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The 86th Communications Squadron will push an update to all government computers on Ramstein, forcing them to reboot every 72 hours starting Monday.
The update is part of an Air Force-wide initiative to improve communication security.
“The purpose of the reboot is to improve patching and ensure the latest software and updates are disseminated throughout the base,” said 2nd Lt. Kyle Massey, 86th CS focal point officer in charge.
Software updates are important, because they provide users with security and increase the integrity of the system. With the reboot, the latest programs and applications will be up-to-date every few days. Sometimes developers find errors or holes in programs and applications, forcing them to update the program to protect the user from malicious network behavior.
“Let’s say you get some software and the developers decide there’s something wrong or some way could be exploited in a way an adversary could take advantage of, possibly hacking into your computer,” Massey said. “If we didn’t have the 72-hour reboot, we’d have to manually ensure everyone’s computers are updated all the time and are operating with secure software.”
Massey recommends NIPR users reboot their computers during the day, so they have a chance to save their work. If a computer is about to reboot, it will give the user a 90-minute window to save any work before the system automatically reboots, potentially causing data loss.
Not only does the automatic reboot update programs and applications, it will also save the 86th CS time, ultimately allowing Airmen to focus on other parts of the mission.
“It makes things more automated and makes it easier for the communications squadron to do their job,” Massey said.
