Question Windows updates

[no1b4me72]

I have a family member that has recommend to another family member not to upgrade from Win7 to Win10. They have also recommended that they should not install any updates to Win7 currently installed on their system. No updates have been installed for years, including security patches. There are literally hundreds of updates in the queue that haven't been installed

My opinion is exactly the opposite. A currently supported OS should be installed and all updates should be up to date. If I'm wrong, that's fine. I'm more concerned with their computer being protected and working properly. So if any Windows PC experts would like to solve this dilemma. Please fell free to chime in with any answers or advice.

Move to Win10 from Win7? Yes or no? Reasons?

Keep installed operating system fully up to date with OS updates and security patches? Yes or no? Reasons?

 

[Darkbreeze]

That family member should probably not be listened to ever again, in any conversation that has to do with computers or the operating system at least.

Upgrading to Windows 10, if the hardware supports it, is probably the best thing you could possibly do for a variety of reasons. For one, the system would have infinitely better driver support, both through the native drivers AND through any manufacturer specific drivers, IF the manufacturer HAS Windows 10 drivers for that hardware.

Also, Windows 7 will lose any support come January anyhow, and not having security and patches up to date (Unless this is a system that NEVER connects to the internet) is an open invitation to problems beyond anybody's ability to resolve short of a complete wipe and clean install of the OS if an infection or other malware is introduced. That alone would be enough for me to never again listen to this person in any meaningful conversation regarding computers in general.

Knowing the actual hardware involved, motherboard, CPU, graphics card or full manufacturer model number for prebuilt systems, would be very helpful in determining a plan of action.

 

[Ralston18]

Windows 7 is obsolete. Support is lessening and Windows 7's security is not up to today's requirements.

For more information:

https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/windows-7-end-of-life-guide

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-windows-7-support

Windows 10.

Do ensure that the host system's hardware is up to supporting Windows 10 and the applications to be run on the system.

Do keep the Windows 10 system up-to-date with respect to OS updates and security patches. And there are some options that allow delaying them if there are concerns about a buggy release crashing the system or damaging data.

 

[no1b4me72]

And there are some options that allow delaying them if there are concerns about a buggy release crashing the system or damaging data.

This was the concern for him recommending against not ever updating Win7. And I understand his position fully. But never updating for years on end?

His saying, "if it's working ok, don't mess with it", may be ok from a functionality standpoint. However, it doesn't sound like a good idea to me from a security standpoint. Anyhow, thanks for the reply.

 

[Darkbreeze]

"If it's working ok, don't mess with it", only holds water if it is a 100% offline system that NEVER gets connected to the internet, like some POS (Point of sale), offline only gaming on older titles that don't need an internet connection or machines that might run only older applications. If the machine even connects to OTHER machines, over a home or local network, that themselves connect to the internet or external networks, then it's blatantly foolish to not be fully up to date with all security patches and mitigations. There is simply too many instances and opportunities for another machine or malicious user to infect that system with malware, ransomware or other potentially unwanted intrusions.

These days, an unpatched machine is a ticking time bomb. It's not a question of IF, but WHEN, it will be compromised. Nobody even has to target that system. It can ride in on otherwise innocent emails or software that simply happen to get passed on innocuously.

The ONLY legitimate reason to not upgrade to Windows 10 would be if the hardware is so old that no hardware level drivers are available for some or all of the hardware in that system OR if it's primary purpose is running software known to not work correctly when using Windows 10 or compatibility modes. Even then, you would STILL want to at LEAST keep Windows 7 as updated as possible, for as long as possible. And it would need to either be a very old system or be running very old games or applications to fall into that category.

 

[wpgwpg]

Update to Windows 10 and keep it up to date. As has been said, Windows 7 becomes unsupported by Microsoft in Jan. While I occasionally read stories about some updates causing problems, this is an extremely rare thing. I can't remember EVER having it happen to me, and I've been running multiple PCs since 1989. Microsoft goes to a lot of trouble and expense to produce the monthly updates for the purpose of protecting you from hackers and malware, and it doesn't cost you a penny to take advantage of it.

 

[britechguy]

While I occasionally read stories about some updates causing problems, this is an extremely rare thing. I can't remember EVER having it happen to me, and I've been running multiple PCs since 1989.

I big, honkin' SECOND!! to everything that's been said so far, and particularly this.

I haven't been quite as lucky as wpgwpg, but I can count on less than one hand the number of "bad updates" I've dealt with on my own machines, and the same for clients, too. And even those were generally simple to back out or, on several occasions, wait out for a day or two until the "patch to the patch" was released.

They're even rarer these days, at least as far as making it out to large numbers of people. With the advent of telemetry, creation of update cohorts, and careful monitoring of what happens with the early cohorts "bad updates" get stopped in their tracks far earlier if one happens to be released than they used to.

Truer words than the below were never written:

There really isn't a point to checking for updates and not installing them. . . It's important to install all available updates. I've been doing this since the days of DOS, and I still don't have the confidence to pick and choose among updates. There are just too many variables involved - and most people can't evaluate the full consequences of installing/not installing updates.
~ John Carrona, AKA usasma on BleepingComputer.com, http://www.carrona.org/

 

[Darkbreeze]

Even in the cases where a bad driver, or unwanted driver update, or faulty Windows update causes some kind of an issue, it is almost unilaterally a MUCH simpler process to fix THAT kind of problem, than it is to fix the myriad problems caused by an infection or ransomware attack. Even a plain old browser adware hijack can be bad enough to have to reinstall Windows especially if you are years behind on patches and security updates. I don't know why anybody with a thimbleful of PC smarts would EVER make such a recommendation. It's clearly NOT based on best practices or common wisdom.

 

[britechguy]

It's clearly NOT based on best practices or common wisdom.

Well, I'm in absolute agreement on the "best practices" part, but not so much the "common wisdom" part.

I have found that "common wisdom" or "common sense" is neither common nor wise/sensible in almost all cases, and particularly where the "black art of technology" is concerned.

The amount of "just plain wrong" that continues to circulate as the received wisdom (which, again, isn't wise) is just jaw-dropping.

 

[Darkbreeze]

When I say "common wisdom", I am not inferring "common to the masses". I am talking about wisdom that is common among those who actually understand how this all works.