Why are software updates so important? The MegaGuide

Do you know why security updates are so important? The first step that a developer has to take when he launches his program on the market is to check the security flaws that may occur. It is not something that can be predicted at the time creating the softwareWell, if that were the case, the necessary modifications would be made so as not to put it on the market with the defect in question.

It should be noted that, before putting an app available to the end user, it passes a series of tests by the programmers, but also by the person who acts as a tester. The job of these people is to test the system and try to “break” it. However, in the end, it will be the person who uses it on a day-to-day basis who best knows its defects and virtues and, of course, who will enjoy its functionalities. So, and we ask again… Why is it so important for security to have up-to-date software? Continue reading to know why, you will be surprised.

The security flaws are actually vulnerabilities that can be exploited by hackers to infect computers that have this program installed. This way they can get hold of data or use the infected computer to misuse it or to infect other computers. Therefore, when a new program or operating system or versions of these are put on the market, these cybercriminals spend much of their time looking for those security breaches that can end up with months of hard work and that, of course, will harm to a greater or lesser extent the user who uses the hacked software.

What are software updates and what are they for?

For this reason, from all the organizations that are in charge of cybersecurity at this level throughout the world, it is strongly requested that we always take a series of measures to prevent this type of problem from occurring. This implies being very systematic when it comes to having a routine of actions whenever we turn on the computer, these actions to be carried out will allow us to minimize any possibility of attacking our system.

When the internet enters our lives, we are also leaving a small back door open let them come in cyber criminals. This does not mean that the network is something negative and that we should stop using it, as it brings many good things and advances to our day to day life. But we must be aware of the content we consume and always be up to date with the software or application updates we use, so that the developers themselves are responsible for protecting our security and that of our equipment through them.

When you download a program and install it on your computer, its developers continue to work on improvements to it, especially when they offer continuous support for their application. These may consist of adding new functionalities to the application or reinforcing some existing ones, for the user they may be useful and save him work and time in the use he makes on a daily basis. This section also includes the security level improvements to prevent unwanted attacks. All of these developments are often brought together to create what is called a software update.

Updates are published from time to time. In this way, the user is allowed to install them manually (if they do not have the automatic update system by default) and to test if they cover all their needs. Generally, surveys are passed to the end user after reviewing the use of the applications to confirm that they meet expectations and, if not, the developers will continue working on a new update until they find a stable version. With good maintenance of the application, many customers can retain their loyalty and the different types of security updates play a key role in this.

The fact that we always have to be at the forefront of latest updates of software, it is given for the following reasons:

• The most important is the fix any system-level vulnerabilities that could be detected.
• Add improvements compared to previous versionsand even new functions that can help our device to be more competitive compared to other competitors.

Who is responsible for publishing security updates?

The updates are made by the manufacturers and developers of the program or system. They create what we call patches (at security level). This process is to be done very quickly, since security problems can generate major inconveniences on a larger and smaller scale in a short period of time.

Yes, it is true that sometimes errors cannot be corrected at the moment, but, in that case, it will be when the manufacturers must report the breach or vulnerability, and each one of us dedicates ourselves exclusively to preventing the hacking problems that may exist affect our internal system as little as possible.

Beware of “pirate” patches and updates

Cybercriminals keep looking for ways to attack us; They seek to take advantage of any gap in security to have, with different techniques, access to our information. Therefore, we must take certain precautions with the updates of programs configured to be updated manually. No software should ask us for an update from external places. If this is the case, the website to which you request access must be the official one of said application.

Do not install anything that does not come from the official website of the brand or not that it has released communications in which it affirms that it leaves this work to other professionals, although this procedure is not usually the most common. In this way we will avoid interference in our computer that can incur serious security flaws.

We must also watch who has administrator permissions on our system. These people will be able to execute downloads, installations and updates, since they have the password to do so. For this reason, you should check who has that option, that they are trustworthy people and that they are not too many in number. It is preferable that if you are the owner of the device, you spend a few minutes of your time to review this.

