As I settle in at my desk for the start of a new day, a message pops up on my desktop letting me know that a new security update is available for Windows. The pressing question is, would I like to download and install the update now? I know it's going to require a reboot and I have some urgent emails that I need to reply to, so I simply can't be bothered at the moment. I dismissively click "snooze" and push it off to another day.

On the other side of the world, there's another desktop that's had that same message pop up. "New security update, would you like to download and install now?" The user of that computer, however, chooses to immediately download the update. Once it's downloaded, they quickly get to work on reverse-engineering the security update and find that it's provided a fix for a glaring security hole. With this key piece of knowledge, that nefarious user is able to quickly put together a script that can enter through the backdoor of any unpatched computer on that version of Windows and provide administrative access to the user. Now armed with this administrative access, the user is free to access any data they like, take the computer hostage for ransom, use it as an entry point to the rest of my network or just wreak havoc if they're so inclined. Within hours of me choosing to snooze my security update, I'm exposed to the whims of this person thousands of miles away.