What exactly does KB2952664 do?

I hear you, bro

"I had to bite the bullet and take the SP2 rollup because I got a new PC. "

I still do not know what is the SP2 rollup.  I do not know if it is

a) a collection of all Windows Update patches that have been released for Win 7, or

b) a collection of ALL Win 7 patches, even those that have not been released via WU.

I looked at the .csv file I downloaded, but I could not tell from that file which of the two options describes this SP2 rollup.  Or whether there is a third, different, description.

If it is a), then I do not need to install it, as I have installed Windows Update patches except those few that I have hidden.  If b), then I will install it.  Does anyone on this forum have a definitive answer?

I believe it's B, but that includes ones that they didn't think were worthy of publishing on their own.

SO if you're up to date on WU, you have no need for the rollup.  If you have a new install of Win7 SP1 (in my case, new PC upgraded to Win7; in others maybe you were forced to reinstall Win7 because they hijacked you to WIn10 and you were unable to back it off), THEN you need the rollup.

Even if done manually, you'f have to go through all of them and see which ones are trojans, hide them, then because you have to iteratively do this, prob'ly recheck because they might bring it back, or they may add others.

GWX Control Panel didn't do much before other than pat me on the back telling me I passed.  In THIS case I had to count on it to keep me from being hijacked.  I resent having to do it, but I'm glad it's around.

Barry,

From what I have read, the convenience rollup (KB3125574) is more like ...

a) a collection of all Windows Update patches that have been released for Win 7

If you have been keeping up with the monthly Windows Update patches (minus the patches that you have been skipped because they enable Windows 10 nags or skipped because they enable sending telemetry to Microsoft, etc) ... then you do not need to run the convenience rollup (KB3125574).

If you are installing a fresh version of Windows 7, then the convenience rollup (KB3125574) might make that task easier.

Here are two links to more information ...

Woody Leonard's blog is always a good source of information about Windows issues.

This thread (from Woody's blog) discusses actual experiences with the convenience rollup (be sure to read the comments).

http://www.askwoody.com/2016/windows-7-sp2-convenience-update-rollup-under-examination/

This site discusses know issues with the convenience rollup ...

http://windows-update-checker.com/FAQ/ConvenienceRollupKB3125574-Issues.htm

This is not lying; this is not deceptive marketing; this is very effective social engineering.

I will grant that technically, it is not lying, but it is playing a bit loose with the definition of "explicit" - it will be interesting to see if Microsoft's holds up in court.

When you have marketed operating systems and software for over two decades in which clicking on an X at the top right corner always closes a window, program, application, or whatever else it appears in, with no further action taken by the process (without some sort of warning), and then, suddenly and uniquely, clicking on an X at the top right corner of a window causes the installation of a new operating system to begin (without any warning), this is deceptive marketing.

It certainly is very effective social engineering to tell your customer base "trust us" for decades, get the overwhelming majority to do just that so you can take advantage of their unsuspecting nature, then have external apologists make excuses for you as they profit from your customer's vulnerability.

If I were a social engineer conducting a mass experiment, I might be proud of such results. If I were a software company, I would be proud to be able to say that people are using my product because they think it's really good, not because they weren't bright enough not to get tricked into it.