If you owned or are using a technological gadget, you are likely plagued fairly frequently, with annoying little reminders to download updates and restart your browser, application or computer. It’s a seemingly never-ending nuisance, and unless you are experiencing glitches or breaks, you are probably asking yourself, do I really need to install this update if I am not having any issues?
The answer is a very definitive "Yes".
It is common for all of us to think of updates as ways to make software or operating systems run more efficiently.
An update patches the software’s current version and is typically provided for free.
An upgrade is a new version of the software and must be installed separately. Upgrades will not have any of your customized settings and should be treated the same as installing new software. They also take up more space, more steps and more time to install. Updates allow developers to fix user-reported issues quickly until a new version, or upgrade, is available.
Just like the announcement made by Boeing on 11 March 2019 that it would update flight control systems on its 737 Max 8 commercial jetliners. The company said in a statement, noting that the updates included changes to "flight control law, pilot displays, operation manuals and crew training".
All of those pieces of software opened up our computer, and therefore our data, are susceptible to cyber attacks, whether it is a minor infection or the hostage-taking ransomware we have to pay to unlock. Either way, our information is more easily compromised or lost when updates are ignored. All of the anti-virus software in the world will do no good if it’s out of date.