Not updating to the current browser version is something all of us are guilty of. Every now and again I select “ask me again later”.
You should also consider updating to a different browser. Not all browsers are equal and in some cases they can become discontinued. For example, Microsoft no longer support their Internet Explorer browser, in favour of their newer Edge browser. They have even taken the step of switching to the same underlying display technology used by the rival Google Chrome browser.
There are various reasons why updating your browser is important and below are just some of the benefits.
- Security! While some browsers offer better security overall, they all need patching at some time to address discovered vulnerabilities and sometimes zero-day issues that are being actively exploited.
- Ability to use geolocation, access your computer’s camera, microphone and provide real-time notifications are some of the newer features that allow websites and web applications behave more like desktop applications.
- Stability – While browsers don’t crash as frequently as they used to, you will still encounter badly designed websites that the browser needs to handle gracefully without crashing.
- Use Less Memory – Browser makers are constantly seeking to reduce how much memory that consume, particularly when opening multiple tabs.
- Speed – Everyone wants a faster browser experience and the browsers are constantly tweaked to make them faster where possible.
- Most Website will Generally Appear Better – HTML and CSS standards are constantly evolving and most browser updates to support more features in the underlying languages.
- Improved User Experience – We browsers offer more than just displaying websites. Improvements to the layout and features to give users more control over their privacy and security are added frequently.
These days, all the major browsers offer automatic updates, so when you next update you can select to allow the browser to patch itself automatically in future.
