fake microsoft update message?

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got this today. and it's happened before. I click install, and nothing happens. the only Microsoft product I use is office 2011, and that is no longer being updated. what else would be making this appear? If I check for update in word or excel (using the menus), it says there are no updates available. I ran malwarebytes and it found nothing my system is clean.

update.jpg
 
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update. I see I have in notifications something called Microsoft AU daemon. I'm not able to remove it but I can check the notification boxes. perhaps it's just warning me that office is outdated, even though it's not saying that.
 
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Interesting. I do get update notices from Microsoft for Office 2016 but the notice looks a bit difference. I wonder if it is a leftover for 2011?

Another thought - Is your browser open when the notice appears? You might try clearing the browser cache. If it is an attempt to install a virus they are out of luck and that is why you see nothing happening.

EDIT: Just saw your update. Well hopefully that is the issue and it is harmless.

Lisa
 
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my browser was open I think. I may try clearing the cache. :)
 

chscag

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got this today. and it's happened before. I click install, and nothing happens. the only Microsoft product I use is office 2011, and that is no longer being updated. what else would be making this appear? If I check for update in word or excel (using the menus), it says there are no updates available. I ran malwarebytes and it found nothing my system is clean.

Silly as it may sound... that update is for the Microsoft "update app" which by the way is a 64 bit app. I received the same message last night. It has nothing to do with Office 2011. And no, I do not have Office 2016 or 2019 installed and do not intend to do so. ;D
 
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If anyone can follow Microsoft they are much cleverer than me.

Purchased Office 2016, and currently on version 16.19. "About Word' tells me for some reason I am using Office 365 Home Subscription but never receive an account. Who knows why it changed.
 

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Harry:

I believe Microsoft refers to its Office 2016 and 2019 versions as Office 365. The only thing that differentiates the versions is the version number which in your case is version 16.19.
 
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got this today. and it's happened before. I click install, and nothing happens. the only Microsoft product I use is office 2011, and that is no longer being updated. what else would be making this appear? If I check for update in word or excel (using the menus), it says there are no updates available. I ran malwarebytes and it found nothing my system is clean.
I get those too. As noted above, it must be for the AutoUpdate app only.

Harry:

I believe Microsoft refers to its Office 2016 and 2019 versions as Office 365. The only thing that differentiates the versions is the version number which in your case is version 16.19.

But you don't have to buy the subscription only version, do you?
 
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any good alternative to MS office? I know theirs OpenOffice and LibreOffice. Anything else I should look into? if I find something I like, I may just delete office 11, since it is no longer being supported or updated.
 
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thanks I'll take a look. I see OpenOffice is discontinued.
 
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If anyone can follow Microsoft they are much cleverer than me.

Purchased Office 2016, and currently on version 16.19. "About Word' tells me for some reason I am using Office 365 Home Subscription but never receive an account. Who knows why it changed.

I have Office 2016 version 16.16.4 - which is the latest update according to the update manager. When I open Word this is what it shows in the about section:

Word2016.jpeg
 

chscag

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You might give this software a look. It was recommended by one of our members: https://www.softmaker.com/en/softmaker-office Ian

I second the recommendation for Softmaker Office. I initially was interested in using it a while back and downloaded their trial version which is fully functional. I was rather surprised how close it was in appearance and function to MS Office. I put it thru its paces and was pleased with the results. The software is compact and not bloated like Office 2016 or 2019. It was able to open and correctly display all my docx and doc files without difficulty. The program is designed to create and edit documents in Word format by default.

There are some things about it though that you need to be aware of: You may have to rework your Office templates if you use them. I also noticed that some Apple fonts were not being used by the program as it uses a separate set of fonts. You may have to add fonts.

I did not test the Softmaker Office spreadsheet program nor its equivalent of Powerpoint. I mostly downloaded it to try out the Word equivalent. The stand alone single license version of Softmaker Office for the Mac is $69.95 (I believe).
 

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I downloaded that program some time ago but haven't got around to testing it. One day my Offiice 2011 install started borking up and I haven't taken time to fix it. Guess someone's trying to tell me it's time to start testing. I'm using LibreOffice at the moment but if this [rpgram proves better I think I'll be ditching Office after decades.
 
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I am running Office 365 and frequently got this message when nothing appeared to have happened. Further research indicated that it was updating the update application.
 
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I second the recommendation for Softmaker Office. I initially was interested in using it a while back and downloaded their trial version which is fully functional


It's too bad their FREE version doesn't seem to be available for Mac users:
SoftMaker FreeOffice
https://www.freeoffice.com/en/download

It seems to be about the same software but I didn't look closely.





- Patrick
======
 

chscag

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Patrick:

I don't remember all the details but I believe their "Free Office" versions are restricted as to how they function. Otherwise, why would they continue to charge $$ for their Windows version as well as Linux and Mac?

Most folks are probably going to continue their subscription to Office 365 which now includes Office 2019. But in case anyone is interested, Office 2019 stand alone version is already on sale at several on line sellers including Amazon and Prime Software. Prime has it for $109.00 and Amazon for $129.00. The MS Price is $149.95. (That's for the home version single license.)

By the way, none of the sellers offer media. All they give you is the serial number by which you can activate the product. The download is from the MS server.
 
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@chscag
Patrick:
I don't remember all the details but I believe their "Free Office" versions are restricted as to how they function. Otherwise, why would they continue to charge $$ for their Windows version as well as Linux and Mac?



Yeah, that didn't make much sense to me and was also a bit confusing so being curious I finally found a comparison chart, with thanks to Google:

SoftMaker Office is the commercial version of FreeOffice. In the table below, you'll find a detailed comparison between FreeOffice 2018 and SoftMaker Office 2018.
https://www.softmaker.com/en/comparison-freeoffice-softmaker-office

And of course the biggest difference, is the fact that they do not offer a free SoftMaker FreeOffice Version for Mac users. Not exactly a minor detail!!!

Anyway, by the chart, the free office version certainly seems to be missing a few features but the SoftMaker Office Standard 2018(Mac) is a pretty decent price, but oddly the only difference I couldn't see listed in their chart for the more expensive SoftMaker Office Professional 2018 Version was the pro version includes "Four Berlitz translation dictionaries". Not exactly an earth shattering difference for a $40 extra price.

And I see they have a subscription type plan as well, for those who like that method.

There's also a separate comparison and a few more details here:
SoftMaker FreeOffice comparison with SoftMaker Office 2018
SoftMaker FreeOffice comparison with SoftMaker Office 2018


PS, BTW: MS Canada purchase price:
Office Home & Business 2019
CAD $319.00

OUCH!!!





- Patrick
======
 
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I use Office 365 and I have the five license version for $10/month. For that, I get five installs of the entire Office suite, plus one GB of OneDrive for each of them and a chance to share between them access to the OneDrive accounts. Not a bad deal, IMHO. Updates are included, of course. I used to be in the "never rent software" group, but I think MS has, for once, gotten it pretty close to right.
 

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