From the course: Career Essentials in System Administration by Microsoft and LinkedIn

Why updates are so important

From the course: Career Essentials in System Administration by Microsoft and LinkedIn

Why updates are so important

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- There are many different types of updates and some are more important than others. Let's take a look at each one more closely to help sysadmins understand why updates are so important. A critical update is a widely released fix for a specific problem that addresses a critical, non-security related bug. This type of fix will keep your Windows computer running and safe from a flaw that could shut it down. A definition update is a widely released software update that contains additions to a product's definition database. Definition databases are used to detect objects that have specific attributes, such as malicious code, phishing, websites, or junk mail. Typically, Windows Defender products make up the majority of this type of update. A driver update is for software that controls the input and output of a device. Common updates include motherboard resources, network, and graphic cards. A feature pack includes a new product functionality that is first distributed outside the context of a product release. It's typically included in the next full product release. For example, if you have a piece of Microsoft software such as Office, you may get a new feature to enhance usability, such as a new included font. A security update is a widely released fix for a product-specific, security-related vulnerability. Security vulnerabilities are rated by their severity. The severity rating is indicated in the Microsoft Security bulletin as critical, important, moderate or low. These types of updates may be the most important of all your updates. A service pack type of update is a tested cumulative set of all hot fixes, security updates, and critical updates. Service packs may contain additional fixes for problems that are found internally since the release of the product. Service packs may also contain a limited number of customer-requested design changes or features. A tool update is a utility or a feature that helps complete a task or set of tasks. There are many tools in Windows, such as Event Viewer or Task Manager. New tools may be added or removed at any time. Rollups include a tested cumulative set of hot fixes, security updates, critical updates, and updates that are packaged together for easy deployment. A rollup generally targets a specific area, such as security, which is a component of a product, such as internet information services. Monthly rollups are similar to rollups and include tested, cumulative set of updates. They include both security and reliability updates that are packaged together and distributed over the following channels for easy deployment, Windows Update, WSUS, System Center Configuration Manager, and Microsoft Update Catalog. The monthly rollup is product-specific and addresses both new security issues and non-security issues in a single update. It will include updates that were released in the past. Security vulnerabilities are rated by their severity.

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