Reply #8: DON'T turn off automatic updates

[EvolveOrConvolve]

Even if you don't use Internet Explorer, an application you have might use it (even without you knowing it). The security updates are important, even if you don't think you need them. When an update patches a vulnerability in the system, it helps to protect you from unscrupulous people who have no problem stealing your identity or harming your computer. Let me give you an example: if you lived in a high-crime area, would you leave a hundred dollar bill taped to the inside of your windshield and your doors unlocked? Would you blame the car company for having an inadequate security system if that hundred dollars was stolen? Essentially that's what you're doing if you get your identity stolen from your computer without taking preemptive measures to protect yourself (ie, "locking your doors").

My advice would be to keep the updates turned on, but don't allow Windows to install them automatically. Instead, tell Windows to notify you of new updates so that you can download and install them yourself. And contrary to popular belief, Windows won't download updates to software programs you don't have - if you don't have Microsoft Office installed, for example, you won't get updates for Outlook (keep in mind that Outlook Express is a completely different application from Outlook, and is installed with IE).

As for Firefox updates and add-in updates, install them all if you can. There are a lot of security vulnerabilities in Firefox that are patched on a regular basis. The only way to protect yourself is to install those updates. But, you don't have to install entirely new versions of Firefox right away. Give them a month or 2 before installing because Mozilla is famous for releasing poorly tested versions of FF.