Speeding up software upgrades: How to save time and headaches.

Why it matters

I have been working in the technology field for over 15 years. As the Director of Technology for a public school district it is my job to make sure things get done in a timely and cost effective manner. Today I am going to tell you about one of the tools I use to accomplish this.

Have you ever had a message pop up on your screen that a specific program needs to be updated? Are you ever afraid that you will do something wrong, or that it could be a hoax? There was a period of time that pop up ads in web browsers were telling you that your Adobe Flash needed to be updated and that if you "click here" it will update it. Little did you know that it was actually a link to malware and by clicking and installing what you thought was a Flash update you are now infected.

Don't you hate it

Are you tired of navigating around to several different websites or locations on your computer just to get the updates you need for your software? It seems like every week this or that piece of software is alerting you that it needs to be updated. Programs like Flash and Java are patched every week, if not multiple times a week. I have a tool that will allow you to update most of the major programs that you use every day all in one place. After the initial setup, with one simple double click you can update all of the associated applications at one time. It doesn't get much easier that that!

I am talking about Ninite. It can be accessed at www.ninte.com. Once you access the site, you can simply click the programs that you want it to install and then click the "Get Your Ninite" button. Most browsers will give you the choice to run it or save it. I recommend saving it so you can use it again later. The first time you run Ninite, it will install the software you picked. Anytime you run it after that, it will update those pieces of software.

But wait there's more

The other cool thing about Ninite is, it skips all of those browser toolbars and weatherbug type add-ons that sometimes get bundled into the program that you actually want. It really doesn't get much easier than that! My recommendation once you have the Ninite package downloaded that you want is to simply run it once a week or so to ensure that your programs are always up to date. These are some of my favorite programs available on Ninite:

Irfanview - Free but very powerful photo viewer

Audacity - This program is also free and allows you to edit/record/playback/convert audio files

VLC - A very universal media player. It plays a large variety of audio and video formats.

Thank you for visiting

Thank you for reading. Take the time to give Ninite a look. It will make things a whole lot easier for you, I promise! You should also check out #dolphinschool it is a Steemit learning and growth program I am participating in.