Life is getting ever more complicated on the Internet. That means it is getting more dangerous, too.

Used to be, your browser was the entry point for attackers. But there are a number of other potential dangers today. For instance, Flash players, Java Runtime Environments and media players can also hurt you.

Flaws are regularly discovered in all of these programs. They are regularly updated. But you may never hear.

It's the Secunia Personal Software Inspector. Secunia is a Danish computer security company. Its Inspector is first-class, and important, too.

The Personal Software Inspector checks your system for programs that have not been updated. For instance, on mine it found Adobe Flash Player and Opera. There were later versions of both available. My computer is only seven months old. And I'm careful about updating it.

Secunia does not update the programs. Rather, it gives you links to the update sites.

Now, there's a caveat here, too. I have complaints on my Message Board about Adobe and Sun. There are notices on Secunia's site, too. Neither company removes the old program when it installs the new. So Secunia continues to check both.