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Patch reliability is unclear. Unless you have an immediate, pressing need to install a specific patch, don't do it. |
It appears that KC Softwares is shutting down (as detailed on their website – https://www.kcsoftwares.com/) and with it, goes a number of really useful tools for example: SUMo (Software Update Monitor) and DUMo (Driver Update Monitor).
Although I would not rely solely on the recommendations shown in the above tools, but I always found them useful for information purposes.
Any thoughts on this and perhaps, suggestions for replacements.
Thanks in advance.
Hi Magic66:
That’s terrible news. I use SUMo regularly to check for available updates for my third party software (although I always download and install updates myself from the original manufacturer’s site). I just exchanged emails last week with the developer Kyle Katarn about an issue I’d run in to making a donation to KC Softwares via PayPal as well as the price he was charging for a one-year SUMo license (which I thought was a bit expensive) and he gave me no reason to believe he was going to shut down the entire KC Softwares site and move all his software to EOL.
Just FYI, I tested the free Patch My PC utility to see how it compared to SUMo and found that Patch My PC was basically useless even though this utility is frequently recommended by staffers and Forum Mods in the Malwarebytes forum (see AdvancedSetup’s recommendation <here> for one example). Patch My PC only detected executables for about 5 or 6 of my installed installed programs (SUMo currently detects almost 70) and can’t check for updates for portable apps that I run from a removable USB stick – see my 01-Sep-2023 thread How to Check Portable Apps on Removable USB Stick for Available Updates? in the Patch My PC General forum.
I recall reading some favourable reviews for Ninite but haven’t tested it yet myself. If I eventually have to replace SUMo, whatever utility I do settle on will have to have a “scan only” option that can be configured so that it doesn’t actually install updates automatically.
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Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3324 * Firefox v117.0.0 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23080.2006-1.1.23080.2005 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.6.1.280-1.0.2117 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7279 * SUMo Free Portable v5.17.10.542 * DUMo Free Portable 2.25.4.125 * Patch My PC Portable v4.5.0.4
I ran SUMo and it found about 25 updates, 4 major. I ran Patch My PC, it found 5 and only recognized 20 programs on my PC, where SUMo checked over 100. I also ran UCheck, it found 4 programs and only about 20 checked. Not good. Did update SUMo, hope they sell it to someone who will keep it going.
Did update SUMo, hope they sell it to someone who will keep it going.
Just an FYI that developer Kyle Katarn posted yesterday on page 196 of the Wilders Security Forum thread SUMo : Keep Your Software Up To Date that he is willing to turn SUMo over to someone else if they want to try and keep SUMo going.
Kudos to forum mod hazelnut for posting SUMo and All KC Softwares to Close Next Month in the CCleaner Computer Help and Discussion board forum and directing users to Kyle’s comments in that Wilders discussion.
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Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3324 * Firefox v117.0.0 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23080.2006-1.1.23080.2005 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.6.1.280-1.0.2117 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7279 * SUMo Free Portable v5.17.10.542
Free
What is it?
UpdateHub is a user-friendly application designed to streamline the software update process for your computer. With this app, you can quickly check for updates for all the software installed on your device, including operating systems and applications. The app’s straightforward interface displays all available updates and lets you choose which ones to install, making the updating process quick and convenient…
The app also features a rollback function. This feature means you can quickly revert to the previous version if you don’t like an update or updated by accident. Additionally, the app provides detailed information about each update, including release notes and version numbers, allowing you to stay informed about the changes and improvements made to your software…
System Requirements
Windows 10 1809 (17763) 64-bit or later
250 MB of available RAM
500 MB of available disk space (250 MB minimum)You probably already have these, but in case you don’t here
Winget v1.4.11071 or later
Powershell 5.1 or later..
The developer of UCheck posted today in the Wilders forum at UCheck – Update Your Software in 2 Clicks that “In a very near future, we’ll also support recognition, update and install of portable versions for those software.” UCheck itself can be downloaded as a portable app, so that’s good news as well.
Hi Magic66:
Just an FYI that UCheck v4.10.2 (rel. 20-Sep-2023) has been updated to detect portable apps – see the release notes at https://www.adlice.com/docs/ucheck/release-notes/changelog/.
Unfortunately, the test results I posted in the UCheck forum at UCheck v4.10.2 – Problem Scanning Portable Apps confirm that the only portable app that UCheck currently detects is AdwCleaner. Developer Tigzy’s 27-Sep-2023 response in post # 186 of the Wilders Security forum topic UCheck – Update Your Software in 2 Clicks is a bit discouraging and leaves me with the impression that the list of portable apps detected by UCheck will not be significantly expanded before SUMo reaches end-of-support on 31-Oct-2023.