A very important aspect and that we do not usually give greater importance to, is that of giving administrator access and permissions to certain programs without reading their licenses and privacy policies. It is the responsibility of each one to know, to which areas or functionalities of our computer or smartphone that app or software that we install has access. Unfortunately, we see this on a daily basis and accept it as such without first reviewing this information.

List of basic cybersecurity standards

Although, as we have already mentioned, the developers strive to offer us the best version of their product, there are a series of actions that we can and must do ourselves to enjoy the internet and technology while reducing the possible risks of cyber attacks.

We all like to spend some free time from our day to day to visit some websites and social networks to be able to disconnect from the arduous daily tasks. To do it as safely as possible You must learn these rules and follow them to the letter:

• Make sure everyone your programs and your operating system are updated to the latest version.
• Sets updates to be done automatically. Many times we remove this option because we do not want the system to slow down when they are being carried out. This is a complete mistake, because sooner or later we will have to improve the version of the program. We must remember that we always have to try to avoid system security breaches and delaying updates only makes the situation worse.
• Performing regular backups is a way to support our information and protect ourselves from a possible attack, these copies must be kept in a safe place apart from our general data.
• Do not give full administration permissions to all the apps or users that use the computer equipment.
• We have to be very careful with the applications that we install on our hardware; something as simple as making sure if they include malware or knowing their coding can prevent us from putting our system at risk.
• We must have an updated antivirus and set a regular date to pass it on to our team and check that some type of security hole has not been opened due to uncontrolled malicious attacks.
• Also have a local Wi-Fi network firewall system to protect us from external attacks

What should we do when there are new security updates for our system?

Not having our equipment completely up-to-date can be a risk that it is not necessary to take. At the same time that the notice appears that we have a security flaw in the system, we must be aware that our computer can be attacked. Within good practices, we have pointed out that we should have the default automatic updates in our systemso that the entire process is done in a transparent and automated way for us.

Can use specific software that scans our computer to see all the applications that we have in the system and show us an alert of those that are not updated. This comes in handy, above all, for all those apps that do not have the option to configure their updates as automatic. In addition, it is necessary that, as soon as something new skips us, we install or schedule an installation at a future date and time to do so.

Differences between manual and automatic updates

Many of the programs that we install have the serial number marked option to have security updates and/or the rest done automatically. This can be tremendously useful to us, especially at the operating system level. Generally, we do not tend to be aware of the moment when an update is going to come out for our team. It may be important at the operating system level, but since most of the time we do not really understand what these improvements are, we prefer that the computer works by itself and does not slow down the system, skipping and postponing the update.

It is true that in many cases, especially in mobiles and tablets, security updates of applications and operating systems are usually scheduled for a time when we are not using the device, mostly at night. It is not strange the case in which our phone asks us for a password to perform an update in a certain period of time where it is likely that we are not using it.

Although there are also manual updates. These are not highly recommended. It may happen that initially you know that this is the case and you remember to do frequent scans and checks to see if there are updated versions of each software, but you will not always remember.

From the Incibe (National Institute of Communication Technologies) At the level of Spain, they warn us that most of the computers that become infected and suffer cyberattacks are computers that have updates disabled. For this reason, they emphasize that we do not consciously skip the step of marking our updates as automatic in all programs and systems that allow it. Evaluate what is inside your computer and don’t make it easy for hackers!

Updates available for different platforms

Operating systems

At the operating system level we have to be aware of all updates available to always have the latest version. This is because it is the OS that is responsible for managing the basic processes of the computer. For this reason, if security flaws occur when updating an operating system, it is very important that we install, as far as possible, the latest patch that the provider has created for us.

Generally, operating systems come with automatic configuration as standard, so no type of enabling is required. Anyway, I’m going to explain where to check this on each operating system.

Microsoft Windows

As a general rule, Microsoft releases updates on the second Tuesday of every month.unless a fatal error occurs. For this reason, it is discouraged not to have automatic updates enabled; since these are frequent.

These will always be downloaded transparently to the user, when connected to the internet. In addition, they will prevail over the rest of the downloads, so they will not be interrupted. If you want to know if your equipment is up to date, do the following:

• You must access the control Panel of your team and from there, enter the Microsoft security center.
• Next, look for the “Automatic Updates” option.
• Make sure you have the “Automatic” option checked. Click on the “Accept” button.

