- Introduction
- Configuring Windows Properly
- Configuring Linux Properly
- Patching the Operating System
- Configuring Browsers
- Summary
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Patching the Operating System
From time to time, security flaws are found in operating systems. As software vendors become aware of flaws, they usually write corrections to their code, known as patches or updates. Whatever operating system you use, you must apply these patches as a matter of routine. Windows patches are probably the most well-known, but patches can be released for any operating system. You should patch your system any time a critical patch is released. You might consider scheduling a specific time simply to update patches. Some organizations find that updating once per quarter or even once per month is necessary.
For Windows you can go to www.microsoft.com. On the left-hand side you should notice a link that says Update Windows. If you click on it, you can scan your machine for missing patches and download them from the website. Red Hat offers a similar service for Red Hat Linux users. On the website www.redhat.com/security/, users can scan for updates.