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Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3448 * Firefox v118.0.0 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23080.2006-1.1.23080.2005 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.6.3.282-1.0.2151 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7279 * SUMo Free Potable v5.17.10.542 * UCheck Free Portable v4.10.2
The developer of UCheck posted today in the Wilders forum at UCheck – Update Your Software in 2 Clicks that “In a very near future, we’ll also support recognition, update and install of portable versions for those software.” UCheck itself can be downloaded as a portable app, so that’s good news as well…
Hi Magic66:
Just another FYI to let you know that the developer Tigzy just released UCheck Portable BETA v5.0.7.0 for testing (look for the BETA download link under the FAQ section at https://github.com/AdliceSoftware/UCheck) that is now checking for available updates for portable apps. Most portable apps are still classified as “Community” (i.e., the latest version is based on data collected from the wider UCheck community) so it will occasionally detect a beta version as the latest available version but so far preliminary results look promising.
I currently have 27 portable apps on a removable USB stick (NOTE: I had to go to History & Settings | Custom Locations and add the location E:\Portable where each of my portable apps is located in their own subfolder) and UCheck is currently listing the latest available version for all but 3 or 4 portable apps I have. In my first day of testing it also correctly detected available updates for 2 of my portable apps (CrystalDiskInfo Portable and HDCleaner Portable 64-bit) that were out-of-date.
The only major glitch I’ve noticed (other than the occasional recommendation of a beta version) is that any portable app with the name “Uninstaller” (e.g., Revo Uninstaller Free Portable, Geek Uninstaller Portable, etc.) is filtered out / ignored by UCheck. The only workaround is to add the word “portable” or “Portable” to the executable name (e.g., to rename RevoUn.exe to RevoUn_Portable; rename geek.exe to geek-portable.exe, etc.). I filed a bug report at https://github.com/AdliceSoftware/UCheck/issues/9 but Tigzy replied “…Closing as won’t fix” and closed the bug report so I don’t think this glitch is going to be fixed.
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Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3693 * Firefox v120.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23100.2009-1.1.23100.2009 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.6.6.294-1.0.2201 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7690 * UCheck Free Portable BETA v5.0.7.0 (05-Dec-2023) * QuickInstaller Preview v0.2.8734.36059
@DKThompson, I occasionally donate or purchase products to support the developers and have the same concerns as you. I use prepaid gift cards for this purpose. I recently discovered that there are some gift cards that do not ask for personal information. A gotcha with prepaid gift cards purchased in the United States is that many will not work outside the United States. I am not promoting one gift card over another, but I hope it is OK with Askwoody to say which one I purchased that did not ask for information. It was a Visa Vanilla Gift card purchased from a grocery store in the US.
I have downloaded and tested BETA v5.0.7.0. Still not comparable to SUmo.
Hi Alex5723:
I agree, but have you found another utility that’s “comparable” to SUMo? The UCheck BETA v5.0.7.0 (rel. 05-Dec-2023) is the only utility I’ve tested so far that comes close to SUMo for the number of apps (installed and portable) it detects and is also available as portable app if the user doesn’t want to use the “regular” .exe installer to install UCheck on their system.
UCheck has been around since 2017 but until a few months ago it only supported ~ 250 “Compatible” installed software programs listed at https://www.adlice.com/ucheck-software-list/ that it can install/update/uninstall. Checking for available updates for those “Compatible” programs is done automatically by web bots that crawl the software developers’ web sites looking for updated documentation and installers.
Tigzy, the UCheck developer, only started modifying the UCheck v5.x code a few months ago to support portable apps as well as a much larger list of “Community” apps (i.e., where the latest version is based on telemetry data collected from the wider UCheck community, which is how SUMo used to check for the latest version). These new features were requested by ex-SUMo users and false positives are still a problem, especially when it comes to distinguishing between stable and beta version numbers in the telemetry data for “Community” apps, but for now I’m willing to put up with some bugs in the UCheck BETA v5.x as long as Tigzy continues to make progress. Tigzy will occasionally jump in to the discussion at UCheck – Update your software in 2 clicks in the Wilders Security forum to address concerns raised by beta testers.
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Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3693 * Firefox v120.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23110.3-1.1.23110.2 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.6.6.294-1.0.2201 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7690 * UCheck Free Portable BETA v5.0.7.0 (05-Dec-2023) * QuickInstaller Preview v0.2.8734.36059
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