It seems we've entered a new era in software purchase and maintenance as nearly all software is now bought and installed online. But have you noticed how more and more DAWs, plugins and software manufacturers are including download, installation and update apps as part of the software? Avid, the makers of Pro Tools, now have their Application Manager which assists in the installation and update of Pro Tools and associated software and plugins. Many plugin companies now offer these managers too such as Waves and Softube. Then of course there's the update software built into Mac and Windows.

Now in some ways these can be helpful, but some are becoming more and more invasive and in some cases leave you little option (without using a hack) to stop the software updates being installed. Not all software updates are good news, they may not be intentional, but sometimes an update does more harm than good to an otherwise stable Pro Tools computer.

Some Pro Tools users don't like the Avid Application Manager running in the background, if you are one of them then here's How To Stop The Avid Application Manager From Launching At Startup - Mac And Windows

How do you feel about the growing number of applications you need to install to keep your software up to date and more so do you think that automatic software updates are good or bad? Do you like to set-it-and-forget-it or do you scream every time your Mac or Windows computer gives you little option but to update or defer? Take our poll and leave comments.