While cybercrimes are on the rise, a new report warned on Friday that 67 percent of Indian users think there is no harm in delaying software updates, giving hackers ample time to break into their devices and steal their data.
Once the users receive update notifications on their devices, 41 percent usually postpone the installation of updates. The most popular reason is that users are busy at work (32 percent), followed by options where users do not want to stop using their device at that moment (22 percent), and almost a quarter (24 percent) do not want to close the application.
According to cyber security firm Kaspersky, 67 percent of Indian users see no harm in such delay.
“While it is quite understandable that people would not like to get their flow of work interrupted by a software update, it is also necessary to understand the importance of regularly updating their software. A regular system or software update is as good as an immunity boost given is to a human body,” said Dipesh Kaura, General Manager, Kaspersky (South Asia).
The updates not only offer new features to your device but also help in improving the system or device security, fixing software bugs, remove outdated features, updating drivers, and identifying and correcting vulnerabilities in the software by overall improving the functioning of the software he added.
According to the study commissioned by Kaspersky in April, installing updates is considered a boring routine task, and half of the respondents commonly snooze them.
At the same time, however, three-in-10 (30 percent) Indian respondents admit that the time spent waiting for updates to take place can be used productively, making this a reality in their daily lives.
Generally, users mostly prefer to shift to other activities while updates are installed.
For example, when their devices are unavailable, 25 percent of respondents try to switch off and relax (watch TV or read a book), 11 percent distract themselves by cooking, and 14 percent prefer sports or going for a walk.
“It makes complete sense to switch to another device while the gadget you were using originally is going through an update cycle. Playing sports, cooking, or a little meditation could be a timely break from the working day, helping people to relax and reboot,” commented Maria Namestnikova, Head of GReAT Russia, Kaspersky.
