Cumulative Roll-Up Updates coming to Win7/8.1 starting October

The following information was excerpted from several sources, cited at the end of the post:

From October 2016 onwards, Microsoft will release a single CUMULATIVE Monthly Rollup Update for (each version of) Windows, that addresses both security issues and reliability issues... each update will supersede [and include] the previous month’s release, [so] you'll only need to install the latest single rollup to be up to date. Indeed, Microsoft says that over time, they will gradually add-on prior patches too, so that these monthly updates will eventually become fully cumulative; but it may take a year or more for the process of previous-patch-inclusion to be completed.

What this means is that individual patches will no longer be available --- to patch your system, you must accept ALL the releases for the month in a single patch... This change is rather significant... and considering that Microsoft has released a few bad patches in the past couple of years that have broken fundamental features of Windows, this change may not sit well with IT Pros [nor consumers].

Hardware drivers are the one potential exception; see How to stop Windows 7 automatically installing drivers https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2500967

Likewise, the .NET Framework will also follow the Monthly Rollup model [which will] deliver both security and reliability updates to all versions of the .NET Framework as a single monthly release. It is important to note that the rollup for the .NET Framework will only deliver security and quality updates to the .NET Framework versions currently installed on your machine. It will NOT automatically upgrade the base version of the .NET Framework that is installed.

Sources:

http://news.thewindowsclub.com/changes-introduced-into-servicing-models-for-windows-7-and-windows-8-1-85612/

https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/windowsitpro/2016/08/15/further-simplifying-servicing-model-for-windows-7-and-windows-8-1/

http://www.pcworld.com/article/3108407/windows/windows-7-and-8-1-updates-switching-to-cumulative-monthly-rollups-starting-in-october.html

https://www.petri.com/microsoft-will-change-updates-windows-78-1-server-2008-r2-2012-starting-october

http://securitygarden.blogspot.com/2016/08/icymi-major-windows-update-change.html?

==============================

Remarks:   The one good thing to come out of this is that scanning/searching time for Windows Updates should be significantly reduced, as now, Windows only needs to access the one cumulative monthly update for your system.

It's also possible that a particular update may have failed in the past, because the user had previously opted-out of installing a necessary pre-requisite.   This won't happen under the new system.

But yes, it's very scary to think that there may be a "rotten egg" update mixed-in among a large cumulative update... and users will have no choice but to swallow the entire batch, or repel it entirely.