What is essential for ensuring that services are operational on a computer?

The correct answer focuses on the importance of verifying that services are actively running and configured to start automatically. This is critical because if services that support essential functions on a computer are not running, those functions will not be operational. Setting services to automatic ensures they initiate during the system start-up process, which aids in maintaining consistent availability and performance of the system.

Keeping services manual, while it may sometimes be appropriate for certain non-critical services, does not guarantee they will run when needed. Regularly updating software is vital for security and performance improvements, but without the services running, the updates alone won't ensure operational effectiveness. Similarly, while monitoring for viruses is crucial for maintaining system security, it does not directly relate to the immediate operational status of services. Thus, verifying that services are running and properly configured is the most essential action to ensure ongoing service availability on a computer.