237/https://www.raymond.cc/blog/offline-windows-update/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Third-party services exist for obtaining updates from Windows Update for older Windows versions. These include Legacy Update, which is a community-driven third party replacement for the Windows Update servers for unsupported versions of Windows from [[Windows 2000]] onward.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Cunningham |first=Andrew |date=2023-07-10 |title=Windows 95, 98, and other decrepit versions can grab online updates again |url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/07/windows-95-98-and-other-decrepit-versions-can-grab-online-updates-again/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240805020423/https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/07/windows-95-98-and-other-decrepit-versions-can-grab-online-updates-again/ |archive-date=August 5, 2024 |access-date=2024-08-05 |website=[[Ars Technica]] |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Legacy Update: Get back online, activate, and install updates on your legacy Windows PC |url=https://legacyupdate.net/ |access-date=2024-08-05 |website=Legacy Update |language=en |archive-date=31 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240731101902/https://legacyupdate.net/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Windows Update Restored is another community-driven third-party replacement for Windows Update on older versions of Windows designed to replicate the functionality of older Windows Update versions, which also includes the old updates for all [[Windows 9x]] releases and Windows NT 4.0.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tyson |first=Mark |date=2023-07-09 |title='Windows Update Restored' Site Provides Updates for Classic Windows Versions |url=https://www.tomshardware.com/news/windows-update-restored-site-provides-updates-for-classic-windows-versions |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240727021528/https://www.tomshardware.com/news/windows-update-restored-site-provides-updates-for-classic-windows-versions |archive-date=July 27, 2024 |access-date=2024-08-05 |website=[[Tom's Hardware]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":02" />