Everything You Need To Know About Microsoft Windows Updates
Windows Updates: In addition to security fixes, software updates can also include new or enhanced features, or better compatibility with different devices or software. They can also improve the stability of your OS, applications and remove outdated features.
As the number of threats increase, it is becoming more and more critical that updates are applied in a timely manner, many of the more harmful malware attacks we see takes advantage of software vulnerabilities in common applications, like operating systems and browsers.
The process of securing a system includes constantly monitoring for newly discovered security holes and vulnerabilities, the objective is to obtain a patch and implement it before any malicious software or individual threats your un-patched system. At first look, it seems an excellent idea would be to have a mechanism that automatically obtains security patches for identified holes and exploits, there may even be some circumstances in which it would be advisable to use the capability to install updates on a specified schedule, however there’s downside to perform automated updates
THE CORE PROBLEM:Microsoft still hasn’t figured out how to deliver reliable Windows patches, on top of that and for obvious reasons you don’t want to be in a beta testing phase with your production computers. As with everything associated with patching Windows, there are pros and cons. You have to weigh the possibility of buggy patches. History shows that the risk of blind patching on day one greatly exceed the risk of delaying for a couple of weeks. CONSEQUENCES TO NOT INSTALLING UPDATES:
Potential consequences of not installing security updates are damaged software, loss of data, or identity theft. Every year, malware causes damage of millions of dollars worldwide. The main reason is that users don’t install critical software or operating system updates, allowing malware to exploit loopholes that exist in every software ever developed. Vulnerabilities can potentially be exploited within hours of them becoming publicly known. So once a security update is available, you should plan to install the fix to protect your system from malware attacks. BENEFITS OF USING AUTOMATIC UPDATES:
No user interaction needed
Operating system is always up to date, when it works DISADVANTAGES OF USING AUTOMATIC UPDATES:
Incomplete installation of hotfixes resulting in crashing of OS including blue screen of death (BSoD), incompatibility with a DLL or application, resulting in systems that would halt with stop errors on restart
Updates and restart can happen at any time and interrupt your work even when you configure schedules
Bandwidth consumption CONCLUSION:
It is critical to install security updates to protect your systems from malicious attacks. In the long run, it is also important to install software updates, not only to access new features, but also to be on the safe side in terms of security loop holes being discovered in outdated programs, and it is in your own best interest to install all other updates, which may potentially cause your system to become vulnerable to attack. Make sure you keep all your computers and applications updated and before enabling automatic updates on windows, consider using a managed windows updates service for this task
Contact our support team about your windows and infrastructure security needs at: 954-324-1144