Three best free software updaters

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Three best free software updaters

Nikhil Rastogi, Oct 12, 2008 1000 hrs IST

These are some of the best software updaters I've come across in my quest to keep my system up-to-date.

Expert Review

KC Softwares' Software Update Monitor

Website - http://www.kcsoftwares.com/?sumo

SUMo stands for Software Update Monitor and is a unique software. Sumo has features that are quite close to a fully baked software of its class ought to have. Being the only one of its kind, its uniqueness stands out but this also means that the 'software-update industry' (so to speak) is still at quite a nascent stage where there exists no one panel to update everything that one would need, here's why

It's faster than Secunia's PSI and FileHippo because it keeps an indexed record of which software is installed thereby ridding itself of a hard-drive scan each and every time it launches. Sumo scans through the start menu while complete scan checks "Program Files" folder. Sumo is a strange wrestler where instead of giving priority to direct link to updates, it first by default takes you to a webpage with usage statistics regarding recent versions of the program and the number of users who use each version.

Although interesting, a direct download link would have been more appreciated. Further digging reveals that Sumo unlike FileHippo and CNET's VersionTracker doesn't host any files of its own but rather points you in the direction of major download sites (which sometimes do not work with the information supplied by SUMo) and a link to a Google search for the software. Well I think that is a smart approach by an individual developer, though a tighter integration would be nice.

What I really liked in this software is the ability to add or remove software that you wanted which ought to be there in all software updaters in my opinion. However, strangely, some software cannot be added as it stubbornly refuses to accept it. This is one software that I'll be keeping an eye on.