I think the big difference is that one can potentially be far more targeted than the other. Sort of the difference between publishing an update package to a so

I think the big difference is that one can potentially be far more targeted than the other. Sort of the difference between publishing an update package to a software repository and SSH'ing into my computer and running commands (or having my computer periodically pinging a server asking for commands to run). Though I think there are also issues with silently using a software update to change settings that some user may have set differently in the past to a different value (assuming the value the user used wasn't removed or had its meaning changed). If the developer really things the user would be better off changing the setting, the should prompt the user to explain the reasoning and ask for consent.