There are two major reasons for patches: one is to fix any little bugs or problems in the programmes you run, and the second is to apply pieces of software to increase your system’s security. These patches need to be applied to your computer, but most importantly they need to be applied to your server.
Virtually every program on your computer will need a patch at some point – no software program is perfect. Plus, hackers are always trying to find new ways to infiltrate servers and PCs - so new security patches are constantly being developed to stop them.
Each of our clients has different software requirements, meaning that each patch needs to be looked at individually to ascertain if it works with the client’s systems. This is why we do the monthly updates manually rather than automatically.
Proving that nothing is foolproof - if a patch is poorly designed it can cause new problems. For this reason, at IT Partners we test patches on our own systems first before releasing them to our clients. Microsoft releases its non-urgent patches on a monthly basis. But if there is a security breach, a patch will be released immediately.
So, please remember to shut your computer down regularly to allow the updates to be applied, and we’ll take care of the rest!