When you install any Google software product, such as the Chrome browser or Google Earth, Google Installer will ask your firewall to let it access the Internet many times a day to check for software updates.
It's not that Google Installer is doing anything wrong ... but most people wonder why it has to check for updates constantly?! Why waste the bandwidth and system resources?
According to Google, the Google Installer "keeps your Google software up to date. If this task is disabled or stopped, your Google software will not be kept up to date, meaning security vulnerabilities that may arise cannot be fixed and features may not work. This task uninstalls itself when there is no Google software using it."
In July of 2009, Google announced that the Google Installer (Google Update) would no longer run continuously but would be managed by Windows Task Scheduler (https://opensource.googleblog.com/2009/07/google-update-regularly-scheduled.html).
This is GOOD NEWS. You can easily change how often Google Installer accesses the Internet to look for updates via Windows Task Scheduler (http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Chrome/thread?tid=7ab51d2e6b9da08a&hl=en). Then you can tell your Firewall to "Always Allow" and be done with it!
The following image shows four Google tasks in the Task Scheduler window. You may have more or less, but use this as a guide.
To change a task's schedule on your PC, follow the steps below:
- Access the Windows Task Scheduler by clicking Start | Programs | Accessories | System Tools | Scheduled Tasks (or Task Scheduler)
- Make the window as wide as possible. Notice the current schedule shown in the second column
- Right-click on the first Google Installer task and click Properties
- Click the "Schedule" tab
- If the task is scheduled to run at "user logon" - don't change it
- If the task is scheduled to run Daily, change the frequency to Weekly, at User Logon, or other option. If Weekly, make sure only one day is checked in the "Schedule Task Weekly" box below. Change the time if you wish
- Click the "Advanced" button if available. Remove the checkmark next to "Repeat task" and click OK
Repeat steps 3 through 7 for the remaining Google Update tasks. Then click Apply and click OK. Exit out of the "Scheduled Tasks" window.
Now the Google Update program should only request access to the Internet at the times you scheduled for the tasks. And once you feel confident that it is working correctly, you can tell your firewall to "Always Allow" and you won't be bothered again.
Cheers!
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4 comments:
Oddly, I am not finding any reference to Google software (update, updater, installer) amongst my scheduled tasks; though Google Installer was asking to go out past my firewall with great regularity. I've blocked it, now, with the firewall but don't like that fix as that doesn't stop the process(es) from running in the background. The only Google software on this machine (which can also be found in Add/Remove) is Google Earth and SketchUp. Neither of those appear to have any options for squelching updates, either. Very frustrating. Any other ideas as to how to slow the updates behaviour to a more realistic frequency would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Pete
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Pete, the only thing I can think of is that your software was installed before Google started using Windows Task Scheduler (mid-2009), so it has never changed it's method of update. Or, as per the next statement, your Task Scheduler isn't working properly. ("You may find that GoogleUpdate.exe is always running on your computer if you're using an older version of the program or if certain Windows services, like Windows Task Scheduler, are not working as expected. This ensures that you continue to receive updates for your Google software." - http://www.google.com/support/chrome/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=153615)
In any case, the best bet is to either upgrade the two software products, or just uninstall and reinstall them. Then, hopefully, you will find the tasks under Task Scheduler and you can change the frequency to something much less. Then you can let them through the firewall for the updates. Hope that works.
(originally posted JULY 12, 2010 3:35 PM)
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