Patching and updating – these are the primary keys towards cyber security. Sadly, part of computer users forget or ignore prompts to improve anti-malware programs they have installed on their computers, and unfortunately, unconcern can result in tragic consequences. Users should understand that once installed, anti-malware software is capable of protecting the computer and also removing threats that are known at that point in time, but cyber criminals continue evolving viruses and creating new ones. Therefore, if the user forgets to update it, or to enable automatic updates, the anti-malware software becomes unable to identify and remove viruses that have just appeared on the Internet. That is why software updates are important – by installing updates, you supply “knowledge” about these computer viruses to your security software and “teach” it to detect and eliminate them. Sadly, anti-virus programs do not have artificial intelligence and cannot understand which files are harmful or potentially unwanted without being programmed to recognize them.
Updates are created by IT experts and include virus definitions, which help the anti-malware software to recognize and uninstall malicious files and programs. Typically, updates are released daily or weekly – make sure you install them. If you forget to update the anti-malware software, you leave your PC system vulnerable to various computer threats, such as ransomware, trojans, worms, and other forms of malware. Do not forget that malware authors work hard too, and race with anti-malware companies. They seek to infect as many computers as possible before anti-malware programs become able to identify these new viruses and block them.
Anti-spyware or anti-malware programs typically have a button that says “Check for updates” – use it to see if its authors have released updates that can patch flaws and make the program more powerful. In some cases, computer protection programs suggest automatic updates function, which makes sure that the software checks for software updates repeatedly and automatically installs them as soon as they appear.