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In other words, is there a Windows 10 equivalent to apt-get / rpm / brew? Preferably cheap or free, and available for use in my business?
The more software packages it supports, the better. Preferably on the order of thousands of different programs supported.
UPDATE 2016-10-10: It's possible that Chocolatey version 0.10.0 gave me a malware infection a couple of months ago. However, that does not seem to be the case. I have not had any trouble so far with Chocolatey v0.10.1 or 0.10.3. See further notes in the Comments section.
END UPDATE
I recently discovered Chocolatey: https://chocolatey.org. This is what I am using at the moment.
This is a command-line tool. It requires administrative privileges (naturally). After I installed it, I ran the following commands, among others, to install various applications and register them with Chocolatey:
choco install 7zip
choco install firefox
choco install adblockplus-firefox
choco install GoogleChrome
choco install adblockpluschrome
choco install opera
choco install adblockplusopera
choco install git
choco install github
choco install notepadplusplus
choco install SublimeText2
choco install vlc
Now, any time I want to check for updates to any of these, and automatically install any updates found, I just run:
choco upgrade all
or
choco upgrade all -y (to accept all upgrade confirmations)
Works like a charm.
There is in fact a command-line package manager built into Windows 10: PackageManagement.
It uses PowerShell's extremely verbose language to give a native Windows equivalent of apt-get or yum. You can start with:
PS C:> Get-Command -module PackageManagement | sort noun, verb
to generate a list of available commands. There are many other commands and options available, which can be found by following Microsoft's PackageManager blog entry on TechNet. Actual usage is as simple as invoking the following from a PowerShell window:
PS C:> install-package chrome
There is also an open-source fork of this, called OneGet (which was also the development name of PackageManagement). You can find it on GitHub. I believe there's also a PackageManagement plug-in for Chocolatey, as well as other package managers, allowing you to install all of their packages via PackageManagement too.
Just my two cents: Ninite
It has got a wide variety of apps to choose from, which it will install / update without Toolbars and all that stuff:
Through a simple cmd script, you can set the install language for the apps (If you don't want the default os installed language)
It is also useful for getting all your usual programs on a fresh install of windows.
I used to do computer maintenance kind of work, which required me:
I settled on Ketarin, which I still use to this day. It specializes on (1) of updating setup packages, but has plenty of functionality related to scripted installs.
It's more on the DIY side of things for configuration, but doesn't rely on any central repository. It can handle complicated downloads when site tries to make that hard.
There are (old) reviews of Ketarin itself and install functionality at my blog.
You can use Patch My PC Updater:
choco install firefox to, in effect, "register" Firefox with the Chocolatey system. This command will also install the latest version of Firefox at the same time, if a later version is available.
Jul 3, 2016 at 17:16
You can use Flexera (previously Secunia) PSI:
Stay secure by updating insecure programs on your computer
Personal Software Inspector is a free computer security solution that identifies vulnerabilities in applications on your private PC. Vulnerable programs can leave your PC open to attacks, against which your antivirus solution may not be effective. Simply put, it scans software on your system and identifies programs in need of security updates to safeguard your PC against cybercriminals. It then supplies your computer with the necessary software security updates to keep it safe.
Personal Software Inspector is a security scanner which identifies programs that are insecure and need updates. It automates the updating of the majority of these programs, making it a lot easier to maintain a secure PC. It automatically detects insecure programs, downloads the required patches, and installs them accordingly without further user interaction.
Personal Software Inspector also detects and notifies you of programs that cannot be automatically updated with software patches and provides you with detailed instructions for updating the program when available. In most cases, you simply need to click the appropriate icon in the Results window and follow the on-screen instructions to install the latest patches.
Personal Security Inspector includes the following:
- Automatic update of programs: Automatically updates your insecure programs, so you don’t have to visit different software vendor sites and figure out what their particular update mechanism is. On a typical private PC, you have to master between 25 to 30 different update mechanisms to patch approximately 75 programs, if you do not have an automated solution.
- Available in 8 languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Arabic, Danish, Norwegian and Dutch. Because understanding the instructions and recommendations is an important aspect of security.
- Covers programs from thousands of vendors: Includes hundreds of preconfigured software patches for easy deployment and covers 20,000+ programs – more non-Microsoft programs than anyone else.
- Integration for deployment: Personal Software Inspector covers thousands of programs and automatically detects insecure programs, downloads the required patches, and installs them accordingly without further user interaction. The average private PC has around 75 programs installed, so you should be covered.
Avast (free, Windows) has a module for that, but it doesn't support all applications:
Also, if you activate automatic update, it will update without asking you.
I am using RuckZuck
Select a Software from the Repository and RuckZuck handles the download and the Installation for you. RuckZuck is able to detect and update existing Software that was not installed with RuckZuck.
The RuckZuck repository does not store the binaries of the Software, just the links to where the software is downloaded. Installing Software with RuckZuck does not grant you a license for that Product.
For Intel drivers, there is the free Intel® Driver Update Utility
What components does the tool detect?
Graphic Drivers
The Utility detects Intel® integrated graphics controllers for desktop and laptop computers.
If you have an Internet device using the Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 500, go to Intel® Download Center for drivers.
For all other graphics controllers, contact your computer manufacturer or place of purchase for drivers support.
Audio Driver for Intel® Desktop Board
The Utility detects audio devices for Intel® Desktop Boards purchased through a retailer.
Intel sells desktop boards to computer manufacturers who may customize the drivers. These drivers are not detected by this Utility.
Wireless Networking
The Utility detects active Intel® wireless products.
Discontinued products are not detected. Contact your computer manufacturer or place of purchase for support.
Wired Networking
The Utility detects Intel® Ethernet network add-in adapters and Intel® Desktop Boards with integrated network connections purchased through a retailer.
Intel sells wired networking cards to computer manufacturers who may customize the drivers. These drivers are supported only by the computer manufacturer.
There is also FileHippo. The site offers a wide range of applications for download and has a FileHippo App Manager to keep track of the softwares and update them.
FileHippo App Manager is a great application that will keep your system up-to-date. FileHippo App Manager will scan your computer for installed applications, check the versions and then send this data to FileHippo.com to ascertain if there are any newer releases available. If there are any new releases, these are then neatly displayed in your browser window for you to download*.
I am using SuMo (Software Update Monitor) and DuMo (Driver Update Monitor) from KC Software.
The number of applications being monitored mainly depends on the number os users using Sumo/DuMo. AFAIK, it will only point you to a new version if at least one user has installed a newer version.
This on its own is already a downside, but there's one more: some developers may use it while they're working on a newer version of the software. That developer version may be reported as a new version, but the new version is not available for download yet.
Other than that, I'm a quite happy user of it (on Windows 7, however).
2023 update: WinGet is now a viable alternative as well. A coworker got me started using it. I am now using both WinGet and Chocolatey to check for updates on the same machine. Sometimes Chocolatey has the latest version of something a day or two before WinGet does. Other times, it's the other way around.
I still generally prefer the no-frills, no-nonsense settings that Chocolatey install scripts tend to use. And the automation. WinGet installs tend to be a bit more interactive. But for some programs, and in some cases, WinGet is better.
Worth noting that WinGet comes with Windows 11, already installed. (As far as I can tell, anyway.)
Compare the Chocolatey "update everything" command:
choco upgrade all
with the WinGet "check for updates" command:
winget upgrade
I use them both on almost a daily basis. Note also that the winget upgrade command does not need to be run from an elevated PowerShell or Command Prompt window (unlike choco upgrade all). The individual installers called by WinGet will ask for elevated permissions as necessary.