there is a way to get many of the hotfixes (not all, but nearly all). The program c't Offline Updater downloads directly from Microsoft the updates, including Windows XP, Vista, Server 2k3 and 2k8 and it even supports office. The english article can be found here: http://www.h-online.com/security/Do-it-you.../features/80682 it links to the english project page, but that page doesn't have the current version 5.2 that includes the IE8, on the german project page you can find the current version: http://www.heise.de/ct/Offline-Update--/projekte/133634