Once upon a time, patching Windows required waiting for service packs – large installers that not only fixed bugs and security holes but often introduced new features. Now however, online updates can happen much more rapidly and frequently.
Sometimes updates can create issues, like data loss or computer crashes. That’s why it’s essential to keep programs updated.
Home Updater
Home updater is a free portable tool designed to keep more than 300 common third-party programs up-to-date, as well as any Windows apps that you install, up-to-date and patched. Maintaining an up-to-date software setup is extremely essential to the health and security of your PC; outdated software opens vulnerabilities for hackers who could exploit them to attack and access sensitive information stored on it; new patches fix existing problems, add features and enhance overall performance of software applications.
Home updater scans for updates in various ways depending on its configuration. You can set a schedule to check at specific intervals or when computer is idle; or have it automatically run after rebooting PCs. A log file is kept with each scan run and programs that have already been updated can be ignored from being checked again.
There are various settings you can set in the Options dialog, such as creating a daily restore point before updating, setting the maximum simultaneous downloads, and verbose logging. By default, this program will download and install updates only for programs marked as outdated or higher in its list; any programs added to an Ignore List by you would not receive updates; additionally this list can help prevent commercial programs from upgrading unexpectedly or updates changing its interface in newer versions of itself from being downloaded by mistake.
Business Updater
Make managing third-party software patching on your business computers simpler with this updater that scans for and automatically deploys updates for Windows and third-party apps, keeping your business protected against vulnerabilities found in outdated programs (which is key considering 4 out of 5 cyber attacks originate in outdated programs). It features an extensive list of supported programs with options to control which are updated at what times. It is fully portable and simple to install while offering detailed logs, command line options, backup/deployment scheduling as well as backup/deployment scheduling capabilities – offering backup/deployment scheduling – offering free trials to get acquainted with its capabilities before making a commitment.
Professional Updater
If you oversee multiple computers, a professional updater makes staying current with software updates easy. Ninite Pro is used by IT professionals to update thousands of machines each month while its free version offers convenient personal use.
This program may not be as powerful as others on this list, but it still makes for a handy way to stay current with programs on your computer. It scans for out-of-date apps and provides links for their updated versions – it even supports starting automatically at startup, checking regularly for updates, ignoring beta releases, changing where downloaded setup files are stored, etc.
Another great aspect of this program is that it does not require browser toolbars or bothersome questions, while being lightweight enough not to slow down your PC. Furthermore, its simple user interface displays which updates need updating as well as how and where to find them.
This program is similar to Heimdal Free or Thor Free, except it can be configured either automatically or manually. It can identify compatible programs and download their patches; additionally it features an “anti-noise” mode for when it works in manual mode; additionally it also comes equipped with a quiet mode so as not to interrupt users while working and can even be set up only update security-critical programs.
Custom Updater
With the custom updater, you can easily create and manage custom updates. These modular updates can be added or edited without impacting other updaters. Furthermore, select security scopes can be enforced; this ensures only those selected remain within ConfigMgr application after synchronization is complete and any remaining ones will be removed when synced again.
Configuring patches for an MSI, EXE or MSP file. Additionally, installation logging can be enabled on client machines; this will create a directory (default location: C:windowsccmlogsPatchMyPCInstallLogs) on each client that will store vendor installation logs to allow greater detail for troubleshooting purposes. There are options to enable verbose logging and prefix the log with device names or predefine a backup path should a failed installation take place.