Why your computer asks to restart, and when to say yes

Most security problems we see on small business computers come from software that was not updated. That is why updating is one of the main jobs our NetLock RMM agent does on every managed computer. It checks for Windows and macOS updates, as well as for common apps such as browsers and PDF readers, and installs them on a schedule.

When updates happen

We schedule updates to run outside the busiest part of the day, and we hold back any update that is known to cause trouble until a fix is released. Small updates usually install quietly in the background. Larger ones, and almost all Windows security updates, only take effect after the computer restarts.

The restart prompt

When a restart is needed, a message appears asking whether you want to restart now or later. You can postpone it to finish what you are doing. The best habit is simply to restart at the end of your day, which also clears out memory and makes the computer feel faster the next morning. If a restart has been postponed for several days, the prompts become more insistent, because the computer is unprotected against whatever the update fixes until it restarts.

Save your work first

Before you accept a restart, save any open documents. Office files saved to OneDrive or SharePoint are saved as you type, but a document in another app or a form in a browser may not be.

Leave it switched on now and then

If your computer is always shut down or asleep outside office hours, it can only catch up on updates while you are using it. Leaving it switched on and plugged in overnight once a week, on a day we agree with you, lets bigger updates install without interrupting anyone.

If something stops working after an update

Let us know straight away and include the date it started. We can see which updates were installed and when, and roll back a problem update if needed. You can read more about what the agent reports in What we monitor on your computers, and what we never see.