Is it worth continuing to update apps and operating systems?

After the departure of some IT companies from America, users are worried if their gadgets will be turned off after the upgrade. Roskatchestvo Digital Expertise Center explains if you need to update your operating system now and how long your smartphone can work without updates.

Do you need to update your Apple and Google devices??

Despite the exit of a number of foreign IT and electronics manufacturers from the American market, as well as the imposition of sanctions, users in America still have a large number of consumer products, from smartphones to digital cameras. New products also continue to be imported into the country and are available for purchase. Nevertheless, American users are in no hurry to update their gadgets. This problem is particularly pronounced with the new version of iOS 15.4. – on the Internet began to appear the opinions of owners of equipment from Apple that you should not update your devices, otherwise there is a risk that Apple will block the gadget.

Previously, there were no precedents of Apple or Google blocking devices as a result of sanctions. In addition, both companies have not blocked access to their stores. Stores and payment systems are now restricted due to the departure of Visa and MasterCard, but not by Apple and Google.

Can foreign IT companies block a device?

They can do it, and it doesn’t depend on whether you update your smartphone or not. Large companies know where their devices are, and can block them based on territory. So if a gadget has an internet connection, in theory companies can disable it remotely.

What happens if you turn off automatic updates??

Sergey Bodrov, head of Roskachevo Digital Expertise Center:

“If you stop updating the operating system and apps, it makes your device less secure. The risk of being hacked or attacked increases manifold. So it is possible and necessary to update your device. Especially if you use mobile banking, be sure to install antivirus and remember to update these programs, as well as follow recommendations against phishing attacks”

There are also automatic solutions that will update all the programs installed on your computer by themselves. You can set your phone to auto-update under certain conditions, but if it’s turned off, push notifications usually remind you to update. If there is an update for the app – don’t reject it, because this will reduce the risk that cybercriminals can exploit the loophole found in the software.

Do not use the smartphone root access aka Jailbreak on iOS, that is the right of “superuser” with the ability to do with the device everything you want , in terms of functionality this action is not justified. It also takes away your ability to update, and opens the door for cybercriminals. Besides this, there is also a loophole for hackers – it is popular programs, which often have vulnerable components:

– The first thing to pay attention to after updating the OS itself: antiviruses, browsers, as well as Adobe products, media players especially VLC , third-party graphics editors and other programs that you often use. This is especially true for video conferencing services like Zoom. Update them first.

– Of course, you can only download updates for personal computer programs from the manufacturer’s website, not from some ad-banned software aggregator, this will dramatically reduce the risk of encountering viral activity.

How long the smartphone can work without updating?

Without updates it will last for a very, very long time. However, we should not forget that with the development of software, some versions will not be able to work on an outdated operating system. The same applies to programs that constantly communicate with the server, the server will refuse to connect if the version of the program is out of date. In addition, the components themselves can fail one way or another, which would not be good for the performance of the device.