When people get onto the Internet, there is security, and a false sense of security. Software producers have been doing their part, but unless you upgrade to their latest software their efforts to protect you are useless.
The fact is there are a lot of computers still running what could now be called obsolete software. This is not some specialty software, they are main programs like Microsoft Internet Explorer. The thing is people have gotten use to automatic updates and expect them. But in many cases the updates will update only within the same version like going from 6.3 to 6.4. in many cases they will not go to 7.0. the reason for this is in some cases older computers are maxed out and do not have the resources for the more demanding upgrade. It allows the choice to upgrade or not. On the same note, the programs that pose security risks are not that all demanding on computers. High end programs like Photoshop are the ones that are resource hogs.
Identity thieves target older software because of their specific vulnerabilities. They are only supported for a finite period of time then abandoned. File sharing programs like Limewire have known security problems in version 4 but you need to manually upgrade to version 5. Firefox is also running version 3. Something at the moment but again it is a manual upgrade from version 2. Version 6 of Internet explorer is a real dinosaur and version 8 has the latest security fixes.
So the bottom line is protecting yourself from identity theft is a team effort, don’t expect others to do it for you. If you do not want to protect yourself then you may as well leave your ATM card at an ATM with the PIN number written on the back. Time to upgrade!
