Most of us are aware of the primary ways our computers become vulnerable to hackers; visiting infected websites, having easy to guess passwords, opening attachments/links sent via email, but one of the most forgotten or unknown weak points of a computer is not updating your software.
Software updates are something we rarely think about, but they are essential to the health and security of our network. When software manufacturers come out with updates, it is partly due to them finding weak points that hackers can use to infiltrate your computer. Exposure can lead to hackers accessing all of the information on your machine and network undetected.
A vulnerability is defined as a combination of these three components:
- A system susceptibility or flaw
- A hacker’s access to the flaw
- A hacker’s ability to exploit the flaw
To exploit these vulnerabilities in software, the hacker uses a piece of code to bypass the system’s antivirus/security systems that are in place. Once the systems are avoided, the hacker has full access to all of the information on your computer. Some of the major software they target include Adobe, Flash, and QuickTime. They focus their energy on any software located on the majority of computers to get a bigger bang for their buck.
Luckily, you don’t have to worry about keeping your business computers updated all on your own! Networks Unlimited offers a Managed Service that automatically keeps your computer updated with the latest software updates and patches. To learn more about our Patch Management service, visit our website or give us a call (970) 243-3311.
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