novaBBS - alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt - Re: Get Sumo/Dumo & other free utils while you can as they seem to be disappearing at the end of the month

This was sent moments ago to different related newsgroups:
<http://groups.google.com/g/alt.comp.freeware>
<http://tinyurl.com/alt-comp-os-windows-10>
<http://groups.google.com/g/comp.periphs.printers>

As archived here:
*Get Sumo/Dumo & other free utils while you can as they seem to be disappearing*
<https://groups.google.com/g/alt.comp.freeware/c/5h_dNsq17-M>

And is now being posted to these related newsgroups for auto-archival.
<http://groups.google.com/g/alt.comp.microsoft.windows>
<http://tinyurl.com/alt-comp-os-windows-11> <-- needs to be created
<http://groups.google.com/g/alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt>

Since it's intended to be a resource for many others to use now and in the future,
much effort was expended to place helpful detail in the body to assist others.

T <T@invalid.invalid> wrote

> SUMo wrote me this:
>
>> Hello,
>>
>> After about 20 years of a fantastic adventure, and due to the general context,
>> we have taken the decision to stop. Several good alternatives are on the market...
>> but we hope you enjoyed our products up to now.
>>
>> Products will reach EOL, which means that they will stop to work quickly
>> after this date, depending on the progressive decommissioning of the server
>> architecture. As indicated on our "buy" page, the product (and activation licence)
>> "lifetime" ends at EOL https://kcsoftwares.com/?buy
>>
>> While SUMo was an "aged" product, based on technology from 2 decades ago,
>> I'm confident that the developper's community will soon come with a better,
>> more modern, future-proof alternative.
>>
>> Of course I could quote one of the many good updaters on the market
>> UCheck, VulnDetect, PatchMyPC, WingetUI, UpdateHub, Chocolatey, Scoop
>> and certainly more.
>>
>> Some other actors of this market (such as UCheck CEO) are already
>> monitoring this :
>> https://www.wilderssecurity.com/threads/sumo-keep-your-software-up-to-date.314623/page-197#post-3162762
>>
>> I hope you enjoyed SUMo and that it has been a useful software for you up to now.

Thank you for unearthing from the KC Softwares team the alternatives.
UCheck, VulnDetect, PatchMyPC, WingetUI, UpdateHub, Chocolatey, Scoop
<https://www.wilderssecurity.com/threads/sumo-keep-your-software-up-to-date.314623/page-197#post-3162762>

So that others don't have to go through the sheer hell I just went through,
here is my download log which I provide to you for you to further improve
(so that everyone benefits from our sequential actions working together).

In alphabetical order...
C:\> cd C:\software\updaters\.
C:\> mkdir {chocolatey,patchmypc,scoop,ucheck,updatehub,vulndetect,wingetui}

*chocolatey* v2.2.2
"Chocolatey is the package manager for Windows (like apt-get for Windows)"
<https://chocolatey.org/products/#foss>
<https://chocolatey.org/install>
<https://community.chocolatey.org/>
<https://community.chocolatey.org/packages>
<https://community.chocolatey.org/packages/chocolatey>
<https://packages.chocolatey.org/chocolatey.2.2.2.nupkg>
Name: chocolatey.2.2.2.nupkg
Size: 5243268 bytes (5120 KiB)
SHA256: 4E1ACBDAC571719F90B2566566668C448A20074E7C2E3FAA37251C62AF4EFD86

*patchmypc*
"Simplify third-party patching on your home PC"
<https://patchmypc.com/home-updater#download>
<https://patchmypc.com/freeupdater/PatchMyPC.exe>
Name: PatchMyPC.exe
Size: 2596472 bytes (2535 KiB)
SHA256: D5A2DDBA0EE5C577268D69BBC129046D48F36C8306C8A57D4F6B2E2DED193202

*scoop*
"Scoop is a command-line installer for Windows."
<https://github.com/ScoopInstaller/Scoop>
<https://www.makeuseof.com/windows-install-scoop/>
PS:> iwr -useb get.scoop.sh | iex
Running the installer as administrator is disabled by default,
see https://github.com/ScoopInstaller/Install#for-admin for details.
PowerShell requires an execution policy in [Unrestricted, RemoteSigned, ByPass]
to run Scoop. For example, to set the execution policy to 'RemoteSigned'
please run 'Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser'.
PS:> Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser
Initializing...
Downloading ...
Extracting...
Creating shim...
Adding ~\scoop\shims to your path.
Scoop was installed successfully!
Type 'scoop help' for instructions.
PS:> scoop uninstall scoop
WARN This will uninstall Scoop and all the programs that have been installed with Scoop!
Are you sure? (yN): Y
Removing ~\scoop\shims from your path.
Scoop has been uninstalled.

