Have you ever seen those pesky pop-ups about a new update that’s available for your internet browser? I bet you closed the pop-up and went about your business. After all, your browser is working fine, so why change anything?
Here’s why – a month later, websites are loading slowly, applications are force-closing, and your computer is performing poorly. Worse yet, you risk becoming a victim of bank fraud, identity theft, or other security breaches.
Let’s look at what those pesky update notifications don’t tell you – that updating your browser is important to your online safety, device efficiency, and browsing experience.
Updates can put a stop to serious security issues.
Cybercriminals are clever. They’re always looking for a new point of entry into your space just as you’ve sealed the last one off. As new points of entry are discovered, browsers need to be updated to patch over the vulnerability.
When you skip a browser update, you may be missing an important repair. This means your version of the browser is still vulnerable to bad actors and their attacks, such as malware, ransomware, and password theft. By entering your credit card details to an online store or the log-in information to your banking website, you share vulnerable information over an unsecured connection – and hackers are only a click away from taking it.
You could be left with old bugs and glitches.
Developers work hard to create the highest quality browsing experience. When users report issues, their teams look for any issues with the browser. If they find the problem, they fix it, and you get to update to a better version of your browser.
If you want to be sure you’re getting the best and safest browsing experience, don’t ignore updates.
Applications are optimized for the newest version.
As bugs are removed, security vulnerabilities get patched, and chronic issues are resolved in your browser, websites are updated to reflect the newest browser version.
If you’re still running an old version of your browser, you might see slower load times, wonky layouts, restricted use of features, and other dead ends that hurt your user experience. You may not even be able to use some websites at all!
Some web browsers are no longer updated. For example, Microsoft discontinued support for Internet Explorer in 2021. If you’re still using it, consider switching to a browser that’s still updated, like Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Firefox, or Safari.
Conclusion:
Updating your browser is key to optimization, functionality, and most importantly, cybersecurity. So, think twice the next time you decide to ignore that browser update notification.
Was this article helpful? Get more tech tips when you subscribe to our newsletter.