Purpose: Maintaining Your Computer’s Digital Immune System

Your computer’s software, like any complex system, can have vulnerabilities discovered over time. System updates are the essential “vaccines” and “security patches” that protect your device from these newly found threats. This health check verifies that your computer is receiving these critical updates in a timely manner.

Keeping your system updated is the single most effective thing we can do to protect your computer—and our company data—from ransomware, viruses, and other cyberattacks.

How it Works: A Quick Check-Up

Think of this check as a quick, automated visit to the doctor for your computer. It asks three simple questions:

1. Are there any critical check-ups overdue? The system looks for any available Critical Security Updates from Microsoft that haven’t been installed yet. These are urgent fixes for serious vulnerabilities.
2. When was your last check-up? It checks the date of your last successfully installed update to ensure your computer’s defenses aren’t getting old. We require an update at least every 30 days.
3. Is the clinic open? It verifies that the Windows Update service itself is turned on and working correctly, ensuring your computer can receive new security patches when they become available.

What Your Results Mean

This is one of our most important security checks. An out-of-date computer is a vulnerable computer.

Status	What It Means	What To Do
Up-to-Date(Pass)	Your system’s defenses are current. You have no urgent security patches pending, and your last update was recent.	No action is required. Thank you for keeping your device secure.
Updates Required(Warning)	Your computer is missing important updates. This means either there are critical security updates waiting to be installed, or it has been over 30 days since your last update.	Please take action to secure your device: 1. Ensure you are connected to the internet. 2. Run Windows Update manually (in Settings > Update & Security). 3. Restart your computer to complete the installation. A restart is often required.
ACTION REQUIRED(Fail)	The update service is broken. This is a critical system error. Your computer is unable to even check for or receive new security updates, leaving it permanently exposed.	This is a top priority security risk. Please contact the IT Help Desk IMMEDIATELY. This must be fixed by a technician.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I need to update so often?

• Cybercriminals discover new security holes every day. Microsoft releases updates to “patch” these holes as soon as they’re found. Frequent updates ensure your computer’s defenses are always one step ahead of the attackers.

Will updates slow down my computer?

• While the update process itself uses resources, running a modern, updated system is much more secure and often performs better. The biggest cause of post-update slowness is not restarting the computer to finish the installation.

Can’t I just ignore the warning?

• No. An unpatched computer is the number one way that ransomware and other serious malware get into a company’s network. Ignoring this warning puts your data, and the entire company, at significant risk.