New ways of hacking, controlling or infecting your PC with a virus are being discovered almost daily.
As these new threats emerge, Microsoft updates its Windows operating system and Microsoft Office applications to block them. However, you need to download the updates regularly to be sure of getting maximum protection.
Why update Windows and Office applications?
Hackers and software manufacturers are engaged in a kind of cat-and-mouse game. Hackers try to find ways to use bugs and loopholes in popular software in order to get a back door into people’s computers. The software developers fix their software as soon as a threat is known, so the hackers can no longer use the methods they’ve discovered.
Imagine your PC is like a house. If passwords are the door key and anti-virus software is your alarm system, installing patches is like making sure that you don’t leave any windows open.
Patches and updates
A patch for an application or operating system is a software utility that fixes any parts of the main application that have become vulnerable or require updating for example, to work with new hardware. You can think of it this way. An encyclopaedia requires constant updating and every year or two a new edition may be published. A patch to an application is like being able to insert new pages in the encyclopaedia rather than publishing 24 new volumes every time there’s a change. Using the Internet patches can be automatically downloaded and installed as soon as a new one is released.
Software manufacturers such as Microsoft may combine a number of updates together with added improvements to their software in one giant patch called a Service Pack. For example, if you are using Windows XP you should make sure that Service Pack 2 has been installed. You can find out by clicking on Help/About in any Windows application then clicking on the “System Info” button. In the System Information window the first line shows the operating system i.e. “Microsoft Windows XP” and the second line the version, which should have the words “service pack 2″.
In Windows XP it is possible to automate the update process. Open the Security Centre in Control Panel and make sure the option for automatic updates is set to “ON”.
To update applications you should regularly visit the software manufacturer’s website to check for updates, patches or service packs.
Benefits of updating
Updating your computer:
* Protects against some viruses.
* Protects against some hacker tricks.
* Improves performance.
* Fixes bugs.
* Adds features.
Updates must be combined with anti-virus, anti-spyware and firewall software to be effective.
Service packs
Service packs combine a number of updates and improvements in one large patch. For Windows XP users, Service Pack 2 offers significant security improvements and it is highly recommended.
How to update
* For Windows, go to the Windows Update site and follow the instructions.
* There are instructions on the site that will enable your computer to automatically download and install updates as they become available.
* For Office applications (Word, Excel, etc.) go to the Office Update site.
* Check with software companies, via their website, periodically for updates for other applications.
