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March 2009
Tell yourself: "I will update my computers regularly!"
No matter what brand of computer you use, no matter what operating system you run, no matter what applications you have installed, it's critical that you stay current with the software updates available for your computers.
Microsoft, makers of the popular Windows family of operating systems and the equally popular family of Office products (Word, Excel, etc.), has what they call "Patch Tuesday". That is, on the 2nd Tuesday of every month, Microsoft releases all the latest patches, updates, and service packs for their software. Occasionally, when a super-serious flaw is found in one of their programs, they will release an "out of cycle" patch. All software companies have a system in place to update their products as flaws are discovered and patched. Be it free or commercial, operating system or application, all software requires regular maintenance to keep it up-to-date.
So, what's the big deal? Security.
The "bad guys" on the Internet are constantly looking for new ways to penetrate your network and infiltrate your computer systems. These days, they're in it for profit, and they are motivated! It's a never ending and constantly escalating arms-race between the "bad guys" and the software companies. Whenever a new flaw is found that allows an attacker to exploit some piece of software, the software maker must figure out how to plug that hole in their program before the damage becomes too severe. There's an entire vocabulary of jargon around this world: virus, malware, trojans, back-doors, zero-day exploits, etc. The simple fact is, if you have a computer turned on and connected to the Internet, it is under attack and it's your job to defend your turf!
There are many fronts that you can defend yourself on, and you must stay on top of all of them. Here I'm discussing only one front: regular updates of your systems. Since most of the people reading this are running Windows XP as an operating system, that's what I'll use for my examples. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, it's my opinion that you should enable the Automatic Update feature of Windows so that it can automatically download and install updates as they become available. Now, you must understand that this is only for the Windows operating system. It will not update applications that you have installed. For example, there have been numerous updates to the free Adobe Acrobat Reader lately because there have been a number of serious exploits found for that program. Updating that program is a different procedure, and it is up to you to perform.
In Windows XP, to check and/or change your update settings, start by going to the Control Panel, then open up Security Center. Here, you'll see the status of your Firewall settings (it should be ON), your Automatic Updates, and your Virus Protection (it should be ON). Near the bottom of this screen, you'll have a heading "Manage security settings for:". Click on "Automatic Updates".
If you normally leave your computer on all the time, then the default of "Automatic" at 3:00 AM should be fine for you. However, if you don't normally leave your computer on, pick a different time that will work for you. Many people pick 12 Noon so the updates will happen during their lunch hour.
Be aware that these updates frequently require a reboot of the computer when the install is finished. So, if your computer is performing some critical task, it would not be a good idea for you to choose the fully automatic option. I heard of a story recently where a number of PC's used in a hospital operating room all rebooted at the same time during surgery because they'd all been set to fully automatic updates! NOT cool!
Remember, while updating your operating system is critically important, it is only one battle front that you must defend. I'll be addressing more of those fronts in future articles.
-Farren