Why It's Important to Accept Software Updates

How many times have you thought "Do I really need to install this update?’"  The answer is "Yes you do!"

You should make sure that your computer – and your mobile devices – are switched “on” to automatically receive software updates that you can install.

When you see these updates coming through, you should accept them – don’t put it off.

At the same time, you should remove or disable any software applications that you do not use. These clutter your computer and provide potential areas of vulnerability.

Applying software updates is one the most important things you can do for your computer, tablet or even phone. It helps things to run efficiently, but more importantly if you don't perform updates, you're putting your organisation at risk.

An update, often in the form of a patch or service pack, comes from the vendors, (such as Microsoft). They release these to address vulnerabilities and problems and also to provide improvements. Software patches usually fall into two categories:

Security vulnerability fixes - Most malicious software (malware) is focused on exploiting weaknesses caused by out of date systems. In fact, more than 90% of updates are to patch security vulnerabilities in programs.

Bug fixes & enhancements -These patches and upgrades are designed to improve the performance of your computer.  Sometimes bugs (or mistakes by the programmer) aren't discovered until the software has been released and is being used.  When bugs are reported, fixes are developed and released as part of the next update.

So next time you you go to close the pop-up message reminding you to install an update, remember how important they are to you and your business and let your system update.