Linux automatic patches?

Well, Im not a "linux guy", I installed it once but Im using Windows. Anyway, I got a question about linux :

WinXP alert me sometimes about a new security issue and asks me if I want to download the appropriate patches for it. One click on "Download" and one on "Install" after it downloads the patch, and my box is immune.

This great process is really user friendly, and i dont have to check what version of windows / certain program I have. It just tells me I need to download the patch and thats it.

My question is : is there anything similar in linux? something almost automatic that patches my box, instead of checking (For example) whether I have version 1.0034 or 1.0035 of some program, to check if i need to search(...) and download the patch or not...

And also if I visit security sites and download the patches they offer, I can still forget one / more.

As far as i know, nothing is automatic in linux, you have to configure everything... which is pretty annoying ;)

For some linux distributions (like SuSE) there is automatic updates.
It checks for new updates on the SuSE FTP..
it's just as simple as the windows auto-update...

So it realy depends on the linux distribution.

I personaly realy like to DIY (do it myself) and I compile nearly evrything from source..

Linux mandrake doesn't remind you to install the latest security patches but does make it easy for you. In the mandrake control center go to software manager. Inside there it will allow you to check for normal updates, security updates and bug fixes all in one shot. You click on the ones you want to install and mandrake does the work for you.

I would recommend CVSup for ease of updating. If you want it to be an automatic procedure, you merely need to add it to your cron jobs. If you don't know about cron, I recommend finding out about it. I've seen script kiddie apps that will add trojans into your cron jobs and this will cause the trojans to restart as frequently as is specified. To learn about cron, type "man cron" at your command line, without the quotes of course. Or, if you don't like your man pages, then this IBM search for "cron" will be of great benefit. They detail cron pretty well for limiting access to it, and manipulating it to make your system work for you instead of you working for your system.

Hope this helps.
Regards and happy reading.

In many cases, you can use the command-line update utilities (like urpmi, emerge, apt-get, etc....) and put it in a nightly cron job. I would be careful with something like that, though...... you might get something you don't want. :) I've never been a big fan of automatic updates because I prefer to do things manually so I know exactly what's going on, but I have done that before.