Updates. I know we’ve all encountered those pesky pop-ups requesting we reboot our computers s updates can finish, or those alerts we get on our phones constantly bugging us to update.
Are updates really necessary? Do we really have to schedule in time to update our PC’s and mobile devices?
The answer is, well yes. As annoying as it can be to have to stop and schedule in those updates, it is actually pretty important.
You see, updates provide vital security fixes/ patches that help protect against malware, bugs, viruses and attackers. When we update, we are patching security vulnerabilities. We are protecting our devices from outside harm. Updates also fix performance issues, glitches, and bugs in the operating system. When we update apps, we get the same performance and security fixes.
While we do recommend you update, there are a few guidelines we suggest you follow:
FOR COMPUTERS:
- Most OS updates are vital, so we recommend you update those as soon as possible.
- Always backup your data before a big update, as updates sometimes break things.
- If you are a home user, we suggest you turn ON automatic updates
- If you are a business, we suggest you schedule in specific times to update every month. Do not turn on automatic updates, as this can disrupt production. If an update breaks something in the middle of business hours, that will not be a good time. You also do not want any important machines or servers rebooting in the middle of business hours as this will cause disruption.
- If an update breaks something, you can rollback that update.
- Read our blog post here about how to successfully update your specific OS.
FOR SMARTPHONES:
- We like to suggest that you don’t update your smartphone immediately after a new update is available, unless the update is critical. Smartphone updates tend to be pretty buggy so we suggest you wait a bit before installing a new update.
- If you have a child or an elderly relative with a smartphone, you can turn on automatic updates for them to make sure they are getting updates with no hassle.
- Read our blog post here about how to successfully update your specific smartphone.
Remember = Updates help with security, performance, and bugs.
