Discount Computers

With easy access to Broadband and DSL the number of people using
the Internet has skyrocket in recent years. Email, instant
messaging and file sharing with other Internet users has also
provided a platform for faster spreading of viruses, Trojans and
Spyware. Being on the Internet without proper protection is like
walking in the rain with no umbrella – you\’re gonna get wet no
matter how fast you run.

With so many computers installed in home offices it becomes
critical that home users install the latest Microsoft patches
when they become available. Older operating systems like Windows
98, Windows Millennium, Windows 2000, or Windows XP prior to
Service Pack require the user to initiate the process of
checking for security patches. Windows XP Service Pack 2 has
changed this and the default settings are now notifying the user
of available updates automatically. This has increased the level
of security in some areas, but there is a very large number of
users and computers that do not install security patches or hot
fixes provided by Microsoft.

How should home users actually handle the task of patching
their computers? As businesses home users should do some
research about the patches that are being installed. Just
installing them and walking away will work for a while, but
sooner or later home users will run into an issue that a patch
breaks something and eventually renders the system useless. So,
what should home users do when new Microsoft patches become
available? First of all – patches are usually released the
second Tuesday of every month. Often these events are commented
in the news and other media. Users should also signup for email
alerts or MSN Messenger alerts at Microsoft\’s security website
at http://www.microsoft.com/security to be aware about updates.

Once patches are available Microsoft recommends installing them
immediately. Depending on the confidence level of the user this
should be done fairly soon after the patch release. If a user
has several systems available it is recommended to test the
patches on the least critical system first before updating all
machines. Only one machine at a time is recommended to keep
track of things and to be able to fix problems. In Windows XP it
is also recommended to create a restore point first so that the
system can revert back to the existing state before patching.
Home users should closely follow the media about virus outbreaks
and updates. Waiting a few days with patching a machine can make
sense if some critical work is done on the computer an important
deadline needs to be kept. Nothing is more annoying than having
to fight computer problems with limited time at hand. Speaking
of time – never install patches without having enough time at
hand. Users should allocate 60 minutes of time just in case. If
something goes wrong time pressure is the last thing you want to
face when troubleshooting a machine that is down.

About the author:
Mr. Christoph Puetz is a successful entrepreneur and also an
international book author. Websites of Christoph Puetz can be
found at Web
Hosting Tutorials and at Highlands Ranch
Colorado.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 30th, 2007 at 6:11 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

With easy access to Broadband and DSL the number of people using
the Internet has skyrocket in recent years. Email, instant
messaging and file sharing with other Internet users has also
provided a platform for faster spreading of viruses, Trojans and
Spyware. Being on the Internet without proper protection is like
walking in the rain with no umbrella – you\’re gonna get wet no
matter how fast you run.

With so many computers installed in home offices it becomes
critical that home users install the latest Microsoft patches
when they become available. Older operating systems like Windows
98, Windows Millennium, Windows 2000, or Windows XP prior to
Service Pack require the user to initiate the process of
checking for security patches. Windows XP Service Pack 2 has
changed this and the default settings are now notifying the user
of available updates automatically. This has increased the level
of security in some areas, but there is a very large number of
users and computers that do not install security patches or hot
fixes provided by Microsoft.

How should home users actually handle the task of patching their
computers? Like businesses home users should do some research
about the patches that are being installed. Just installing them
and walking away will work for a while, but sooner or later home
users will run into an issue that a patch breaks something and
eventually renders the system useless. So, what should home
users do when new Microsoft patches become available? First of
all – patches are usually released the second Tuesday of every
month. Often these events are commented in the news and other
media. Users should also signup for email alerts or MSN
Messenger alerts at Microsoft\’s security website at http://www.microsoft.com/s
ecurity to be aware about updates.

Once patches are available Microsoft recommends to install them
immediately. Depending on the confidence level of the user this
should be done fairly soon after the patch release. If a users
has several systems available it is recommended to test the
patches on the least critical system first before updating all
machines. Only one machine at a time is recommended to keep
track of things and to be able to fix problems. In Windows XP it
is also recommended to create a restore point first so that the
system can revert back to the existing state before patching.
Home users should closely follow the media about virus outbreaks
and updates. Waiting a few days with patching a machine can make
sense if some critical work is done on the computer an important
deadline needs to be kept. Nothing is more annoying than having
to fight computer problems with limited time at hand. Speaking
of time – never install patches without having enough time at
hand. Users should allocate 60 minutes of time just in case. If
something goes wrong time pressure is the last thing you want to
face when troubleshooting a machine that is down.

About the author:
Mr. Christoph Puetz is a successful entrepreneur and also an
international book author. Websites of Christoph Puetz can be
found at http://www.realcreditrepair.info and
http://www.smallbusinessland.com

This entry was posted on Friday, March 23rd, 2007 at 2:00 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.