Introduction
The majority of data breaches and incidents involving malware infections occur because of out-of-date applications or unpatched operating system (OS) vulnerabilities. Maintaining a current patch level for your personal or UW-owned desktop computer, laptops, and other devices is critical for securing your personal and UW’s institutional information.
Evaluation
Patching is sometimes easier said than done. For UW-owned devices or personally owned devices used to access UW systems and data, identify who is responsible for patching the operating system and applications. The accountable person — whether it is you, your departmental IT support person, or a third party — should carefully evaluate the following when implementing a patching strategy:
- Is the technology or application too old be patched?
- If your system cannot be patched, can it be updated?
- Is there a risk associated with patching? For example, will patching break the system (e.g. make the system not work, decrease functionality)?
- Do you have an obligation (grant, contract, law, or regulation) that requires you to patch your system in order to protect the data on the system?
Things to Do
See the Information Security Guideline for more information.
Below is a non-inclusive list of resource for patching. Consult with your IT support person or the vendor for specifics on how to patch your technology or applications.
Please note that the list of operating systems, applications, browsers, and associated programs on this page is not exhaustive. It is important to run regular checks on any other applications running on your computer or device as well.
Your Operating System
For instructions on updating your computer’s OS, click the appropriate link below:
Patch Tuesday
On the second Tuesday of each month, Microsoft and Adobe release security patches for their products. Oracle releases patches for Java and other software quarterly on the Tuesday closest to the 17th of each month. More information:
More info about Patch Tuesday here.
Browsers
Check to see if your browser is up to date:
Plug-ins
Check browser plug-ins:
Some browsers check automatically for plug-in updates, but this functionality may not be enabled by default. Check your browser preferences for activation.
Mobile Devices
For updates on mobile devices, such as Android, iPhone, and iPad, check with the vendor. For applications on mobile devices, regularly check for updates.
Anti-Virus Software
Even on an updated and patched system, malware infections may occur. It is always important to keep up-to-date anti-virus software on your machines and devices.
Sophos Anti-Virus Software for the UW community
Sophos Mobile Security (Free)