OS Patches and Fixes – A necessity? (Part 2)
Some Service Packs have been hailed as a total waste of time, as in the case of Vista SP1 which many users hailed as a partial flop due to the un-noticeable difference in the performance and security of those with them installed and those without them. So for savings in time and effort, one is advised to carefully read the upgrade/service pack descriptors so one knows what is about to be installed and if they are really needed. Some updated may have already been installed by auto update so installing the SP isn’t that essential. There are however some things that these developers do not tell you which comes in forms of very critical updates that are done non-verbosely meaning without the user’s knowledge or detailed knowledge. These may come in the form of patches that are to correct a very elementary problem that leaves a desktop or just about any system vulnerable that was unknowingly left out of the programmers and developers. The auto update feature of windows has the ability to tell you that updates are ready for your system from the Microsoft web page but clicking install and update simply updates them without giving you the details of what and which programs are to be updated. Like the Windows Genuine Advantage tool Microsoft included with patches that suddenly left users unable to connect to the Microsoft Update site itself leaving people pissed and mad about the incident. Microsoft was suppose to use the tool to search for pirated copies of it’s OS’s which would result in denial of access to resources such as the update site. These problems were corrected after a deluge of complaints; the WGA program was also suspended for sometime, but re-instated after the bugs were identified and fixed. Others looked at the tool as spyware with most not opting to install or even trying to uninstall the said tool which was automatically installed by AutoUpdate.
Be mindful of the updates that are being installed onto your computer and try to learn as much as possible about the process by going to the auto update FAQ’s so you get the stuff you need as you need them. That way, you avoid loosing precious space on your hard drives while keeping your system in tip-top shape. More info on the following posts from the IT Security Blog regarding the need for such updates and the problems that arise from them.
Categories: Downloading Legally, Providers, Resources
