Recently, I was very impressed with a security patch tool built into Kaspersky 2010.  However I preferred using another anti-virus and did not want to go to Kaspersky.  Looking for a freeware solution for Windows users, Secunia Personal Software Inspector was brought to my attention – thanks Zeke!  Free to use for personal purposes, Secunia is the ultimate (from what I have seen) in keeping maximum security on your computer.  It will scan through every program on your computer and let you know which ones have reached end of life or which ones contain security vulnerabilities.  From there, you can merely click a button to download the appropriate patch or if that fails after you download and run it and have rescanned your system, there is a direct link to the Secunia forums to see what the problem can be.  Also as a major plus in comparison to Kaspersky, Secunia can be told to rescan for just a single vulnerability to see if it’s fixed whereas with Kaspersky, a total long rescan is required.  In the picture below, Google Chrome came up with some problems.  There are two instances because I have a dual boot system in which Chrome is installed on.

There is a simple as well as an advanced interface to the program.  Pictured above is the simple version.  The advanced shown below is far more detailed.

From here we can also look at the various tabs – in this case I still have some insecure programs:

Many of the above ones I found are all tied with my trial of the CS4 Master Suite Trial and a couple will not get off the list.  Looking at forums though, in some cases this is normal.  But again, for maximum protection.  It is advisable to look at each one.  In the case of Adobe Illustrator, the download was a single DLL.  After replacing it and clicking on the green “Re-scan vulnerability” button I received a nice pat on the back!

Lastly, looking at the “Secure Browsing” tab.  Most of my web browsers were considered unsecure due to various insecurities mainly driven by third party plug-ins.  In this case, it was Java, however looking at the list, I have various instances of Java strewn across my machine with several inside my Adobe CS4 Trial.  You’ll also notice some crazy vulnerabilities with IE8 where it says “Insecure, no solution” – yikes!

So all in all, it’s a war to keep your system secure.  With Secunia PSI, it certainly makes this task far easier.  In my opinion, if you can even just keep the simple mode free of any insecurities, you’ll have done better than most in keeping your system secure.

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