A virtual or a dedicated server is a standalone machine, that has its own Operating System and keeping the latter up-to-date is a crucial, albeit underestimated task. Not only can an update enhance the functionality of your internet sites, but it could also save you lots of troubles later on. An update may be released for a number of reasons, the most common being to fix newly identified security holes, which may allow third-party individuals to access and modify the content that you have on the hosting machine. You can also see an improved efficiency of your web apps because updates may also be released for better compatibility between the Operating System and the configuration it operates on so as to get the most out of the hardware. Furthermore, if you keep your programs up-to-date, they may need a later OS version that will have the necessary software dependencies and will enable them to function properly.