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Automatic Updates

Windows XP has a great Automatic Updates service. With the release of Service Pack 2, that service is now even better. With the ability to set a specific time every day to check and install new updates, you now can schedule a time for your computer to automatically check for and apply updates so that you will not have to visit the Windows Update Web site manually.

Turning on Automatic Updates is a great way to make sure your computer is up-to-date. However, it is a good idea to visit the Windows Update Web site every few months to make sure that Automatic Updates is still working. If it is, then you should not see any critical updates available when you visit the Web site.

Working with the Automatic Update settings is not a difficult task. Just right-click the My Computer icon located in the Start panel or on your desktop and select Properties. Then, click the Automatic Updates tab and specify the setting that you want, and click OK to save your changes. shot of the Automatic Updates screen, with the automatic download and install feature enabled. I selected 12:00 p.m. so my computer will automatically install new updates when I am at lunch and not using my computer. Also, this is a time when it is pretty
much guaranteed that my computer will be on.

As you can see from, there also are settings to automatically download patches that then prompt you to confirm the install as well as a feature that will just notify you of new patches. Unlike the technical security newsletter that was mentioned earlier, the notification of new updates will just give you the basic information instead of all of the technical reasons for the update.

Users also have the ability to turn off Automatic Updates by selecting the last option on the Automatic Update tab. You would have to be crazy to do this unless you plan on checking the Windows update Web sites daily or subscribing to the Microsoft Security Newsletter. The Automatic Updates service does not consume a lot of system resources. The resources that it does consume are well worth it because of the invaluable service that Automatic Updates provides.
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