Hi folks,

Couple of weeks ago I re-installed my Factory OS (Vista Home Prem., SP1, 64-Bit) on my 1 year old Gateway laptop from Drive "D" ... so I am reinstlling my favorite SW back on ... but on purpose IGNORING all Microsoft Windows Critical & Important Patches alerts ... the only thing that I am doing is Manually downloading and Patching Windows Defender Latest Definitions.

Well, today I just happen to see this YouTube Video "Why Windows Updates Are So Important" ... and the guy put the scare of God in me ...

So, I got thinking that my buddy might be giving me a terrible advice ... that it is better if I left my Vista Home Prem., SP1, 64-Bit as when I bought my laptop ... quote: Leave it alone if it is working A-OK" ...

So, I figured I better ask MBAM team and go with their Recommendations.

Q1: Should I download all Micorosoft Windows's Updates & Install them ... for Security Reasons?

Q2: Should I just download Vista SP2 stand-alone and install it? Would that install all the Security Patches?

Q3: I was having problems ... I think with Funny Sites exploiting the Java on my machine!!! So I have left my Java on Original JAVA JRE update 5 that it came with my laptop ... SHOULD I update to the JRE6U16?

Q4: I am still running IE7 ... so should I upgrade to IE8? My hesitation is to make sure IE8 to work with my Download Manager & Grabber and so forth?

Thanks,

G!

Absolutely, I'd also highly recommend selecting the option to use Microsoft Update by selecting the option to get updates for other Microsoft products, especially if you have Works and/or Office installed.

Absolutely not, many critical patches for security vulnerabilities as well as much needed bugfixes (including some that improve compatibility, performance and stability) have been released since Service Pack 2.

YES, AND REMOVE YOUR OLD JAVA BEFORE YOU UPDATE!!! Java is known for having very severe vulnerabilities so keeping it up to date is an absolute MUST.

This is the only one where I have any flexibility. IE8 does have some nice features but it's up to user preference whether you want to use it. It is no more or less vulnerable to attack than IE7 and IE7 is still fully supported by Microsoft and receives security updates and bugfixes regularly.

By the way, not to be rude, but your friend should NOT be giving advice .

Hi Exile,

FYI ... My Buddy is Toast ... and No You are not being Rude for Helping me out ... it looks like I will be busy tonight since I have a ton of Windows Critical Updates that I have been ignoring

Exile THANKS for everything!

G!

You're very welcome . Should you have any issues or questions just post.