Patch Management

In computing, a patch is a small piece of software designed to update or fix problems with a computer program. This includes fixing bugs, replacing graphics and improving the usability or performance. Patch management is the process of using a strategy and plan of what patches should be applied to which systems at a specified time.

Because the word "patch" carries the connotation of a small fix, large fixes may use different nomenclature. Bulky patches or patches that significantly change a program may circulate as "service packs" or as "software updates". Microsoft Windows NT and its successors (including Windows 2000, Windows XP, and later versions) use the "service pack" terminology. In several Unix-like systems, particularly Linux, updates between releases are delivered as new software packages. These updates are in the same format as the original installation so they can be used either to update an existing package in-place (effectively patching) or be used directly for new installations.

The size of patches may vary from a few kilobytes to hundreds of megabytes — mostly more significant changes imply a larger size. In particular, patches can become quite large when the changes add or replace non-program data, such as graphics and sounds files. Such situations commonly occur in the patching of computer games.

If a patch is a piece of data used to update a software product, then a security patch is a change applied to an asset to correct the weakness described by a vulnerability. This corrective action will prevent successful exploitation and remove or mitigate a threat’s capability to exploit a specific vulnerability in an asset.

Security patches are the primary method of fixing security vulnerabilities in software. Currently Microsoft releases their security patches once a month, and other operating systems and software projects have security teams dedicated to releasing the most reliable software patches as soon after a vulnerability announcement as possible. Security patches are closely tied to responsible disclosure.

Recommendation

Always use a program that allows you to update operating system, drivers and applications frequently.
Because application vulnerabilities are the main target of hackers worldwide, your system and applications must always be up-to-date.

Take home: Use RadarSync PC Updater regularly to update (or patch) your drivers and software programs to keep hackers at bay and improve performance.