Free PC/Computer Security Software for Windows Applications

Posted on August 1, 2007 at 10:36 am

If you’re like most people who want to keep their computer secure, then you have probably have an anti-virus software and an anti-spyware program installed on your system along with Windows Update turned to on for any critical updates to the operating system. Now all of those things are fine and essential for computer security, but even with all of that, one piece of the pie is still not protected and that is the software that is installed on your computer.

Any piece of software that you have installed currently, i.e. Adobe Reader, Flash Player, FireFox, Yahoo Messenger, etc can become a point of attack for a virus to gain control over your computer system. That’s why Microsoft constantly releases security updates for Word, Excel and other Office products along with Windows XP because these programs can be used as a kind of “gateway” into the operating system.

It is also essential to download and install critical security updates for all programs installed on your computer or to uninstall programs that are no longer supported by the software manufacturer. Secunia Personal Software Inspector is a free Windows security checking software for over 4,200 applications. The software is small, low on computer resources, provides a personal assessment score of your risk, provides direct links to application updates and patches, and unique advice for the installation or removal of many applications!

Once you download and install the software, it will run an automatic initial scan of all the software installed and give you a summary of any insecure software that it finds:

secunia personal software inspector

As you can see from the scan of my computer, I am 77% up to date, which makes me feel like I got close to a B! You can click on the blue arrow to download the latest version of the software listed or click on the green icon to get more information about the software:

computer security software

It provides a summary, gives you links to the latest updates and lets you know of any deviations that might exist when updating the software. Also, in addition to a list of insecure software, you’ll get a list of End-Of-Life software:

pc security software

You should remove these programs completely and install the newest versions as soon as possible. After the initial scan, the software simply monitors any new software installations or any updates to the insecure software. Of course, getting it to 100% secure is the ultimate goal!

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