One of the concerns I’ve heard numerous times over Microsoft’s Windows Update, is the concern over privacy. Many users are a bit troubled over the level of information that Microsoft may be gathering about themselves and their computers. Well, it would appear that there is an alternative.

Windiz Update is a website that offers Windows Update like services, without the “Microsoft”. One of the interesting features is that it works with alternative browsers. Firefox and Opera are supported, but in an interesting twist, apparently not Internet Explorer. This raises the question, if these guys have it working for browsers other than Internet Explorer, why doesn’t Microsoft? All that is needed to use the service is to install a small plug-in to your browser and then you can use the service free of charge.

Keep in mind that I’m not recommending their service. I don’t use it. I have no way of confirming that it is a safe alternative to Windows Update. One thing I noticed though, their site mentions that they do not get the updates as fast as the official Microsoft one. I confirmed this by searching for one of the updates released yesterday, KB927977, and it wasn’t available at their site yet. I just find it interesting that there is an alternative to Windows Update that works in the “other” browsers.