Every virtual or dedicated hosting machine has its own Operating System and operates independently from the hosting servers of other customers. Updating the Operating system is frequently neglected, but doing that might have lots of benefits for your sites. The most significant reason to use the most up-to-date version is that patches are typically released to fix security holes inside the Operating System code, so if you don't install the updates, you risk individuals with malicious intentions to use these holes and to get access to your content. OS updates are also released for improved efficiency of the system as a whole and for much better compatibility with the hardware on the market, which could directly affect the functionality of your internet sites. If the performance and the security of your scripts is the reason to update them, you may also know that their most recent versions require an updated Os in order to work properly, so keeping the OS up-to-date is always a wise idea.