Ads by TechWords

See your link here
Receive the latest technology news and information.
Security
Computerworld Daily News (First Look and Wrap-Up)
Computerworld Blogs Newsletter
The Weekly Top 10
Cloud Computing
View all newsletters




Privacy Policy
 

Free security tool ferrets out unpatched software

Tool displays a pop-up window informing you of the need for a patch

July 24, 2007 12:00 PM ET

IDG News Service - A Danish security vendor is offering a free tool designed to inform users when their applications need patching.

Secunia APS has made the beta version of its Personal Software Inspector available for download.

A client program, Personal Software Inspector periodically checks to see if new updates have been issued for some 4,200 applications. Once it is installed on a user's PC, it inventories the computer's software and versions and classifies programs as "insecure," "end-of-life" or "up-to-date." When a patch is issued for a program on a user's computer, Personal Software Inspector displays a pop-up window in the lower right-hand corner of the screen, said Thomas Kristensen, Secunia's chief technology officer. Another panel provides a download link for the patch.

Personal Software Inspector is intended to get users to apply patches soon after they are released, Secunia said, noting that that many users may not be aware when new patches are available and that hackers increasingly are trying to exploit vulnerabilities in a wider range of applications.

Some software programs, such as Apple Inc.'s QuickTime and the Firefox browser, will check on start-up to see if new patches are available and then download and install those patches. But Kristensen said not all programs do that, and sometimes those mechanisms don't work properly.

"I'll argue we are more reliable than other update mechanisms," Kristensen said.

Other products, such as VersionTracker, notify users when a new version of their software is available. But Kristensen said Secunia's offering is focused on security, rather than merely alerting users when any new version is released.

Secunia monitors the Web sites of a large number of software vendors for security advisories. Those advisories are put into a database, and the Personal Software Inspector polls the database periodically to check for changes, Kristensen said.

Secunia is licensing Personal Software Inspector to other vendors for use in security software suites. It has struck two deals so far, but Kristensen said he could not yet reveal the companies.


Reprinted with permission from

IDG.net
Story copyright 2009 International Data Group. All rights reserved.

Jump to comments

patches

Additional Resources

Microsoft
Here are some of the key reasons why you would want to run Unified Access Gateway with DirectAccess.
Microsoft
Review how one energy firm tightened protection and simplified IT work using business-ready security solutions.
Sybase
In this white paper, IDC analyzes the role of next-generation mobile enterprise platforms as organizations seek a more strategic deployment of mobile solutions.

Learn the important issues you must consider before starting your next mobility initiative. Get your mobility white paper from IDC now, compliments of Sybase.

What People Are Saying

White Papers & Webcasts

Death to PST Files
Download Now  

Web 2.0, Social Media and the Dark Web - A Web Criminals Paradise?
In this discussion, learn about the challenges of protecting your users from the potentially unsafe content hidden in the "Dark Web".

eGuide: Enterprise Security
Smart Security Strategies for 2010. Read now!  

Disaster Recovery 2008: Reduced Costs and Improved Performance
How long can your Enterprise afford to be without your data? With an accelerated disaster recovery program, you never have to answer this...


IT Jobs