W7 SP1 & Vegas avoid 4 now?

[John Rofrano]

[Alf Hanna] “A stable system requires this vigilance.”

I haven’t applied any Microsoft updates since the end of last year and my Windows 7 64-bit system is running very stable. I would never apply an update without having a full system backup just in case I need to back it off. I’m of the opinion… if it ain’t broke… don’t fix it! 😉

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com

[Al Bergstein]

It’s true, but there are also bug fixes, and it’s so hard to tell what is worth doing and what’s not. Some are security based, some are just bug fixes, some are going to give you problems, some are going to protect you. It’s really frustrating, but I’ve come to the conclusion that a system that is rarely patched might be less secure but is likely more stable. A bad trade off.

Alf

[John Rofrano]

[Alf Hanna] “It’s true, but there are also bug fixes, and it’s so hard to tell what is worth doing and what’s not.”

Well… I stated my philosophy. If it ain’t broke… the only bug that I acknowledge is one that’s keeping me from getting my work done. Any other bug is irrelevant.

[Alf Hanna] ” but I’ve come to the conclusion that a system that is rarely patched might be less secure but is likely more stable. “

Well… every week they have a security patch for the past 10 years or so. I’d say there is a million security holes left in the OS. The fact that they are going to patch a few this week seems like a drop in the ocean. Microsoft is famous for patching things and breaking others. I’ve had it happen to me and I will never allow them to do that to me again. I’m not willing to take that risk. My system is behind both a hardware and software firewall. I update the system every quarter (4 times a year) and only when I can afford the risk of something going wrong and waiting the hours it takes to restore form backup.

I’m not saying that you should never keep your system up to date. I’m just saying that you should always turn off automatic updates and only update at a time of your choosing when you are prepared to back things out if it doesn’t work.

Now, if we’re talking about a computer that’s just used to browse the Internet, then keep automatic updates on. But for any production computer that your business depends on, no corporation in the world allows Microsoft to update their computers automatically… why should you?

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com