Debian can update itself automaticly. This is done via 3 Commands on the Console
The Update Process should be done in an interactive Shell, since it somtimes asks Questions.
First the Packet Databases are updated by
apt-get update
The Command will get the Differentials for the Database of the Packet Management System.
To upgrade the Installation with
apt-get upgrade
This may take a While. First off all the Packets have to be downloaded.
A pending Kernel or KDE Upgrade will produce Traffic well in Excess of 100 MB. Therefore You might not want to do it on a mobile Connection.
Essential Upgrades that effect the whole Distribution are installed using
apt-get dist-upgrade
It is a good Idea to closely examine what the Upgrade and Dist-Upgrade want to do.
Sometimes they will remove lots of Packets from the System to satisfy Packet Dependencies.
This happens somtimes when the Ditribution is in "Transition".
In this Case it is best to wait until the Transition is compltete and replace security-critical Packets by Hand.
You can download the Patckets from on of the Debian Mirror Sites closest to You, but if there are several Machines to be serviced it pays to keep them somewhere on the local Site. Sometimes it even helps to have the Patcket Collection available on a CD (RW).
Installing Patckets is rather easy and straight forward like in the Process of installing the System.
Usually one becomes root, changes to the Directory holding the Patch(es) and tells the Computer
dpkg -i *
to get it (them) installed.
Graphical Frontends like KDE or Gnome have an Update Notification Tool built in. They will show Popups when Updates become available.