It is not hard. I think many go about it the wrong way. Here is the approach that I use. I got this from Waves themselves in fact.
Run Waves Central.
(Note if it seems like a long time for this to even appear just be patient and wait it out.)Click on Easy Install and Activate
Enter your log in details
Now WAIT!! Look right up top left or bottom right. It is checking for updates. This is not obvious. People start doing stuff while Central is checking for updates. Don't. Just wait.
If there are updates available the words Updates Available will appear in blue right at the very top.
Click on that. (Updates Available)
A window will appear indicating what is going to update.
Click on OK. Be patient. This can take some time depending what is being updated.
It will let you know that all the updates have been successful. This has worked
every time for me. It is faultless in fact.
Installing new plugins is just as easy.