Significant security concerns … on your computer … must not be ignored.
This is the first of a few posts about this topic. Note I will use ‘3rd Party app’, ‘apps’ and ‘Third Party Software’ interchangeably throughout these postings. This first posting will talk about what a ‘3rd Party App’ is. Follow-on postings will reveal how many you likely have on your computer, why they are a security concern, what to do about it, and other bits of information related to these ‘Apps’.
- What is a 3rd party app?
- How many 3rd party apps do you think you have on your computer???
[Don’t peek! Take a guess. How many do you think you have? Shocking answers in a bit.]
What is a 3rd Party App?
A strict definition might be any software on your computer that is not part of your core operating system. There are hundreds of software applications, large and small, that enhance the features of your computer.
However, in the services I provide, and within this article, I refine the set of all possible applications to a more focused set.
Common to most people are likely: ‘Java’, ‘Adobe Reader’, and ‘Flash’. But trust me, you have many more than those few on your own computer! Most people do not realize how many they actually have or the security issues related to this whole topic.
Whatever combination of these applications you have, you depend on these so called third party apps working well and without security concerns. Yet I routinely find about 100% of all customers have grossly out-of-date and insecure software on their computer(s) leaving them open for security issues and other troubles.
Click here to see a few other common examples.
Click here to see examples of third party applications I do not deal with and why.
As provider of services to my customers (subscribers to most of my plans) I am primarily focused on keeping your computer system running securely and efficiently so we can avoid or minimize problems in the first place.Click here to see factors I use to decide which applications I monitor and update for my customers.
Whether you realize it or not you likely have more than just a few of these ‘3rd party apps’ installed on your computer. Many you depend on regularly and many perhaps unknowingly. Many can have significant security implications especially if the vendor has fixed a security issue but you don’t know about it and don’t have that update installed.
The next two articles continue on with this topic covering:
- How many third party applications do you think you have on your computer?
- Should I update them or not? How often are there updates anyways?
