Windows is probably the operating system that is attacked the most, some say because it has the largest user base, some say because it is simply insecure. Whatever it is Windows users should do whatever they can to protect their system and patch all possible known security vulnerabilities to make sure their system won’t be added to one of the botnets out there.
I discovered the software Windows Vulnerability Scanner at Tech Malaya which scans a Windows NT system, that is Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 2003 Server or Windows Vista for security vulnerabilities. It seems to use information from the Microsoft Knowledgebase exclusively and one would assume that a system that downloaded all Windows Updates recently reveal no vulnerabilities. I let the software scan my system and it did find six critical and one important security vulnerability that had not been patched yet.
I’m not sure how this can be but was glad that the application revealed the information to me. It lists the vulnerabilities and provides links to the Microsoft website that contains information about it.
The Knowledgebase article at Microsoft contains a link to the download of the security patch and I did install all the patches one after the other. An improvement would have been if the software would automatically download the patches and install them on the system, or at least those that the user selects. If you have not been to Windows Update for a while I suggest you start there and scan the system again afterwards which should fix most of the security vulnerabilities found during the first scan.
Update: The developer website does not seem to be available anymore. You can download the latest version of Windows Vulnerability Scanner from software repositories such as Freeware Files. Just download the program from there and use it normally. Keep in mind though that it is not clear at this point in time if development has stopped or is still ongoing.
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You might also want to look at Secunia Personal Software Inspector (free for personal use) which will also provide you with info on “end-of-life”, patched status as well as security issues for all your software. Download from https://psi.secunia.com
I’m thinking this piece of work is possibly a bit of Vapor Ware designed to “Hock” their Anti-Virus Software and a well thought out plan indeed.
Ya like this hasn’t been thought of before. It checks my systems Vulnerabilities in just under .23874638 seconds, is nothing more than an Icon weighing in at about 1.07 MBs (and in this corner), has no Directory, (nowhere to call home) and is pretty to look at.
CNET says you can Download their Ant-Virus for the very special price of $29.95, try it for free and be the “Very First” person to “Rate” it, so you know they have been around for a while….
I know I don’t know what I’m talking about as usual, but it just feels wrong…..
TBIRD7777
I liked the look of this so I tried it.
It found 3 items, 2 of which were already installed over a year ago and a third which no longer applies to my system due to later updates?
The idea is good, pity about the application.