As part of ongoing security remediation initiatives, Digital and Technology Services (DTS) are implementing a change that will automate monthly restarts for all university- managed Microsoft Windows devices moving forward.

Why are Automatic Restarts necessary?

If devices are not restarted regularly, they are more vulnerable to cyber threats. DTS are therefore introducing this new feature to mitigate against and minimise the risk of cyber threats, whilst maintaining good system health.

Have Automatic Restarts been piloted at the university?

Yes. Following a successful pilot whereby automatic restarts were rolled out within DTS, Libraries and IT Reps in September, and a second phase whereby the change was rolled out to all Windows devices within the Faculty of Arts and Faculty of Social Sciences, we are now ready to extend automatic restarts to all Windows managed devices across the university.

When will Automatic Restarts begin?

From Monday 20 November 2023, the rollout will be extended to all Windows devices across the university. You should get the first notification in the week following the second Tuesday of each month.

Who and what devices does this apply to?

The monthly Automatic Restarts will only apply to Windows devices that are university-managed, i.e., Desktops, Laptops, Surface Pros.

Note: PCs in central computer rooms and known servers already have their own separate restart rules. Such devices are issued to staff, associates, and postgraduate researchers (PGRs).

Mac and Linux devices are not affected by this change.

What will happen each month?

In the week following the second Tuesday of each month, users will get a pop-up message (as shown below) prompting them to restart their device at a convenient time, to complete the installation of application and software updates.

A date and time two weeks in the future will be shown. At this point, users have the option to snooze the message (up until 24-hours before the deadline or restart the device).

24 hours before the Automatic Restart, a final warning pop-up will appear. This cannot be snoozed.

Please note, if a device has multiple pending updates, users may receive an additional restart notification.

What if a Windows device cannot be restarted?

We are aware that some devices will need to be excluded from the monthly Automatic Restart process.

If you believe your device needs to be excluded on functional or operational grounds, please complete this exemption form. The exemption is by device, not its user(s).

Should your device be made exempt, you are still expected to reboot your device at regular and convenient intervals.

To help, such devices will receive their own restart reminder messages (although these will look different to the example above).

Your feedback and FAQs

To help us assess how effective the initiative is, we are asking users to provide feedback on the experience and any issues by submitting this form.

For more details and FAQs about automatic restarts, visit this Workspace page. We welcome your feedback for any improvements.