Published at: Feb 17, 2022
You should keep your web browser up to date for a number of reasons.
More than ever, websites are taking advantages of all the new features that modern web browsers provide; HTML5 video and audio, advanced JavaScript and CSS styling all rely on you having a modern web browser. If you don't use the latest version of your web browser, you're probably missing out on some of the latest features.
Many websites (including very big ones like Gmail, YouTube and Facebook) have stopped supporting older versions of browsers. If you're running something that's very out of date, you probably won't be able to use some or all of the features of these sites.
If you run a web browser that is out of date and which contains security vulnerabilities, you risk having your computer compromised by criminals. Depending on the security exploit, your personal information (including emails, banking details, online sales, photos and other sensitive information) could be stolen or destroyed. This is not a hypothetical occurrence; it happens regularly and in large volumes.
If your computer's security is compromised you also run the risk of being used as a "middle man" in online crime; or as an unwitting pawn in large scale attacks against other internet users or companies. So even if your personal data is not stolen, if compromised, your computer can be turned into a "zombie"; sending out thousands of spam emails per day, or be forced to participate in "denial of service" attacks against other websites; all without you even being aware.
Clear instructions to update your web browser.
What does it actually mean to update your browser?
Do you need to do anything, or is it automatic?
Wondering why you even need to bother updating?
What's the worst that could happen?