Windows XP or Windows Vista

• 1). Right-click in a blank area on the taskbar and select "Properties."
  
  
• 2). Select the "Taskbar" tab in Windows XP or the "Notification Area" tab in Windows Vista.
  
  
• 3). Click the "Customize" button then locate the Windows Update icon in the resulting window.
  
  
• 4). Click the adjacent label reading "Show" or "Hide when inactive" then select "Hide" from the resulting menu.
  
  
• 5). Click "OK" on each of the next two screens to confirm the change.
  
  

Windows 7

• 1). Right-click in a blank area on the taskbar and select "Properties."
  
  
• 2). Select the "Taskbar" tab.
  
  
• 3). Click the "Customize" button then locate the Windows Update icon in the resulting window.
  
  
• 4). Click the adjacent drop-down menu and select "Hide icon and notifications."
  
  
• 5). Click "OK" to confirm the change.