Driver is one of those computer terms that gets tossed around quite a bit but what exactly is a driver and why is it important to keep it up-to-date? A driver is basically a tiny piece of software which tells your operating-system how to connect to a specific little bit of hardware. For instance, your video driver means that your operating system can properly communicate with your graphics card, thus letting you see an image on your monitor. It is important to keep your drivers current for the following reasons:

? System stability

? System security

? Ensure proper hardware functionality

By updating your drivers regularly you reduce the risk of system instability that may manifest itself as blue screens, system lock-ups, system errors, and other computer issues. Operating system security could even be compromised in case a vulnerability is discovered in a driver. Malicious code can be written to exploit this vulnerability and could create a hacker gaining usage of your computer. Finally, getting the latest driver that’s written for the hardware can make sure your hardware and software work as efficiently as possible. Whenever a poorly-written line of code is being found in a piece of driver software, the hardware will suffer from sub-par performance.

So how do you ensure you have the latest drivers available? There are four options:

? Go to the manufacturer’s website

? Check out the computer company’s website

? Run BhagyaLakshmi Written Update

? Use driver-update software

If you have the required time and inclination you can go to your device manager and write down all of your primary hardware components and visit each one’s manufacturer’s site and look for updated drivers. Obviously, this would be quite time-consuming and is not recommended nor often attempted. Typically, you’ll suspect a certain little bit of hardware, such as for example your network card, to be not functioning properly. You would then go to the manufacturer’s site and appearance up your model network card and download and install the most recent driver for it.

Another, oftentimes better, solution is to visit your computer manufacturer’s website. Basically, in case you have a Dell computer you would visit Dell’s site and head to drivers and downloads. Then enter your service tag number and see if it returns any updated drivers for your hardware. This is usually a better option than the hardware manufacturer’s site as the PC maker’s site could have drivers specifically designed to utilize their systems.

Occasionally, likely to Microsoft’s Windows Update site will reveal updated drivers for the hardware. Make sure to run a Custom Scan and select by type: Hardware. It is best to visit your personal computer manufacturer’s site first, for me.

A final, as well as perhaps best, all-inclusive treatment for driver updates is to use a third-part tool to accomplish the work for you personally. Software such as for example DriverMax, Driver Robot, Driver Smith, and others all scan your drivers and will automatically update them for you. Moreover, a few of these products can backup and restore your drivers for you. Which is great if you ever need to reinstall your operating system.

You now know what a driver is and why it is important to keep them updated. Doing so will cause fewer errors and keep your computer running well. Of highest importance may be the proven fact that updating your drivers will keep your system safe from security exploits.