Running Windows and have at apps from least 22 vendors installed? Be prepared to install a security update every five days, or live in danger of losing control over your OS, bank details, webcam, and contents of your fridge (the median number of apps on users' PCs in this study is 66).
Of course, the study comes from a company that makes a tool to make it easier to install security updates, so there is that. And they give it away for free, and Brian Krebs, who knows from security, likes it.
The average Microsoft Windows user has software from 22 vendors on her PC, and needs to install a new security update roughly every five days in order to use these programs safely, according to an insightful new study released this week.
The figures come from security research firm Secunia, which looked at data gathered from more than two million users of its free Personal Software Inspector tool. The PSI is designed to alert users about outdated and insecure software that may be running on their machines, and it is an excellent application that I have recommended on several occasions.
