Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday

Tuesdays may seem uneventful to some, but on the second Tuesday of each month, Microsoft sends software updates, known as patches, to your computer. In 2003, Microsoft introduced these scheduled patches as a way of consolidating and better managing the deployment of fixes to their various applications. There are several positive and negative effects of this event that they have named “Patch Tuesday.”

By moving all of the error solutions and security updates into one patch that is released routinely, Microsoft can be better prepared and organized, allowing for ample time to test patches before they are released. The use of routine patches also addresses all variations of the question, “when will my issue be fixed?” However, due to large amounts of data contained within some of these patches, you may notice computer slowness or even downtime every second Tuesday. Large influxes of users log in on these Tuesdays, which may cause network issues. More importantly, if a bug or issue is discovered shortly after Patch Tuesday, it will take four weeks before you receive a solution the following Patch Tuesday. Microsoft does employ emergency patches for critical issues if those issues affect a large enough base of their clients. So please keep these details in mind if you are experiencing slowness or have an issue with your Microsoft application, and be sure to update every Patch Tuesday to ensure your computer is secure and up to date.