To Update or not to Update..

Windows Update is a trusted source but not without its Flaws. But without going into details and slamming Microsoft (As I won't, I LOVE PC, and PC in our day and age is MICROSOFT), I am going to cover some basic Do's and Don'ts in relation to your computer and running UPDATES.

Some Basics:

If the Update request is coming in the form of a pop-up - Don't do it from the pop up. Even I would not know for sure if it is not a cleverly disguised piece of Mal ware trying to attach itself to my machines system registry. It could be dangerous. Instead close it using the RED X in the upper right hand of the POP - Up window, and then run the update from your START button or their official website.

In Vista you can do this by simply typing "UPDATE" in the Start Search above the start button, and in XP you'll see it in the All Programs menu- In these searches you will see updates for both your Windows and for the Manufacturer, unless you have a Hybrid or Modded machine in which case you should already know what your doing. If not you'll want to contact the person that built your CUSTOM machine and find out the proper way to get your DRIVER updates.

There are three basic types of UPDATES:

Software Operating System (OS) Updates: From Microsoft, for your Vista and or Xp system.

Hardware Updates: That come from your computers manufacturer (HP, Dell, Toshiba).

Program Updates: That are specific to programs installed on your machine and are not limited to the ones preinstalled on your machine to run other functions and features of your computer. A good example of this is Adobe, Direct X, Java.

All of these can be run by accessing their home pages directly or by opening and accessing their UPDATE software on your machine. See other articles on my blog list for what not to run and install, such as Tool bars of Death.

The greatest thing to look out for in these POP - UPs are fake security software's and other tidbits of junk that like to make your machine their home, see more on this in the section titled Rogue Ware~

Here is a classic example of malicious Pop ups trying to convince you that they can help you fix and clean your machine.

As my grandfather used to say, "If you want a job done right, you have to do it yourself - and you save a lot of money that way too."

These types of software can do all numbers of BAD things to you and your machine- from identity theft to fooling a lot of people into buying their services which are honestly BOGUS.

The other thing that you can do is remember what site you went to when the POP up occurred and let others know. Don't go there again. Most popular sites as example - http://www.cnn.com/ , http://www.fox.com/ , http://www.cbs.com/ , have built in protection software to clean these types of pesky enemies off their domain.

Other examples of security is http://www.google.com/ (whom I also love but don't like their add- on software), whom has a secured search page yes - but the moment you click a link you are now no longer in GOOGLES domain and no longer protected by them.

A good comparison is say http://www.myspace.com/ , which is secured when your on their site, except for two things, spy ware (which people install on their machines like its going out of style, and macros, such as fancy pointers and the like, and glittery flash buttons etc etc) and when you click an external site link. My Space does have the common sense to let you know ... " ah, yeah your leaving My Space now, and if you get infected or your machine blows up - well, we are not responsible. Are you sure you want to leave My Space?" We click yes. Well technically unless you have been to the site before, you can get infected with spy ware at the very least. I have.

Web e-mails have built in security as well, such as http://www.yahoo.com/ or http://www.gmail.com/ or even http://www.hotmail.com/ to name a few. Most e-mail based sites have several layers of antivirus , spy ware and malware protection built in, and if you are paranoid like I am, in your e-mail you can also turn on e-mail antivirus scanning. Web based e-mail is safe in general until you open that e-mail that you shouldn't of. Be cautious.

Another trusted location for updates are located in your SYSTEM TRAY:

This area is located in the bottom right hand corner of your computer screen. This is a place you want to keep clean of unneeded start-up programs and the like. However when a REAL program needs an update- this is the official place it should notify you. Unless you have already installed something you shouldn't have- then this area of your computer should be safe updates...

Again my name is Stephen,

I am an A+ Technician for a MAJOR computer Manufacturer,

I have a Local In-Home repair service company called Tech Underground~

And an Online remote assistance and training company called PCSpyder!

All feedback is welcome and if you have questions or ideas for articles please feel free to post a comment or shoot me an e-mail. You can also check http://www.pcspyder.net/ for live chat, I and my friends have opened this channel to help as much as possible. If you would like to chat through there and can't seem to catch me online- simply send me an e-mail and we will sync up.

LAST NOTE:

One thing to be sure, know your update and pay attention to the last update you did. This way when you start to have errors and the like, you can simply RESTORE your machine back a day and not loose your data, or even uninstall the update manually from your programs list. This will keep you running optimally and with fewer errors going forward.

Have fun! And happy computing!

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