Secunia Software Inspector

Unpatched and obsolete (End-of-Life) software can pose a security risk to any system. EoL software is especially bad because the software maker no longer provides support or updates. While there are several programs that have a built-in auto update feature, the programs that don’t can remain vulnerable for a long time because the user doesn’t know an update is available unless they check the manufacturer’s website on a regular basis.

Secunia, a massive online database that provides information about security vulnerabilities and patches, has released software that will check your Windows PC for vulnerable software. The program is called Personal Software Inspector. It works the same way as the web based Secunia Software Inspector does except for a couple of differences. The main difference is that the online version requires users to manually scan their system while PSI, by default, runs constantly in the background.

Installation is straight forward and no reboot is required so a system scan can begin immediately after exiting setup. A thorough scan can take anywhere from a few minutes to almost an hour to complete. The scan time is determined by how many programs you have and how fast your system runs. Closing the main window does not exit the program so it can be closed during scans or monitoring. Double-clicking the Secunia PSI icon in the system tray will open the main window. Right-clicking the icon and choosing Exit will close the program.

Clicking on any of the programs listed under Insecure Software or End-of-Life Software provides details about the detected version, the latest version available, installation path and links to the updates. It even gives information on how to remove older versions if installing the updating will not remove it. One example of an older version not being removed by an update is Sun Java. You must remove the older version of Java using Add or Remove Programs.

All communication between the Secunia PSI and the Secunia web servers is done through a secure HTTPS connection. System requirements and other general information about Personal Software Inspector can be found on the About Secunia PSI page.

NOTE: At this time, the software is Beta. Don’t be surprised if it doesn’t work perfectly. Also, I do not recommend running PSI in the background at all times if you don’t have a lot of free Physical Memory (check Task Manager). Secunia PSI uses about 16 to 20 MB of memory on my system during the monitoring phase.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao Tzu

07.Aug.07 Security, Software

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2 Responses to “Secunia Software Inspector”

fullmetalashaman | August 7th, 2007 at 3:41 pm
Have I mentioned how interesting and informative all your articles are?

I haven’t?

All your articles are interesting and informative.

Don’t stop just because no one can be arsed enough to comment.

That is all.
wyckedone | August 7th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
Gracias.