Rather than simply advising the client on the importance of checking for updates, I schedule it to occur periodically, in addition to enabling auto-update wherever possible.

These are all scheduled to run late at night and "wake" the computer, assuming a broadband connection. The system is already configured to go back to sleep after 1 hour of inactivity.

Since I use Norton Internet Security for my clients, I create a scheduled LiveUpdate to occur weekly, just to get the non-critical updates that aren't automatically pushed.

I do the same for Windows Update (now Microsoft Update) and tell the client to click on "Custom" when they find Windows Update open in IE in the morning, and call me - if they have any questions about the results. If they use Office a lot, I also create a scheduled Office Update. Although it is now covered by MS Update, the Office Update doesn't even require the user to click a button to scan; the results are ready and waiting when they wake up the system in the morning.

I also schedule weekly scans for Spy Sweeper, CounterSpy (or MSAS), Spybot S&D and NAV and confirm that ScanDisk and Defrag are scheduled as needed according to their usage profile. Most of these anti-spyware products have an option to update automagically prior to a scan.

Of course I don't schedule these to occur all on the same night. A different item runs each night and if I have to double up, I separate their schedules appropriately, to avoid conflicts.