There is one thing every user can do to greatly improve their security posture, and this one thing is often overlooked or skipped all together – patching. There are all sorts of reasons why people do not patch their computer, it interrupts work, it takes too long, and a favorite is the patch will do more harm than good.
Patching your computer is like maintaining your car. It will still run without maintenance, but driving often becomes more dangerous the longer you go on without a checkup. According to Hewlett Packard’s 2015 Cyber Risk report, 44 percent of breaches could be attributed to patched vulnerabilities that were between two and four years old.
Patching your PC and the software installed on it is a must, and it is simple to do – just apply (install) all available updates for the application. Here are a few tips to help minimize down-time and interruptions while keeping your software up-to-date.
• For Windows Operating System you should be enabling "automatic updates." Using automatic updates feature will keep Windows patched.
• For third-party applications installed on your computer, such as Adobe Flash Player, Java and Adobe
Reader, download the updates directly from the vendor’s website; some of them even have an option to enable automatic updates. There is also an application, called Patch My PC, that can help simplify keeping those third-party applications updated.
It is also important to keep your mobile phone and other Internet connected smart devices continuously patched to help keep you and your information protected.
Patch My PC - https://patchmypc.net/overview
Microsoft Security Update Guide - https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-us/
Link to the full The Importance of Patching article:
https://issuu.com/greenstonefcs/docs/gs_partners_summer_18_web/43
