Do You Want to Upgrade Your Software?

RMN Digital | July 24, 2012 | Americas, CIO Info, Enterprise, Regions | No Comments

Skype has launched International Technology Upgrade Week (ITUW), a global initiative joined by Norton by Symantec and TomTom to encourage consumers to regularly download free software updates to their computers, smartphones and tablets and other portable devices, like GPS units. It was announced Monday, July 23.

The prime focus of International Technology Upgrade Week is to directly address consumers’ concerns and educate them on the value of keeping their software up to date, especially when many updates are free.

The need for this initiative is readily apparent, as a recent survey of American, British and German consumers revealed that 40 percent of adults don’t always update software on their computers when initially prompted to do so.

This survey was conducted using an online interview administered to members of the YouGov Plc GB panel of 350,000+ individuals who have agreed to take part in surveys.

In each country, approximately one quarter of those surveyed said they don’t clearly understand what software updates do and an equal percentage of consumers don’t understand the benefits of updating regularly.

Technology Upgrade Week

In looking at the impact of automatic update notifications, the survey found that while three quarters of adults received notifications on their computers telling them to update their software, more than half said they needed to see a prompt between two and five times before downloading and installing an update.

Even for those consumers who recognized the benefits of upgrading, one quarter didn’t know how to check if their installed software even needs updating.

Here are some step-by-step tips for getting your free updates from Skype, Symantec and TomTom.

Skype

Automatic updates are the easiest way to keep your Skype up to date. They are turned on by default for users with the most recently updated versions of Skype for Windows and Skype for Mac. If you’d like to confirm that you have the latest version of Skype, visit www.skype.com/download. For more information about why users should regularly update their Skype software, visit www.skype.com/go/upgrade.

Norton by Symantec

Norton users with a valid product subscription are eligible to receive the latest product updates via the subscription service model. These updates are critical for ensuring consumers have the latest protection. For more information, visit the Norton Update center at http://updatecenter.norton.com.

TomTom