No. 299 - Patch Tuesday

I was in a seminar today and the instructor asked the class if anyone notices that their computer and/or internet connection is slower on the second Tuesday of each month. I thought it was a joke and waited for the punch line.

Instead, I learned about Patch Tuesday, which is the day on which Microsoft releases security patches, or fixes, to its operating systems. It started in October 2003 as a way for users to have their systems updated automatically, instead of having to check and install updates manually. Security patches are now accumulated over a period of one month and then dispatched all at once on the second Tuesday of the month. Some speculate that Tuesday was selected so that post-patch problems could be troubleshot and resolved before the weekend.