The
number one method that computers are attacked is through security holes in
software. No software is 100% secure and never will be. The best defense is
to update ALL of your software with vendor provided patches as frequently as
possible.
Microsoft has made the biggest strides in making software updates easy, mostly
because it is the number one target by a very wide margin. All versions of
Windows from 2000 through XP can have automatic updates from Microsoft.
However, Microsoft Office packages still not fully automatic. Automatic
updates are the best way to keep your computer up to date and the least
hassle. Microsoft has made the automatic Windows Update operate completely in
the background, even when you only have a dial-up Internet connection. For
Office products, upgrading from Windows Update to Microsoft Update is the best
solution.
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/updates/mu.mspx Viruses often
use holes in Office to find their way on to machines, because most people who
run Windows Update rarely update Office.
Almost
every software vendor publishes security patches for their software. It can
normally be found on their website under support. Software that automatically
updates itself with security patches is become more common, drastically
lowering the burden of keeping up on security easier on the average user. If
you don't know if a particular software package has updating built in simply
search for "updates" in the applications help.
There
are a lot of myths about dangers of running updates immediately upon release.
In the past this was very true as software vendors would rush to release
patches when vulnerabilities were discovered. The patches were not thoroughly
tested and would break more than they fixed. Vendors have learned a lot from
their mistakes, and patches are safer than they have ever been. The risks of
not patching as soon as possible are increasing very rapidly. Just three
years ago the average time from discovery of a vulnerability to a attack was
over six months. It is now down to five days! Your risks of problems from
not patching are now much higher than the potential problems from the patch.
Patching alone will not keep your computer safe. It was once unheard of to
have an exploit on un-patched vulnerabilities, but today they are occurring at
an alarming rate. Minimizing your exposed risks with an arsenal of tools to
protect your computer is essential in today's world.
Family
Watchdog offers subscription services to keep your computers up-to-date and
secured with the best software. Contact us for more details.