Vulnerabilities in the Microsoft Windows operating systems are frequently exploited by computer viruses and worms. As part of an ongoing effort to protect the Boston College computing environment, every computer running Windows must have all Critical Updates installed. BC Information Technology Services scans the network for vulnerable machines throughout each day. If you received a message instructing you to Install all Windows Critical Updates, follow all of the sections below. Failure to do so will result in disruption of your access to the BC network.

Important: You may want to print these instructions to refer to during the download and installation of Windows Updates. This process will require you to restart your computer. If you restart prior to completing every section, return to this Web page after your computer starts.

Download and install Windows updates

To download and install Windows updates:

1. Log in to your computer using an account with Administrator privileges. Faculty and staff using a BC owned computer should sign in with their BC username and password. Students and others using a personally owned computer should sign in with the Administrator account (the account that came installed on your computer at the time of purchase).
2. Close all open applications.
3. Click the Start button and select Windows Update. (In XP view: Click the Start button, point to All Programs, then select Windows Update.) If Windows Update does not appear in you Start menu:
   • Open Internet Explorer.
   • Go to: http://windows update.microsoft.com
4. Internet Explorer opens the Microsoft Windows Update page.
5. If you receive a Security Warning window asking if you want to run and install Windows Update
   (see Figure 1):

   
   Figure 1.

   • Do NOT check the Always trust content from Microsoft Corporation box.
   • Click Yes.
   • If you are prompted by a second window, click Yes to continue.
6. If you are prompted to install a plug-in for Internet Explorer to perform Windows Update, click Yes.
7. If you are prompted to restart following the Security Warning:
   • Click Start, then click Shut down. From the drop-down list, select Restart, then click OK.
   • After your computer has restarted, go back to Step 1.
8. On the Welcome to Windows Update page, click the Express button (see Figure 2).

   
   Figure 2.
   
   Windows scans for updates available for your computer.

9. If the right side of the page displays the message: "No high-priority updates for your computer are available" you have completed the installation of all critical Windows Updates for your computer. Go to set up your Windows computer for Automatic Updates.
10. When scanning is completed, look under the Windows Update Home heading on the left side of the page. You will see an Install Updates link followed by a number in parentheses. This number indicates how many updates you computer requires. (see Figure 3).
    
    Figure 3.
    
11. If there are critical updates to install, click the Install Updates button.
    A list of updates to be installed appears. You may see a red notice at the top of the list indicating that an exclusive item must be installed separately from the other updates (see Figure 4).

    
    Figure 4.

    If you see a message similar to Figure 4 above, complete the following, then continue with
    Step 12:

    • Click Install Now.
    • When you are prompted whether you wish to install the exclusive update, click OK.
    • When the "Microsoft Windows Update - Web Page Dialog" window appears, click Accept.
      A download window for the update appears. After the download is finished, it automatically installs itself.
12. If you are downloading a Windows XP Service Pack, then a Windows XP Service Pack Setup Wizard window appears. Complete the following steps, then continue with Step 13 below:
    • Click Next.
    • Select I agree, then click Next.
    • Select Archive Files, then click Next.
      Installation of the Service Pack will take a while to complete.
    • After the download and install is completed, click Finish.
13. When prompted to restart your computer, click OK to restart.
14. After your computer restarts, there may be more critical updates that need to be installed. Repeat the steps above to download and install Windows Updates. Continue with ALL installations until you receive the message: "No high-priority updates for your computer are available" on the right side of the page.
15. Once you have installed all critical updates, go to setting up Windows XP for Automatic Updates.

Setting up Windows XP for Automatic Updates

To configure Windows XP to automatically download and install future Windows updates:

1. Log in to your computer using an account with Administrator privileges. Faculty and staff using a BC owned computer should sign in with their BC username and password. Students and others using a personally owned computer should sign in with the Administrator account (the account that came installed on your computer at the time of purchase).
   • If you are using a faculty or staff college-owned computer, log in as you would normally.
   • If you are using a personally-owned Windows XP computer, log into your computer using your Administrator account (or the first account that was set up on your computer which has Computer administrator privileges).
2. Close all open applications.
3. If you have a My Computer icon on your desktop, right-click on it. If you do not have the icon on your Desktop, click on the Start button, then right-click on My Computer.
4. From the drop-down list, select Properties.
   The System Properties window opens.
5. Click the Automatic Updates tab (see Figure 5). 
   
    
   Figure 5.
   
6. Do the following:
   • Check Automatic (recommended).
   • Make sure Every day is selected.
   • Select a time of day that you you know your computer will be on.
   • Click OK.

You have completed the Windows Automatic Updates setup. When new critical Windows Updates are available, your computer will automatically download and install the updates.