[CentOS] Auto-updates -- Bad Idea?

Wed Apr 6 18:35:47 UTC 2011
email builder <emailbuilder88 at yahoo.com>

Hello,

  As I've learned recently, I do not have any auto updates configured on my 
system.  I see some posts on the web encouraging the use of "yum-cron", but I'd 
like to know what people feel about the use of automatic updates.

  That is, for a server (non-desktop) system, automatic updates could break 
things or have other unforeseen consequences, and that could happen at the worst 
of times, since the process runs regularly.

  On the other hand, for small businesses without highly trained sysadmins or 
ones with enough time to baby their servers, missing critical updates to, say 
openssl or some other mission-critical package could spell disaster.

  Is the only reasonable solution to schedule a "human cron" once a week to look 
at needed updates?  Ouch.

Thanks in advance for your considered opinions.