06/17/96 UPDATE YOUR SOFTWARE WHILE YOU SLEEP

UPDATE YOUR SOFTWARE WHILE YOU SLEEP

TO RUN PROPERLY, PERSONAL computers, like cars, demand a bit of maintenance and a periodic tuneup. An increasingly confusing problem for PC owners is keeping up with the free updates, or ``patches,'' that software makers issue for their programs. Even if you have painstakingly registered every program with the manufacturer, you can still miss an update because a software maker may not have the resources to send free fixes to everyone. CyberMedia Inc., a software maker in Santa Monica, Calif., says it has a way to help PC owners keep their software in top form by getting updates via the Internet.
The company is working on a program called Oil Change for IBM-compatible PCs. The $70 program will scan a PC's hard drive for the version number and revision dates of every piece of software it finds. It will then automatically compare that data to the information in its master database and alert the owner when an update or patch is needed. If the owner wants Oil Change to make the fixes, the program will dial into the appropriate software maker's Web site and get the appropriate free updates. What's more, since the program can dial into the Internet, Oil Change also automatically updates itself, pulling the latest list of software patches from CyberMedia's own Web site. Oil Change should be available by September.
EDITED BY PAUL M. ENG