A report released by Avast [here] reveals that millions of users are still running outdated software, some of which contains critical vulnerabilities which could lead to a complete system takeover.
The report stated that 55% of the programs worldwide are out-of-date, and Adobe Shockwave is number one of the list, followed by VLC Media player, and Skype.
It was reported that among the Windows Operating Systems (OS) in use, Windows 7 was the most used OS, with a usage of 43% as compared to Windows 10 which has a usage of 40%. About 15% of the Windows 7 in use are not updated to Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1), and these machines will be in danger of being targets for hackers to exploit vulnerabilities as support by Microsoft to versions of Windows 7 prior to SP1 has ended.
It is important to keep programs and OS up to date to prevent the exploitation of known vulnerabilities. High profiles cases such as the Equifax Data Breach in 2017 and Maersk falling victim to ransomware have shown that the lack of scrutiny for security updates could lead to an IT and Business nightmare.