Scheduling Updates
Next to scheduling scans, scheduling virus-signature updates is one of the most important ways to use your antivirus program. Getting updates is what your antivirus program does when it needs to get information on all of the latest viruses. It is important to keep your antivirus program up to date in order to stop any of the new viruses that are circulating around.
Most human beings don't remember to do these updates - or have better things to do than chase all over the Internet looking for new virus signatures. This is why antivirus programs let you specify how often to do the updates automatically. Then the antivirus program can go and do the updates all by itself without your having to remember.
How you connect to the Internet
Your antivirus program needs to know how you connect to the Internet. If you have a high-speed cable modem or DSL connection, you would tell the antivirus program that you have a "direct" connection.
If, on the other hand, you are a twentieth-century throwback who uses dial-up access to connect to the Internet, you do have a bit more configuring to do.
How often to update
How frequently you will need to update your antivirus definitions depends on three factors:
The nature of your Internet connection
Is it dial-up? DSL? Cable? If it is one of the latter (or another variety of high-speed connection), update frequently.
How vital your computer is to you
Do you use it to make your living? If you do (or if it performs some other function that you can't do without), update frequently.
What kinds of activities you perform on your computer
Do you receive great bogs of e-mail every day? You guessed it: Update frequently.
If you use dial-up connectivity, do only a little e-mail, use Webbased mail (where your service provider may be scanning your messages for you), or mostly use your computer for entertainment, then you can update less frequently. (Hard-core gamers, conversely, may want take into consideration the amount of time they have invested in working up to demigod level in their favorite computer game and update a bit more frequently, as well.)
So, how often to update? Well, after you assess the level of risk you are comfortable with, you can follow the guidelines in Table below.
How Often to Update Virus Signatures
| How Often to Update | Your Usage Patterns |
| Every three days | Dial-up connection to the Internet Low volume of e-mail Hobby and entertainment |
| Every day | Dial-up or high-speed Internet connection More e-mail Some file sharing |
| Every four hours | High-speed, "always-on" Internet connection High volume of e-mail Lots of file sharing |
If your computer activities are high-risk and/or high-value, then it makes sense to update the antivirus signatures more frequently. If this is important to you, then you should be sure to choose an antivirus product that lets you specify how frequently it will check for updates.
Unlike scanning your computer for viruses, updates are fairly low-impact. If you have a high-speed "always on" connection, you could update your virus definitions every hour if you like. In fact, if your usage patterns entailed lower risk (say, if you have a low volume of e-mail, or use the computer for hobbies and entertainment), you could still update as frequently as every hour if you have a high-speed, always-on connection. Why not? The antivirus software company does not limit how frequently you are permitted to check for updates, so it is really up to you.
If you are still not sure how often to update your virus signatures, generally you will be fine as long as you update at least once each week. It is better to check for updates more frequently, but more frequently than every hour or two is overkill.
If you are still wavering, set your antivirus program to update once per day. Don't be too surprised if you feel better afterward.