Updates to apply

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Recently we have seen many infected machines which had functioning anti-virus, unfortunately this is not enough nowdays to stop you getting infected.

We have thus written this short guide to help people get the correct updates on to their machines, which should help in the ongoing fight against fraudsters and malware.

Proviso: Please back up any important data regularly and definitely before applying the updates listed here.

Also please note, we don't own the copyright to any images on this page and they may or may not be the most current versions you will see, but are used as illustrations of the various logos these commonly installed products use.


Contents

Updates Windows computers need

Windows Updates

image:windowsupdate.jpg


The first set of updates your Windows PC needs are Microsoft Windows Updates. Many PCs automatically download these, some PCs automatically install these. If you don't install the critical security updates microsoft issues via windows update, you are likely to get infected by using the internet or even by just being connected to the internet.

To check if your XP or Vista machine is up to date please go to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ Windows 7 machines need to run the windows update command (in start, all programs, windows update). We prefer to always do custom updates from the microsoft site, but express updates will work for most people as well.

Note: if you have not updated your machine for a long time you could be doing this for a few hours. Just remember the longer the updates take the more vulnerable you were before you started applying them.

Java Updates

image:java.jpg


Java is a programming language that many websites and applications use. Your computer contains a Java virtual machine which unfortunately gets attacked by the criminals. The people that distribute Java do however fix known exploits. If you don't get these fixes, going to infected websites will result in you getting infected.

To update java (the steaming coffee cup icon) you are best going to http://www.java.com There you will find a tool to test if your java is up to date and also downloads to get the latest version.

Java updates are usually small and often missed by people. To see if you have the latest jave you can look at add-remove programs or programs in windows control panel. You should have just 1 java virtual machine, which currently is version 6 update 25 (as of May 2011). Earlier versions of java should be un-installed (if you have more than 1).

Anti-Virus Updates

Most users know they should updates these. An old out of date anti-virus program is a waste of time and is offering a false sense of security. If your anti-virus program won't update or has disapearred you may have a virus or need to buy a new subscription. (check out our offers on AVG )

Adobe Acrobat Reader updates

image:adobereader.jpg


These patch the common free Adobe PDF reader application. As they fix known exploits they should be applied. Just running the Adobe reader should inform you if there are updates, otherwise look for a red box with a 3 legged symbol in it or go to http://www.adobe.com

Other Microsoft updates

image:microsoftupdate.jpg


If you run Microsoft Office or other Microsoft tools, you can get updates by going to http://update.microsoft.com A number of security fixes are released for these products and should be applied.

Adobe flash and shockwave

image:adobeflash.jpgimage:Adobeshockwave.jpg


Both of these media plugins need to be up to date or else you could get infected by running old versions.

You get the latest versions of both programs from http://www.adobe.com

Codecs

Codecs are media player plugins to display music and video. They are a great way for a virus writer toinfect your machine, as when you download a new codec you can also be downloading a hidden trojan virus.

We recommend getting a pack of good codecs and NEVER download any others when prompted. Good codecs can be from sources like the Klite codec pack at http://www.codecguide.com/

Once you have an up to date set of codecs you should not allow any media player to go get software to view video content.

Updates for other software

Basically if you run software and it says it needs updating, read what it says carefully as its probably worth doing the update. Out of date software is probably going to be a security vulnerability or may have other bugs.

Final Advice

Of course if all of this seems a bit complicated we are here to help. You can Contact us for support or bring a machine in to us to have a service, for a reasonable fee we will put all these updates on and make sure your PC is optimised as well.

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