I do them manually (via MS Update), typically towards the end of the week that Patch Tuesday falls in. No problems (so far) from any of the patches, but I find the MS servers outrageously slow (typical download speed is well under 10KB/sec on DSL) so wait a few days until the rush is hopefully over. I stopped using auto-updates ages ago, since for whatever reason that insists on checking every day. What the heck, I know when Patch Tuesday is, and anything critical enough to be released off-cycle gets lots of publicity all over the web so it's highly unlikely I'll miss it.
On systems I help to set up, I use a mix of automatic and manual updates. On my own systems, I've previously set WU to "Check for updates and let me choose whether to download and install them" but currently set WU to "Never check for updates" and I do manual updates...whenever I feel like doing so.
I have patches coming out of my ears... So, I voted for #4, but I do update sometimes, if I think it is necessary.
I chose... I visit the Windows/Microsoft Update website, and manually update on "Patch Tuesday". Even though I believe there is some validity in waiting to install in order to see if any problems develop, I usually opt for getting the updates on the day they become available. But I do install them first on one machine and see how they act for a little while prior to committing them to the second machine.
Have times changed in the last year with M$. Since the big push with Win 10 I change my vote on this thread to #3: I manually update, but wait a day or so more after updates are released. I'm running Win 7 and staying with it for awhile.
I manually update, but wait a day or more after updates are released I've always manually updated Windows (generally speaking I'm aware of automatism when it comes to updating whatever). Waiting a day (Patch Wednesday here) since Microsoft started mixing its incentives for Windows 10 (even stating some of them as important) with true security updates. Moreover recent Windows Updates have proven (even if very few) to be problematic (Win10 aside), so differing updates by 24hrs has IMO but advantages. Concerning the out-of-cycle emergency updates I apply immediately, that is I get informed of the issue before anything else and apply if applicable (and it always has been) the emergency update forthwith.
Manually for sure. I also check to see what the patches for and if I truly need them. Mostly Security patches.
Manually each Patch Tuesday. I also check what new updates are about and hide updates related to Windows 10.
I manually update and only those indicated as important. I do not like the fact that Microsoft now does not show what the patches are for. I also do not like the fact that they are playing silly games in conjunction with Windows10 builds. Always, Wildman
I have had to change my plan. Now I want to O.K. every update. No more Windows 10 stuff until I say YES.
Now I simply do it whenever it occurs to me to do so, and I have the time... like watching a movie while sitting by my computer. But no more than a month will go by.
I used to install every update without question, but now on Win 7 I want to see every one and whether it's nasty/bad or not. I reinstalled 7 from scratch and am deliberately avoiding the bad updates from several lists I've found. Seems to work well so far. No more blindly installing updates though...
Yes until this W10 adware I also installed all updates without questions. Now I check each of them before installing. I also reinstalled W7 (went back from W and check out each update before installing. It took me two days to update OS
I usually install the critical updates within a day or two but hold off on the less-critical ones for a week or two.