*ucheck*
"Free,Scan,Install Updates,Uninstall Software,Personal Use Only:
<https://www.adlice.com/ucheck/>
<https://download.adlice.com/api?action=download&app=ucheck&type=setup>
<https://cloud.adlice.com/owncloud/index.php/s/zhvgtK8oXyJ6Gru/download?path=5.0.3&files=UCheck_setup.exe>
Name: UCheck_setup.exe
Size: 31352920 bytes (29 MiB)
SHA256: A9A841480CC0850174FEF45F50C2B5D4B75DF97A2E0EF22B4EB25C65B86391AC

*updatehub*
"UpdateHub simplifies the process of updating software on your computer."
<https://ghacks.net/2023/07/24/update-all-windows-programs-with-updatehub/>
<https://www.neowin.net/software/updatehub---quickly-update-os-and-software-apps/>
<https://www.neowin.net/software/updatehub-210---simplified-pc-software-updates/>
<https://github.com/KK-Designs/UpdateHub/releases>
<https://github.com/KK-Designs/UpdateHub/releases/download/v2.2.3/UpdateHub-x64.exe>
Name: UpdateHub-x64.exe
Size: 69234472 bytes (66 MiB)
SHA256: 80A081B63FAC71E96930C24C342ED51A184E9BCA964633D7D898B07B82F90B92

*vulndetect*
"An alternative to the long lost Secunia PSI"
<https://www.zdnet.com/article/finding-a-software-updater-to-replace-secunias-psi/>
<https://vulndetect.org/>
<https://vulndetect.com/dl/secteerSetup.exe>
Name: secteerSetup.exe
Size: 2180544 bytes (2129 KiB)
SHA256: 2A7F91BA248637F26D3CC5976F4456D245427D50D05EB466541A4E3666211E19

*wingetui*
"A user interface for the most common CLI Win10/Win11 package managers."
<https://www.marticliment.com/wingetui/help/install/>
<https://sourceforge.net/projects/wingetui.mirror/>
<https://github.com/marticliment/WingetUI>
<https://github.com/marticliment/WingetUI/releases>
<https://github.com/marticliment/WingetUI/releases/download/2.1.1/WingetUI.Installer.exe>
Name: WingetUI.Installer.exe
Size: 63997848 bytes (61 MiB)
SHA256: 1EE9C17C2C8C1A16EC7F83DFF61CFCBA83A8F6164E0C6490D93042D76FFC73AA

As always, this is presented to save others' time and effort,
since they can now simply click on the URLs I've provided from T's information.

The hope is that they will _add value_ to what T started,
which is replacement apps for Sumo/Dumo in particular.
--
If one person does a chunk of the work, everyone benefits, which frees them
to do the next chunk of work, where everyone benefits with each improvement.

T <T@invalid.invalid> wrote

>> There is also the
>> QuickInstaller
>> https://www.quickinstaller.net/
>> to check for program updates
>>
>
> I looked at it. No table for easy viewing.
> And no criticals. It also only seemed to check
> public software.

Thanks for taking a look at it, and even more so for testing it, and then
for reporting back on it so that everyone benefits from the teamwork.

I don't have time to annotate this quick test as I only spent a few minutes
testing it (as I do for almost all suggested programs on this newsgroup).

Since I couldn't spend a lot of time testing it, I snapped these for people.
(I'm not sure why you say there isn't a table though, as it looks tabular.)

It can add to its database also so I'm not sure what you mean by "Public"
software - where it seems to have checked scores of my installed programs.

And I'm not sure what you mean by "Criticals" as QuickInstaller did tell
me which programs were "major updates" versus "minor updates" in the table.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding though, as I repeat I only spent a few minutes.
Here are the screenshots to save others that time and effort though
(which is the whole point of these purposefully helpful discussions
as each of us pitches in to help the next guy like a domino effect).

