Windows automatic updates are a good thing. They keep your system patched, so you should
probably leave the updater on.
However, they can be annoying. It's always prompting you, or even automatically rebooting your
system when you walk away for a moment.
I'll tell you how to turn off the automatic updates, only if you promise to manually keep up with the
patches! We don't need another zombie-Windows-machine botnet out there.
Go to Windows Update by clicking the start button, choosing all programs, and then clicking Windows
Update.
On the left side of the panel, click change settings.
In Windows XP, right-click on My Computer and choose the Automatic Updates tab.
You have four levels.
"Automatic," which is the one that may reboot your computer when you're not looking. Although if
you leave your PC on, you can set the time to download and reboot in the middle of the night.
"Download updates for me" will automatically download the updates, but it won't install them until
you say so. No surprise reboots, but annoying little pop-up balloons and sudden bandwidth hogging.
"Notify me but don't do anything automatic," just gives you the pop-up balloons. You decide when to
allocate the bandwidth to download the patches.
And "turn off Automatic updates" will end all the hassle, but it will also leave you vulnerable. You have
to remember to go install the updates at least once a month at http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/
Once you've made your choice, Click OK and then it's up to you to stick to your word.
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