Install one of these freeware tools, and it will first automatically identify all of your programs and then determine if an update is available. Then, depending on the app you’re using, it will either point you to the newer download on the developer’s site or maybe even do the downloading and updating for you! It’s easy to quickly tell the difference between applications that are already updated and ones that are outdated because the green titles indicate up-to-date software, while the red ones show outdated programs. You can update all of them at once, or uncheck the ones you don’t want to patch (or, of course, let the scheduled auto-updates do it for you automatically). There are lots of optional settings you can enable, like disabling silent installs, enabling beta updates, forcing programs to shut down before updating them and many others. It can also work as a simple software uninstaller. The only thing we don’t like about it is that the user interface isn’t quite as friendly, but don’t skip trying this tool just on those grounds. We really like the fact that it works so quickly, can be run from a flash drive, and supports truly automatic updates. These are certainly the most important things we look for in a software updater. It should work with all versions of Windows. We tried it out in Windows 11, 10, and 8, and it worked great. As you can see in the screenshot above, the current and new program version number is clearly stated so that you know how outdated the program is. Maybe you’ll want to skip a version or two if it isn’t a huge deal, but either way, you can very obviously see on this screen how much newer the update really is. The program supports single updates and bulk updates. Automatic updating and updating more than two programs per day are available only if you pay. In the settings are options for when IObit Software Updater should check for new updates to itself; it can update automatically or just notify you when updates are available. You can also control whether restore points are made automatically before every installation and if installer files should be deleted after setup finishes. It works with new and old Windows versions, including Windows 11 and Windows 10, and older ones like Windows 7 and XP. It can work in automatic mode to keep all compatible programs updated automatically, or you can choose a custom setup. A custom configuration lets you choose which installed programs should be monitored for updates and which ones should be auto-updated. This means you can have Heimdal Free monitor some but not update them, or not monitor or update others—it’s totally up to you. It checks for updates every few hours by default. It also includes recommended programs and makes them just one click away. This program has the unique feature of checking for and updating programs automatically, but it’s not very user-friendly. Then again, you shouldn’t really need to open the program often because it will do everything in the background, so you can really just install it and forget about it. Heimdal is capable of auto-updating several programs, but in the free version you don’t get the features that are only in the pro edition, like malware detection and website blocking. It’s said to run on Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, and macOS. It just takes one click to batch download or installs updates. This means you can place a check next to all the programs that need to be updated to have OUTDATEfighter download them all one after the other, and then start launching the setup files. Before downloading updates, the setup files are even scanned for viruses, which is really helpful. At any time, you can open OUTDATEfighter to check for software that requires updates. You can also ignore any update to prevent update notifications for that particular program. We really like the fact that you don’t need to open a web browser or search for the updated setup file on the internet. Everything is done from inside the program, and you can clearly see the old and updated version numbers (and sometimes release dates) for comparison. There’s also a program uninstaller and a Windows Update utility included in this tool. It updates software on Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP. Windows Server 2008 and 2003 are also supported. Just scan for outdated software, check the box at the top to select all the outdated programs, and then select the update button. All available updates will download one after the other and then install on their own. You can also download and install updates individually if you want to not update a particular program for whatever reason. In the settings is a Windows Update option that you can enable to see updates for the Windows OS in UCheck, too. A program uninstaller is built-in as well. Exclusions, scheduled scans, changing the cache directory, and some other features are available if you pay. We used UCheck in Windows 11 and Windows 10, but it should work just as well in older versions of Windows, too. The app is really easy to use. There are two tabs: one is for software giveaways and app recommendations, and the other is for updating the apps installed on your computer. Some programs are downloaded for you within this tool, so for those, you don’t need to visit each download page yourself. However, other programs must be downloaded manually from their site. You also must install each program manually, so the program’s setup will open, and you’ll need to walk through it yourself. If you select a program’s name, you’ll be taken to Software Informer’s website, where you can learn more about it. But this tool does provide the current and updated version numbers, so you can clearly see what the update will install. Software Informer also lets you trigger an uninstallation if you want to remove any of your programs. In the settings are options to launch the tool at startup, check for updates on a schedule, enable beta installations, change where downloaded setup files are stored, and automatically erase setup files after the programs are installed. Updates must be downloaded via a browser because Update Notifier does not let you download files directly through its program. However, the files from Update Notifier’s website are pulled directly from the official websites of the applications, which help guarantee clean, up-to-date, original downloads. You can also configure it to scan a particular folder outside the regular program files location. This would be ideal for finding updates to portable programs. Like some of the other program updaters from this list, Update Notifier also lets you ignore updates. A Watch List can be built if you sign up with Update Notifier so you can get alerts by email when new software updates are available. Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows 2000 are the official supported operating systems, but we’ve used it just fine in Windows 10 as well. It can also be run as a portable program if you choose that option during setup. Software Update sends the scan results to a file download website called Filepuma that’s owned by Glarysoft. From there are download links to the program updates. You can customize the updater program to ignore beta versions and to run when Windows starts, but that’s about it. The results list can be customized too so that you can ignore updates for specific programs or ignore just this one updated version for any program. Clearly, Software Update isn’t as advanced or helpful as some of the updaters at the start of this list that can download and update programs for you, but it’s still a functional program that’s really lightweight and can run all the time without affecting performance. It works on Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows 2000. The program is quick to find an entire list of old programs and gives you download links to open in your web browser so that you can download the updates yourself. Compared to similar programs, this updater seems to find a good number of outdated programs but unfortunately, it’s limited in a number of ways. Avira Software Updater is just the free, limited version of the paid edition that has additional features. For example, the free edition won’t download or install program updates for you. Instead, just use the link next to any program’s “Update” button to find the download page online. This program also doesn’t let you choose when it should automatically scan your computer for outdated programs, but it does seem to do so periodically. Otherwise, you need to open it and use the Rescan button each time you want to check for outdated software. You can use it in Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7. The program takes quite a while to scan your whole computer for outdated software, but it definitely found more programs that needed updates than any other tool in this list. Every program it finds is listed out, even those that don’t require an update. The ones that do need updating are labeled as requiring a minor update or a major one so you can quickly decide which programs you may want to update. The version numbers are clearly visible, so you can quickly glance at the outdated and updated versions. It can even search for beta releases. SUMo not only searches for programs installed in the regular installation directory of your computer, as you can even add custom folders and files for it to scan, like if you have portable software stored on another hard drive. A huge downside is that it doesn’t provide links to the download pages for updates. Instead of providing a direct link inside the program, or even just linking to a download page, SUMo simply lets you search for the program on the internet, where you’ll then need to find the download yourself, manually. We tested this program in Windows 10 and Windows 8 without any issues, so it should work in other versions, too, including Windows 11.
