Last week, some of my friends drove me mad! I had three requests from them with regards to viruses and Trojans on their computers. One of them had been advised by an “IT expert” to buy a new hard drive (!?) instead of simply making sure that all system updates are in place and that Antivirus is running properly.

I have realised how many people out there still keep their system vulnerable to attacks from viruses and how many “IT experts” shouldn’t ever touch a computer (and certainly not charge for their “expertise”). Although, I was not going to write on this blog technical articles and tips, I’ve decided to write a few articles about keeping your system safe. This one is the first in the series.

These simple steps are for Windows XP, since many people are still using XP, though the same rules can be applied to Windows Vista. I would strongly recommend following them if you do not know much about security and updates issues.

Microsoft releases software updates about once a month to keep Windows XP safe from Internet viruses, and you need to install these updates to keep your computer safe.

If you do not want to check for new updates, Windows XP can do it for you automatically; you only need to make sure that the Automatic Updates feature is working correctly.

Click on Microsoft Update or using Internet Explorer go to http://update.microsoft.com web site. Once the page is opened you will see on the right side of the page the current status of Automatic Updates.

If it is like the picture to the right, you do not need to do anything (this is what Microsoft advises you to do). Click on Pick a time to install updates and check whether the time you have selected for automatic updates is set to a time when your computer is on and connected to the Internet. Please read the paragraph after on why to do that.

If Automatic Updates is turned off, click Turn on Automatic Updates.

You will receive an Automatic Updates window. Don’t click on OK straight away. By default you are prompted to install updates every day at 3 am. If your computer is not on at 3am, you better not select this option! Choose a time when your computer is going to be on and when it is connected to the Internet, otherwise you will not be able to install updates on time.

As a general rule, Microsoft releases updates on the second Tuesday of each month, known as Patch Tuesday, so a daily check is not necessary – weekly is better. Therefore, you can select the installation, for example every Wednesday.

Once you have selected appropriate time, then click OK.

PS. If you favour hibernate or standby modes, make sure that from time to time you restart your computer for updates to be installed.

Good Luck!