WP won't automatically update itself. You're prompted that an update is available, but nothing happens unless click on the update button.

do you have a plugin that is set to do that?

I have seen auto updates on some of the hosts I have worked with. Not sure how to turn that off.

I would caution against not updating WordPress however. You open yourself to a higher probability of getting hacked.

What versions of Atahualpa and WordPress are you currently running? Unless you have PHP code, other than for new widget areas, in the theme options you could also do an update to Atahualpa. The manual method as outlined in the FAQ is the "safest" way to update.

I'm currently running wordpress version 3.5 and atahualapa 3.7.10

I wasn't aware of any plugin that installs the updates automatically, but then re-read the notification email I was sent to me, and figured out that although it looks like it came from wordpress it was probably from hostgator. I logged into my cPanel, and found something called quickinstall which allows me to stop the update.

Unless you have PHP code, other than for new widget areas, in the theme options you could also do an update to Atahualpa. The manual method as outlined in the FAQ is the "safest" way to update.

I'm not familiar with PHP code - how is it different from css? Is there a link to the manual method? Is it easy enough to do for beginners?

From what I've read on these forums (not read anything in depth yet about this though - can't find it now) updating to the newest version of wordpress will mess up my site when it's built with the Atahualpa theme.

I'm not aware of anyone who's site is messed up with WP 3.5.1 and Atahualpa 3.7.10

I have updated several sites to WP 3.5.1 with no issues.

I use hostgator.com and haven't received any emails about updating WP. I get just the usual notice in the dashboard that a new WP version is available, and do the update from there, after first doing a full backup of my sites.

Hostgator does have Fantastico, which allows you to install WP with just a few clicks. That's how I start a new site in WP, but from then on, I do WP updates from within the WP admin dashboard, not from the cPanel for Hostgator's back end.

Originally Posted by lmilesw

The manual method as outlined in the FAQ is the "safest" way to update.

Where would I find this? I did a search in the FAQ at the top of this page, but nothing came up.

Click the 'Home' tab and look in the Atahualpa FAQ forum.