systemsLet’s talk about updates, those annoying little messages you get that add an extra click and extra five seconds before launching the systems or program you need. Of course, they may take significantly more than five seconds, depending on your system settings. We all know that feeling: work hours are over, you hurry to switch off the computer and head home and then you see something along the lines of ‘PLEASE DO NOT SWITCH YOUR COMPUTER! WINDOWS installing update 1 out of 321.” Yes, updates can be annoying sometimes, but they are also extremely important and in the following post you will find out why it is essential for you to update your system.

Earlier this month, Microsoft released a very important update that fixed a serious security bug and made sure unauthorised users won’t be able to get access to sensible corporate and governmental networks. The Kerberos authentication protocol bug has obviously been around for some time and if you have not updated your system with the MS14-068 update, please do so immediately, because, as the author of the above post explains, if your system is attacked and penetrated successfully, the attacker can infect it with malware software and gain unlimited control. This is only one of the numerous examples that no system is perfect – if it were, no updates would be necessary. No matter if it is Microsoft, Apple, Linux, Adobe etc., and every software company can make mistakes and even if they don’t, more and more skilled hackers appear by the day.

So how to make sure that the systems on all your devices are safe, secure and performing at their best? Here are a few simple steps that will help you be up-to-date without much effort:

  • Realise that systems ask you to install updates because this will give you a better experience as a user, both from a security and performance point of view.
  • When installing new software, allow it to update automatically – thus it won’t constantly ask you for permission and annoy you with update messages.
  • Change your Operating System settings to allow the installation of automatic updates. The system knows best when the updates are due and how to deal with them, you just need to sit back and wait for it to get ready for work.
  • Make sure you back up and protect important and sensitive information. Computers connected to a network and all the cloud services, hosting accounts and servers can be hacked, but an external hard drive protected with a password and disconnected from the computer after you have transferred files is quite an advanced target.
  • Install Antivirus and Anti-malware software not only on your computer, but also on your smartphone, tablet, laptop and any other device you have. Any of them may serve as the gate through which hackers can enter.
  • Update, update, update! Not only your OS (e.g. Windows, Linux, Mac OS etc.), but also any other software you work with – Adobe products, AutoCAD, Antivirus Products (e.g. Kaspersky, Norton, Avast, AVG etc.), Accounting software and everything else. Some of them may not pose a security risk, but an update means improved performance and who can resist that?

All in all, some of us may find updates quite annoying and practically a waste of time, but there is a serious reason behind that and it is to make sure you, the user, are safe and happy with your product. So next time you see the well-known ‘Windows will install updates in 15 minutes’, click ‘OK’ instead of disabling the Updates altogether!

Of course, when we talk of updating your systems, we don’t just mean Windows or your operating system. Every computer system you use should be updated regularly so it is using the latest protection and patches for your security.  A system like Admin Bandit is automatically updated so that you never need to worry about it, and that will only be a relief for you.