Have you updated your operating system yet?
Regardless of whether you’re a business or an individual, upgrading your systems is crucial. After all, you’ll get various benefits of upgrading your operating system at least. But without technical expertise, how do you upgrade your operating system?
Don’t feel discouraged yet.
With this guide, you’ll learn about solid reasons to upgrade your systems. With these tips, your systems remain secure despite rampant hacker activities. Read on and find out more:
1 . Cyber Crime is on the Rise
Right now, the average yearly cost of cybercrime is at $27.4 million—a 29% rise compared to the preceding year. That’s why it isn’t surprising to hear major news stories related to ransomware attacks affecting entire systems. It’s because lots of talented hackers are out there know some common mistakes programmers make when making their software.
In most cases, hackers have more time finding bugs and other problems to exploit the longer the software exists in the market. With this, they find more ways of finding their way into your system, sometimes without your knowledge. Often, concerned individuals will make these exploitable entry points public since it increases user awareness.
This also makes companies more motivated to address these security vulnerabilities. This results in the release of a newer software version. This will address the security exploits and secure your data for a while.
The most unfortunate news is that the cycle of updating is endless. It’s because hackers will always find a way to exploit any vulnerability, regardless of its size. To ensure your security, keep updating whenever it’s available.
2 . Your Personal Data is at Stake
With more everyday tasks consigned to the digital world, the risk of personal data breaches increases. It’s because even simple online transactions can expose your sensitive financial data to hackers. Fortunately, most major browsers and firewall software providers get the best programmers to ensure everyone is a step ahead of most hackers.
Despite this, a single email sent to company personnel can result in a catastrophe if not everyone within is on the same page. If even a single computer isn’t updated, it puts everyone at risk. After all, companies often connect computers through a network.
If your company network has loose security measures, each computer’s data will get compromised. This means hackers will get a hold of your critical corporate data and hold your company hostage. That’s why you must stay on top of each major virus release and get the latest software updates.
3 . Malware is Contagious, Disabling Automatic Updates
Using major commercial email services like Gmail and Yahoo is more secure than before. This means malware isn’t likely to pass through these providers anymore. But when you use smaller networks like a local network or a work email server, your employees might end up passing malware.
For example, inserting an infected USB flash drive into a machine is enough to spread the malware infection. To avoid this problem, you must always upgrade your software. After all, most antivirus applications will send you real-time alerts whenever it suspects an infection.
If you synchronize your software with your email server, it will scan your work emails automatically. This ensures that it accounts for every possible issue that might arise.
You must also understand that hackers usually go into important machines within a system. Once inside, they will disable your antivirus software. They do this to prepare for a major attack on your network.
This is a serious issue since this will grant access to your machine. This allows them to snoop around the files within your network without detection. Prevent this by updating to the latest software since hackers find old software bugs the easiest entry point to your computer.
4 . Gain Access to New Features
Security is one of the primary reasons to upgrade your software. But always remember that doing this has other cool benefits. Most of the time, updating to the latest version of your software means improved features, making it easier and more efficient to use.
Developers know that a good user experience is their software’s primary objective. That’s why with every new software release, they aim to improve your experience. If you keep updating your software, you’ll experience the full benefits of this aim.
As soon as you upgrade, you’ll get a notice that tells you about the newest release. So, whenever this happens, read through the information thoroughly. You’re likely to find some great and improved features that can solve some of the gripes you had before.
Do you want to upgrade your company’s systems but can’t afford a lot of downtimes? If so, check out Revere for more help.
5 . Software Support Might End
Some technical support companies will ask whether you updated your software to its latest version. Your answer determines whether they can support you. After all, some companies no longer have the means of supporting old software.
For example, Windows stopped supporting its operating system, Windows XP, a few years ago. After two decades, this decision was reasonable. But what they didn’t know is that lots of commercial banks use Windows XP as a basis for their ATM software.
That’s why the financial market got hit pretty hard. When this happened, a lot of customers felt like they were at risk and thus stopped patronizing these banks. Take note, companies only stop supporting software when they deem that its user base is too small to be financially viable.
Get over your nostalgia and continue supporting new software updates. This ensures you’ll continue to be a valued customer of your favorite software company.
Upgrade Your Systems Today!
These are some of the things that you must consider before you upgrade your systems. That way, you’ll know how much this practice can help maintain your security and efficiency.
Of course, this is only the first step in updating your system. To learn what comes next, we invite you to continue reading more of our tech guides right here.
