How necessary are security updates?

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Autor: Siri Amrit Kaur
Fecha:  
A: plug
Asunto: How necessary are security updates?
I know I should perform security updates frequently, but I run into one
problem:
the SIZE of the updates.
I'm on a slow dialup modem.
I'm using Slackware 10 with the 2.4.26 kernel on a stand-alone box. I never
installed Apache, inetd, portmap, SSH or any other server apps that I know
of, and I have all unneeded services turned off. I just use it for internet
surfing, email, burning music cd's and writing. I don't do any remote
connections, file-sharing, chat, or instant messaging. I have decent
passwords and a well-configured firewall, i.e. all ports show "stealth"
according to grc.com.

I use slackpkg for updates, and have it set up to only download patches, not
everything. The last time I ran "slackpkg upgrade patches" it was a 135MB
download, not including kernel patches because I don't want to screw around
with the kernel. That's fine for broadband, but I never want to go through
that again! It took days and I had to su to root to do it. Personally, I
never like to be online as root; that's a security risk in and of itself.

Given how conservatively I use my computer, how likely is it that I'll be
compromised and have my computer turned into a zombie or something if I don't
do updates anymore?

I appreciate any opinions and advice, but no flames, please.
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