Another key part of actively protecting your computer is to make sure that all known vulnerabilities have been fixed. Every month, Microsoft releases new security patches for all their products that fix security holes and increase the security of Windows. It is very important to make sure that your computer is set up to download these new security patches automatically and that it is working properly. With the integrated Windows Update feature in Windows 7, this is easier than ever before. Follow these steps to make sure that Automatic Updates in Windows 7 is working properly and you have the latest security patches installed: 1. Click the Start button, type in Windows Updates, and hit Enter. 2. Make sure that your computer has the latest security patches installed. Click Check for updates from the top of the left menu, as shown in Figure 17-1. If any updates are available, make sure you install them right away by clicking Install Updates. 3. Now that your computer is up-to-date, make sure it stays that way by making sure Automatic Updates is set up and running. Click Change Settings to bring up the Automatic Updates details. 4. Make sure that the Install updates automatically box is selected. I also like to adjust the install time from 3:00 AM to a time I know my computer is going to be on. Because my computer is usually on when I am at lunch, I use 12:00 PM for my update time. 5. After everything is set, click OK to save your changes. Windows is now up-to-date and will remain up-to-date when Microsoft releases new security patches for Windows 7.