I can remember quite clearly when we didn’t need program updates every twenty seconds or so. A time when you would buy a program and upload it, and it would work perfectly forever. To be clear, this isn’t me reminiscing; I still get an eye twitch when thinking about that. IT WAS AWFUL! Here’s the deal. Nowadays, programs get updates all the time. While I understand it can be annoying or inconvenient, it’s really necessary.
1) Software Benefits – Back in the days when you load up and go forward (we’ll call those the “Oregon Trail” days), there would be no way for the companies whose software you happen to be using to update their product for you, at least not in a particularly convenient way. Certainly, you could drive to a store and buy the newest edition of whatever program, but then you would have to come home, delete the older version (a stress-inducing moment) and then upload the new version and PREY TO THE TECHNO GODS that you did it right.
2) Security Benefits – Because of the internet and the variety of dangers out there, there is an ever-growing list of security issues that the average person needs to be able to deal with. As most of us (including yours truly) aren’t programmers, we rely on the companies to protect us. These protections come in the form of Security updates, and for those updates to take effect, they must be updated on your devices. If you do not do the updates, most of the programs you use will either break down or stop working entirely. The other problem is that you risk a security breach on your account by not doing updates regularly. It genuinely doesn’t matter what program you’re using; if there is a login, you may be at risk if you don’t update regularly.
3) What you need to do – Let’s say it all together now….DO YOUR UPDATES! There are actually a couple of different things that you can do to make the process easier. On most phones and mobile devices, you can set your apps to auto-update, which means they will update when you aren’t using them. This could be when you are sleeping or commuting to and from work when (if you’re driving) you shouldn’t be on your devices anyway. The other thing you can do (which frankly is something I do) is go to my App Store, where my updates show up and hit “update all” just before I put my device on its charger before I go to sleep. That was when I knew that all my apps would be updated and I wouldn’t miss anything.
There are so many things in life that we need to do in modern society. Eat right, get a job, pay taxes, exercise (Yes I’m a little negligent on that last one), but you also need to make sure that you update your system as much as possible. Without these updates, your programs stop working, or you leave yourself vulnerable to attack by those who want to steal your data. Therefore, Keeping your system updated is a relatively easy way to ensure you keep yourself safe in a modern world.
How often do you update?
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