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Microsoft Security Updates
Microsoft will only tell you about updates and security problems if you subscribe to their newsletter - see below. Any email purporting to come from Microsoft or other reputable software companies such as Symantec [Norton] and McAfee are almost certainly hoaxes. The more scary the problem described the more likely the message is to be a hoax. If in doubt refer to the links to the Sophos web site on my home page.
Microsoft does, however, issue a large number of updates to their software each year. My preferred setting for updating Windows is to set ‘Automatic Updates’ to ‘Download updates for me, but let me choose when to install them’. This means that the system will notify you when it has downloaded an update and ask if you wish to install it. This can be done at the time of notification or when you choose to do so. It is probably easiest to install the update as you turn the computer off as immediate installation may necessitate restarting the system.
My reason for choosing the download and tell me option is that if you opt for ‘Automatic updating’ once it is complete you will often get prompted to restart the computer, usually at a very inconvenient moment.
I prefer not to install recommended updates but only the essential ones. In particular I avoid updated drivers for hardware such as network cards unless I have been experiencing a problem with them. The old adage ‘if it isn’t broken is doesn’t need fixing applies here.
Updates are almost always made available on the second Tuesday of the month, very exceptionally an interim update may be issued to block a serious security issue.
If you are concerned about installing an update then wait a few days as it will quickly become apparent if there is a problem via the press.
Microsoft also issue service packs from time to time. Information about these can often be found in the computer press. Microsoft also have various newsletter to which you can sign up to get this information.
To receive information on new patches as they are released you are strongly advised to sign up to the Microsofts UK Security Newsletter service at Microsoft Technet Security & Privacy.
Some updates have been issued as Service Releases. The supposed difference between a Service Pack and a Service Release is that a Service Pack updates files and components within a package whereas a Service Release is a complete release of the package in question. Applying the latter may necessitate knowing the Product Key or ID and sometimes the original cd/dvd is needed to validate the installation before an update will be allowed. |