One of the most popular questions we are asked is “How often do I need to update my computer?”. It’s a time-honoured cybersecurity practice: Apply all security patches and Windows updates. They help protect your computers and servers against newly discovered security holes and potential threats. They also may add new features.
In this blog we will discuss why windows updates are important to be done regularly and when is the best time to update.
What are Microsoft Updates?
Microsoft Update is a service that allows for the periodic patching of system files to address known issues with Microsoft products. We sometimes refer to them as Windows Updates (as that is what they were referred to in the past), it was specifically focused on Operating System patches for Windows. More recently, however, it has been expanded to include all Microsoft products and that is why the name has changed to Microsoft Update, allowing the automated patching of non-OS software such as Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office.
They are organized into several categories.
- Security Updates – These updates patch security vulnerabilities that could allow a system to become compromised. These updates are classified as Critical, Important, Moderate, Low, or non-rated. Critical Security Updates are by far the most important updates to apply to your system. Ignoring these could leave your computer or server vulnerable to hackers and malicious code.
- Critical Updates – Critical Updates fix any major issue that is found in Microsoft products that could cause unexpected behaviour. or software errors. Security Updates and Critical Updates are both in the “High Priority” category of updates from Microsoft and should be set to download and install automatically.
- Software Updates – Non-critical issues, such as new features and small bugs, are addressed using Software Updates.
- Service Packs – Service Packs contain a bunch of all patches to date for a specific piece of software or operating system and usually have additional feature changes.
Why Should I Update?
Microsoft Updates prevent issues. Although there are occasions when updates cause a new problem to appear, generally speaking, they “help” more than they “hurt”. Not only do Microsoft Updates fix known bugs in software and operating systems, but they plug critical security holes that could potentially cause harm. Microsoft vulnerabilities are actively exploited in countless viruses, which could have been easily prevented by maintaining updates.
Help me Stay Secure
Automatic Updates – Updated Microsoft Operating Systems have an Automatic Update feature built-in that lets you define a time to download and install High Priority updates. Although simple to configure there are several setbacks to using this method:
- All High Priority updates get applied without any intervention. This means updates can often conflict with existing software or may fail and cause other issues.
- Other updates are not applied automatically. It is not uncommon to see client computers missing several beneficial updates because no one took the time to install them manually.
- Automatic Updates can be disabled by the end-user and leave the entire network vulnerable. This is very common and is the cause of many out-of-date machines.
Centralized Update Software – Server-based update applications such as Windows Server Update Services can resolve many of the issues that come with having each computer responsible for updating itself. However, there are also some drawbacks:
- Setup requires a high level of knowledge in order to be successful. When it is configured, it is often done incorrectly, resulting in clients not receiving some or all patches.
- The local storage requirements can range from15GB to 70GB. The processing and storage overheads can easily overwhelm an older server.
- IT staff must maintain these updates. Whether it is routine reboots on the server itself or checking reports to verify updates are being processed. This can add an extra workload to your staff.
Use a Managed Service Provider like Reis Informatica– This is by far the most effective way to maintain your updates and provide the best security. Choosing a Managed Service Provider like Reis Informatica can help your team when it comes to monitoring your software and applying needed patches as soon as they are available. Not only that but we can help when it comes to safely reboot critical servers and troubleshooting any update issues that arise. This takes the process and responsibility of patching completely off the shoulders of your internal employees and places it in the hands of experienced IT professionals.
How Do I Sign up for Managed Services?
Reis Informatica has offered ManagedCare Services for more than a decade. We have fine-tuned it to help you get exceptional results. We know what it takes to create a successful partnership, whatever your IT and cybersecurity needs are. For a low monthly fee we will deploy our monitoring agent and not only provide you with Patch Management, but you’ll enjoy other benefits such as 24/7/365 monitoring for system failures and instant access to our team of professionals for support.
So that covers why windows updates are important to be done regularly. Now let us help you get started! Contact us today to get started and schedule your complimentary Business Systems Assessment below.
