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• Shavlik Patch Google Gadget. The biggest factor in this service's favor is that I've come to trust Shavlik. I use the company's business-class patch platform at my office. That tool has correctly identified many programs that Microsoft's own updaters got wrong.
  
  The Patch Gadget's biggest drawback is its reliance on the Google Desktop program. In 2006, several reports questioned Google Desktop's ability to keep your search activities private. One such report is available as a downloadable PDF from the University of Michigan. The school's Information Technology Security Services went so far as to recommend against deploying Google Desktop.
  
  I'm also concerned about Google Desktop's use of your PC's resources as well as its annoying news pop-ups. I wouldn't blame you one bit if you uninstalled Google Desktop each time you finished using the Shavlik update tool and reinstalled it only when the time came to check for patches again.
  
  To get Shavlik's program, visit the company's download page.
  
  
• Secunia Online Software Inspector (OSI). The online version of Secunia's software-update service lets you scan your system for security patches without your having to install anything. Unfortunately, the service requires Java to run and doesn't work well within the new Internet Explorer 8, although you could try running the service in IE 8's compatibility mode.
  
  More importantly, OSI sometimes generates inconsistent results, requiring that you scan your system repeatedly. For example, the service properly noted that I had two versions of the Java Runtime Environment on a test XP system: the outdated version 6.7 and the most-recent version 6.13. However, OSI didn't instruct me to uninstall Java 6.7.
  
  To run OSI, visit Secunia's vulnerability scanning page.
  
  
• Secunia Personal Software Inspector (PSI). Secunia's standalone updater is more robust than the firm's online scanner. In addition, the installed updater constantly checks your PC to determine whether your software is fully patched. However, when I've used PSI to update machines, on rare occasions the scan has failed and I've had to reinstall PSI to get it to scan properly.
  
  Even worse, many of the scanner's results are inconsistent. If you use PSI, I recommend that you run Secunia's OSI online scan in addition to PSI, just to double-check the standalone scanner's results.
  
  For more information on the Personal Software Inspector, visit Secunia's site.
  
  
• Belarc Advisor. This venerable and free system-maintenance utility has an interface only a geek could love. The program provides information on all the software on your PC, including serial numbers and key codes. It also lists all hardware installed and other information about your system.
  
  Unfortunately, Belarc reports only on missing Microsoft patches. If you're looking for a tool that updates only Windows and Microsoft apps, this program may be the only updater you need. However, anyone looking for a tool that identifies out-of-date third-party software should use one of the updaters described above.
  
  You can download Belarc Advisor from the vendor's site.
  

Figure 1. In one case, the Shavlik Patch Google Gadget identified on a test machine an out-of-date version of the Adobe Flash Player 6, a fact that Secunia's Personal Software Inspector had missed.
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Although I'm not thrilled with Shavlik's use of Google Desktop as its platform, I do like its thoroughness.

Secunia's tool recently missed the fact that a test machine I was scanning was running an unpatched build of Adobe Flash Player 6. Shavlik correctly pointed me to an Adobe alert indicating that the version of the player on my test PC was seriously out-of-date. (See Figure 1.)

Interestingly, the Shavlik updater also proactively recommended that I install the patch described in Microsoft Knowledge Base article 953155 for the Internet Printing service.

While this printing service isn't installed on most Windows XP systems, it could be used on some — which explains why you want to patch proactively. Neither Secunia's PSI nor Microsoft's own updater indicated that the new patch was missing on my XP SP3 machine.

Once you've installed the Shavlik Patch Google Gadget, click Begin Scan. When the scan is done, choose View details, accept the product's EULA (the first time you use it), and install any of the patches the program offers you — except WGA.

Whichever third-party updater you choose, be sure to run it on all your PCs within a few days of each Patch Tuesday — the second Tuesday of the month — when Microsoft releases new patches.

