Frequently, viruses will infect your computer via the Internet.  One way people are getting viruses is by pop-up ads.  If you ever see anything come up on your screen as an Internet pop-up that says "Your computer may have a virus...would you like to scan?", make sure you say no.  This may seem obvious, but it is one of the most common ways computers get infected.

Do I ever need to reboot my computer or server?

Microsoft recommends rebooting on a weekly basis.  We feel that this could be overkill. Monthly reboots are adequate and it clears the cache in the system.  This may be set up as a task to be done automatically.

What are the benefits of cleaning out the internals of servers?

We advise shutting down your server at least on a quarterly basis to clean out the internal components from dust build up.  Sometimes, it will sound like the fans in your PC/server are getting louder and louder, or every now and then the fan will run at a high speed for 30 seconds or so.  The most common cause of this is that there is a lot of dust buildup on the CPU.  Once cleaned, everything will run smoother and cooler.

Should I perform Microsoft updates automatically or manually?

It is a best practice to run automatic updates on PCs only.  Running manual updates on servers is a good idea because you can control what is needed and when to install.  Below are a couple of examples of why manually updating servers is a good idea:

You have an ERP system that runs on a SQL database.  Your ERP vendor only supports SQL 2005 SP2 and if you are running automatic updates, Windows will load the SQL 2005 SP3 service pack. You may break your ERP system and your vendor may not support you.

Running automatic updates usually means automatic reboots when the update is finished.  If you have someone working on a major project remotely from home and the server runs its auto updates and then reboots, all that user's data that he has not saved will be lost!