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Whether a mainframe computer for a large bank or the personal computer of your 10 year old nephew, each computer has software from many different sources. And with nearly every piece of software, there are potential weaknesses that can be exploited by malware. Software developers fight back with updates to fix any potential security issues, but the problem really compounds when end users don’t update their software. It’s simply too much trouble.

According to a paper released at the IT security-focused RSA Conference earlier this month, 50% of users get at least 75 security updates recommended from over 22 different vendors every year. That means an update every 4.8 days—end users are simply not willing to put in the time to use dozens of different update mechanisms to keep their system up-to-date. And as soon as you fall behind on updates… You see the point.

There are a lot of issues surrounding dozens of vendors having unfettered access to update your computer automatically—Google and Apple seem to do it, but it’s a question being brought up not only among software developers and IT security gurus, but also operating systems. Auto-updates may just become the way of the future; but will they end up only compromising our privacy and personal control to keep us “secure”?

Full story over at InformationWeek.

More on keeping your computer network secure.

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