Since the turn of the 21st century, society has become increasingly more reliant on mobile devices and/or personal computers. Technological advancements provide many positive benefits for ordinary people to major corporations. From personal conversations to business transactions, the world reach for anyone has become available at an exponential rate. With these innovations creating a positive impact on so many lives, it’s also important to note the potential dangers from these advancements. As the world becomes more connected, the global reach of cyber criminals becomes just as close to any targets that they identify. Just like thieves of centuries past, these criminals identify their targets and look for any areas that are weak to attack from. These areas, or vulnerabilities, are identified and exploited to allow cyber criminals access to their target asset.

Here’s the good news and the bad news:

— Good news: Most companies that you purchase your products from (ex: Windows, Google, Apple, etc.) are able to detect most of these vulnerabilities and will send out software updates to patch these areas of weakness.

— Bad news: Unless the device has been set up to automatically update on its own, it is up to the owner to manually install the updates to secure their phone.

Software updates for any of your devices are crucial to providing a more secure front against potential criminals. Once enabled, these software updates fix any known vulnerabilities that cybercriminals may try to exploit. Now that you know what a software update is and how it generally works, let’s talk about some specific examples of what to do. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency of the federal government has identified four main practices to consider for software updates:

— Enable automatic software updates whenever possible. This will ensure that software updates are installed as quickly as possible.

— Do not use unsupported EOL software.

— Always visit vendor sites directly rather than clicking on advertisements or email links.

— Avoid software updates while using untrusted networks.

Whether it is on a mobile device, laptop, tablet or personal computer, enabling automatic updates will help keep out the human error of forgetfulness. Our next point listed discusses EOL software or otherwise termed “end-of-life” software. An example of this is someone you know who might still use Windows 7. As of Jan. 10 of this year, Windows 7 will not receive any more patches/software updates from Microsoft. This means that any vulnerabilities found by cybercriminals will remain unfixed by the company. Since these vulnerabilities will leave your system compromised, this is why it’s so important to not continue to use EOL software and to upgrade to the latest version.

The third point talks more on the dangers of email links or advertisements online that are about software updates. For most applications or operating systems updates, your general settings will have a place where you can manually update your system if needed. Third-party vendors are not always sanctioned by the primary company and should be considered less trustworthy. The final point has to do with the network connection that you are using while updating your systems. Private networks at home (or a loved one’s home) or business networks at the office are typically more secure than a public network. These public networks are more forgiving of allowing anyone to connect, even if they have bad intentions. Be safe — make sure to do these updates on a secure network.

In short, it’s just as important to understand how to keep your technology safe as it is to use the technology. Keep your devices updated and safe.s

This article was written by Matthew Elliott as a part of a series for the month of October for National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Matthew Elliott is a cybersecurity analyst at The National Information Assurance Training and Education Center at Idaho State University.