6.7.4.2. WindowsUpdateMatcher

WindowsUpdateMatcher is actually a DNSMatcher used to retrieve the IP addresses currently associated with the v5.windowsupdate.microsoft.nsatc.net, v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.nsatc.net, and update.microsoft.nsatc.net domain names; only the IP address of the name server has to be specified. Windows Update is running on a distributed server farm, using the DNS round robin method and a short TTL to constantly change the set of servers currently visible, consequently the IP addresses of the servers are constantly changing.

Tip

This matcher class is useful to create firewall policies related to updating Windows-based machines. Windows Update is running over HTTPS. For example, there is no real use in inspecting the HTTP traffic embedded into the SSL tunnel (since it is mostly file download), but it is important to verify the identity of the servers.