If you prefer, you can run Redmond's own Microsoft Update and then follow that scan with a Shavlik or Secunia scan to catch patches needed for non-Microsoft applications.

But today, third-party scanning programs have progressed to the point where they can keep all your Microsoft software and all your major non-Microsoft software safely patched. That's a claim Microsoft Update can't make.

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• "In Susan Bradley's article, 'Get all security patches without WGA nightmares,' she mentions having to deal with the WGA tool at boot if Automatic Updates automatically installed it. She states that you either have to let it run or click Cancel every time you boot.
  
  "Unhappily, I've already had to deal with this very issue and have found a beautiful way out of it. The first time it comes up, click Cancel to stop the WGA tool from setting itself up. Once the desktop is loaded and stabilized, execute autoruns.exe from SysInternals (Microsoft).
  
  "Select the Scheduled Tasks tab and remove the check mark next to the line that contains the Windows Genuine Advantage tool....
  
  "That's it! Problem solved. Mark Russinovich comes through again!"
  

Figure 1. Uncheck the WGA entry (not shown in this figure) under the Scheduled Tasks tab of Autoruns to stop the validator from running.

There are other ways to edit entries in Scheduled Tasks, but Autoruns is a great utility that all Windows users should have at hand. You can download Autoruns from the utility's page on Microsoft's TechNet site. The download page also includes instructions for using the program.

For more details on how to detect and configure WGA in XP and Vista, see WS contributor Scott Dunn's Nov. 29, 2007, article.

WGA morphs into Windows Activation Technologies

Susan's article also elicited a response from Microsoft spokeswoman Jill Lovato. Susan had mentioned that WGA will be renamed Windows Activation Technologies (WAT) in the forthcoming Windows 7. Jill pointed to a blog post by Alex Kochis, director of Microsoft's Genuine Windows program, who says:

• "As many of you know, our online validation program, known as Windows Genuine Advantage, is a program designed for use with Windows XP.... As a result of the success of WGA, we built validation technology into Windows Vista from the beginning. These components were new and were built for use in Windows Vista. The same components, though tuned up a bit, form the basis of our activation and validation technology in Windows 7. To better reflect this latest generation of technology, we will refer to the activation and validation components in Windows Vista and Windows 7 by a new name, Windows Activation Technologies."
  

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By Katy Abby If you're like me, you've got a stack of books you've been meaning to read that just doesn't seem to get any smaller. Somehow, the idiosyncrasies of everyday life always manage to trump any reading time I've set aside ... but what do you expect me to do? Ignore the season finale of "The Biggest Loser"?!? Come on! Finally, the folks at Amazon.com have it all figured out with the Kindle 3, their newest release. Check out this commercial parody of the company's, ahem, novel approach to reading that will make a bookworm out of even the most-determined ignoramus. I can't wait to read that new Ben Stiller book! Play the video

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TOP STORY By Susan Bradley Shavlik, Secunia top Windows Update alternatives KNOWN ISSUES By Brian Livingston Free program from Microsoft stops WGA WGA morphs into Windows Activation Technologies WACKY WEB WEEK By Katy Abby Thanks to Amazon, reading is fun again

	LANGALIST PLUS By Fred Langa Undo accidental reformats of external drives What to do when you reformat the wrong Are CCleaner's system scrubs too thorough? Power-supply dilemma: Can you build-in a UPS? Windows activation for no reason?
	PERIMETER SCAN By Ryan Russell Three free programs improve your PC's security Dump temp files before scanning for malware Free antispyware tool has a bombastic name Free AV app spots all the viruses in my sample
	PATCH WATCH By Susan Bradley Microsoft calls IE 8 an important security patch IE 8 is prechecked in XP and Vista updates Service Pack 2 for Vista, Server 2008 on tap Follow-up on steps to avoid WGA Notifications Create a do-it-yourself Windows update CD Keep these Windows fixes on the shelf for now Home Server screen resolution gets an update Microsoft Office Server's service-pack oopsie

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