If you’re the proud owner of an iPhone or iPad, you may be used to seeing those tiny notifications pop up, telling you to update your phone with the latest software. While these minor updates are usually trivial, you may want to pay special and urgent attention to Apple’s latest update. The reason for the urgency? It may not surprise you to learn that it has to do with cybersecurity.

According to CNBC, an unprecedented attack on an iPhone spurred Apple to release the latest update (iOS 9.3.5). The attack exposed spyware on iPhones that had previously gone unnoticed. But with the spyware on the phones, scary things can happen. Apart from being susceptible to have your messages read and your calls tracked, hackers also have the ability to record things using your microphone, collect passwords and other sensitive information, and use the camera to, terrifyingly, spy on you.

While this news is certainly scary, there is luckily an easy solution. All you have to do (as long as you have an iPhone 4s or later, an iPad 2 or later, or an iPod touch – 5th generation) is perform a regular software update on your phone. The latest software will protect your phone from would-be hackers and protect your privacy.

So, ready to update? Here’s some advice from Apple’s support page on how to do it:

Before you update

Make a backup of your device using iCloud or iTunes.

Update your device wirelessly

If a message says that an update is available, tap Install Now. You can also follow these steps:

1. Plug your device into power and connect to the Internet with Wi-Fi.
2. Tap Settings > General > Software Update.

1. Tap Download and Install. If a message asks to temporarily remove apps because iOS needs more space for the update, tap Continue or Cancel. Later, iOS will reinstall apps that it removed. If you tap Cancel, learn what to do next.
2. To update now, tap Install. Or you can tap Later and choose Install Tonight or Remind Me Later. If you tap Install Tonight, just plug your iOS device into power before you go to sleep. Your device will update automatically overnight.
3. If asked, enter your passcode. If you don’t know your passcode, learn what to do.

If you see an error or need more space when updating wirelessly

If you see an error message while trying to update your device wirelessly, learn what to do. If you need more space for a wireless update, you can update using iTunes or delete content manually from your device. Whether you use iTunes or update wirelessly, you’ll have the same amount of free space on your device after you update.

Some iOS software updates aren’t available wirelessly. VPN or proxy connections might prevent your device from contacting the iOS update servers.

Update your device using iTunes

If you can’t update wirelessly on your iOS device, you can update manually using iTunes on a computer that you trust. If your computer is using Personal Hotspot on the iOS device that you’re updating, connect your computer to a different WiFi or Ethernet network before you update.

1. Install the latest version of iTunes on your computer.
2. Connect your device to your computer.
3. Open iTunes and select your device.
4. Click Summary, then click Check for Update.
5. Click Download and Update.

If you see error messages in iTunes or need more space to update

Get help if you see error messages while updating your device with iTunes. Or if you need more space for an update, you can delete content from your device manually.

Do you have an iPhone? Or are you a diehard Android owner? We’d love to hear about which phone you prefer and why in the comments section below!