Look how old this is! I post at SearchCommander.com now, and this post was published 19 years 6 months 14 days ago. This industry changes FAST, so blindly following the advice here *may not* be a good idea! If you're at all unsure, feel free to hit me up on Twitter and ask.
Even if your computer is set to obtain Windows Updates automatically, you should do a manual update. There are many computers no longer getting Windows updates automatically because this validation has not taken place.
If the technical details of why they want it, and what it does, privacy information etc. interest you, then read the Microsoft website during the process, but go do it.
While you’re at it, you know that little yellow exclamation point that you might see down by your clock? Those are critical Windows updates, and you should run them when you see them.
In Windows XP, go to start> all programs>Windows update. Go to the website and manually validate your Windows, then run Windows update again until you get the message ” there are no critical updates”.
