How to update Silverlight – or uninstall it completely!

In an earlier article I outlined how running Silverlight can increase the opportunities for malicious hackers to compromise your computer.

There are several ways to protect yourself from these types of attacks, but one thing that’s essential – if you don’t want to completely eradicate Silverlight from your computer – is to keep it updated.

They may be the bane of your digital life, but software updates are crucial to staying safe online, whatever operating system is installed.

First, let’s take a look at how you can check whether you’re running the latest – and safest – version of Silverlight.

Checking your Silverlight version

To check your installed version, visit Microsoft’s Silverlight website and wait a few seconds.

Updating Silverlight

Updates to Microsoft Silverlight are provided automatically, alongside the standard Windows Update mechanism. Most consumers would probably benefit from following Microsoft’s recommendation that updates are installed automatically.

For more information on Windows Update, take a look at the Microsoft knowledge base article.

Removing Silverlight

For Windows users, the Silverlight removal procedure is very similar to that of Adobe Flash: open the Control Panel and select “Programs and Features” to view your list of applications.

Select each of the applications that begin with “Microsoft Silverlight” and click Uninstall.

If you’re on OS X, Microsoft offer step-by-step uninstall instructions here.

Further reading:

• Plugins – yes, they’re handy but they also increase the surface of attack
• How to update Adobe Flash – or uninstall it completely!
• How to update Java – or uninstall it completely!

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Yasin Soliman •   @SecurityYasin

Researcher at heart, Yasin Soliman lives and breathes information security. You can find him on Twitter at @SecurityYasin.