The most common mistake that Windows users make is believing that the Windows Automatic Updates will keep your Operating Systems up-to-date. The only thing that the Automatic updates will keep up-to-date are the security updates for the OS and in some cases a Service Pack. From the day you purchased your computer the OS is out of date and needs to be brought current with not only the security updates but software updates to other important areas of the OS. To explain this better, let's say that you purchased your computer when the OS was first introduced, there will be plenty of "nuances" in your OS that may cause programs and possibly the OS to perform not as expected. But for now let say that everything is working just fine. A year down the road you purchase a program from the store or the internet and install it. The program does not work as expected and you blame the program, however this may not be totally the problem. This new program you purchased may have been developed on a totally updated OS, meaning that there have been several OS updates (not security updates) to the OS. The possible reason that your program is not working is because it expects an OS that is updated and yours hasn't been since you took your computer out of the box. This can possibly cause crashes and such of the program for it is expecting one thing to happen and something else does! It's like purchasing a new car and never changing the oil. Yes, it may run fine; but somewhere down the road you are going to have problems and the life expectance and reliability of the car will drop considerably.

This same concept holds true for your computer also. If you don't do the MANUAL Custom Updates, it's like not doing an oil change; It's only a matter of time... To do your updates is simple but does take time. In XP go to Start->Programs->Windows Updates or in Internet Explorer Tools->Windows Update or Safety->Windows Updates depending on the IE version. In Windows Update you will eventually get a screen to select Standard or Custom, select custom then select all outstanding updates except Windows Search 4.0 (this update actually slows down your computer). Allow the computer to download and install the updates. After installing the updates you may be required to restart the computer. You will need to follow this procedure many times until Windows Updates states there are no other updates to install. Do this about once a month to keep current! And by the way you can also opt-in for Microsoft Update while doing Windows Update so that your Microsoft Programs get their updates also.

The misconception about virus/malware/spyware programs is that they automatically protect you from everything. The problem with this kind of thinking is like going to the Doctor to get treated for an infection and the Doctor gives you some penicillin for the infection and you promptly take the medication home then put it in your medicine cabinet. You need to realize that you are only protected if you take the medication and even then it does not protect you from everything. The same holds true for you Anit-Virus and Malware software, you have to update the definitions and run the scans to be protected. Another misconception is that you only need an Anti-Virus program to protect you, this could not be further from the truth. You actually need about three different programs to be protected comfortably, Anti-Virus, Malware and Spyware protection. NEVER count on one program to do all three, it just doesn't work. It's like counting on one pill from the Doctor to handle all illnesses. We use SmitFraudFix, MalwareBytes, SuperAntiSpyware, Spyware Doctor and AVG 9.0 and we are very confident that we catch everything (as long as we keep the program definitions updated properly and run the scans). One important thing to remember... most free anti-virus / anti-malware / anti-spyware will NOT run automatically. They may require you to manually run the programs to remove the infections that you have gotten on your computer AFTER it has infected your computer. The paid versions of the same programs will generally offer real time protection and can be configured to run automatically giving you protection BEFORE the infection invades your computer.

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