Unpatched softwares - the loop hole for the security risks

Is it very frequently that you face risks of software corruption, data loss, virus/spyware problems then may be you are one of them using the unpatched software. These days almost every PC use softwares like Flash Player, Java runtime application, apple player to play video you received from internet or vial e-mail. This is what we should consider as what if the file we are going to play is infected and as our media player is not fully updated with the latest patched simply open the file without any risk check thus will infect our system also. This is why almost every software manufacturer company occasionally distribute its patches and updates so that automatic update feature of the application will search this term and install. If we have to choose for manually update then we should check for it with in regular intervals.

Now the question arises that how can we know if a specific application requires an update or an update is available as there is a lot of application installed?

Simply Visit Secunia.com? Why?

This is the online scanner to find and trace what applications we have and which one of them needs an update. (You should note one thing that this requires that you have java installed in your system if you don't have click here to visit the JAVA online website to download Java runtime application or its update). If as it looks like that you have Java installed you can proceed with the Software Inspector, this is absolutely free to use and with in no minutes it will display the software (including your operating system) which needs to be updated or having a flaw for vulnerable activities. The online list will show a green mark for the application fully patched and red for those having flaws that need to be updated. If the scan finds multiple versions of software, sometimes older versions represent a security risk to your system. But in some cases (such as Java), you may need an older version to keep other application software running properly.

It's frustrating to know that, even when Windows is fully patched, our application software can represent an even greater vulnerability. To reduce your risk, consider running Software Inspector once a month, just after you've installed the Windows patches that Microsoft typically releases on Patch Tuesday (the 2nd Tuesday of the month). But before you do anything its always better to create a restore point if something goes wrong if you don't know about System Restore click here for full detail.

You may forget to use Software Inspector periodically, so to automate that chore, click the reminder service link on the Software Inspector page. This will send you an e-mail notification every time a new update or version is available.

You can also use Secunia Personal Software Inspector (PSI) which is also available for download.

Click the link here to visit the Secunia Website.