Windows Updates and settings - avoiding the very occassional 'bad ones'

It doesn't happen very often, but when it does - it can be a disaster - the latest was in July 2008 when an MS update caused ZoneAlarm to fail for millions of users around the world. The chaos was made worse by the fact that affected users lost access to the Internet and therefore didn't find out that they were 'one of a million' - they just had a 'broken' Internet and tried to resolve the problem as such.

If you don't understand some or all of the content of this page then click here for a simpler approach.

Windows Update - what are the options and which are right for me?

If the screens you see below don't cause you any concern then you can opt for a Windows Update option that gives you control over what is installed and when.

Although the focus of this page is preventing problems there are also times when you may want to delay the installation of something which Microsoft have deemed 'essential' because you might want to make a full systems backup for instance - just in case you really don't like the new feature(s).

A recent example is when MS made Internet Explorer release 7 (IE7) an 'essential' update and everyone who had automatic updates turned on had to learn how to use the new version and also choose some settings before allowing the user to research them on the Internet - not very user friendly.

	Firstly you should click on the normal Windows Start button (or just press the 'Windows Logo Key' to the bottom left of your keyboard) and then click on 'Control Panel', which is usually half way up the right hand column. Then click on 'Security Centre'
	This is the security centre of XP from Start -> Control Panel -> Security Centre. This dialogue is not simple because the place that you click upon to make changes is where it says 'Security Centre' at the BOTTOM of the page as opposed to all of the status messages with similar text and the illusion of clickable buttons that are prolific above the actual link to click.
	If you are on Broadband there is little downside in leaving the updates on the MS web site until you are ready to review, download and install them typically within a 10-15 minutes period. Bear in mind that updates often require a restart to become effective so you MAY wish to choose a time and day when that is convenient and start the download 20-30 minutes before you are ready to restart. If you are on dial-up then you would benefit from the downloading that can be done whilst you are generally surfing, especially as it happens 'in the background' without much disruption. The only downside is that your choice about installing them is typically 'all or nothing' whereas you get a choice with the option described above and below.
	When there are updates to download you will be prompted by Windows - usually by a 'balloon' notification in the icon area in the far bottom-right of your monitor. You will then see the window to the left. This window cannot be made to default to the 'Custom' setting so you have to remember to select that every time you get this window.
	This window allows you to be selective about the updates that you download and gives you the control to avoid a bad update as long as you are aware that there is one and you know which of them to deselect. Obviously you click on 'Install' when you are happy that the list is what you want.

If you have now changed your settings from Automatic to something where you have to 'opt-in' to the action being taken then you need two things:

1. Remember that you will almost certainly need to apply the updates sooner or later and even if you are a 'safe surfer' then you are at risk for a little longer now
2. Knowledge of when an update has got some potential downside! To that end we are considering creating a distribution list of people who would like to be notified of any likely problems with Windows Updates or indeed more than likely - not the case! If that would be of interest to you then please use the Contact us to tell us of your interest, OTHERWISE we suggest that you bookmark the following Google query as a basic method of discovering any large-scale, generic problems such as the recent problems with Zonealarm.

   For a very, VERY brief comment about the status of patches then click here for a summary without details.

If you don't understand some/all of the content of this page

We suggest that you:

1. Make a note of the telephone number(s) to call in case of service failure(s) - there is a page here with a few hints and a form that you can use to document the contact details that you may need
2. Bookmark the following page to use when you have connectivity problems... http://83.223.125.162/ or call 0844 884 2244*¹¹
3. Turn Automatic Updates ON - apply automatically
4. Make a note in your diary if it's easy to do so that every 2nd Tuesday of the month is 'Patch Tuesday' and if the next time you restart (boot) your PC after that you have a problem then you MAY want to refer to the page of hints above as you MAY have been given an update from MS that has caused the problem.

I hope the information above has been useful, let me know if not! Any Comments, suggestions or corrections to: Contact us please. This would be especially useful if the software environment you have is different to mine and the headings, text or prompts are different.