Get better control over Windows updates with Get WSUS Content .NET

Get WSUS Content .NET is a free program for Windows that helps administrators have more control over the upgrade process. Allows you to check for Windows updates, driver updates, and other product updates that Microsoft provides for various client and server versions of Windows, download them to your local system, and install downloaded update packages without the need for an Internet connection or using the Windows update interface.

Get WSUS Content .Net uses the Microsoft Update Agent for its functionality. The application is quite powerful as it is not limited to downloading updates for the installed operating system, installed products or local system devices; it can also be used to scan devices on the network to download updates for these devices.

One caveat of Get WSUS Content .NET is that it cannot be used to download updates for products or operating systems that cannot be accessed locally or over the network.

GET WSUS Content .NET can be run as a portable program or it can be installed. You can change the interface language (the default language is English) at the first start of the program.

An option to include updates for older versions of Windows, Windows 2000, Windows Server 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003, can be verified in the first run wizard. There is also an option to set a path to components for these earlier versions of Windows and to enable the use of a proxy server.

The next screen of the initial setup lists the supported operating systems. Some or all of the products can be selected for use. All major Windows client and server versions are supported, including Windows 11 and Windows Server 2022, but also older systems like Windows 7, Windows Server 2019, or Windows 10.

Later use is not complicated, once you understand the main concept. The left sidebar shows the available options, divided into Windows Update Agent and WSUS entry points. WSUS is for systems with WSUS access, Windows Update Agent for systems without.

The Windows Update Agent section is divided into “update search”, “update file”, “create update package”, integrate updates “,” information system “and” more tools “.

Checking for updates includes options to exclude updates, download them, hide them, or show them. The update opt-out option scans your computer or network devices for installed updates and excluded updates; installed updates can be moved to the exclusion list or vice versa. Administrators may want to exclude updates that are causing problems on a device, or they may block the installation of updates that include unwanted features, such as collecting additional telemetry.

Relevant updates for a device, network computer, or remote computer can be downloaded using the update download option. The program scans the system for installed updates and retrieves all available updates using the Windows Update Agent. The scan may take a while depending on the task at hand.

A PDF help file is included in the program file, which explains all functions in detail in German.

The program includes a number of additional functions and options, from restarting the update service to cleaning or creating reports for local or network computers.

Closing words

Get WSUS Content .NET is a useful tool for Windows system administrators managing one or more systems running Windows. The functionality it offers is impressive. One downside to using the program is that the scan takes a long time to complete, that was the case on the test systems I ran it on at least.

WSUS offline update can be an alternative, although it hasn’t been updated since 2020.

Now you: How are Windows updates managed?

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