Why Software Updates Are Important – Don’t Be Compromised

It's Important to Keep Your System Up To Date

Have you ever been annoyed by the constant pop-ups and notifications that show up on your screen every few days asking you to update your computer to the latest security patch? These patches can come from Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, Firefox, or countless others. I’m going to explain why software updates are important and why you shouldn’t ignore these warnings.

You may be very tempted to just ignore these messages and move on. However, that’s a very, very bad idea. The reason these patches exist in the first place is that when someone programs a piece of software, they don’t always consider every possible thing that could happen in that software.

Not All Possible Scenarios Can Be Considered

Here’s a very simple example: someone could write a program that converts dollars to cents. It’s very simple. You just take the inputted number and multiply it by 100, and there’s your output value. However, what happens if someone inputs the letter ‘a‘ instead of a number into your form?

The correct thing to do is to disallow non-numbers from being allowed in the first place. But in many cases, the program will just crash. In some cases, if the program is designed poorly, someone could find a way to exploit your program and get access to the underlying operating system. When this happens, you have a “security hole”.

These security holes can happen in every single software package that’s ever been written. However, when the hole is in your web browser, your operating system, or a web plug-in such as Adobe Flash, then the security is even more important.

Hackers Exploit Security Holes Constantly

How A Security Hole Is Exploited

Think about all of the stuff you use the Internet for today. You probably use it for e-mail, Facebook, your bank accounts, your credit card information, your retirement plans etc. If a hacker finds a way to exploit a piece of some software that you haven’t patched to the latest version, then they may install what’s known as a key-logger, which keeps track of every single keystroke you make.

The next time you log into your e-mail after your computer is infected, then that hacker immediately knows the password. If that occurs, they can usually get into your bank account, and from there, your financial statements, your credit card information, and so on, leading to identity theft. All in all, it’s a very bad situation.

Always Keep Your Software Up To Date

By ignoring security warnings you are only asking for trouble. Security is very important, and those pop-ups and notifications are there for a reason. As soon as you see an official pop-up that says you need to update your computer, you should do it immediately. However there are some exceptions to this…

A lot of scam artists have created viruses or malware that display pop-ups which look exactly like official security warnings, but in fact, they are actually attack vectors to install more bad stuff into your computer. But, if you install all of the official security patches every time they first appear in your screen, your chances of being infected by one of these fake notices are very slim.

Good luck and stay safe!