Kaspersky Lab has officially released Kaspersky Software Updater – a free application for Windows computers that makes it quick and easy to update software, thereby eliminating potential security holes before cybercriminals exploit them.
Kaspersky Lab has officially released Kaspersky Software Updater – a free application for Windows computers that makes it quick and easy to update software, thereby eliminating potential security holes before cybercriminals exploit them.
There is no such thing as a perfect software program – for instance, there is always the possibility that the software code includes unforeseen errors, including those that allow the program to be used for other purposes. These errors are referred to as vulnerabilities. The more popular the application, the more actively criminals will scrutinize it for vulnerabilities that, for example, allow malware to invisibly penetrate devices. So far in 2016, Kaspersky Lab has detected over four million exploits that use vulnerabilities in popular applications and operating systems.
This problem is taken seriously by software developers who regularly patch any holes they discover by releasing new versions of their applications. However, not all users have enough time to regularly check for updates and install them – according to Kaspersky Lab data, only half of people update their most exploitable software within a week of an update being available. Besides, today’s computers have so many programs installed that checking each of them would be a daunting task.
Kaspersky Software Updater addresses this problem, taking into account user convenience and safety. The application has passed beta testing, in which more than 800,000 users participated. Following this testing, the company is now launching the official version of the app.
The Kaspersky Lab solution works by scanning a device for popular programs* that need to be updated, and provides a report to the owner. Updates that are very important – due to vulnerabilities – are marked accordingly, so that users do not miss them among other, less important, updates – such as those due to new features or software code blips. From this report, users can select which programs to update, and the application can automatically download the latest software from the developer sites, replacing all out-of-date versions in one stroke. A user can benefit from regular automatic checks or launch scans manually.
"Our main task is to improve the level of user protection against cyberthreats,” says Vyacheslav Zakorzhevsky, Head of the Anti-Malware Research Team at Kaspersky Lab. “Software vulnerabilities are now a critical problem, as they allow cybercriminals to secretly gain control of a user’s PC. We believe it is better to prevent a threat rather than combat it, and that’s why we call on all users to regularly update their operating system and the applications installed on it.”
Kaspersky Software Updater is available at free.kaspersky.com , or as part of Kaspersky Security Scan – an application designed to scan Windows-based computers for malware infections and hazardous settings.
*The list of programs that are checked, as well as the technical requirements for optimal operation of the solution, are available at:http://support.kaspersky.com/11827
