How Patch Tuesday affects business workings, security
Time: The second Tuesday of every month, 10:00 a.m. PST. Like clockwork, Microsoft releases a group of security patches. And like clockwork, that release sets in motion a flurry of events from businesses, security vendors, the media and even hackers.
Microsoft Patch Tuesday, as it is widely known, started in October of 2003 at the request of Microsoft's customers, who preferred to receive patches in an organized way, at a specified time, explains Christopher Budd, Microsoft's security response communications lead. The change was made to make testing and deploying updates easier and more predictable.
In formalizing the process, Microsoft gave customers what they wanted, but in doing so, they also fostered a bustling industry around those monthly patches.
