“If you’re out of date, you’re out of luck.” Anonymous.
The operating systems on the devices you use, as well as the applications that run on them, get regular updates. Many of these updates close security vulnerabilities. Dr. Evil and his minions are constantly seeking ways to hack into your devices. They’re looking for an “unlocked door.” I strongly recommend you enabled automatic updates for your operating systems and applications.
Your operating systems should have automatic updates enabled by default. I recommend you double-check this to make sure. Here are some brief instructions:
- Windows 10: From the Start menu, go to “Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update”. Ensure that you have enabled automatic updates. There are other options to consider, in particular, “active hours.” Set this to the time during the day when you don’t want your system to restart.
- Windows 11: Click the Windows icon and then go to “Settings > Windows Update.” Ensure that you have enabled automatic updates. Then select “Advanced options.” Setup “active hours” to make sure your system does not restart during working hours.
- macOS: Open “System Preferences > Software Update” and click the “Advanced” button. Check all the boxes.
- Android: Open “Settings > System > Advanced > System Update.” Make sure it’s turned on.
- iOS: Open “Settings > General > Software Update.” Turn on “Automatic Updates.”
Configuring your applications to update automatically is a bit more complicated. Check each application to see if there’s an option to enable automatic updates (there may not be). If there is, turn it on. If you installed the application from the official app store for the device, you can configure the app store to perform automatic updates. Here are some brief instructions:
- Microsoft Store app: Click the three-dot icon in the top-right corner, select “Settings”, and toggle on “Update apps automatically”.
- Mac App Store: Open “System Preferences > Software Update,” and click the “Advanced” button. Select the option to “Install app updates from the App Store.”
- Google Play: Open the Google Play Store app and then tap “Menu > Settings > Auto-update apps.”
- iOS App Store: Open “Settings > App Store” and enable “App Updates”.
Don’t leave the door unlocked. Make sure you keep your software up-to-date. If you’re out of date, you’re out of luck.
Information provided in this post is subject to the disclaimer in the first post of this series.