Updating your systems with the latest’s patches from the manufacturer may seem like a simple and quick task, click update, make coffee, click restart, drink coffee, all done.
So why do so many people not do it?
Recently I saw a customers PC running Windows 7 which had never been updated since the day it arrived on his desk! His attitude was “if it works why fix it” and of course the reason I was at there was to fix it; he could no longer connect to the office network. Thankfully his employer had kept the servers and routers up-to-date so his PC had been blocked to all systems due to an outdated network card driver. It was a quick fix, after installing a current driver he was back online but should have been unnecessary. Don’t even get me started on the security implications!
A lot of end users are not interested in what is under the hood of the PC, as long as it does what they want, when they want it. And as technology becomes increasingly commoditised this is the right approach – when was the last time you thought about how your desk phone worked or if it was patched to the right level to be compatible with the telephone exchange?
Large tech firms need to catch up – seamless integration of patching and upgrades should just happen in the background without intervention and especially without consulting and endangering empowering the end user! In this interim period however, us techies need to step up and make sure the right automated patching and updates are occurring, making the end users’ experience the best possible.
On a related point, the following Operating Systems are dead and get no updates, you may be surprised that according to netmarketshare.com Windows XP still has 5.9% of market share!!
Windows 3.x 1990 – 2001
Windows 9x 1995 – 2001
Windows XP 2001 – 2014
Windows Vista 2006 – 2017
Just so you know the following are the EOL (End Of Life) dates:
Windows 7 2009 – 2020
Windows 8 2012 – 2023
Windows 10 2015 – 2025
Infrastructure Engineer