Everything seems to be working fine on your computer and you get a notification from one of the pieces of software you use ( maybe by email or popup notification) – so why should you bother updating of everything appears to be working well?
Whilst is does not apply only to browsers ( Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari etc) – it is not uncommon for computer owners not to have updated their browser software – even for a number of years!. Apart from the obvious issues of “websites don’t look right on my browser” issues because you have not updated, you are at risk of putting your computer and its contents at risk , and possibly being the cause of infecting computers of people you contact from your computer ( something as simple as an email from you could carry that virus or bug)…. Simple solution – ensure you have the latest browser version of your browser.
Ever wonder why Microsoft, Apple and most software providers regularly provide updates…. Having recently watched a short video on how hackers get into websites and onto individuals computers – apart from the most basic step of ensuring you have a good password ( see this article) – it is because hackers have found vulnerabilities in older versions of software that effectively allows them a “backdoor” onto your computer or website. As software developers ( including the big names like microsoft, apple and wordpress ) – all become aware of these issues – they “patch” the issue with software updates. The software update may contain a number of patches to stop hackers and may also include updates to make your software work better or make it compatible with other software or hardware such as new versions of browsers.
This is why you should set your computer and software to automatically allow software updates and where this is not possible or where you receive a message to update from the software provider – then these software providers are telling you – it is in your best interests to do the update.
Get more information on checking if your software is up to date here