Updating Tools & Services

You should, subscribe to alerting services that will inform you of vulnerabilities and patches and then update your software when necessary. You should be aware that it can takes weeks from the time Microsoft releases an alert and associated patch to the time that they  put a patch into their customer updating services. You should assess the risk that the vulnerability may pose and decide whether you need to manually update or wait for the patch to be published in the update service.

The following tools and services can help keep Microsoft Windows systems up to date.

Microsoft Windows & Office Automatic Updates

These services automatically update your software (after prompting for your confirmation when you access the Internet) See your product documentation and help files for further information. Microsoft has a page about updating as part of their security site at http://www.microsoft.com/security.   

Microsoft Windows Update

This system can be used for home users and corporate administrators alike. You can use Windows Update to install newly available patches and updates to device drivers and Microsoft products relevant to your system. Home users should select Windows Update from the Start menu or go to go to  http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/. The pages also provides more information on the update service, including corporate functions.