up vote 6 down vote favorite
2
share [g+] share [fb]

Is there any program in Windows that would notify me when some program that I have installed can be updated or upgraded because a new version has been released?

link|improve this question
69% accept rate
1  
If there were such a thing, would you trust it? – Chris W. Rea Aug 23 '09 at 14:39
cwrea, why not? – J. Pablo Fernández Aug 23 '09 at 14:57
I trust the one I use on Arch Linux and if Microsoft would offer something similar I would definitely use it. – miloshadzic Aug 23 '09 at 15:11
@nagnatron Have you not seen Microsoft Update? That will notify updates for their main applications, like Office and Media Player. – Rowland Shaw Aug 23 '09 at 15:30
1  
show 3 more comments
feedback

9 Answers

up vote 6 down vote accepted

Filehippo has a version checker.

They seem to maintain their own database for program versions, how reliable that might now be.

link|improve this answer
2  
I personally just got the exe version from them, with no installer or anything resident in memory. I just launch it occasionally. So it's not completely automatic, but it satisfies my need for constant upgrades. – Noam Gal Aug 23 '09 at 14:50
Of course, this only supports applications via FileHippo... – Rowland Shaw Aug 23 '09 at 14:51
Well, one can check the list of applications on their webpage, or alternatively, run the version checker software, and see if it's worth the effort. – TFM Aug 23 '09 at 14:55
feedback
up vote 3 down vote

In short, not for every piece of software.

To achieve this, you'd need to have every vendor support some kind of open interface for notifying of updates. Some of the the larger vendors have solutions that capture all updates for their software (like Windows Update, and Adobe Updater) but at present, there isn't a solution for all vendors in a single place

link|improve this answer
Well, for Mac OS X there are several directories of software and programs that check your local versions against them. It's not fool-proof but it works quite well. – J. Pablo Fernández Aug 23 '09 at 14:54
1  
They're still not going to cover every application you have – Rowland Shaw Aug 23 '09 at 15:27
They surely are not going to cover every application, but with the set I have installed, they'll probably will. Thanks for the answer, I'm checking it now. – J. Pablo Fernández Aug 26 '09 at 18:50
feedback
up vote 2 down vote

You might want to consider Secunia PSI (http://secunia.com/vulnerability%5Fscanning/personal/). It is free for personal use. It is aimed at security, so it might not be exactly what you were looking for. I have used it and found it to be very comprehensive. In fact it was kind of a pain at first. Once I got everything up to date it was fine though.

link|improve this answer
+1 This is my favorite tool for this ^^ – Oskar Duveborn Aug 23 '09 at 17:17
feedback
up vote 1 down vote

You can download FileHippo.com Update Checker

The Update Checker will scan your computer for installed software, check the versions and then send this information to FileHippo.com to see if there are any newer releases. These are then neatly displayed in your browser for you to download.

And the good thing about FileHippo.com is that they make the beta versions available for download that you normally wouldn't find on other download sites.

link|improve this answer
feedback
up vote 1 down vote

Software Updates Monitor does what you want to achieve. It scans the installed programs (from your Programs and Start menu) and checks if their database has an updated version recognized. You can also add custom locations for software if you have something installed which is not recognized automatically or correctly.

The default version of SuMo comes with an optional component "RK" which is something like a IE-toolbar. You can disable it during the install or download the Lite-version of SuMo upfront (use the icon with the stroked graph) if you do not want to install this "Relevant Knowledge".

link|improve this answer
I have experience with this and can confirm that it does work well to a certain extent, but somtimes confuses operating systems. – WebDevHobo Aug 23 '09 at 16:26
feedback
up vote 0 down vote

You are maybe looking ketarin. It's keeping all your installation packages up-to-date. Artenatively you can try win-get. It's analogue to apt-get for linux, but i think this project is dead already

link|improve this answer
feedback
up vote 0 down vote

Since Windows isn't a linux distro, there isn't such tool ;)

Anyway, even if you don't fully trust it, there are some solutions which does quite a good job in keeping you notified when updates to your software are available.

I recommend update notifier. Keep in mind it doesn't support every little piece of software out there, but it does pretty good job on the most popular once (and some of the less popular).

link|improve this answer
Linux distros still don't fit the bill, as they can't copy with every application... – Rowland Shaw Aug 23 '09 at 15:26
feedback
up vote 0 down vote

I too (@moshe) have used Cleansofts.org update notifier without problems for the more important programmes. You can ignore software and choose which to download the updates for. They link to their own "checked for viruses etc." downloads. Run auto or manual.

link|improve this answer
feedback
up vote 0 down vote

There's VersionTracker, and a slew of other programs.

link|improve this answer
feedback

Your Answer

 
or
required, but never shown
discard

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.