One of the most important things you can do to keep your OS X machine healthy and hackers out in the cold is to run the Software Updater tool regularly and install all the recommended patches and updates.

We strongly recommend setting the Software Update tool to run daily or weekly. We also strongly recommend that you install all updates (except the language packages) as soon as they become available.

From the Finder:

Go to the Apple Menu and choose System Preferences.

In the System Preferences window, click the Software Update icon.

In the Software Update window, the recommended settings are:

• Update Software AUTOMATICALLY
• Check for updates DAILY

The first time you set these configurations, click the Update Now button to download the most recent updates for your computer.

The Software Updater will show you a list of updates available for your computer.

Check the box next to all the software updates for your machine.

It is not necessary (nor recommended) that you install all the language updates.

If an update is labelled "Security Update" then you should definitely install it as soon as it become available.

When all the software you need is selected, click Install.

The machine will need to be rebooted for many updates (although not all). If it needs to be restarted, you will see a dialog box telling you so.