You often do not know in case of the installed software whether they are up-to-date or not, while Windows automatically takes care of important updates. Many programs already have an integrated update function, but not all of them. In addition, it is not activated in most cases. However, missing updates put the system safety at risk. Hence, it is recommended that the status is checked with a freeware tool such as Secunia Personal Software Inspector , a security tool designed to detect vulnerable and out-dated programs / Applications and plug-ins which expose your PC to attacks
For installation, open ‘PSISetup.exe’, select the language and start the wizard. Click ‘Private Use’ and then ‘Next’ in the user agreement. You can start the tool subsequently. After a few minutes, it displays the test result in the form of a list. It shows the list of programs for which updates are missing and gives a link for the respective downloads in the ‘Solution’ column at the same time.
You must possibly conduct a check again after an update such that the relevant entry is removed from the list. The tool is integrated into the system and conducts new checks every week automatically. Even if the risks have been eliminated, you have still not gotten rid of all the danger sources.
Right-click ‘Advanced’ above in the program window confirm the info dialog box with ‘OK’ for a detailed analysis with instructions for the programs, for which there are no simple solutions. Then check all the entries in the ‘Unsafe’ and ‘Outdated’ tabs. Click one single program entry to get detail information. Depending on the situation, the program shows which updates from the manufacturer are necessary.
Take further steps for eliminating the respective risk using the elements in the ‘Toolbox’ that is displayed. You can request for the ‘Technical Details’ here, call up important websites of Secunia and the manufacturer via ‘Online references’ or ‘Open Directory’. You should ‘Ignore Program’ only if the doubtful file is present in the Backup folder for instance. You can ‘Download Solution’ here itself in many cases.
You can get to the discussion space of the respective product on the Secunia website via the ‘Community Forum’ link. You can search for advanced help in English here. It is best if you uninstall outdated software if you do not need it anymore.