What are updates?

As we all know, perfect software does not exist in this real world. From the movie “Matrix”, humans learnt that ‘flaws’ did exist in what was touted as the most perfect human creation. Similarly, in the automobile industry, while it is imperative to have the best quality assurance for every vehicle that is rolled out of the factory, there can still be situations where certain processes will fail along the assembly line, rendering some parts faulty over a period of time. Incidentally, we have seen this analogy happening to us with the massive recall of certain models of cars for some kind of inspection or upgrading. As we can see, a perfect piece of work is hard to justify or quantify for it can bear flaws that are invisible to the naked eye.

Today, every piece of software will contain some vulnerabilities known as software ‘bugs’ or ‘holes’, waiting to be discovered. Software companies will periodically release software updates which are also known as patches to rectify those vulnerabilities reported on their software.

Why do I need updates?

Most software flaws can be easily exploited by hackers to steal information or have your computer hijacked. Software companies will attempt to eradicate the problem as quickly as possible by releasing updates to fix those flaws in their software.

More often than not, when these updates are released, they are reverse-engineered by hackers, who in turn use them to break into ‘un-patched’ computers. The reason is simple. Curiosity is what fuels a hacker in gaining a good understanding of a vulnerability and he will gain the upper-hand just by studying how a patch works.

As such, it is important that you update your software once they (commonly known as “patches”) become available.

How often should you update your software?

Interestingly, there is no magic number to this question. Updates will be released whenever a software ‘bug’ is reported to the software manufacturer or vendor. Having said that, we must also understand that not all bugs can be fixed easily and some will probably take a longer time than others.

Thus, it’s always a good practice to embrace other forms of protection such as using a personal firewall coupled with an up-to-date anti-virus software to block off malicious traffic and to perform a system scan for any malicious activities.

Hackers will always be ‘lurking’ around waiting to hijack an ‘unpatched’ system. Hence, the rule-of-thumb is to do a check for any updates on a monthly basis. Bear in mind that not all software has “auto-update” features, although most software will provide a link to check for updates.

What other software do you have to update?

As you should know by now that all software needs to be updated occasionally. Some will have updated versions being released that have fixed old and current bugs.

The most important piece of software is probably your Operating System (OS), e.g. Windows XP OS. The following lists some common software that will need updating as well:

Security is always incomplete without "U" !

Human beings have been known to be the weakest link as far as security is concerned. Thus, while we are cultivating a good habit to update our software frequently, we should also be cautious and mindful of the constant threats we may encounter while working on our computer.