Microsoft pushes out Windows 7 SP1 on March 19

For those people who haven't moved on to Windows 8, don't worry -- you will still get something new. Microsoft has announced that Service Pack 1 for Windows 7 will automatically push through the Windows Update tomorrow.

This is not entirely new, though. In fact, Service Pack 1 released way back on Feb. 9, 2011, but has remained optional. Users could previously install SP1 from Windows Update, but the task required manually adding it to the installation list. The difference now is that Microsoft will no longer give users a choice in this matter. That is not a bad thing, because SP1 rolls together a number of security updates for your computer.

According to Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc, "Starting tomorrow, the installation will be fully automatic with no user action required for those who already have Automatic Update enabled. SP1 will be released gradually over the coming weeks to all customers on the RTM version of Windows 7. The service pack will take slightly longer to install compared to other updates".

The update will only happen on consumer computers, so IT has nothing to fear from this sudden change. The update only applies PCs that are not managed by any Microsoft management tool such as Systems Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) or WSUS Server. Businesses will need to roll out this update on their own.

Customers should make the move as soon as possible because Windows 7 without SP1 will become unsupported on April 9. In other words, this is not really an option for you or IT. The good news is that, after two years in the market, most users likely already have the updated version of the operating system. This is simply a last ditch effort to get the stragglers on board and perhaps make things just a bit more secure.

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