A chat with my neighbor about his old router changed how I think about security updates

Last week I was talking with Frank, the retired guy two doors down, and he said he still uses the same router from 2015 because it works fine. I told him about all the firmware patches and security fixes he missed, and he looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language. Does anyone else find it tough to explain to older folks why regular updates matter even when their devices seem to work okay?

3 comments

3 Comments

evan_green5229d ago

Jumping in here - @spencer782 that's exactly the fight I had with my uncle. He asked if hackers would target his router specifically, like they're picking on him personally. I tried explaining botnets and he just said his neighbor's wifi has a better name anyway so he's probably fine. And honestly at this point I'm starting to wonder if maybe I'm the one who's too paranoid about all this stuff.

spencer78229d ago

Told my dad the same thing and he asked if his router would catch a virus if he didn't visit any sketchy websites. Yeah buddy, that's not how that works.

morgan.rose29d ago

Used to tell my dad the same thing until I looked into it more. Pretty eye opening how much stuff can get to your router no matter what you do. @spencer782 your dad's question is honestly exactly what I said before I knew better.