Good morning. My name is Katherine and I use Windows Vista for regular home use. I consider myself a computer user with average knowledge of the technical side of things. Can someone please tell me in plain, nontechnical language, what NET Framework is, why I need to keep updating it, and why there are at least 2 instances of it running in my task manager (NET Runtime optimization service)? Is NET Framework a process I can delete from my computer, or at the very least change the start settings to manual instead of automatic? The information I've read on NET Framework is too technical and I still don't understand what it's for. Thank you!
(This is a non-developer perspective)
In general, the .NET Framework provides a secure, managed, environment for program execution. Most Windows programs today are written using .NET support, so you, as the user of those programs, need one or more .NET Framework versions installed on your system so the programs will work. Examples of common programs that require .NET are Internet Explorer (and other web browsers) and MS Office.
Newer Windows versions come with .NET as part of the OS. Vista, for example, includes .NET 2.0 and 3.0.
Addressing your concerns:
"why I need to keep updating it," Because, primarily, of the security responsibilities of .NET. New threats constantly appear.
"Is NET Framework a process I can delete from my computer," No! .NET is not a service. It's a support environment for many of your programs, so if you remove it (.NET versions embedded in your OS cannot be removed by the user), programs that require .NET support will no longer work.
Hope this helps a bit.
BTW, newer Windows versions come with more .NET versions, so it's really becoming part of the OS.