Understanding Patch Tuesday And How It Keeps Your Network Updated & Secure

Three Rocket IT team members pointing at and talking about a computer

What Is Patch Tuesday?

Windows users may be familiar with the term “Patch Tuesday.” This casual phrase is used to describe Microsoft’s regular release of security and other major patches for its software on the second (and occasionally fourth) Tuesday of every month.

What does this mean for the average end user?

To run updates, you’ll need to reboot your computer. The best practice is to reboot your devices at least every ten days (if not more often). This allows your hardware to run these updates and necessary patches, which in turn keeps your system better protected.

Unfortunately, not every patch rolls out perfectly. Some updates cause compatibility issues or are just buggy in general. Most computer users don’t have a way to differentiate between pieces rolled out in a Patch Tuesday from the ones that fix vulnerabilities and less crucial ones that can cause issues with user experience.

That’s why we have Patch Wednesdays instead, at Rocket IT. Our Proactive Team works diligently testing and researching the compatibility of patches before rolling them out to our end users. And if there’s part of a patch causing issues? We hold it back until the bugs are fixed, pushing through the crucial and clean updates that keep our users safe, so our users have a cleaner experience.

Wrapping Up Patch Talk

It’s important for your organization to keep your hardware up-to-date with crucial updates. If you don’t regularly run these software changes, you can leave your system open to attack. It can be difficult to know when to hold back a patch and when a fix is important enough to push through quickly.

We keep an eye out for fixes to known vulnerabilities that leave users open to breaches and push them through as soon as they become available. And for those who don’t always remember to reboot their devices? Our team is always there with a friendly reminder to help out.

Our purpose at Rocket IT is to help people thrive through their technology, even with something as simple and routine as Patch Tuesday Wednesday.


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About the Author-

Jason Hand loves making music, serving his church and getting people excited about technology tools. He currently lives in Georgia with wife and two adopted sons.  Jason is the Systems Administrator at Rocket IT.

 

 

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