I did a search and it looks like Acer, Gateway, and Microsoft all have some kind of program called 'Live Updater' (this computer is an Acer). Does anybody out there recognize this pop-up? Thanks for any info on this. Keeps popping up until I download and install latest updates and interrupts full screen borderless programs. That popup can come up while in a full screen game.

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Helping people with computers.. one answer at a time.

Update notifications come at various times and in various ways. I'll look at how to best determine which are legit, and what to do if you suspect not.

by Leo A. Notenboom, © 2010

I am constantly being asked to download updates from the likes of HP, ADOBE, QUICKTIME, in fact just about any software on my machine. Question, how do i know if these are genuine or not somebody with mal intent.

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A very good question. We see people being infected with malwareregularly because they get a pop-up notice that they're infected, when they'renot. What's to say that the same scenario won't work when it comes to softwareupdates?

In short: well, nothing really.

Nothing, that is, except understanding what to expect, what looks fishy, andwhat is clearly and obviously bogus.

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I wish there were a blanket rule I could quote, or even more consistencyacross different update mechanisms, but sadly I have neither.

Email: The Immediately Suspicious

Update notices via email are nothing new. I know I regularly getnotification from various software vendors promoting the latest version oftheir software. Those may well be legitimate.

But I still won't click their link.

Email is simply too easily forged. That link you think came from a vendoryou purchased software from may be completely bogus. It may take you to a sitethat even looks like the vendor's site, but you really have no idea what you'redownloading.

Forget the link. Go to the vendor's site yourself.

Here are a few other rules of thumb when it comes to emailed updatenotifications:

• If it's for software you don't have, it's bogus.

• If it's an attachment, it's bogus. Vendors learned long ago that attachmentssimply don't work because so many viruses used them.

• If it's for Microsoft, Hotmail, MSN or any other Microsoft-related property,it's almost certainly bogus. Windows Update and Microsoft Update handle what'son your machine, and web sites like Hotmail don't have updates that you wouldinstall.

• If it's for Apple, Adobe and other software for which you normally getupdates via software already installed on your machine, the email's probablybogus. Like Windows Update, the updating software on your machine for thesetools is the way updates are distributed.

Check On Run

Over time it's important to simply become familiar with the various wayssoftware updates itself on your machine, and which software packages use whattechniques.

My favorite is 'check on run' - meaning that when you run a particularprogram it checks and tells you right then if there's an update available. Iwish that more applications used this technique.

If you run iTunes, and iTunes immediately tells you that there's a newversion of iTunes available, that's almost certainly legitimate. Similarly ifiTunes tells you that there's a new version of QuickTime available, that'salmost certainly legitimate as well, since iTunes uses QuickTime.

I use iTunes and Apple as a scenario that annoys me as well, since when yourun iTunes you're also likely to be told that there's a new version of Safariavailable. Safari's Apple's web browser and unrelated to iTunes. It turns outto be legitimate, but it's not something you need to take unless you do,indeed, run Safari on your machine.

That definitely makes things more confusing.

But ultimately update checks when you first run a program for it, or forservices that are related to it, tend to be legitimate and something that overtime you'll come to quickly recognize.

Random Popups

Harder to recognize are random popups.

Some software, often software that's more or less continually running onyour system or not really an application that you'd use but a service thatother applications might use, check 'every so often' for updates. When thecheck happens and an update is available you're presented with a popup.Fortunately, I'm not seeing these as much as I once was, simply becausemanufacturers realize that theses could be easily mimicked by purveyors ofmalware.

The only real advice I have to offer here is that over time you'll becomefamiliar with what these popups look like and how they behave. Anything outsideof what you're familiar with should be treated with suspicion; typically thatmeans visiting the software manufacturer's website or support offerings andlooking for something that confirms an update is expected.

Less Random Popups

What a number of vendors are doing these days is checking for updates whenyou login. The latest Flash updates from Adobe seem to be in this category(though it's also possible that Flash may check with you first run yourbrowser).

While it slows down startup somewhat, it makes a certain amount of sense - atleast you're not getting interrupted in the middle of your work for some randomupdate.

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Once again, though, this is an area where malware could interfere - thoughit's less likely since in order to have something like this happen at startupyou likely would already have to be infected, and hence there'd be no real needto fool you again.

System Popups

Depending on your settings, Windows, of course, will provide you with ataskbar notification when new updates are available. Then if they're notalready installed you can initiate Windows Update - either via the applicationon your system or by visiting the Windows Update web site.

Other applications do similar. Firefox, for example, has a very passivenotification window that appears telling you that updates are available andthen quietly goes away; the next time you start Firefox you get a moreprominent message.

The Answer? Familiarity and Vigilance

Yes, it does sometimes seem that there's almost always an update of somesort we're being told about. I view this as a good thing in general, sincevendors are actively fixing potential vulnerabilities and other problems intheir software - I want the latest versions.

Over time you'll learn what to expect from the various vendors for thesoftware on your machine. The key is never to accept what you don't expect. Ata minimum if you get a popup or notification that you're not sure of, don'taccept it. Updates are rarely, if ever, mandatory. You always have the optionof declining the update, and doing some research before electing to accept itthe next time it comes around.

And of course always make sure that your machine is up to date with thelatest system patches and anti-malware tools and databases.

Yes, that is somewhat ironic, since some of the very update notices we'vebeen discussing might relate to those very programs.

That's why it's important to have some familiarity and know what toexpect.

I do expect that malware creators will attempt to fool you by exploitingthese paths more in the future.

Article C4482 - October 9, 2010 «»

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I've found that Secunia PSI is a fairly reliable way to keep track of updates. You can let it run in the background or do on-demand scans to check programs and plug-ins.

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I agree with Mary's comment. In addition, Secunia PSI allows me to eliminate or turn off all the services which programs lunch at startup to look for updates. This decreases the memory load on the computer's memory, freeing that memory for programs.

Secunia is an excellent piece of free software for keeping track of major application updates. It runs in real-time (this is not essential if you have an old machine and can remember to run it once a week yourself) and lets you know immediately an update is available for applications such as Adobe. More than that thought it provides a button you can click which links straight to the appropriate download. Its an easy way for people to update their applications, its concern is security as updates often are fixing security issues that have come to light amongst other things. I have been using it for 3 years now without any problems and it is highly recommended by all my computing magazines.

I consider Secunia PSI my trusted source for all updates. Anything else that prompts me for an update is suspect.

I know that you are a PC person, but I have a question that pertains to security for my Mac.

Recently I bought my first Mac. I've installed Norton Internet Security for the Mac, but was unable to install Malwarebytes on it. Is there an equivalent of Malwarebytes and Secunia for the Mac? If not, can you please recommend security software that I should consider?

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Shady Firmware update tool popped out of nowhere, can anyone identify it?

While casually browsing I encountered this pop up out of nowhere. For context my prior action before the pop up was opening the top posts on the hot page. I just could not figure out where it came from and the shady thing about it is that there are no identifiable names. The icon on the taskbar was named 'AFUWINGUI MFC' and after an extensive google search I could not find anything that could help me identify what this update was for. Furthermore, it got more shady after I notice that the logo on the taskbar was the logo of American Megatrends with AFU on top of it.

Acer Live Updater

Because I found it sketchy, I proceeded to cancel the update just to be safe but is still popping up every 10++ minutes. If anyone could help me identify what this update is for and what it is connected to would be a great help!

screencaps: http://imgur.com/a/fNh6v

Live Update Checker

OS: win 10 Asus ROG GL702 strix

Do I Need Live Updater