Major software companies like Apple, Microsoft, or Google are constantly looking for security vulnerabilities and feature improvements to add to their products. It’s only natural: they want satisfied, long-term users, and a glitchy, slow, weakly secured program doesn’t do the trick.
When they identify a bug, security vulnerability, or a feature that can be improved, they work hard to craft an update to address it. Once an update is released you receive a notification asking you to install it on your computer. Some updates might only take a couple minutes to complete, while others could take an hour or longer, and you just don’t have the time to wait around until it’s done. Most people have a habit of ignoring these reminders and end up waiting forever to patch their computers. If that sounds like you, you are making a very big mistake. Ignoring these updates and waiting to install patches can cause lots of damage to your computer, your network, and your company. As soon as hackers are aware of an update, they start working to exploit the vulnerability and get into your systems. The longer you wait, the more time a cyber criminal has to figure out a way to infect your systems.
Applying patches might be annoying, but it’s a critical component of cyber security and can greatly minimize your chances of a cyber attack. With unpatched systems a cyber criminal can install programs, take over your computer, and infect your network with Ransomware. Watch this video to learn the importance of patching your systems and 2 benefits you get when you patch your computers early and often.
If you need help updating your systems and establishing best practices for patch management, give us a call at (416) 966-3306. If you are interested in learning more about cyber security, and some simple things you can do to protect your business, please check out our report: The 7 Urgent And Critical Protections Every Small And Medium Sized Business Must Have In Place Now.