Computer Updates
By marcyaz
@Marcyaz (35316)
United States
September 12, 2015 10:45am CST
Computer updates drive me crazy do they you?
Something is always asking for an update, should we do the update or not? Is it safe? Will it cause more headaches than it is worth.
Here are my thoughts and some advice on what to update and what not to update.
Windows: Generally, Windows will update itself. The newest versions of Windows are set to update in the middle of the night or when you turn your computer off. This is a good thing. Windows should take care of itself. However it can be annoying in that some of the updates take a long time and will not finish updating until you turn the computer on again. Some users become confused or impatient and turn the computer back off again when it appears unresponsive. This can cause problems. Be patient and let Windows updates finish.
Adobe: This usually comes in two forms, Acrobat and Flash. It is important to keep these two updated, especially Flash. Flash is a program that is used on many Internet websites. Unfortunately, Flash is past its prime and is not very safe. Because of this Flash needs to be updated a lot to keep it safe. Acrobat is a program that can open up and view PDF documents.
Java: See Adobe Flash above. The identical is true for Java. Have you ever seen a message while at a website saying something about an unresponsive script? That is almost certainly a Java script that is not working right.
Since I've mentioned Java and Flash, let me say that there is talk about doing away with the two and replacing them with a new code called HTML5.
Unfortunately, the makers of websites will need to overhaul their sites in order to do this and it is expensive to overhaul a website.
Other updates depend on the software you have installed on your computer. It is best to keep this software updated for security reasons as well.
20 people like this
19 responses
@TiarasOceanView (70035)
• United States
12 Sep 15
Hi Marcy.
Lucky for me I have a chrome book which is free of windows updates.
It is very rare that it needs an update and when it does it is no more than a minute and all you do is restart and voila it is updated.
Yeah I remember those days waiting forever for windows updates..what a pain.
3 people like this
@TiarasOceanView (70035)
• United States
12 Sep 15
@Marcyaz Well tho, there are a lot of things I dont have either which I would like so it is a trade off.
2 people like this
@Marcyaz (35316)
• United States
12 Sep 15
@TiarasOceanView
Yep I see what you are saying..
2 people like this
@Rosekitty (19368)
• San Marcos, Texas
12 Sep 15
my computer updates sometimes or leaves me a red sign to do it..and then i'm good to go..where i'm going i have no idea??
2 people like this
@Rosekitty (19368)
• San Marcos, Texas
13 Sep 15
@Marcyaz i'm always going somewhere i have no idea where?
2 people like this
@Lushlala (4028)
• Gaborone, Botswana
13 Sep 15
@Rosekitty hehe, at least you ARE going LOL
2 people like this
@celticeagle (160064)
• Boise, Idaho
12 Sep 15
They are crazy aren't they? I can tell when mine are getting ready to update because it takes forever my computer to turn on or off. Then it says to wait and not to turn off the computer. I have Windows 10 so it does when it wants to.
2 people like this
@celticeagle (160064)
• Boise, Idaho
13 Sep 15
@Lushlala Apple be hanged. I can afford to be a litte frustrated when I know my computer needs this to run correctly.
1 person likes this
@Lushlala (4028)
• Gaborone, Botswana
13 Sep 15
@celiticeagle....it does slow the computer right down. I also hate that it can take forever for the updates to do their business. Yet it's usually just a couple of minutes on Apple products.
2 people like this
@megamatt (14292)
• United States
12 Sep 15
The Windows Updates are the most frustrating and all the most essential. And when these updates go bad, it can be fun. Which can happen, because they have to coded by human beings who are fairly prone to all kinds of errors.
The other updates are what they are. Java has its reputation for some security problems for a long time and yes, maybe something else should replace it. But who is to say someone won't find a hole in whatever replaces it. Again, I don't really know, but people will always fine a way. And when Java updates mess up, it can really drag things to a stop. Not as bad as bricking your whole system like a few unfortunate people have with Windows, but really bad.
Still best to keep your computers up to date. The only computer is completely safe is the one which has never been turned on, but best to eliminate security holes when we can.
2 people like this
@Marcyaz (35316)
• United States
12 Sep 15
Very true what you have said but beings we have our computers on we do the best we can. I have heard at times on windows 8 and 8.1 some of the windows updates when finished brings up a blue screen and it does not seem to want to go any further.
2 people like this
@megamatt (14292)
• United States
12 Sep 15
@Marcyaz Oh the dreaded blue screen, one of the most feared things by anyone. Restoring fro a back up can be your friend in case of a bad update, as many I'm sure have learned the hard way. At least keeping everything of importance you don't want to lose elsewhere has saved many headaches.
2 people like this
@Lushlala (4028)
• Gaborone, Botswana
13 Sep 15
@Marcyaz No, unless you've installed Windows on your Apple product, there are no windows updates. We have Windows installed in one of our Mac's but even still, when we get the updates it's nowhere nears as much of a hassle as when it's on a pc.
1 person likes this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
12 Sep 15
The automatic updates system is the only thing I dislike about Windows 10.
Previously I have always been selective about which updates to allow, but this is not possible now. I even get regular updates to Windows Defender, which I have disabled.
2 people like this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
13 Sep 15
@Marcyaz We appear to have the same opinion about Windows Defender.
It does not provide adequate defence against many aspects of viruses and malware, so is quite useless. As soon as you install another antivirus, Windows Defender is automatically disabled, so why on Earth does it still receive updates?
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
13 Sep 15
Thanks for this as I have often wondered whether to do updates or not. I so need a refresher course.
1 person likes this
@inertia4 (27961)
• United States
16 Sep 15
Updates can be annoying. As for my Apple updates I prefer to be on my computer and do them misled opposed to automatic. As for flash and java, well, I always update those when the pop up comes along. All in all, I don't get many updates and I am fine with doing them.
1 person likes this
@silvermist (19702)
• India
13 Sep 15
I am no expert about computers.So when the update messages keep on appearing,I ask my son to come and do the needful.It is rather annoying when the messages keeps on appearing.
2 people like this
@Lushlala (4028)
• Gaborone, Botswana
13 Sep 15
@silvermist....probably the best thing to do, in case some of those 'updates' are dodgy!
@Butchcass4 (5895)
• United States
12 Sep 15
Hey thank you so much for all the tips on different updates I've never heard anything about them before. You have been so helpful God bless you.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (130292)
• India
13 Sep 15
I just do not look in that directioin. I ignore all those messages that tell me to update.
@changjiangzhibin89 (16561)
• China
13 Sep 15
It is really a pain to update them.Thank you for showing us the ropes !Sorry! My Window XP can't be updated after I turn my computer off .
@Novelangel (394)
• United States
13 Sep 15
Yeah, Java wants nearly constant updates. Drives me crazy but nothing I can do about it. The other day my computer updated something like 70 different programs. I was like, huh...it just updated a few days ago and now 70 more things need updating? Nothing like turning on your computer and waiting an hour to use it because it's twiddling its thumbs over a million updates all at once.
@Carmelanirel2 (8084)
• United States
2 Oct 15
You forgot your security update, that is then most important.Even though updating the other software is good for security, your security software needs to be updated and I have no problem with updates, other than "is this going to create problems for my computer?" That is where system restore comes in..lol
@tessastv (273)
• Inverness, Scotland
14 Sep 15
Thanks for sharing this, really useful! I usually let Windows do the updates automatically. 
