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20 December 2010, 15:47

Secunia releases PSI version 2.0

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After a lengthy beta test, Secunia has finally released version 2 of the Personal Software Inspector (PSI). If configured to do so, PSI 2.0 automatically updates most installed programs. The free tool can therefore not only highlight vulnerabilities it detects, but also remedy them, without prompting users.

According to Secunia, the three applications most commonly exploited in attacks (Adobe Flash, the Java runtime and Adobe Reader) receive important patches quite quickly. PSI can also update the Flash plug-in for Firefox and Internet Explorer. In practice, often only one of the two plug-ins is up to date.


Zoom Surfing with the computer showing this scan result could result in security problems.

All of the applications PSI can automatically update are marked with AU in the scan overview. Unfortunately, Apple's QuickTime application, another major soft spot for attackers, is not part of the list, but must be updated manually. Although Secunia has completely revised the PSI user interface, unfortunately it's not any easier to navigate. By default, PSI installs itself as a service in the system and displays status reports when changes are made or problems are found.

In addition, PSI 2.0 also includes an API to allow developers to use Secunia's scan server for their own security applications. The API may not, however, be used for products that directly compete with Secunia's commercial products.

See also:

(crve)

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