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Microsoft periodically releases critical updates that are vital to your computer's security. It's important that you install these updates as soon as possible, so it's a good idea to set your computer up to fetch and install them automatically.
Microsoft Update and Windows update are two very similar services designed to deliver security fixes to your Windows computer. The big difference is that while Windows Update will only update Windows itself, Microsoft Update will update Windows as well as many other Microsoft products like Office. There's no reason to continue to use Windows Update, and LTS recommends Microsoft Update for all users.
It can be difficult to tell whether a computer is set up to use Microsoft Update or Windows Update, but it's easy to set up correctly. Follow this link, click Start Now, and follow the on-screen instructions.
Follow these directions to ensure that Windows will automatically keep itself up to date.
Go to Start > Control Panel > Automatic Updates
Select Automatic. Your computer must be powered on at the time you select, so don't choose the middle of the night if you shut it down before bed.
Some updates will not automatically install even if you have Automatic Update set properly. Windows XP Service Pack 2, for example, has a license agreement you must agree to before it can be installed.
If you see the following image in the bottom right corner of your screen, you have updates to install.
