Thursday, July 18, 2013

Keep Software Updated


Keeping your computer up to speed on the latest patches and updates is one of the easiest ways to plug holes in your digital fortress. If you’re running Windows, go to the start menu & look for Windows Update under all programs, open it up & hit "check for updates" and install anything that comes up, especially if it's security-related, I'll wait. If you’re on a Mac its even easier, when you’re on the desktop, click on the apple icon in the top left and select "check for updates" and install anything that shows up.  If you haven’t done this in a while the download/install process may take some time. 


In the meanwhile, you should consider turning on automatic updates so that the latest patches get downloaded & installed automatically, here's a quick guide on how to do this for Windows, Mac users can head over here to accomplish the same thing.

Chrome & Firefox check for updates automatically, though Firefox may prompt you to restart the browser to complete the installation. Since you’re thinking about it (and you're reading this), check for updates to your browser plug-ins! Mozilla provides a visual way to see what needs to be updated here.

Other programs like your anti-virus and firewall are probably configured to update automatically, though it never hurts to check and make sure.

With your computer updating itself and plugging security holes on its own, you can have a little more peace of mind.

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