The following tip will help you set up your computer so that it will update itself whenever possible and keep your operating system up-to-date and secure. We'll be sharing a tool to help eliminate the inconvenience of updating from your shoulders and automate it to keep it off your mind.
The windows operating system is a very large target for malware creators. Not keeping windows updated is a recipe for disaster. Luckily, Windows comes with a built-in update tool.
You want your windows update screen to look like the one above.
Depending on which version of windows you are running, Windows Update may look slightly different. The screen shot above is from the Windows Action Center in Windows 7. The important aspect, regardless of which version of Windows you are using, is automating the process. The screen shot below shows windows 7 configured to download updates and install them automatically.
For painless and automated updating, you want to set Windows Update to "Install Updates Automatically", set a time that best works with your schedule, and set it to retrieve the recommended as well as critical updates by selecting "Recommended Updates".
If you'd like to be more cautious concerning updates you can always set your Windows Updates to download but not install the files. This adds a small bit of world for you, but it lets you sit on a major update for a few days to see if it plays nice with systems in the real world. Setting your computer to automatically download the updates but not install them gives you the ability to choose individually which updates will be installed, but the ease of having them already on your machine waiting. See Screenshot.
If you don't have Windows Update enabled, now is the time to go to the start button and type "Windows Update" in the search box to turn it on. It's free, it keeps your system secure, and with a few mouse clicks now it'll be automated forever.
