DoIT Departmental Support - Managed Security Layer (MSL) - Updates Requiring a Restart

Overview

Departmental Support occasionally needs to update your computer to keep it secure and running smoothly. Some of these updates require a system restart.

When an update needs a restart, we will notify you in one of two ways:

• An email sent to your department's mailing list.

• A popup notification directly on your computer screen from our endpoint management tools.

If you receive a popup notification, it will typically show a deadline (a "deferment period"). You can choose when to restart your computer before this deadline. Once the "Action required by" time passes, the notification window will remain on your screen until you acknowledge it and complete the restart.

BIOS Updates

The BIOS is the software that controls your computer's hardware settings. Manufacturers release BIOS updates to improve performance and fix security vulnerabilities. BIOS updates almost always require a computer restart.

Driver Updates

Drivers are software packages that your operating system uses to communicate with specific hardware, such as your Wi-Fi card or graphics card (GPU). Manufacturers update drivers to add features, improve performance, or patch security flaws. Drive updates often require a restart to install successfully.

End of Life Software Removal/Remediation

Software that manufacturers no longer support or update creates serious security risks. When we remove or replace this unsupported software, your computer may require a restart to complete the process.

Zero-Day Vulnerabilities

Zero-day vulnerabilities are newly discovered security flaws that attackers are actively exploiting. Because these threats are critical, we must patch them immediately outside of our normal schedule, and they often require an immediate restart.