Digital Hygiene (Updates & Devices)

We all hate that little pop-up box. "Updates Available." It always appears when you are busiest. It is tempting to click "Remind me tomorrow" indefinitely. But software updates are not just about new features; they are about patching holes.

The Leaky Boat

Imagine software code is like a boat. Over time, hackers find small holes (vulnerabilities) they can use to get in. The software company (Microsoft, Apple, Zoom) finds these holes and sends out a "patch" (an update) to seal them. If you ignore the update, you are sailing a leaky boat into a storm.

BYOD: Bring Your Own Disaster?

In small charities, volunteers often use their personal laptops. This is fine, but it carries risk. If a volunteer’s personal laptop is infected with a virus from a dodgy website, and they log into your charity’s shared Dropbox, that virus can spread to your files.

• Ensure every device used for work has Antivirus running (Windows Defender is free and more than adequate).

• Keep work files separate from personal files.

Your "Easy Win" for Today

Go to your main office computer. Type "Updates" into the search bar. Click "Check for Updates." If any are waiting, install them now. Go make a coffee while it restarts.