Just like a hole in your roof, operating systems and applications need patching and updating from time to time. Bugs need to be fixed, new capabilities need to be enabled as cyber threats evolve. And, just like you’d fix the roof as soon as the problem is discovered, you need to apply each security patch as soon as it’s released.

Hackers are tracking new security patches, also known as “updates” or “service packs”, to find out which vulnerabilities are left on systems that have not been updated. They take the patches and break them down in a process called “reverse engineering” to see which functions are addressed and what the new patch does. When they’ve found the fixes, they brainstorm the vulnerabilities imagining ways to exploit them. Then they write a script to attack your system.

All of this can take a matter of hours or at the most, a few days. So, the moment a patch is released, the exploitation countdown begins. Most operating systems like Windows 10, MacOS, and Linux releases, include options for you to automatically update your system as soon as a patch is released. Enabling those settings and doing the same on applications you use is your best defense against hackers exploiting these vulnerabilities on your home and work systems.