Driver Updater Software

[Myrm]

Hi

I just wanted to ask how reliable these driver updating software packages are.

I have installed iobit driver support 3, just out of interest to see how many out of date drivers it would "detect" on my custom built, not yet 2 month old, PS laptop.

It detected 14 out of date drivers (system devices, network adaptors, IDE/ATA/APTI controllers etc), claiming they are "very old" or "extremely old".

I haven't installed any of its suggestions as I was wondering just how reliable these driver updater packages really are.

Is there any real need for me to updater to newer drivers such as the type mentioned above? I understand that updating graphics card drivers are important, but what about these?

Would appreciate your thoughts.

Thank you.

 

[keynes]

not a good idea to use third party software to install drivers. If you search for previous threads on this usually people using third party software experience problems. only update from the main manufacturer website and if you are not experiencing any issues with drivers don't bother updating

 

[ubuysa]

All a driver does is interface the actual hardware with Windows, so as long as your devices are working perfectly fine and you have access to all the devices features there is no point in updating the driver. You only need update drivers if you're having a problem with a device or if you need some additional functionality provided by the updated driver.

Running old versions of driver, that still work fine for you, is a very good thing. They have been expected billions of times on millions of devices and are almost certainly bug free. The latest driver has probably only been executed a few thousand times on a few hundred devices and is likely to be much less stable.

If it ain't broke, then don't fix it.

The problems with third-party driver update tools are:

1. You don't know whether these drivers really are the right ones for your system

2. You don't know whether these drivers contain malware

3. You don't know where these drivers have come from or who wrote them

 

[Myrm]

Thank you keynes and ubuysa for your invaluable advice. I will take your advice and not bother with such software. I notice many of these software packages for updating drivers ask you to part with your money.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thank you keynes and ubuysa for your invaluable advice. I will take your advice and not bother with such software. I notice many of these software packages for updating drivers ask you to part with your money.

I would run a full scan with malwarebytes after uninstalling the product as it sounds like malware.

 

[Myrm]

Yes, though I don't really like Malwarebytes. I prefer to use a combination of Norton Internet Security and SUPERAntiSpyware.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Yes, though I don't really like Malwarebytes. I prefer to use a combination of Norton Internet Security and SUPERAntiSpyware.

Good combo, same effect