Why You Should Always Update Your PC

PCs depend on your care in order to keep them safe and operational. Most users forget to care about their PCs which is why they end up with bags of metal which is dysfunctional. In this case, we are not talking about hardware and cleaning a PC, although that is something that you should be doing often and meticulously. 

Caring for your PC’s software is about as important as caring for your PC’s hardware. One of the ways to care about your PCs is updating them frequently. Here is what you should know about updating and why it might be a good idea to keep your PC updated.

Security Updates and Patches

This is the first thing that comes to mind. Most updates have to do with security, or at least, the ones that you should be concerned with. Taking an interest into what your system is downloading is better for you and your system.

Security updates are the ones that you should always queue, whenever you get the chance. They should keep your PC safe from viruses, malware and especially ransomware. Whether it’s a small patch for one program or a complete update for the operating system’s kernel, update immediately if it’s a security update.

Keeping Libraries Updated

Most programs rely on some dependencies and libraries. Typically speaking, macOS and Windows users rarely care about this unless they are programmers who have to deal with libraries changing all the time. On Linux systems, updating a program without updating the dependencies can lead to a mismatch and the program might stop working.

Consider updating your libraries and other dependencies. Good examples on Windows would be the NET Framework and the Visual C++ Redistributables. Both are necessary for Windows-specific programs, from software to some video games.

Keeping Programs Updated

Updating programs is the last thing on the list to worry about. If a program is working and you don’t need any new features, then there is no need to update it, unless it has new security features, or is otherwise faster and more efficient.

But, if you want to play video games that need a new version of your operating system, then you must update your system. Some programs and games work better with updates, because the updates fix bugs and other nuisances.

When Not to Update

This is an important one, especially for people who like stable working environments. Servers are rarely updated unless they need specific library updates. The whole system is hardly changed unless the very servers need to be changed.

It is similar for work and production machines, they don’t get system updates unless particularly necessary. Windows 10 is notorious for breaking down with an update, as well as installing components and applications that you never wanted or asked for. Bloatware is not an update, it is bloatware.

Updating is not necessary unless you can specify the software that you want to update, namely security updates and maybe some essential libraries. 

Updating should be done regularly, but with certain caveats, depending on the system you use and its use case.