I just bought a brand new computer so everything must be up-to date…right? The answer in a word is-No!

Each computer manufacturer builds a computer using a series of components known as hardware and software that either they manufacture or purchase from a third party. It is the computer manufacturer's responsibility to make sure that every component functions correctly when working together as a group within the computer. As a result, they select all the computer parts, test their compatibility, and then "lock down" the build series. One of the difficulties with this process is that software is always evolving. As a result of this evolution, the third party software manufacturer will create a series of software "patches" that typically fix bugs (incompatibilities), security issues or minor improvements after the build "lock down." Over several months quite a few "patches" are created to update their software. As example, Microsoft's Windows XP is up to its third service pack that contains many patches and their new Windows Vista that came out in March 2007 already has a numer of patches. The computer manufacturer build "lock down" will not include all these changes since it would require retesting the entire machine each time a patch is issued.

Do not despair. Microsoft has made it easy to keep their operating system software up-to-dater.

Remember, the most important piece of software to keep up-to-date is your Virus Definition software. This should be done once a week through a yearly subscription with your AntiVirus software vendor.