The Importance of Updating? Do I Really Need to Update?
How many times have you hit the "remind me later" button when approached with the newest Windows or Apple update? The odds are you've delayed updates for days or even weeks at a time because of the inconvenience of having to stare at a Windows loading screen for hours at a time. While it may be easier to ignore updates it may cost you in the long run. Read below to learn more about the importance of making sure your applications and devices are updated.
The Purpose of Updates
Despite updates seemingly coming out of nowhere all updates serve some sort of purpose. While some updates contain massive UI overhauls like Windows 11 or IOS 15, most updates attempt to fix bugs in the background that you may not even realize are there. Most importantly however updates protect you from security breaches due to outdated applications or hardware. Cyber criminals thrive off of finding vulnerabilities in past versions of a software or application. In order to protect your devices companies have to constantly patch and update holes in their security that could impact their users. This means that while some updates may seem pointless its entirely possible it is fixing a crack in your devices system.
How Important is it to Update?
A good way of thinking about it is the faster you update your devices the less time your devices spend unsecured. With how much business is conducted through technology it is important that your end point is secured in order to protect the rest of your organization. A real world example of this is how hackers were able to breach Equifax in 2017 through a vulnerability in an unpatched application. This led to multiple clients losing social security numbers, home addresses, and other private data to cyber criminals. While it may be tempting to delay updates out of convenience it will ultimately hurt you in the long run.
Additionally, updates provide quality of life changes that can help run your business sufficiently. Running software on a computer that hasn't been updated in ages will slow it down considerably. To make sure your business is operating at max efficiency it is important that you are working with the latest and greatest tools.
Updating Best Practices
While updating devices and applications can be as easy as hitting a button it is important to keep a few things in mind when managing your system.
- Always have a backup: Making sure you back up your data is integral when making an update plan. While updates exist to fix things sometimes they can be buggy. By backing up your data you can ensure that if an update does harm your system you aren't losing anything vital.
- Read the patch notes: Most updates will contain a document or description outlining what the updates purpose is. While some companies like Apple keep it vague, and use language like "important security updates" it is still beneficial to know what the update is actually changing.
- Stay on top of it: Don't let multiple updates pile onto each other. Make sure that you are timely in updating your systems to take advantage of increased performance and security.
Unpatched vulnerabilities were involved in 60% of data breaches!
CorpInfoTech (Corporate Information Technologies) provides small to mid-market organizations with expert I.T. services including compliance assessment, cybersecurity penetration tests, and comprehensive business continuity planning services. CorpInfoTech can help organizations, quantify, create, refine, and mitigate the risks presented by business threatening disasters in whatever form they may be disguised.
