How can I stop Bing Bar from showing up in Windows Update

This question crops up frequently.

Some Windows updates keep returning no matter how many times you select to hide them. There are two ways that this can happen:

• You select to hide the entry, and it remains hidden, but a new, completely different entry is shown that is either related to the first one, or a newer version of it. This can be seen in the image below where Bing Desktop 1.2 has been hidden, then Bing Desktop 1.3 was shown as a different update and had to be hidden separately.

• You select to hide the entry, but later when it is updated, it is reset and is shown again because it is new. This is the case for Bing Bar in the image below. Ostensibly, if you didn’t want it the first time, then you probably don’t want it later, but the rationale is that you may want the newer, updated version.

Unfortunately there is no way to permanently hide something; Microsoft can (and does) re-display things it feels you might want/should install. You’ll just have to play “Whack-a-Mole” and manually hide them whenever they pop up; fortunately that’s not too often.