Thread: Master Software Updating to Protect Your PC

Update Windows

Microsoft issues security updates for Windows, Office, and Internet Explorer every second Tuesday of each month, commonly known as Patch Tuesday. Occasionally the company issues emergency out-of-cycle patches as well. The best way to receive these is to set your Windows system (XP, Vista, or, soon, 7) to download and install them automatically upon release. But Microsoft offers several other options to consider.

First, check the current status of your Automatic Updates in Windows:
1. Click Stan, and then click Control Panel.
2. Depending on which Control Panel view (Classic or Category) you use, do . one of the following:
• In Classic view, click Automatic Updates or System. Automatic Updates.

• In Category view, click Performance and Maintenance

• System.Automatic Updates.

Microsoft advises you to let Windows automatically download and install recommended updates. Here are your other choices.

Tweak Automatic Updates

In some cases you may not want a Windows Update to occur automatically. Occasionally, for example, changes to Internet Explorer or TCP have broken third-party firewall connections to the Internet. If you prefer to wait a day or so to make sure that no such surprises lurk in the latest patch cycle, select the second Automatic Update option to download updates but install them later. If you adopt this approach, a yellow shield icon bearing an exclamation point will appear in the system tray whenever your PC downloads a new update; the shield icon will remain there until you take appropriate action.

The updates will sit on your computer until you click the yellow shield icon or until the next time you reboot your machine. At that point you should see a dialog box that asks you to choose between an Express install and a Custom install. The Express option installs the updates exactly as Microsoft provides them. Cus¬tom enables you to pick and choose elements (suitable when you want to avoid a problematic new ser: vice pack, for example).

A third choice is to have Windows notify you whenever new patches are avail-, able, but not have the operating system download or . install those updates. In this case you'll see a listing for each available patch, along with its title and its Knowledge Base article number (where you can find additional information). You can uncheck any update that you don't want to download .and install; Microsoft will suggest these bypassed patches again the next time it has an update or when you check for one yourself (see below).

The fourth option is simply to turn off Automatic Updates. Doing so puts the burden of obtaining crucial security updates entirely on the person running the PC; consequently, this option is appropriate only for the most disciplined users.

Check for Updates Yourself

Microsoft maintains two different sites where you can find the latest patches. Microsoft Update provides the latest security updates for the operating system as well as updates for additional Microsoft products such as Office and Internet Explorer. (The site was moved a few years ago after criminal hackers targeted the original URL.) When viewed in IE, the site should take inventory of your system (via an ActiveX component), display the recommended updates, and then invite you to choose between the Express and Custom installs.

Some caveats: If you use Firefox, the site won't work. Instead, you'll need to use a Mozilla add-on that conveniently opens a session of Internet Explorer at the Microsoft Update page.

If you don't want to open IE, or if you use some other browser, go to the second site, Microsoft Download Center . There, click Download Categories in the top toolbar, and select Windows Securiry 6" Updates from the dropdown menu. Many of the updates are not specific to your machine-but if you know what you're looking for, you should be able to find it in the list.

Avoid Trouble

If you learn that a new service pack, say, is available for Vista but worry that your current apps might not work with it, you have some options. Start by changing Windows Automatic Updates to specify either downloading without installing or notifying only. At the prompt for an installation method, choose Custom, uncheck the service pack or patch you wish to delay or avoid, and install the rest of the batch. You may be prompted from time to time to download and install the remaining up-date, but you can decline.

If an installed update proves to be the source of subsequent problems, you can take steps to reverse the damage. If you have Windows System Restore turned on (Stan.All Programs Accessolies System Tools), you can return to a point before the patch was installed (doing that, however, may also undo any other recent software installations).
Another, perhaps easier choice is to uninstall the patch. Go to Control Panel Add or Remove Programs. Check the box at the top, if it isn't already marked; the resulting list of installed apps will include Microsoft updates. As you scroll down the list, you'll see a large block of Windows Updates, identified by update number and date. Selecting the up-date with the highest number (or the most recent date) and uninstalling it should do the trick.

Once the update is gone, Windows will try to reinstall the missing patch the next time it has a chance to do so, especially if you have Automatic Updates turned on. To prevent that, change your Automatic Update profile (see above) either to notify you of the latest updates or to download but not install them.

Even if you arrange to delay installing all patches, not every update will go swimmingly. For example, Service Pack 1 for .Net Framework 1.1 does not install correctly for some people, no matter what steps they take. The solution, according to Microsoft, is to remove a particular Registry key, after which the service pack should install correctly; unfortunately, uncovering such information can sometimes be quite difficult. Start by typing the exact error message into Google or another search engine; the results page should include at least one Knowledge Base article on the Microsoft Tech-Net or Support site.

In other instances you may simply want a newer version of, say, Internet Explorer. Visit Microsoft Update, the Microsoft Download Center, or the Internet Explorer site.

Update Third-Party Applications
Your operating system isn't the only software that you need to keep patched. In-the old days, users commonly had to find third-party security updates on their own. More recently, however, as criminal hackers have begun targeting common desktop applications, vendors (those of multimedia apps in particular) have become better at pushing out their security patches. Here's a look at the update process for some common types of desktop software.

Firefox: Mozilla silently and automatically downloads its browser security updates in the background; when you next launch the browser, Firefox notifies you, waits for your go-ahead, and then does the installation. If you think something hasn't been installed, click HelpoCheck fir Updates. But full-version up-dates (an upgrade from Fire-fox 2 to Firefox 3, for exampIe) will still take a clean installation from Mozilla. iTunes and QuickTime:

Whenever you launch an Apple application within Windows, Apple does a brief check and then notifies you of the latest release for iTunes or Quickllme (if you aren't already running it). You can also request an update by clicking Help CheckforUpdates. Once in a while, Apple will push out a notification of a new security update for iTunes, Quickllme, or both. When it does, you'll see a dialog box popping up to explain what the update includes.

Unfortunately, Apple has been known to bundle other offerings-such as Safari and Bonjour for Windows-with those updates, regardless of whether you already have
the applications. If you don't want the extra programs, simply uncheck their boxes in the dialog box before installing the update. Fllish and Adobe Reader:

Adobe, like Apple, pushes out security updates as they are completed and issued. Alternatively, yO,u can re¬quest an update check by clicking HelpoCheck fir Updares. In general you can expect legitimate requests from Adobe for permission to install new updates to appear shortly after you've booted into Windows; you should then install them. Java: Sun recently ran afoul of security researchers,

who discovered that unsafe older versions of Java remained on the Windows machine on which the researchers had installed newer, more secure versions of Java. With JRE6 Update 10, Sun now removes older versions of Java from a PC, but it doesn't remove any pre-Update 10 versions; you'll have to uninstall those yourself. (Note: Don't worry if your system is Java-less; not all users have Java installed on their desktop.)