It's a beta version according to the author; so we should expect problems.
(QuickInstaller Preview version 0.2.8701.11900)

<https://www.quickinstaller.net/>
<https://app.quickinstaller.net/downloads/QuickInstallerSetup.exe>
Name: QuickInstallerSetup.exe
Size: 13473669 bytes (12 MiB)
SHA256: 558FB86BC006E0C720C728DCF8BF77407A839BDDBB1EF9836EA9E493F2F8D3B5
It wants to go into C:\Program Files\QuickInstaller
I put it where it belongs C:\app\cleaner\updater\quickinstaller

It created a QuickInstaller.link desktop shortcut with the target
C:\Windows\System32\schtasks.exe /run /TN "QuickInstaller\QuickInstaller SkipUAC"

Setup
Microsoft.NET Windows Desktop Runtime 7.0 is required to
install QuickInstaller. Do you want to download and install
Microsoft Windows Desktop 7.0 as part of this installation?

KC Softwares Startup Sentinel immediately detected suspicious activity:
New entry detected!
Type: HKLM64:RunOnce
Name: {db33e419-1b78-40cf-bac2-d2b83f6e37b2}
Command: "C:\ProgramData\Package Cache\{db33e419-1b78-40cf-bac2-d2b83f6e37b2}\windowsdesktop-runtime-7.0.12-win-x64.exe" /burn.runonce"
[Add to Whitelist][Add to Blacklist][Remove]

I wasn't sure _what_ to do with that - what would _you_ do about it?
<https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/c-programdata-package-cache.3581392/>
<https://superuser.com/questions/455853/can-i-delete-the-folder-c-programdata-package-cache>

I only spent five minutes testing this program, where I liked that it
separates installed programs from portable programs, which I think
"Win+I > Apps" misses.

However... don't be fooled... apparently the portable program checks
don't work (I think I saw somewhere this is a brand new beta product).
152 Programs installed
16 Major updates available
26 Minor updates available
17/59 Up-to-date
0 Portable programs found <=== this is wrong but maybe it's user error

You can sort by the following - which is useful when submitting programs.
(o) All
(_) Available Updates
(_) Up-to-Date
(_) Submitted
(_) Not Submitted

Speaking of sorting, you can export your selections to a csv file too.

As a test, I selected "Pale Moon" & "KC Softwares Dumo" to update.
The graphics were beautiful, changing colors for the various stages.

The Dumo updated to green but the Pale Moon had some kind of issue saying
"Update completed but not up to date 29.4.2.1 vs 32.4.1."
"Try restarting QuickInstaller or Windows to update version."

It also has an "Uninstall" button & a "Submit" button where I tested both.

I like that it organized all my Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable's,
as I only install them when I have to so I have no idea which are there.

I also like that it organizes 682 apps by "what they do" (not brand names!)
which is how I organize all my phones, tablets and desktop installers too.
C:\apps\{archivers,browsers,cleaners,databases,editors,finances,games,etc.}
Note: I don't use plurals but I added them here for readability.

Most people (and most programmers!) organize by the brand name, which I
consider just about the most idiotic way to organize a program hierarchy.

The QuickInstaller program organizes apps by functionality (and it gives
you the option of installing them if they're not already installed).
Maintenance
Media
Media Tools
Tune-up
Internet
Internet Browsers
Graphics
Security
File Archivers
File Tools
Sharing
Productivity
Utilities
Hardware
Documents
Messaging
Gaming
Miscellaneous
Development
Runtime
Redistributable

Note: I don't use cop-outs such as "system" or "utilities" or "misc",
since pretty much every app fits into those useless catch-alls.

It has the ability to create a restore point before doing anything,
and a bunch of other options such as not deleting the downloaded installers.

It starts with Windows by default (which you might want to change),
and I noticed belatedly it doesn't scan for portable programs by default.

It crashed once though with an error of "Critical: An unhandled exception
has occurred in the application: (15,8):UserId:" and it wouldn't restart.

So I booted my PC (which allowed that autostart registry entry to activate).
But even then QuickInstaller wouldn't restart on the rebooted setup.

So I uninstalled it - where my assessment is that I like what it purports
to do, but it's probably still a bit too much in the beta stage for me.

RevoUninstaller and Advanced Uninstaller found leftover registry entries
and files (about a dozen or so for each uninstaller) which I wiped out.

Example of a leftover registry entry was...
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Schedule\TaskCache\Tree\QuickInstaller\QuickInstaller AutoStart
Example of a leftover file was...
C:\users\username\AppData\Local\Hans_Christian_Ihlen-Abel\QuickInstaller_URL_...

Particularly since I don't bother updating apps unless I know there is
something in the updated version which rarely happens for me nowadays.

I usually write up a step-by-step tutorial for how to use almost every
program but I'm writing up a tutorial for how to set up Telegram on the
PC without creating an account on your mobile so I only wrote up this log.

