Are you the sort who is still running Netscape Navigator on Windows 98 or perhaps you’re running the latest beta of Google Chrome on the newest Windows 7 build?
If you’re the latter then you may appreciate the following run-down of updating software. Perhaps if you are running older software this article may give you the kick you need to do something about it….
Reasons to update software:

• Fix known bugs
• Add new features
• Patch insecurities

Secunia Personal Software Inspector

This software is more for ensuring you are not running software that hasn’t been patched. Unpatched software is more likely to allow hackers access to your PC. Secunia PSI will scan your computer and tell you if it finds any software with security holes in. It well then advise you of the risks and tell you the latest version of software to download.

There is also an online security check that will give you a flavour of the feaures it can carry out. Overall Secunia Personal Software Inspector seems to have a fair amount of software but it’s security bias may not appeal to everyone.

Filehippo Update Checker

Filehippo.com is one of my favourite websites for freeware. If it’s on Filehippo then in my mind it means that it’s generally the leader in its class of freeware. You won’t find any spyware / adware or other crapware on here.  It’s a well laid out guide to the best software you can get for free and rivals my other favourite – Gizmo’s Techsupport Alert. Filehippos Update Checker essentially will check the software on your computer against the software on Filehippo and tell you if an update is available from their own website. This means that the software list is fairly limited (it detected 30 of my programs) but the scan is quick and opens up in your browser with links all ready to go to download. Filehippo UDC is something I run every so often as it is very light and easy to use as I already like Filehippo’s website.

Sumo

Sumo stands for software update monitor and is made by KCsoftware who gave us the excellent Kcleaner which I looked at on my computer cleaning roundup. Again after a run, we are presented with a list of software available to update listed as either minor or major. Sumo is able to detect and find updates for a lot of software so may be able to update freeware that Filehippo can’t. The downside to this is that it can sometimes list items that are not correct or detect betas as current. It also suffers from a slightly confusing interface:

I’m never sure when I run this program whether to update, check or scan. Everything seems logical after a play around but it’s not immediately idiot proof. I always manage to repeat a couple of processes when really a simpler “scan computer” button would suffice – perhaps it’s just me! Sumo is so comprehensive (it found a riduculously geeky 430 executables) it really deserves a look.

Cleansoft’s Update Notifier

A very similar approach to filehippo here, after running however you are presented with a list on your desktop rather than a list in your browser. This software only spotted 20 of my programs but is nicely integrated with a link to Cleansoft.org to download the updated software. Cleansoft.org in my opinion is not as polished a site as Filehippo.com but the simple desktop approach may win you over.

All in all Cleansoft’s Update Notifier is capable and light but not a winner for me.

Updatestar

This is one of the first update checking software I installed and has been on and off my computer for a while now. Like Sumo it is very comprehensive and lists lots of software (150 for me ) but for me it seems like it’s overly bloated. This software will happily and unnecesarily run in your startup tray and notify you all day long of updates. As this is something which I’m not keen on you can remove the program from startup. It also has pie charts and last run stats aswell as news of whats happening on their own website which is kind of annoying. This reminds me of Fcleaner as reviewed a couple of weeks ago. For software that should be kind of simple there is just too much going on. I’m not overly sure what the Premium version has to offer also – Security/Minor Updates?

If you like your stats and options to run continuosly then maybe Updatestar has something to offer you?

Appget

Unfortunately, Appget seems not to have been updated since 14th/09/2007. After downloading the program and synchronizing it succesfully found over 150 programs and was able to find a lot of updates much to my suprise. Unfortunately this program suffered from a high number of strange update numbers and beta versions being detected.

Another issue was not really having direct links to download updates from. There were sometimes websites listed in the right hand pane and sometimes just a “search fo this application in google hyperlink”. Appget is simple and works quite well whilst not being as bloated as Updatstar, hopefully an update may address some issues.

Ketarin

A slightly different approach here is Ketarin. Rather than give you a list of programs on your computer, you tell it a list of download urls you wish to monitor for setup files and synchronize this with a folder on your computer. This could be handy for Portable apps on USB sticks or for someone who keeps setups in one location as I geekily do.

Ketarin requires a bit of work to initally setup but is aided by the fact you can use filehippo id’s as described in the help page.

Conclusion

The software I have always run is filehippo’s update checker and Sumo. I find the combination of these two provides a simple combination that will keep your computer well up to date with the bare minimum of fuss. If running a couple of programs is too much then you could try subscribing to the feeds of software you like or to Filehippo, Techsupportalert or perhaps Snapfiles.

Links and Sources:

Lifehacker Ketarin

Ghacks Updaters

TechsupportAlert Updaters

Snapfiles.com

Filehippo.com

Popularity: 2% [?]

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