Find and update unsafe software

What you need: Kaspersky Software Updater; Any version of Windows (XP to 10) 0) Time required: 30 minutes

Notevery program will automatically update to (or prompt you to install) their latest version – and outdated programs can put your PC at risk. Kaspersky Software Updater is a great free program that scans your PC for obsolete program versions and lets you update them in one go. It also lets you schedule automatic scans. Our favourite antivirus program Kaspersky Internet Security 2017 (see our Reader Offer, page 68) has this ‘software updater’ feature built in. We’ll show you how to tweak its default settings for better results.

STEP1

Skip to Step 7 if you already use Kaspersky Internet Security 2017. Otherwise, you need to install Kaspersky Software Updater as a separate program. Go to www.snipca.com/23982, click Download Now, then run the downloaded setup file. On the final screen ensure ‘Start Kaspersky Software Updater’ is ticked 1 , then click Finish 2 . Now click ‘Search for updates’ on the program’s main screen.

STEP 2

The program will start scanning your PC for outdated programs. You’ll then see how many require updates 1 , and a list of updates in the main window, along with their version number and file size 2 . You can update each program individually 3 or update them all in one go by clicking the ‘Update all’ button 4 .

STEP3

If a particular program can’t be updated, you’ll see a message explaining why. For example, to update Ccleaner, you need to close other programs running on your PC 1 (including browsers and email programs). Click the ‘View applications’ link 2 , then ‘Close all applications’. If those programs continue to run in the background, click the ‘Force close’ link to close them, then continue with the update.

STEP4

Similarly, if you see the ‘Failed to download the update’ message 1 beside a program, simply click the ‘Try again’ link 2 to update it. You’ll now see a screen listing all your updated programs and their new versions. You can click the ‘Search again’ button at the bottom left to run another scan and confirm that all your programs have been updated. Finally, click the top-left back button to return to Kaspersky Software Updater’s main screen.

STEP5

The program has an option to schedule automatic scans for outdated programs. To activate this, click the Settings (cog) icon at the bottom left. Now ensure the language dropdown menu is set to English 1 . There are two types of update that Kaspersky Software Updater searches for. ‘Full search’ 2 (which we recommend) searches for every available update for your installed programs, whereas ‘Quick search’ 3 only searches for major program updates.

STEP6

In the ‘Update search schedule’ section, you can choose how often you want to run the scan, which day of the week and at what time. We recommend running it once a week 1 . Select a day 2 and time 3 when your PC is likely to be switched on. Untick the box below 4 to avoid getting notifications from Kaspersky about its other products, then click Save 5 . In future, whenever you are notified about outdated programs in Kaspersky Software Updater, follow Steps 2 to 4 to update them.

STEP7

As we mentioned, Kaspersky Internet Security 2017 comes with Kaspersky Software Updater built in. If you use the program, you’ll see this pop-up message 1 in your notification area whenever any of your programs are out of date. Click Show 2 to see a list of these (see Step 2 for how to update them).

STEP8

It’s a good idea to tweak some of Kaspersky Internet Security’s default settings. First, open the program, click Database Update 1 , then click ‘Run update’ to ensure that your antivirus is up to date. Unlike Kaspersky Software Updater, Kaspersky Internet Security by default only checks your programs for major updates. To change this, first click the Settings icon 2 .

STEP9

Next, click Protection 1 , then scroll to and ensure the Software Updater slider is switched on 2 . Now click the Software Updater link 3 . Here, ensure that the box below ‘Automatic update’ is ticked, select ‘All updates for known applications’, then click the back button 4 twice to return to the main screen. Now click the green More Tools button at the bottom, then click Software Updater at the top left.

STEP 10

You’ll see a message telling you when the antivirus program last scanned your PC for out- of-date programs 1 . If this is more than a few days ago, click the ‘Start search’ button 2 to see which programs are out of date. Refer to Step 2 to update these programs, and Steps 3 and 4 if you see prompts to close programs running in the background. ●