For most users, security patches & updates are regular annoyances that are dealt with promptly or put on the back burner until you’re harassed by Windows to the point where you do it just to shut it up. Worse yet, some users ignore critical updates, sometimes to their own detriment. So what’s the point of all these patches and updates? Does it matter if you update them immediately or wait?
There are two main reasons why it’s a good idea to go ahead and run those pesky Windows updates regularly. First, Windows regularly puts out security patches to its software. These critical updates are designed to fix a flaw in the operating system’s code that a malicious user could exploit to gain access to your computer and files and/or install software on your computer, oftentimes without you knowing the exploit has already been carried out. Most users don’t even know they’ve been hacked because there aren’t any obvious signs like we see in the movies. Your computer can be exploited simply for its extra processing power along with an army of other similarly infected computers on the internet; modern hackers aren’t always going after sensitive info like passwords and bank account info.
Second, since operating systems are being updated and pushed out more frequently, there is more of a chance that the underlying code will have flaws in it that need to be updated. These updates may or may not be critical, but they are designed to help things run more smoothly for users. We’d all like our software to run perfectly out of the box, but that’s never been the case with any software. Since the advent of the internet, software developers have taken advantage of its connectivity to fix those problems that prior to the internet would have been a bug that you just had to live with.
The downside to more complicated operating systems that do more and more is that you’ll have more frequent software updates and patches. It seems like there are updates on an almost daily basis. One of the ways you can make these updates less of a hassle is by scheduling when your computer checks for and applies these updates. You can set times for when your system checks for and applies updates to your computer so you aren’t dedicating time when you should be working to run maintenance. You can also choose to run most updates immediately and then choose to delay restarting your computer to apply those updates until a more convenient time.
So, running regular updates and security patches is an important part of regular computer maintenance that doesn’t have to be put off until a more convenient time. These software updates can be of high importance and at the very least will help your operating system run more smoothly. You have the ability to structure when and how these updates are run and applied to your computer. How and when you choose to run your operating system’s updates is up to you. If all of this still sounds like too much trouble for you, please contact us to schedule a consultation for a monthly or annual maintenance contract. We’ll take over the work of backing up your crucial systems and regularly running security patches, updates, virus updates, malware protection and all of the other crucial tasks necessary for a secure, modern IT environment.