Microsoft's Windows Update Web site will scan your workstation to see if you need updates for security and compatibility, as well as several additional downloads to improve performance. You must be running IE for this to work. The downloads are intended for individual installations because each item will install or update itself automatically when an item is downloaded. I generally check it every week or two to see if something Microsoft on my NT or Windows 2000 workstation needs updating. If you are behind a firewall or if you need to download the patch to apply to multiple boxes, this site won't work for you.
Microsoft's Software Update Services site allow you to download the updates without installing them. SUS enables administrators to quickly and reliably deploy critical updates to their Windows 2000-based servers as well as desktop computers running Windows 2000 Professional or Windows XP Professional.