BTW, I only have 154 programs installed (while on Android I have over 700).
I'm curious how many you have installed on your Windows desktop PC.

Overall, I think it's a nice program. Very nice. Except it crashed
and wouldn't restart - so it simply has teething pains in the beta.
--
The whole point of Usenet is to find people who know more than you do.
And to contribute to the overall tribal knowledge value of the newsgroup.

wasbit <wasbit@nowhere.com> wrote

>> There is also the
>> QuickInstaller
>> https://www.quickinstaller.net/
>> to check for program updates
>>
>
> Or even Major Geeks Software Updater for Windows 7-11
>
> - http://www.majorgeeks.com/MajorGeeks_Software_Updater_d8044.html

To help others (so that they can start where the previous people left off),
here is a screenshot of what you see when you install that majorgeeks app.
<https://i.postimg.cc/0yJwS5WY/majorgeeks01.jpg>

I thank Ninou for bringing up QuickInstaller, which I only tested for a few
minutes but I found the preview version rather interesting in potential.

On my system it came up with an error but it worked to install the two apps
that I had tested, and it worked to uninstall the one app I had tested.

It also told me in tabular form which apps needed major & minor updates,
but when I tried to re-run QuickInstaller, it wouldn't start - even after a
reboot and even after deleting it and then rebooting, it wouldn't start
after a reinstallation. My assessment is it has potential but it's too
early to use it fruitfully yet.

I also thank wasbit who seems to be the first person who noticed that Sumo
& Dumo (among others) from KCSoftwares was going to go away, as shown here.
*KCSoftwares - Termination notice*
<https://groups.google.com/g/alt.comp.freeware/c/qvoHPUNFC50/>

I had not seen that, nor would I have understood it as I don't associate
Sumo/Dumo with the company that makes it but I ask wasbit how he knew?

How did you know about that going-out-of-business action so early?
(I only found out when I went purposefully to the site to help someone.)

Moving forward, let's add this the updater wasbit suggested to the mix.
*MajorGeeks News and Software Updater 4.0.0*
<https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/majorgeeks_software_updater.html>
"MajorGeeks News and Software Updater is a portable app that can show you
all of the latest news and downloads on MajorGeeks.Com from your desktop."

"The Update function sits in your systray (next to your clock)
and can notify you of any new files or articles on MajorGeeks.com
without searching the site."
<https://www.majorgeeks.com/mg/getmirror/majorgeeks_software_updater,1.html>
<https://www.majorgeeks.com/index.php?ct=files&action=download&>
<https://files1.majorgeeks.com/10afebdbffcd4742c81a3cb0f6ce4092156b4375/office/MajorGeeks_Software_Updates_and_News.zip>
Name: MajorGeeks_Software_Updates_and_News.zip
Size: 422116 bytes (412 KiB)
SHA256: BBD40177652CDDA5CD6DA3C3A19029F4667CDD949DC10F8441958887B7EB320C

Extracting the zip file reveals it contains only a single portable executable.
Name: MajorGeeks Software Updates and News.exe
Size: 1058816 bytes (1034 KiB)
SHA256: 921F125D9B9BB68A8C373E0BEC87E6BE2DB3241DF920513596D431D589DAC747

Placing it where it belongs so that it can be found sans needing to search:
Archived: C:\archives\cleaners\updaters\majorgeeks\.
Installed: C:\apps\cleaners\updaters\majorgeeks\.
Menus: C:\menus\cleaners\updaters\majorgeeks\.
Data: C:\data\cleaners\updaters\majorgeeks\.

First impressions:
I like that it has a calendar showing the progression of their news & apps.
And that it has a one-liner of what the programs purport to do for you.
They show a checkmark whether it works on Windows, Linux, Android & Apple.
And they show the latest version (but I couldn't get it to update anything).

First impression screenshot:
<https://i.postimg.cc/0yJwS5WY/majorgeeks01.jpg>
--
The whole point of Usenet is to find people who know more than you do.
And to contribute to the overall tribal knowledge value of the newsgroup.
It's a domino effect where each of us helps the next person in the lineup.

Subject	Author
Re: Get Sumo/Dumo & other free utils while you can as they seem to be disappeari	Wally J
Re: Get Sumo/Dumo & other free utils while you can as they seem to be disappeari	Wally J
Re: Get Sumo/Dumo & other free utils while you can as they seem to be disappeari	Wally J

panic: kernel trap (ignored)

computers / alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt / Re: Get Sumo/Dumo & other free utils while you can as they seem to be disappearing at the end of the month