THE REASON SOME SOFTWARES NEED TO RESTART DURING INSTALLATION

The primary reason software installation and updates require a system restart is that some of the files that are being updated are currently being used by a running application or service. Restart Manager enables all but the critical applications and services to be shut down and restarted . This frees the files that are in use and allows installation operations to complete.
 
Tip  From http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa373524%28v=vs.85%29.aspx

Disabling Automatic Software Updates ....

* Ever wondered why the credit you buy for browsing Finishes or depletes quickly when u haven't even surfed the internet ??

*i had this experience once when i bought some browsing credit and just after i logged in to yahoo mail i heard a knock on the door, when i got back in about 5 mins time ma credit had been zapped ....................

Most Softwares by Default have been configured to do updates automatically ( INCLUDING THE WINDOWS OPERATING SYSTEM ), so whenever you connect to the internet these softwares immediately search for updates and sometimes download them without your permission .......... 

You can usually disable AUTOMATIC UPDATES from the " SETTINGS >> UPDATES " option of most softwares .....

To Disable AUTOMATIC UPDATES of windows XP , the steps are 

1.Click START >> CONTROL PANEL >> SECURITY CENTER 
2. scroll down and you'll find the AUTOMATIC UPDATES icon, Click it and choose Turn Off Automatic Updates and you are done !!!!!


:) have a nice day