One of the great “joys” of home ownership is home maintenance. You know what I mean, because you already work hard to keep your Ranch, your Colonial, your mid-century Modern, in tip-top shape. That means regular housekeeping and bigger chores like cleaning the gutters, painting the exterior, and re-roofing. What would it be like if maintenance could be done automatically or even by a free service that’s included when you bought your home? Wouldn’t that be sweet?
Technology does just that, helping you keep your electronic gadgets and beloved software tools running at their best. Your operating system alerts you to important updates; your security software downloads and installs them automatically. You might ask why, if the original version you’ve been using is just fine. Depending on which tech toy we’re talking about, there can be important security patches or refinements to the software that make the experience of using it much, much better. As an example, navigation software needs data about new roads, buildings or pedestrian malls to help you drive safely.
Or consider Norton security software as another example; it simply can’t do its job defending you against the newest threats or latest viruses unless you allow the automatic updating feature to do its work. In fact, helping you keep your software up-to-date is such a big deal at Norton that starting this fall, our engineers have figured out how to make it all happen in the background, silently, and without having to restart your computer for new features to take effect. Keeping you safe with the latest protection is priority #1!
This is why I want to tell you about a fantastic new program from some of top brands in consumer technology called International Technology Upgrade Week. Beginning July 23rd, Norton is joining forces with well-known brands Skype, Adobe and TomTom to help raise consumer awareness about the importance of keeping your software up-to-date.
Even though Norton, Skype, Adobe and TomTom do so much to make it easy to update, we do know that many consumers procrastinate about updating software. They see the alerts and click to close them or choose “Remind me later.” In fact, in a recent Skype-commissioned survey, nearly 75 percent of adults receive notifications from their computers to update their software, but more than half admit to needing 2 to 5 prompts before downloading the update. You know you don’t like it when your kids nag you, so I’m sure it’s no fun when your computer or navigation system does the same. Pay attention the first time; those updates and upgrades are important and valuable.
Take the time during this special International Technology Upgrade Week to update your devices. And go around to all the family computers, tablets, gaming systems and devices and help your family do the same. It only takes a few minutes, and you could probably even run the updates at night while everyone is sleeping. And then, the devices and programs you love to enjoy will be at their very best, allowing them to perform in tip-top shape.