How Do You Keep Your Computer Patched and Up to Date?

According to researchers behind a white paper on computer vulnerabilities the typical Windows user has to patch their computer an average of 75 times a year. Many simply ignore the task. We want to hear how you keep things current.

Photo by Sam Howzit.

Over at the computer-centric blog Computerworld they highlight a security white paper published by the Secunia company:




Secunia has a free tool called Personal Software Inspector that assists users in determining which portion of their operating system or installed software needs to be patched based on releases from the software vendors—it doesn't, however, download or install the patches for you. They analyzed the data from millions of users and determined the average Windows user needs to patch software every 4.9 days to keep everything completely current. That isn't Windows Updates mind you, but updating all the various applications on their PC.

In light of what a pain it would be to constantly keep on top of updates, we'd love to hear what solutions you're using to make managing updates easier. Sound off in the comments below with your tips, tricks, software tools, and other patch-related wisdom to help your fellow readers stay on top of updates and patches. If you've never considered what a burden keeping your software updated is, nor thought about getting a program to do so, start your research by reading our Hive Five on the topic.