How to receive (email, RSS) Notifications about Windows Update

Question

Is there any RSS feed or mailing list where notifications about released Windows Updates are sent to?

I'm not interested in security news feed or bulletins. All I need to be notified about is that an update has been released that will eventually be offered in Windows Update feature on client stations.

The background is that I have a set of—one per each OS version and architecture, ranging from Windows 2000 to Windows 7 and from Windows Server 2003 to 2008—where I always want to do updates manually. (Since the machines are almost constantly used for automated testing, I want to avoid any scheduling or management—anything that could possibly interfere with the tests.)

The best way to manage this I can imagine is having an RSS feed that I would check, and each time I'd see new update coming (or enough smaller updates piling up), I'd go through the set and update machines as soon as I consider it's good moment to do so.

P.S.: Bonus points for answer that would also include Microsoft Update, i.e. Office updates and such.

Answer 1

I know of three ways to get this info in various methods:

1. TechNet Technical Security Notifications

• You can receive these via RSS or Email.
• Varying levels of information depending on what you want/need to know.
• Only support MS products. But supports all currently supported MS products.

Get it here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/dd252948

2. Microsoft Security Newletter

• More of a power-user informational alert.
• Monthly notification email with released bulletins and patches and other security related information from MS.
• Still limited to MS patches and information.
• Email only.

Get it here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/cc307424

3. Shavlik XML update bulletin

• Provides notifications of updates for wide array of common software, including all currently supported MS OSes and products, several different browsers, common plugins, media players, chat clients, programming tools, etc.
• Email only.
• May be a day or two later than other notifications as each patch is tested and approved by Shavlik/VMWare prior to publishing.

Get it here: http://www.shavlik.com/support/protect/ (Scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up for email)

UPDATE 2/17/2015:

Shavlik now offers notification via Twitter as well as an RSS feed of their patch file updates which, as before, include more than just Microsoft products.

For all their update methods, see this KB article: https://community.shavlik.com/docs/DOC-23176

• Shavlik XML Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShavlikXML
• Shavlik Protect Blog: http://protect7.shavlik.com/
• RSS Feed of the Shavlik Protect Blog: http://protect7.shavlik.com/feed/

Both the Blog and RSS Feed contain full details on the patches included in the new XML file, while the Twitter account updates with links to the most recent Shavlik Protect Blog entry, and Shavlik states their intent to release new XML files the same day patches are released.

As before, you do not need to be a Shavlik customer or subscriber to uses these notification methods.

Notes:

While these are just notifications, using a WSUS server or a third-party tools such as Shavlik (which I've used extensively) allows you to manage patching on as automated or manual a level as you like, and both WSUS and Shavlik will make deployment much easier.