Many people get annoyed when they see messages about an upcoming system update. As a result, the question is often asked – is every Windows update necessary? What are updates for and are they really necessary? We answer.
At the beginning it is worth to specify what system updates are. Simply put, updates are fixes, sometimes also called patches, that are intended to improve the performance of a particular program, as well as fix current bugs. In the case of operating system updates, which is by all accounts the most important software we have installed on our computer, an extremely important part of updates is fixing security vulnerabilities in the system. This translates directly into protecting the contents of the computer from hacking attacks. Each update has a specific name (number) and is aimed at different fixes.
Windows comes with a service called Windows Update. This is a program that allows you to search for, download, and also install various updates for this system. Windows Update allows you to use it in a manual way, i.e. by calling the update yourself, or by using the automatic update mechanism. The latter is the default option, but many people choose not to use it.
In newer versions of Windows this service, Windows Update, can be easily found in the control panel. Finding the update center will let us know if our Windows system is updated and, most importantly, if it has the latest security features.
Many people are annoyed when more system update messages appear in front of them. As a result, there are a lot of opinions circulating on the web that updates are not needed. We also come across advice to block them. Is this the right thing to do?
There are many reasons why you should regularly update your operating system. For example, many software developers write applications for operating systems that are updated. In case the system versions do not match, the software may display various kinds of errors, and it may turn out that a given application simply will not install.
Moreover, as we have already mentioned, system updates are intended to improve the bugs in the system and also to increase security. But is the situation like this every time?
It turns out that there were quite a few Windows updates that were full of bugs. It is said that some of these faulty system updates significantly hampered users’ work. They probably resulted from the difficulty of simulating the operation of the update code in every environment on which the system is installed. It is not uncommon for updates that break something to receive subsequent patches very soon after. Ways to work around the bug are also easy to find on the Internet.
So it can be said that you don’t need to do every Windows update. However, system-breaking updates are relatively rare, so perhaps the benefits of having an updated system outweigh any potential problems.
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