There's two sides to this coin. If it ain't broke don't fix it... particularly if it's a big update to a shareware program and money is involved. Conversely, most updates represent an improvement and usually fixes for all known bugs. In addition many upgrades are to "techie" files that are important to your computer and operating system.
You can spend a lot of your own time searching for later versions of all your software but there is an easier way. You can buy shareware that does it for you but there is a cheaper way.
Free services are available and I'm going to tell you about two I use. They can only check for updates to files and programs that have been "registered" with them by companies and authors. No individual list covers everything so I use both and this checks most everything I have on my hard drive.
A few words on how they work. You have to register and then download and install their software. The main function of this is to scan your system and list all the software it finds, including important files like device drivers etc. Each time you go to the site your system is re-scanned to see what's changed and this involves downloading a small update file. If this sounds complicated... it isn't... most of it is automated, and you soon get into the routine.
One important thing to stress is that nothing is actually updated unless you choose to. You are presented with a list of upgrades and links to where they are available... from there the choice is entirely yours. I pass on quite a few because it relates to something I make no use of whatsoever. Some things I never knew I had!
Catch UP : Manageable Software Services, Inc.
updates.com : Updates.com, Inc.
Both companies do a very good job of explaining their service and the mechanics involved. Both sites are very professional and detailed. The only reason I use both is to get the maximum coverage as I mentioned earlier. Both are completely free and they are working hard to increase the number of programs checked.
If you are into subscribing to newsletters there are two more for you to collect. None of us can keep up with software changes on our own but it is quite important that we do. Housekeeping serves a very useful purpose and I make a point of using these services as part of my monthly chores.
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