Software Updates

Software Updates and Maintenance Question and Answers

Software is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. Most likely if you have a piece of software that is more than a few weeks old, it probably has a few updates available for you to download. The two most common types of updates are functionality and repair. Functionality updates usually include a new feature, increased user friendliness, and/or a new of utilizing the resources available. Repair updates usually include bug fixes and the filling of security holes.

There are two easy to use methods of updating your software. One method is a proprietary program that scans your software version and compares it against a vendors copy and displays what updates (if any) are available for you to download and install. Another, more hands-on, method is to visit the vendor’s website, find your software, find the most recent version, download it, and manually execute the update.

Windows Update

Windows Update is probably the most widely accessible method of obtaining software updates from the manufacturer. Despite its ease of use, we discourage the clients that we make regular check-ups on to use this tool. The reason being that even though the updates were put out by the manufacturer, there is a chance (albeit a small one) that the update may do more harm than good. This is most commonly seen in the Service Packs that Microsoft puts out periodically. If this happens and we are not there to repair the damage, it could result in a costly visit from us in order to keep your business flowing smoothly. If you must install a Windows update yourself, please research the update/service pack thoroughly to make sure people are not having any problems with it.

Antivirus Update

Perhaps the most updatable pieces of software are Antivirus programs (Norton and McAfee to name a few). The reason being is that there are an estimated 100 new viruses a week ranging from harmless to destructive in intensity. In order to do their best to keep up with this ever increasing threat, Antivirus companies have begun to put out almost weekly updates (or virus definitions) to their products which allow for greater protection. Most of these Antivirus products have optional built-in automatic updaters that will log on to the vendors secure servers and download the latest updates so you will continue to be protected. If that method is disabled, it is fairly easy to visit the vendor’s website and manually download and execute the definitions.

BIOS Update

The most potentially damaging update that anyone could perform is updating the software on your BIOS (otherwise known as “flashing” your BIOS). If done incorrectly, it could turn your brand new $5,000 machine into one of the world’s most expensive paperweights. The only reason one would have for flashing their BIOS would be to possibly allow the motherboard greater upgradeability and it should only be done by a highly experienced computer technician.

Networking Update

While updating the firmware of your company’s router may not be one of the first things that come to mind when thinking of software updates, but it could save your business money. Communication is one of the most integral parts of any business model, if the rate at which you communicate with your coworkers, clients, or vendors degrade past a certain point then your business may start to suffer. To keep the lines of data communication working at their best, it is recommended that one of our highly trained computer technicians check your routers, hubs, firewalls, and switches on a regular basis to make sure they are running at peak performance so your business can get more done securely.

Keeping Software within Supported Versions

Just because there is a new version of your software available does not mean that it is the best. In fact, with a few programs the latest version causes more problems than the previous one and may even result in data loss. That means that it is extremely important for your IT division to research any update and make sure that there is adequate support for it before implementation.

Preventative Maintenance

We included regular software updates where it would be beneficial for our clients so they would not be bogged down with out of date software that could potentially result in lost revenue. With an experienced computer technician performing the updates, it takes less time and if anything should go awry they can repair it without incident.

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