Windows Vulnerability Scanner

Martin Brinkmann
Apr 18, 2008
Updated • Mar 4, 2014
Security, Software, Windows XP
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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 the reason may be, Windows users should do whatever they can to protect their system. This includes installing security software to protect the system from attacks, but also to make sure that all software and the operating system itself is up to date at all times.

I discovered the software Windows Vulnerability Scanner earlier today. It scans a Windows NT system, that is Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 2003 Server or Windows Vista for security vulnerabilities.

Update: The latest version is also compatible with newer versions of Windows, including Windows 7 and Windows 8.

It appears to use information from Microsoft's Knowledgebase exclusively and one would assume that a system that downloaded all Windows Updates recently would reveal no vulnerabilities.

When I used the program to scan my system, it did find six critical and one important security vulnerability that had not been patched, despite the fact that all available updates from Windows Update were installed on it.

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 on the Microsoft website contains a link to the download of the security patch, 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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Comments

  1. Pilgrim said on April 20, 2008 at 1:12 pm
    Reply

    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.

  2. TBIRD7777 said on April 19, 2008 at 6:42 pm
    Reply

    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

  3. Votre said on April 18, 2008 at 8:56 pm
    Reply

    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

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