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95 Of Every 100 Windows PCs Miss Security Updates

Posted by timothy on from the vested-interests-rational-fears dept.

An anonymous reader writes "From Computerworld today: 'Nearly all Windows computers are likely running at least one unpatched application and about four out of every ten contain 11 or more vulnerable-to-attack programs, a vulnerability tracking company said today.' The new data comes from Secunia's free security-patch scanner the Secunia's PSI. The complete data run-down is available here."

12 of 126 comments (clear)

  1. Sounds like like Lunix, OSX by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So the point isn't about Windows... the point is about users.

    1. Re:Sounds like like Lunix, OSX by Naughty+Bob · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Agreed it's a PEBKAC, pretty much the only predictable thing when designing software it the likelyhood of humans, with all their crazy ways, using it. That's why this story is really about how effectively software producers anticipate, discourage, and otherwise strive to design out situations like the one described. MS may be evil, but it's not the point here for sure. The point it that they don't take a cogent, cohesive view of the whole social engineering side of their business.

      --
      "Be light, stinging, insolent and melancholy"
    2. Re:Sounds like like Lunix, OSX by VGPowerlord · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Mac users don't get annoyed by the bouncing icon?
      Ubuntu users don't get annoyed by the yellow box that pops up about system updates?

      You'd think that update systems that get on people nerves would actually make them update...

      --
      GLaDOS for President 2016! "Well here we are again. It's always such a pleasure." -- GLaDOS, 2011
    3. Re:Sounds like like Lunix, OSX by swimin · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Please look up gtksudo.

  2. I'm not shocked by Nero+Nimbus · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This isn't really surprising, given that most people treat computers like just another appliance. Then again, not every piece of software alerts you when a new version comes out, so actually keeping 100% of all software on the box current is harder for Windows than say, Ubuntu.

  3. Is that... by 15Bit · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ...just the legit licensed ones they're talking about or *all* Windows PC's?

    1. Re:Is that... by Qzukk · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Nah, it's the ones where people did the smart thing: they set up automatic updates, they set up a non-privileged user that they use every day... then they never logged back in as Administrator to click "ok" on the service pack 2 license.

      --
      If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
  4. People ignore software update alerts by Freaky+Spook · · Score: 4, Insightful


    When I look at people's computers these days they have heaps of different software popping up asking for updates, its got to a point where people ignore it, because its much too common.

    The thing that annoys me most about update alerts is they never give you a reason why the software should be updated. It would be nice if they would give you a link or a summary of simple reasons why you need to actually update their free crapware.

    Java and adobe products are probably the worst with this.

  5. duhhhh.... by debatem1 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Anybody who is remotely worried about security is probably not going to download a tool that reports your security status to another organization.

  6. Updates Slow Computer Down by smist08 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Many people have a bad impression of updates. They know for sure that updates slow down the computer and they know for sure that updates have previously broken things. So you have a choice: 1. Install something that will degrade your computer (possibly making parts of it unusable) or 2. Don't install it and just hope that you don't open a bad email or something, after all practically speaking viruses aren trojans are quite rare.

  7. I should be safe ... by WoodstockJeff · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ... Windows Update tells me that the only update I need is "Windows Genuine Advantage", which I don't want, anyway. No other updates needed, since Microsoft told me that WGA wasn't necessary to get security updates... just "new features".

    Yeah, right....

  8. You call them security updates by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 2, Insightful

    We in dual-boot land call them "driver downgrades".

    Just look at the "fixes" in MS Office 2003 in the last SP.

    Those removed the ability to open older spreadsheet formats we still have data stored in, so we had to roll them back.

    And most of the fixes were already done when we switched to the more secure Firefox as our default browser and got rid of all Outlook instances.

    --
    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --