Secunia is a major player in the security business. One of their important functions, besides looking for new viruses and spyware, is to look for security vulnerabilities in software products. These are places where a potential hacker can get into your computer and take over without your knowledge. They are continually finding new "holes" and reporting them, forcing software companies to issue revisions for their users.
Of course, they keep a complete database on all these vulnerabilities. With that in mind, the company decided to use their treasure house of information to help personal computer users keep up-to-date with these software issues. They created a software called "Secunia PSI" that will scan your computer looking for unpatched software with vulnerabilities. Currently their database has over 44 million software programs that they track. After a scan, it will issue a report not only telling you what unpatched software you might have, but also providing links to the web where the fixes are available for download.
I downloaded the program recently on my laptop to give it a try. It took about 15 minutes to do a scan (the times for your computer will vary depending on how much software is on your computer). When it was done, I got a list of 10 software vulnerabilities. The first one on the list showed that there was no fix available. It was a program I used for a specific project sometime ago and had never deleted. I deleted it. The other nine on the list all had links to the fixes. I duly started the process of upgrading my vulnerable software and except for one, it all went smooth. The good news was that you don't have to download the upgrades, then leave Secunia PSI to do the fixes. Just click on "Run" rather than "Save" and the upgrades are completed.
The one I am having a problem with is Java. It won't apply a fix for some reason, but that is not Secunia's fault. I am continuing to try and figure out why. As I said, the other fixes all went smoothly. Some fixes are quicker than others. For instance, it reported that OpenOffice needed a patch. When I clicked on the fix, it downloaded the latest version of the program which is very large. Although it took time, the fix was done.
I think Secunia has provided a terrific service for computer users. I strongly suggest you download it and let it help you make your computer even more secure. You can read more about it and download it for free at the Secunia PSI Web site.
1 comment:
secunia is ok but it's a little 'heavy'. I think lighter, simpler programs such as radarsync and filehippo do the job just as well or better.
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