belarc advisor

I have belarc advisor Installed on my windows seven os. Is this program trustworthy ??, also noticed that security updates were missing. "These security updates apply to this computer but are not currently installed (using Advisor definitions version 2013.8.30.1), according to the 08/27/2013 Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary and bulletins from other vendors. Note: Security benchmarks require that Critical and Important severity security updates must be installed". Should a grain of salt be applied here ??

What Dude said. Belarc is highly respected for it's commercial network software, Belarc Advisor is a spinoff from that and Belarc has made it available as a freeware program for individual users.

ThrashZone said:

Depends on where you downloaded it from I suppose Gregrocker posted this link on a inquiry,
http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html
Reading the reviews on the Cnet download it wasn't all that thrilling though/ ransomware...
I've never used it but was interested is why I asked Greg to confirm the reviews I read on Cnet.

Back in the day Cnet was cool, first with TV shows about computing and the internet. To me in the past 4-5 years Cnet has changed, biased reviews, inaccurate reporting. If you believed Cnet you would think Linux was dead with a less than 1% market share and Windows 8 was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

I have not been one to d/l all security updates. I have generally relied on secunia oa line check for security patches. that with java Issues has become funky, so I was wondering If belarc Is specific to my machine?? thanks

madcratebuilder said:

ThrashZone said:

Depends on where you downloaded it from I suppose Gregrocker posted this link on a inquiry,
http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html
Reading the reviews on the Cnet download it wasn't all that thrilling though/ ransomware...
I've never used it but was interested is why I asked Greg to confirm the reviews I read on Cnet.

Back in the day Cnet was cool, first with TV shows about computing and the internet. To me in the past 4-5 years Cnet has changed, biased reviews, inaccurate reporting. If you believed Cnet you would think Linux was dead with a less than 1% market share and Windows 8 was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Cnet also used to be one of the safest places to download software. Sadly, that is no longer true.

alexm said:

I have not been one to d/l all security updates. I have generally relied on secunia oa line check for security patches. that with java Issues has become funky, so I was wondering If belarc Is specific to my machine?? thanks

As previously stated, Belarc is reputable but as with most 3rd party software, it has certain limitations. For example, Belarc maintains a listing of previously released Microsoft patches, hot fixes, etc for various operating systems. It compares the known releases to what is actually installed on any given machine. It then generates a report that shows what is missing from that machine. It does not distinguish between a patch that caused problems and was deliberately left uninstalled vs a patch that the user just forgot to install.

Personally, I prefer using Windows Update to keep track of whether or not there are new updates available for my machine.

Windows Update Settings - Change

Depending on how many updates might be available, I prefer to install just a few at a time and keep track of the KB numbers. I'll reboot the computer after each group is installed and run the machine for a while to make sure all is OK. If it is, I'll install the next group and keep doing that until all available updates have been installed. If any problems occur, I'll know exactly which group of updates to uninstall. I can then install one at a time, reboot, and use the computer. If no problems I'll install the next update. They'll either all install OK or I'll know which specific update is causing the problems. My method is a lot slower but has served me well over the years. Others may disagree.

alexm said:

I have not been one to d/l all security updates. I have generally relied on secunia oa line check for security patches. that with java Issues has become funky, so I was wondering If belarc Is specific to my machine?? thanks

Updates is just one small part of Belarc, a part I never use. I think most user install Belarc for it's hardware reporting and it's ability to find and report registration codes/keys.