Microsoft Automatic Updates, EULA and All

In a nutshell, Automatic Updates is automatically updating even on Windows XP systems that are set to "no automatic updates." My colleague Joe Wilcox reported on Windows Automatic Updates and also on Automatic Updates perception problems. Andrew Garcia, one of my eWEEK Lab partners, confirmed the behind-the-scenes-behavior. Now that we're all up to speed on Microsoft's activity, I went digging in the EULA (End User License Agreement) to see if, as many readers told us, this was all perfectly legal and upfront. As near as I can tell, Windows XP Professional OEM EULA says that Microsoft may automatically download software to a user's computer. However, the EULA doesn't give consent for the installation of the downloaded software. Microsoft distinguishes between downloading and installing updates. In the Automatic Updates configuration screen the options are: 1) Automatically download and install, 2) Download and let me choose when to install, 3) Notify but...