Other Windows Update Settings

You can also hide an update if you do not want to install it. If Windows consistently asks you to install an update and you have no desire to, just hide the update. To hide an update, right-click the update you want to hide and select Hide Update from the shortcut menu. Hiding an update is helpful because you essentially filter the list to display only those updates you're interested in. If you want to see hidden updates again, click Restore Hidden Update in the Tasks list of the Windows Update applet. To install an update, it must not be hidden. If an update is hidden and you do want to install it, restore the update first and then install.

Also, after every update, you can view the installed updates by clicking View Update History, which visually shows you all updates that were installed (or attempted), whether the update installation was successful, the priority of the update, and the date of installation.

Windows Update also allows you to change certain settings pertaining to updating. By clicking Change Settings, you will see options for Windows automatic updating, recommended updates, and which users can install them.

The Important Updates section offers four drop-down menu items that affect automatic updates. The default setting is to install updates automatically at a set time. You may change this setting if you want to (1) choose which updates to install or (2) choose the updates before downloading. The ability to selectively install updates is valuable. Without choosing one of these options, Windows may automatically restart your system, in which case open or unsaved files could be damaged or lost. If you're the type of user who always reads and responds to system messages, consider changing to one of these settings-automatic updates are important to your system, but you do not want them to ruin your important work. The last option, Never Check for Updates, is strongly discouraged by Microsoft.

When would you use the fourth option, to turn off updates altogether? In general, we'd rule that out as an intelligent option, with two exceptions:

• If you have a computer that is almost always off the Internet or a LAN, is "mission critical" (has to be up and running), and rarely if ever has new software (including email) added to it, this is a potential candidate. When we get such a dedicated system running, we don't have much interest in tempting fate with software or system upgrades.
• If you're running and maintaining PCs in a corporate setting. These PCs are connected to the Internet and probably on a corporate network. You want to rigorously test updates before you install them across the corporation's PCs because Microsoft patches and updates can sometimes break your applications' features in subtle ways.

New to Windows 7 is the Allow All Users to Install Updates on this Computer option, which is selected by default. Previous versions of Windows required the user to be logged on as Administrator to manually install updates. This new option lets standard users install all updates, including optional updates, without prompting for administrative credentials. We recommend leaving this option selected on standalone computers.

Finally, the Change Settings window also includes a Microsoft Update check box that enables you to receive updates for Microsoft products and check for new optional Microsoft software when you update Windows.

Note All updates that pertain to maintenance and support for Microsoft products are free.