Here’s How to Get Official Microsoft Outlook Updates

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Here’s How to Get Official Microsoft Outlook Updates

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed

Even though Microsoft Office Outlook is a mature product, there is a constant stream of Outlook updates being published. While potentially a pain in the neck, this is great news since it means that Microsoft is actively supporting Outlook by fixing bugs and protecting you against spam (junk email). Unfortunately, to get the full benefit, you need to keep installing each update when it comes out.

Microsoft has put a lot of time and effort into making the update process as painless as possible. Unfortunately, it can still be confusing. Conceptually, the process is simple. You start by checking for updates, then downloading and installing (any of the updates you want) them if any are available. Right here is one place where people get confused.

There may be updates you don’t want to install. One example would be updates for languages you don’t speak. It’s tempting to not install those. However, the simplest approach is to just install every update that comes along. Doing this will simplify your life by eliminating the need to evaluate whether or not you want each update every time one comes along.

I recommend that you check for updates every week, ideally on Thursday or Friday to best work with Microsoft’s usual release schedule. Patches normally come out only once a month, but if there is an emergency release, you won’t want to be without it for long. It only takes a moment to do if there aren’t updates available. If there are updates available, you want to get them installed as soon as possible. Setting up a recurring task is the best way to remember to do this.

NOTE: Some companies have a policy about doing software updates which may conflict with the advice here. If your company does have such a policy, you should always follow company guidelines instead of general suggestions like these.

While dealing with endless Microsoft Outlook updates may seem like a distraction from getting actual work done, over time you will gain a better-running copy of Outlook and less spam than you would have to deal with if you didn’t install the updates. The reduced amount of spam mail alone makes keeping Outlook updated a net time saver.

Here’s an outline of the steps you need to follow to check for and install Outlook updates: