Advice Request Avast Software Updater Discussion

Please provide comments and solutions that are helpful to the author of this topic.

Software Updaters should...

  • Focus on commonly exploited software (ie. Flash Player, Java etc.)

    Votes: 14 56.0%
  • Support a wider range of software categories (ie. Junk Cleaners, LibraOffice etc.)

    Votes: 11 44.0%

  • Total voters
    25
Status
Not open for further replies.

Ink

Administrator
Thread author
Verified
Staff Member
Well-known
Jan 8, 2011
22,361
Software Updater is a feature of Avast Free Antivirus to Internet Security, but requires user's to manually click update - which in all honestly isn't time consuming. If you want the Automatic Software Updater, you have to upgrade to Avast Premier.

You may find this topic interesting.

Here's a list of what software is scanned by Avast to check for updates.
Code:
7-Zip Filemanager (32 Bit)
7-Zip Filemanager (64 Bit)
Adobe AIR
Adobe Reader
Adobe Shockwave
DivX Plus Web Player
Flash Player ActiveX
Flash Player ActiveX (Windows Update)
Flash Player Plugin
Foxit Reader
GOM Media Player
Google Chrome (all users)
Google Chrome (current user)
Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer 11 upgrade
IrfanView
iTunes (32 Bit)
iTunes (64 Bit)
Java Runtime Environment 6 (32 Bit)
Java Runtime Environment 6 (64 Bit)
Java Runtime Environment 7 (32 Bit)
Java Runtime Environment 7 (64 Bit)
Java Runtime Environment 8 (32 Bit)
Java Runtime Environment 8 (64 Bit)
Miranda IM (32 Bit)
Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox (64 Bit)
Mozilla Firefox (ESR)
Mozilla Thunderbird
Opera
Opera (32 Bit)
Opera (64 Bit)
QuickTime
Safari
Skype
VLC Media Player (32 Bit)
VLC Media Player (64 Bit)
WinRAR Archiver (32 Bit)
WinRAR Archiver (64 Bit)
WinZip (32 Bit)
WinZip (64 Bit)

Do you think Avast should consider adding a wider range of software, or focus only on popular software that is commonly exploited? Please vote in the Poll above, or comment down below.

Disclaimer: Listed software may or may not be complete, or accurate per different operating systems.
 

_CyberGhosT_

Level 53
Verified
Honorary Member
Top Poster
Content Creator
Well-known
Aug 2, 2015
4,286
This is a very sparse list, even for exploited software.
All Office related software libre, softmaker, ect are targets.
Many more too numerous to list as well, the list does need
expanding in my honest opinion.
PeAcE
 
  • Like
Reactions: frogboy

Logethica

Level 13
Verified
Top Poster
Well-known
Jun 24, 2016
636
I voted "Focus on commonly exploited software", not because I don't think that there is a potential market for focusing on a wider range of software,but because I think that if they (Avast) were to widen the net then they would be constantly bombarded with requests to add more and more software to their list....the list of "potentially" exploitable software is endless,and at some point a line has to be drawn.
 
H

hjlbx

Problem is this -- less commonly exploited softs - rarely - if ever - receive vulnerability\security updates.

WinRAR, for example, had an exploitable vulnerability for years - before it was discovered and fixed.

Keeping a soft up-to-date only makes a security soft less likely to be exploited - if the updates include security updates - and most updates are just bug fixes and\or feature updates.

To keep a soft safer from vulnerabilities:

This requires the soft publisher to:

1. Tests their products for vulnerabilities - or -
2. Heeds user reports of vulnerabilities
3. Makes a patch for the vulnerability\ies
4. Pushes the vulnerability patch as an update

For the most part - only the most major soft vendors do the above.

So adding more coverage will likely not result in any significant increase in security.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • Like
Reactions: _CyberGhosT_

jamescv7

Level 85
Verified
Honorary Member
Mar 15, 2011
13,070
Honestly many people wanting to have updater a wider coverage, but to way impossible because of time consuming maintenance.

So as a security company, better focus on exploited applications since that is a part of duty to provide quick updates as part of convenience for each user.

However add office related products cause many vulnerabilites are circulated too.
 
  • Like
Reactions: _CyberGhosT_
D

Deleted member 178

I voted "Focus on commonly exploited software"

That is the job of the user to stay alert on updates of his other softwares, and most of them have already some update notifier.
In term of security, surface attacks are not as common on other softwares than on plugins like flash/java.
 

generalwu

Level 5
Verified
Well-known
Jan 25, 2016
219
I too voted for "Focus on commonly exploited software".

There's just too much soft for any company to focus.

Not to mention the possibility of bugs or breaks that might come with automatic updates.

I think a good soft example would be Heimdal Security, just focusing on the widely used soft and it does managed it well enough.

It does the update better than Secunia PSI in my personal experience (I deployed both in my home PC).

Not doing any promo, just sharing personal experiences. :p
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

About us

  • MalwareTips is a community-driven platform providing the latest information and resources on malware and cyber threats. Our team of experienced professionals and passionate volunteers work to keep the internet safe and secure. We provide accurate, up-to-date information and strive to build a strong and supportive community dedicated to cybersecurity.

User Menu

Follow us

Follow us on Facebook or Twitter to know first about the latest cybersecurity incidents and malware threats.

Top