Legitimate software user, am I still vulnerable?

[darkwizard06]

Hello. I am windows 8.1 user. All of my installed software are legit (no pirated installation). My operating system is stable as rock. I want my computer to be as reliable as it can, so I turned off windows update to prevent problems from update installations. Now my question is, am I still vulnerable to security exploits? If yes, in what way? Thank you.

PS: I am using Avira Internet security suit, with firewall activated and always monitoring. I also have a dedicated hardware firewall in my network.

 

[USAFRet]

Updates from Microsoft often address and fix vulnerabilities and exploits that exist in the OS.

Yes, you need to run those updates.