Filed under: Internet, Security, Utilities, Windows, Freeware
Use Secunia PSI to find your PC's Achilles heel
by Lee Mathews Nov 14th 2008
I'm sure our loyal DS readers are intelligent enough that their Windows install is likely riddled with security risks. Even if you've got Windows fully patched, any one of the applications on your system could be a potential
Secunia PSI scans your system for vulnerabilities and reports its findings. The overview provides an overall score (given as a percentage) as well as basic information about your programs, displaying the total number that are patched, insecure, and no longer supported (EOL). There's also a simple pie chart for visual reference.
The scan did an excellent job of locating flaws on my test system, finding 19 programs that required patching. It's also smart enough to detect programs that have been installed or changed since the last scan. To no one's surprise, several Adobe apps, Java, and Office 2003 topped my list of risks.
Apart from providing an exhaustive listing of potential threats, Secunia does an excellent job of linking to the downloads needed to correct them. You'll have to download and install each file individually, but at least they're all accessible from a single page.
Secunia PSI is a free download for Windows only.
Secunia PSI scans your system for vulnerabilities and reports its findings. The overview provides an overall score (given as a percentage) as well as basic information about your programs, displaying the total number that are patched, insecure, and no longer supported (EOL). There's also a simple pie chart for visual reference.
The scan did an excellent job of locating flaws on my test system, finding 19 programs that required patching. It's also smart enough to detect programs that have been installed or changed since the last scan. To no one's surprise, several Adobe apps, Java, and Office 2003 topped my list of risks.
Apart from providing an exhaustive listing of potential threats, Secunia does an excellent job of linking to the downloads needed to correct them. You'll have to download and install each file individually, but at least they're all accessible from a single page.
Secunia PSI is a free download for Windows only.
With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet.
They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...
