40

My machine has 5 Google updaters running:

  • Service: Google Update Service (gupdate)

    Keeps your Google software up to date. If this service 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 service uninstalls itself when there is no Google software using it.

    C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Update\GoogleUpdate.exe /svc
    
  • Service: Google Update Service (gupdatem)

    Keeps your Google software up to date. If this service 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 service uninstalls itself when there is no Google software using it.

    C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Update\GoogleUpdate.exe /medsvc
    
  • Service: Google Updater Service

    C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Common\Google Updater\GoogleUpdaterService.exe
    
  • Scheduled Task: GoogleUpdateTaskMachineCore

    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.

    • Runs at logon of any user
    • Runs daily at 10:08 AM

        C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Update\GoogleUpdate.exe /C
      
  • Scheduled Task: GoogleUpdateTaskMachineUA

    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.

    • Runs every hour

      C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Update\GoogleUpdate.exe /ua /installsource scheduler
      

Now obviously Google doesn't need all these items running at the same time; some are going to be legacy duplicates.

Which one is the current, true, preferred, Google updater?

Would the real Google updater please stand up,
please stand up, please stand up.


My setup:

  • Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
  • Chrome
  • one interactive user account
2
  • So we can provide an accurate answer: Which operating system? How many user accounts? Which Google software do you currently use?
    – iglvzx
    Mar 13, 2012 at 14:17
  • 5
    One might argue that because you did not explicitly approve of these tasks and processes, none of them should be allowed to run. As far as I'm aware, the scheduled task exists only to restore the update .exe to startup status if the user manually disables it. Since it exists purely to subvert your will as the user, I suggest getting rid of it.
    – Fopedush
    Mar 13, 2012 at 16:23

4 Answers 4

26

After installing Chrome in a fresh VM and checking autoruns, these are the only entries created:

enter image description here

Services are no longer registered. But Google takes updating still very seriously.

Here are the two tasks listed in the Task Scheduler: enter image description here

The upper task points to:

C:\Users\Oliver\AppData\Local\Google\Update\GoogleUpdate.exe /c

The lower task points to:

C:\Users\Oliver\AppData\Local\Google\Update\GoogleUpdate.exe /ua /installsource scheduler

And the legacy services can be deleted from the machine using Microsoft's sc command line tool from an elevated command prompt:

C:\Windows\system32>sc delete gupdate
[SC] DeleteService SUCCESS

C:\Windows\system32>sc delete gupdatem
[SC] DeleteService SUCCESS

C:\Windows\system32>sc delete gusvc
[SC] DeleteService SUCCESS
3
  • 12
    Great response. Disappointed that among software vendors even Google doesn't realize they are guests on my computer and should clean up after themselves when they leave.
    – rkagerer
    Aug 9, 2015 at 4:39
  • Google is notorious for launching shiny, sloppily put together, half-baked products. If there's company that I expect not to give a damn, it's google.
    – DPM
    May 13, 2017 at 11:26
  • 1
    @rkagerer still the old saying goes: 'if you are not sure what is the product when consuming a "free" product, you are the product.'
    – Sajuuk
    Sep 9, 2021 at 10:25
5

For computer security I used a product call Deep Freeze. I keep my Windows 7 C drive frozen except when I want to make a change to my system about monthly. Since my C drive is frozen, every time I reboot my computer the C Drive is returned to it original state removing unwanted junk including viruses, cookies, etc. All documents and data files are kept on other disk drives.

I have found the Google Update Task Machine UA very annoying. It has been costing me 15 seconds every 10 minutes. I have a very fast and powerful desktop Dell PC and have been wondering for a week now what devious software was stopping work for 15 seconds every 10 minutes like clock work. Today I discovered it was the Google Updater. My solution to this problem is:

  • [Control Panel] / [Administrative Tools] / [Services]
  • Rt-Click on Startup Type and change it to Disable for the following:
  • Google Software Updater
  • Google Update Service (Gupdate)
  • Google Update Service (gupdatem)
  • [Control Panel] / [Amdinistrative Tools] / [Task Scheduler]
  • [Task Scheduler Library]
  • Rt-Click on these two top records:
  • GoogleUpdateTaskMachineCore
  • GoogleUpdateTaskMachineUA Now I am back in control of my fast computer without interruptions every 10 minutes.

Turning off automatic updates for other software packages has been generally less annoying than Google Updates.

PS. I removed Google Drive and the Firefox Browser before I discovered the real problem was Google Updates. Hope this helps others save hours of frustration trying to regaining control of their computers.

1

To partially answer the question, at least for the two scheduled tasks, after installing Chrome, these tasks are created: "GoogleUpdateTaskMachineCore" "GoogleUpdateTaskMachineUA" The first one (for me at least, Win10) has two triggers, "At log on of any user" and a daily 11:08 with repeat (something like that; I've already altered the schedule). Both tasks run the same exe, but with slightly different parameters. The MachineCore runs "%PROGRAMFILES(x86)%\Google\Update\GoogleUpdate.exe /c" while the MachineUA runs "%PROGRAMFILES(x86)%\Google\Update\GoogleUpdate.exe /ua /installsource scheduler"

Personally I disabled the Core "log on of any user" and altered the schedule on the 2nd trigger to just run once a day M-F. The UA task I disabled entirely, as it appeared to be the more intrusive. But that's just guess-work. To know for sure, we'd have to know what the executable and the parameters do.

In response to one of the comments, to be fair, no one really answered the question, "which one should I allow to run" (with the possible exception of the trivial though valid comment by Fo...). For that, we'd need to know more about the Google updater than any of appears to. :)

0

In the Task Scheduler, cc the Google Update links to take you to the relevant GoogleUpdate... dialog page.
Click the Schedule tab. In the drop down menu for Schedule Task, pick weekly, monthly or whatever you prefer. If you choose weekly, it then offers you an opportunity to pick day and time and even how many weeks between running the update. Once a week at 2 am is no hardship on any one and it reduces the number of entries in the Scheduled Tasks log.

1
  • Please read the question again carefully. Your answer does not answer the original question, which was which updater should be allowed to run (from a choice of 5)
    – DavidPostill
    Jul 7, 2016 at 20:38

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