Last April I wrote about a free program, Secunia Personal Software Inspector (PSI), that lets you identify – and in most cases – fix problems that otherwise let hackers into your home computer. Once they’re in, they can use your computer for their own (often illegal) purposes.
For years the best security for home computers has been anti-virus programs and personal firewalls. But that doesn’t take care of the whole problem. Some software programs have holes that let the bad guys in. Your computer is not protected until you plug those holes – and that’s just what PSI does.
This week Secunia updated PSI. If you didn’t start using PSI after reading the article last April, maybe now is a good time to download it and see what holes are on your computer.
The new version improves PSI’s capacity to find holes in web browsers and the plug-ins they use. That’s important because a lot of malware is installed on your computer when you visit websites. If your favorite browser or one of its plug-ins (like Flash Player, QuickTime, Java, etc.) are vulnerable, you might as well open your front door and invite the bad guys in to do whatever they want.
Check that earlier article for the basics of how the program works.
Share your experiences with PSI and other security programs by posting a comment. Or email me.
Related articles from WalterBristow.com:
- Does Software on Your Home Computer Put You at Risk From Hackers?
- 10 Cool Things You Can Do With Your USB Flash Drive
- Become a Criminal with Your Home Computer – It’s As Easy As Pie
- Software I Couldn’t Live Without: ActiveWords
- Phishing and Malware: How Bad Do Things Have to Get Before We Hire a Sheriff?
Loading ...