Depending on your version of Windows, these options may be located elsewhere. In future posts we will explain in detail where and how to update to the latest version of windows.

If you have enabled manual updatethe system will inform you of the news and will request permission to download it and then install it, being able to postpone it or directly choose a time for it to be carried out.

Manzana

Versions after Mac OS 10.5 allow you to configure the “Software update” so that these are carried out automatically and downloaded without the need for user intervention.

The process you must follow to configure them is as follows:

• You must click on the “apple” that appears on your desktop in the upper left of your Mac.
• Next, select the “System Preferences” option and from there, the “Software Update” option.

from this location you can select the frequency with which you want to check these searches. You can choose daily, weekly or monthly. The search for new versions is also forced from that same screen. We only need to have the name of the administrator account and the associated password to change the preferences in this regard.

Linux (particularly the Ubuntu Distribution)

In Linux we can also program automatic downloads so that the user does not have to intervene at any time. This possibility is in a location similar to the one used in Windows.

• First of all, click on the button “System” from the desktop toolbar and access “Management”. From there, we can now enter the “Update Manager”.
• A window will open where it tells us all the latest updates that we have pending and will offer us the possibility of configuring them.
• A menu will be displayed where we have to select the tab “Updates”. From it, we can mark the ones that we consider necessary to install, the interval (daily, weekly, monthly) and if we want to be asked for confirmation before each installation.

Mobile devices

android devices

Any Android device (both mobiles and tablets) have a default monthly update, which includes improvements in security as well as other types of functionalities. Every time Android releases a new version, high-end devices are the first to receive it; this is so due to the fragmentation problem that mid-range devices have.

Before, Android took about nine weeks to send security updates; but at present, they are going to do a direct shipment to the manufacturers of each brand; so that users can have these improvements in a few days, minimizing the risk of malicious attacks during this period.

To check if we are in the latest version on Androidwe must look for the application in our terminal “Settings” and within it, in the section “System”the option “Phone/tablet info”. Once there we can check the version of Android we are in and if there is a new and stable version available to download.

apple devices

Manzana it releases security updates from time to time and a notice automatically appears on your device telling you to install a new version. You can do this wirelessly, using Wifi or using iTunes.

Do not forget that before performing this action you must back up your device with iCloud or iTunes. To install the new version of the iOS operating system, it is done in a very simple way. You just have to enter the menu “Settings”then select the option “General” and click on “Software update”.

Apple allows you to select the moment and the means to use to perform the update: You can choose to do it now or do it at another time when you are not using the device. The only requirements is that you leave the smartphone or tablet connected to the electrical network and that you have a WiFi connection at that time.

Browsers and applications

At the level of Internet browsers or applications, it is likely that you will have to inform yourself about whether or not they allow the option to schedule their updates automatically, but that is better addressed in a different post. You can start warming up with this article on how to update chrome from different devices.

Special Mention: Microsoft Office

Due to its widespread use, we cannot go without telling you that Office also allows automatic updates. From time to time it offers this possibility in the system and warns the user about it. Although, a simple check can be made to see if we have it in the most recent version.

• You must create a new Word document, go to the option “File, Archive” and enter inside “Office account”.
• There you can see the “Product Information” and select “Update Options”.
• If this option appears, click on “Update now”; if not, then Office is at its latest version.

Our computers have become, in many cases, our way of working or interacting with other people as well as a kind of safe full of valuable information. Today, data, as well as how it interacts with different platforms, is a very powerful source of information and therefore, also very valuable economicallythat is why you must protect and safeguard your privacy in the best possible way, and one of them is having the latest software updates installed, either on your computer, mobile phone, etc.

Thus, we must always update to the version recommended by the manufacturer and ensure that it is in its latest version. This will be the best way to avoid headaches. So stay on the topic of patches and don’t forget to check this kind of stuff from time to time. Remember: if it happens to big companies, it can happen to you too.