Update Needed: Microsoft visual C++ 2005 redistributable package

Hi, I am not sure about this....

I run Secunia - the software updater/ checker and it tells me that this is outdated and needs a patch for "security reasons"

microsoft visual C++ 2005 redistributable package (x86)

Does anyone know what this is and do I really need to update it?

Obviously I can make a system image before installing in case anything goes wrong but I was just more curious to know what this is.

Thanks!!

PS I am 32 bit!!

Microsoft Visual C++ is normally installed along side an application. They install runtime components of Visual C++ Libraries which are required to run applications developed with Visual C++ on a computer that does not have Visual C++ 2005 installed.

Theres a good chance that a piece of software on your system requires the C++ libraries to run, it is safe to leave the application on there, you might have issues with a specific program if you remove it.

If you can verify the update is coming from Microsoft, there should be no problem downloading an update for it.

ok thanks for that...

So you would feel safe to download and install that right? I.e. wont do/ shouldn't do any harm?

Thanks!

Yes Visual C++ 2005 is safe

I was curious about this Secunia checker, because I was unaware of it til now. So I ran it, but the first couple of times I ran it in the thorough mode, since it said that it would only take a few minutes, yet it never completed the scan. Once it stopped running at ~ 20 minutes, and on the second run, I accidently stopped it by clicking on page links. The third time I was impatient, so only ran the quick scan which found the same 5 squawks as it had before it had been stopped.

4 were for flash player, and one for Java. It had 4 separate download links for the flash player, but I had never used more than one in the past, so I only used the first one. On retesting it still squawked about 1 out of date file on flash player, so I downloaded what appeared to be the same file again, yet it ran a bit different, so I guess it was additional.

At the end, running the test listed 4 unnamed patches, so I guess that was Secunia's way of saying that they were okay. The thing that still puzzles me, is the amount of time that the partial tests took, finding no more to squawk about, and the fact that it kept returning to the same file in temporary internet file, even though I had just used CCleaner to clean them out only moments before the test. I guess that the test is okay, but it leaves me with unanswered questions.

Honestly i haven't heard about it until now as well, thats why i specified that if lister can verify the update was from Microsoft, it should have been ok. from your reports seekermeister, sounds like it doesn't always work as it was intended? i might check it out.

Secunia is not Microsoft. It is a separate company out of Denmark, that is reknown in the browser security area. For this reason, I suspect that the validity of their check is of more import for things related to the internet, than it is for general OS and app checks.

Yeah know Secunia is not Microsoft. I looked them up when he originally posted, mainly to check if it was a safe program to run, all i meant was that, if there was a way to check the source of the update, if it wasn't from Microsoft that he should take care.

it seems to be a good program - i havent looked into it too much but it does seem accurate. If you move programs into a different folder or drive it does have difficulty locating them - proabably for obvious reasons.

Thanks all the same

Hope i was of some assistance

Yeah - I just installed without any issues - thanks. Wonder what program uses it though....