Update ya drivers and clog up

Personally unless I need 3d graphics performance or got obvious sound problems I don't mess with drivers at all. Windows 7 got an "optional update" for my realtec NIC which I never installed, it's working fine as it is.

But there's one thing I wonder: what if there's a security vulnerability, maybe even a remote kernel exploit, in one of the drivers. If you check the Linux kernel changelog you see some driver related security fixes every now and then (for an example see CVE-2009-4537 or CVE-2009-4538 ). Linux vendors patch these vulnerabilities and drivers are kept updated together with the rest of the system, except for non-free binary drivers you usually have to install manually.
While I'm a longtime Windows user I have no idea how this is handled there.

Apart from the security aspect I support the if it ain't broken mentality too, which also translates well to OS and software and even hardware in general. Newer versions promise better performance and more "features" (whatever that means, i.e. bloatware) . However one should keep in mind the risks and trade-offs. Better hold off a bit and let the early adopters burn themselves.

 

Hello.

You can't expect a general concensus on this kind of a question. New versions of drivers are being rolled out more or less consistently you know, and it's not just for the heck of it.

You compliment anyone who agrees that updating drivers is not needed. As I see it, you are looking for an easy way out of a serious topic that IMO deserves a more serious approach.

Your opinion, as you stated earlier, is based on your lack of knowledge on drivers. In your first post, you sound like you don't have experience with drivers, yet you have a firm opinion on them. How is it possible that you formed it without crucial data - first hand experience? Is it just that the "AGAINST" side "felt" more viable to you, or is there more to it?

Exactly. That's why you can't expect to form a relevant opinon by asking users on forums or reading on various sites on the net. You need to try it yourself, in practice, and as suggested above, images are the way to go. You have also been given a link to read up on drivers, to back it all up with some theory.

So have no fear, mitigate the risks, go update your drivers. As with any kind of software, of course new versions are recommended. Mankind conquered the fear of new versions many times in the past, cause if it didn't we'd all still be living in the Stone Age.

The vulnerabilities are, hypothetically, always there. It's just that they haven't been discovered/exploited yet.
But maybe they will never be discovered. Maybe it's impossible to exploit them in your specific case. Just think positive

Cheers,

 

Might not have been clear enough but I had already discovered and fixed vulns in mind, not the by comparison rare and negligible 0day risk. Does anyone know how Windows 7 in particular handles this? With earlier versions hardware recognition was a lot worse and I always downloaded (had to) drivers from the manufacturers homepage, then usually kept them till they broke or I reinstalled the OS. With MS's latest I didn't have to manually install any driver, all the hardware was recognised and it's working flawless.

My question, what if there is a serious bug or exploit in one of these "bundled" drivers. Does windows update push them as "critical" or is this task still left to the user. With other OSs, namely Linux and OS X, this problem does not exist: Software Update/the package management of choice take care of this tedious task.

Early adopters and the risk avoiding laggard alike have to agree that in case of a serious bug or security problem there is no choice but to update the driver, asap.

 

Perhaps someone can just state it -- taken from the old almond joy and mounds commercial

Sometimes you feel like a driver... sometimes you don't.

My new video cards got brand new drivers.. yours don't.

My new driver performance rocks... your old one don't.

My old driver is stable... your new ones not.

Enjoy whichever you like, no one can say either is worse.

Sul.

 

With several off topic posts removed we end this thread on Sully's positive note