Keep Your Computers and Devices Updated

Step-by-Step

Ensuring that the operating system and web browsers on your device are up-to-date greatly reduces the risk of getting malware. This article provides information for updating the operating system on computers, smart phones, and tablets, as well as steps for the most commonly used web browsers. 

It is strongly recommended that you have updates installed automatically on your computers and devices. 

Operating System Updates

Follow the steps below to update the operating system for your device:

Mac OS X

To install updates manually:

1. Click the Apple menu, typically found in the upper left corner of the window. 
2. From the menu that appears, click About this Mac. 
3. Click Software Update. 

To have updates installed automatically:

1. Click the Apple menu, typically found in the upper left corner of the window. 
2. From the menu that appears, click System Preferences. 
3. Click App Store. 
4. Ensure that Automatically check for updates, Install macOS updates, and Install system data files and security updates are all checked. 

Windows 10

To install updates manually:

1. In the search box, found in the lower left corner of the window, type Windows update. 
2. Click Check for updates from the list that appears. 
3. Click Check for updates from the screen that appears. 

To have updates installed automatically:

1. In the search box, found in the lower left corner of the window, type Windows update. 
2. Click Check for updates from the list that appears. 
3. Click Check for updates from the screen that appears. 

Web Browser Updates

Safari, Internet Explorer and Edge are all considered part of the operating system. Keeping your operating system up-to-date means that these web browsers will also be kept up-to-date. 

Firefox and Chrome as stand-alone applications, which means you need to update them separately. 

Chrome

1. Open Chrome.
2. Click the Customize and control Google Chrome icon in the upper right corner of the window. 
3. Click Help from the menu that appears.
4. Click About Google Chrome. This will automatically trigger Chrome to update if you are not already on the latest version.

Firefox

1. Open Firefox. 
2. Click the Open Menu icon in the upper right corner of the window. 
3. Click Options from the list that appears. 
4. Scroll down until you see the Firefox Updates section. 
5. Select to Allow Firefox to Automatically install updates.