Software security updates

Overview

In general, once we've finished testing them, monthly Windows updates are sent out automatically via the Software Center, starting on the third Monday of the month, to batches of computers over the course of the next seven working days. There may be occasions when an emergency update needs to be deployed outside of this timeframe.

When the updates show up on your computer, they must be installed by 4 pm, the following business day.

You can install the updates before the enforced deadline or postpone them to keep working.

If you wait until the deadline has passed, then the installation will proceed automatically in the background.

Once an update has been installed, you will see a notification that a restart is required. If a restart has not happened before the 4 pm deadline time, you will be provided with a 4-hour countdown, at the end of which, an automatic restart of the computer will happen.

Once this restart countdown begins, it cannot be postponed, extended or cancelled by you or IT Services.

You can choose to manually restart the computer at any point during the countdown or wait for the countdown to finish, at the end of which the automatic restart will happen.

If you plan to leave the computer on and let it restart automatically, you are advised to save your data and close all open applications. If using a laptop, please ensure it is plugged in.

A 'restart' normally takes between 5 and 20 minutes.

What you'll see

When an update is made available to your computer you will see a pop-up notification at the bottom right of your screen, indicating that 'Software changes are required'.

To proceed with the updates, you can click on this pop-up message. This will open a Software Center application and list information about the software changes.

• If you ignore the pop-up message, it will disappear after approximately 5 - 10 seconds.
• To access the Software Center application again, click the Software Center icon (shown below) in your taskbar and then click View Required Software.
  
  
  
  
• Alternatively, you can wait until the installation deadline has passed, at which point the software installation will begin automatically.

If you choose to start the installation process yourself, as outlined above, then the following options will be provided.

• You will first see a deadline of when the update will take place - should you do nothing.
• If you would like to control when the process begins, you will have the following options:
  • Right now (recommended): This will start the process straight away.
  • Outside my business hours: This will allow you to schedule the update to begin at a time of your choosing; provided it is not past the installation deadline.
  • Snooze and remind me later: This will delay the update for up to 2 hours. You won't be able to 'Snooze' past the enforced installation deadline.
    
    
    
    

Once the updates have been installed on your computer, you will see a notification that a restart is required.

If the computer has not been restarted before the 4 pm deadline time, then a 4-hour countdown to an automatic restart will appear on the screen.

The restart notification window can be 'Snoozed' and minimised for the first three hours of the countdown.

During the final hour of the countdown, the notification window cannot be 'Snoozed' or minimised.

Once the countdown completes the computer will be restarted automatically so make sure to save any outstanding work.

Overview

Microsoft releases a new 'version' of Windows once per year.

At least once per year, IT Services will use the Software Center to automatically install these upgrades on each computer connected to the network.

The first phase of the process appears as a notification of critical software maintenance. This notification includes an installation deadline.

You can elect to install before the enforced deadline or postpone it to keep working.

Once the initial install completes, you will be prompted with a 2-hour countdown to restart.

There is no way to avoid this enforced restart. You can restart at any point before the countdown runs out.

With that in mind, you are advised to save your data and restart your computer as soon as possible when prompted.

Note that in comparison to the monthly updates, the completion of the Windows version upgrade can be time-consuming, taking anywhere from 30 minutes up to 2 hours, or even longer on older computers and leaving the computer unusable during this time.

If you're using a laptop, please ensure it is plugged in during the upgrade process.

What you'll see

For the Windows version upgrades, once it deployed to your computer you will see an initial notification popup like this:

The time and date of the installation deadline is written in bold (as above) with a warning of the duration of the installation.

At this stage you can select one of three options:

1. Right now (recommended)
   
   

   You can choose to install straightaway and not wait for the installation deadline. If you decide to choose this option, you will get a further pop-up window to confirm this.

   

   Again, you are warned that the device will be non-useable for the duration, which may take a few hours.

   If you click install, the install process will begin.

   Once you hit install, the process cannot be stopped either by you or by IT Services.

   Remember, if you initiate the install during business hours it can take a few hours for the upgrade to complete so you will be without use of the computer for the duration of the upgrade.

   Please do NOT restart the computer until prompted to by the upgrade process.

2. Outside my business hours
   
   

   You can set the installation to begin outside your set business hours, provided it's not the day of the installation deadline itself.

   For example, if you see the deployment notification at 10am on a Monday and the deadline is 4pm the next day (Tuesday), then if you select 'outside my business' hours on the Monday, it will automatically install that evening or overnight.

   You can configure your business hours by clicking on the options item in the left-hand menu of the in Software Center. The default is set to 5.00am - 10.00pm: Monday to Friday, but you can change this.

   

3. Snooze and remind me later
   
   

   You can use this option to set a reminder to pop up at a later stage, before the deadline time. The options available are 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 4 hours and Later

   The Later option sets the notification window to pop up again depending on how close it is to the scheduled time. If it is less than 24 hours it will pop up again in an hour, if its less than an hour to the scheduled time it will pop up again in 10 mins.

   

Whether you start the installation yourself or wait for the installation deadline to pass, you will be provided with a notification of the initial install.

Once this is complete, you will then receive a notification of when the enforced restart of your computer will take place.

A restart is required to complete the installation of the upgrade.

You will be provided with a 2-hour countdown to the enforced restart time.

This is to allow you to complete and save any outstanding work. You can choose to restart yourself at any point during the countdown or wait for the countdown to complete at which stage it will auto restart your computer.

Once restarted, the computer will restart itself several times over the period of the upgrade.

1. On the left end of the taskbar, click the Start icon.
2. Type, Settings and hit Enter
3. Click Update & Security
4. Click the blue link 'Check online for updates from Microsoft Update' and install the listed updates.
   
   
   
   
5. You may need to repeat these steps after installing the first set of updates, so repeat steps 1-4 until there are no further updates available.

1. On the left end of the taskbar, click the Start icon.
2. Type, Settings and hit Enter
3. Click Windows Update
4. If you are running:
   • a version of Windows 11 that is less than version 22H2, click the blue link 'Check online for updates from Microsoft Update' and install the listed updates.
     
     
     
     
   • a version of Windows that is greater than or equal to version 22H2, click the dropdown arrow beside the 'Check for updates' button, followed by 'Check online for updates from Microsoft Update'
     
     
     
     
5. You may need to repeat these steps after installing the first set of updates, so repeat steps 1-4 until there are no further updates available.

1. On the left end of the taskbar, click the Start icon.
2. Right-click on the Start icon and click Control Panel.
3. Search for Windows Update using the search box at the top right of the Control Panel.
4. Click Check for Updates and install the listed updates.
5. You may need to re-run the 'Check for Updates' after installing the first set of updates, so repeat steps 1-4 until there are no further updates available. Even when the system reports 'No more important updates', this can be is misleading, so click on this message and choose 'Get more info' and you may see there are further updates listed.