Are you annoyed as soon as you see a system update window pop up on your computer? Don’t be — computer updates are critical to the security of your device.
While many of us hit the “Remind Me Later” button each time we get a system update notification, that’s not a good practice.
Software updates are the key to your system’s cyber safety and digital security. Therefore, the sooner you update, the better for your laptop, PC, or Mac’s security. In fact, with so many companies working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, cyber safety and security is more important than ever, as 68% of business leaders feel that cybersecurity threats are increasing.
To help you further understand the importance of computer updates to ensure the safety of your devices, we prepared a list of four reasons why you should never ignore them.
4 Reasons Why You Should Never Ignore Computer Updates
Computer Updates Come With System Repairs
Computer updates bring with them a variety of repairs and revisions for your device. These might include upgrading existing software or operating systems, or repairing security issues and system bugs. So, it’s a good practice to read the computer upgrade details before approving the computer upgrade.
Computer Updates Help in Patching Security Loopholes
Hackers are always looking for vulnerable software. They love software with security flaws. They look for software with weak or disabled security features to fulfill their malicious intent. As soon as hackers come across software with security issues, they write codes, package them into malware (malicious software) and target the vulnerable software to enter your computer.
The malware can be used to steal information from your device or gain control over it. According to a detailed report by Accenture, the average cost of malware attacks on a business is $2.6 million. Computer updates, especially software updates, comprise software patches that help in repairing security flaws and prevent malicious attacks.
Research shows that 80% of organizations that had a data breach could have prevented it by patching security flaws on time or ensuring regular system upgrades.
Computer Updates Help in Keeping the Data Safe
Another reason you should never ignore computer updates is that they ensure the safety of the data on your device.
You probably store some of your most critical documents and files on your computer or laptop. If the security of your device is compromised, hackers can easily gain access to it and steal your data. Not only this but they can sell your data or use it to commit cybercrimes. Only 5% of business’ folders are properly protected. In the case of ransomware attacks, cybercriminals might even encrypt your data and ask you to pay ransom to get the encryption key. Data breaches cost businesses an average of $3.92 million every year. Also, the average cost of ransomware attacks on businesses is approximately $133,000.
Research shows that Windows systems are most vulnerable to ransomware attacks. 85% of ransomware attacks target Windows computers and laptops. Also, 51% of businesses were impacted by ransomware attacks in 2020.
Computer Updates Come With New Features and the Latest Upgrades
Computer updates not only help in patching security loopholes and protecting your data, but they also add the latest features and upgrades to existing software on your devices.
Feature-based computer updates may help in boosting the performance of your software or reduce the episodes of system crashes. If you want, you can ignore such computer updates; however, you’ll miss out on some great features and upgrades.
Tips to Ensure You Are Not Missing Important Computer Updates
Remembering that you need to check your computer updates is as critical as understanding their importance.
Most operating systems on computers and laptops have features that allow you to automatically install updates. Once you enable automatic computer updates, you no longer need to worry about manually monitoring every update and installing it.
Avoid checking computer updates and installing them during office hours. As you probably already know, computer updates require system restarts that can impact your work.
Most computer updates require your system to be unavailable at least for a couple of hours. The best time to check computer updates is before going to bed at night.
You Need a Reliable Internet Connection for Computer Updates
While you can easily install downloaded computer updates in the absence of the internet, you need a reliable internet connection to download the computer updates first. In simpler words, you need the internet while “configuring computer updates.”
So, if you are facing issues with your current internet provider, it’s best to switch to a more trusted internet connection to ensure your computer updates are properly configured before the installation. We have an efficient, reliable, and quick solution to ensure you don’t get interrupted while downloading critical computer updates: gotW3.
gotW3 provides you with faster than ever internet speed and reliable wireless connectivity. It’s more than a hotspot or modem; it's a dependable internet connection wherever you go. With gotW3, you don’t need to worry about incomplete computer updates ever again!