Keep your PC Safe and Secure
July 2, 2009 Computer Safety Tip
Update Windows
Every second Tuesday of each month, Microsoft issues security updates for Windows, Office, and Internet Explorer, this is known as Patch Tuesday. The company will occasionally issue emergency out-of-cycle patches as well. To receive this, set your Windows system (XP, Vista, or 7) to download and install them automatically upon release. Microsoft has included two other options that might interest you.
Firstly, check the current status of your Automatic Update in Windows:
1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. Depending on which Control Panel view (Classic or Category) you use, do one of the following:
• In Classic, click Automatic Updates or System, and then click the Automatic Updates tab.
• In Category, click Performance and Maintenance, click System, and then click the Automatic Updates tab.
Microsoft advises you to allow Windows to automatically download and install recommended updates.
Tweak Automatic Updates
Sometimes you may not want a Windows Update to occur automatically. You can select the second Automatic Update option to download updates but install them later. If you choose this, a yellow shield icon with an exclamation point will appear in the task tray whenever your system downloads a new update. The shield will not disappear until you take appropriate action.
The updates will stay on your computer until you click the yellow shield icon or until the next time you reboot your computer. You will see a dialog box that asks you to choose between an Express install and a Custom install. Express installs the updates exactly as Microsoft provides them. Custom enables you to pick and choose.
Windows can also notify you whenever new patches are available, but not have the operating system download or install those updates. You can uncheck any update you don’t want to download and install; Microsoft will suggest all such bypassed patches again the next time it has a new update ready or the next time you check for updates yourself.
The next option is simply to turn off Automatic Updates. Doing so puts the burden of obtaining crucial security updates entirely on the person running the computer.
Check for Updates Yourself
Windows Update provides the latest security updates for the Microsoft operating system as well as updates for additional Microsoft products such as Office and Internet Explorer. If you use Firefox, the Microsoft update site won’t operate. Instead, you’ll need to use a Mozilla add on that conveniently opens a session of Internet Explorer at the Windows Update page.
If you decide not to open IE, or if you use another browser, go to the second site, Microsoft Download Center, click Download Category in the top toolbar, and select Windows Security and Updates from the pull-down menu. You will find many updates that not specific to your machine, if you know what you want, you will find it on the list.
Avoid Problems
If you are worried that your current applications might not work with the service pack that is available for Vista, here are some options. Start by changing the Windows Automatic Updates to specify downloading without installing, or to specify notifying without downloading or installing. When prompted for an installation method, choose Custom, uncheck the service pack or patch that you wish to delay or avoid, and then install the rest of the pack. You may be prompted from time to time to download and install the remaining update, but you can decline to do so.
If you have installed update that is giving you problems, you can reverse the damages. If you have Windows System Restore turned on (Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools), you can return to a point before the patch was installed, when your system still worked perfectly (note, however, that doing so may also undo any other recent software installations you may have performed).
The easiest thing to do is 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. Uninstalling the update with the highest number (or the most recent date) 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, especially if you have Automatic Updates turned on. To prevent this from happening, change your Automatic Update profile either to notify you of the latest updates, or to download but not install them.
Update Third-Party Applications
Firefox: Mozilla silently and automatically downloads its browser security updates in the background, it then installs the update the next time you launch the browser. Updates can be checked by clicking Help, followed by Check for Updates.
iTunes and QuickTime:
Every time you launch an Apple application within Windows, Apple does a quick check and then notifies you of the latest release for iTunes or QuickTime. You can also request an update by clicking Help, and then Check for Updates. Sometimes, Apple will push out a notification of a new security update for iTunes and/or QuickTime. When it does, a dialog box will pop up to explain what the update includes.
Flash and Adobe Reader: Adobe, like Apple, pushes out security updates as they are completed and issued. You can also request an update check by clicking Help, and then Check for Updates. In general, you can expect legitimate requests from Adobe to install new updates to appear shortly after you boot into Windows.
Java: Security researchers discovered that insecure older versions of Java remained on the Windows machine, the researchers installed newer, more secure versions of Java. With JRE6 Update 10, Sun now removes older versions of Java, but it doesn’t remove any pre-Update 10 versions; you’ll have to uninstall them yourself.
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