Has FileHippo.com Become a Zombie Website?

I hope they're up and running again at some point in the future.  I usually use built-in updaters or download new updates from the original manufacturer's site but FileHippo maintained a good archive of older software versions, and I started using their FileHippo App Manager v1.47 to check for unpatched third-party programs after Secunia PSI was discontinued a few years ago.

Now I have to find a replacement for the FileHippo App Manager that's still compatible with my Vista SP2 OS - just something simple that scans for unpatched software but can be configured so that it doesn't try to automatically install updates.  I tested SUMo Portable Free v5.9.4 but it failed to detect an unpatched program.  Sadly, the most accurate utility I've tested so far is the new Software Updater bundled inside CCleaner Portable Free v5.60, but I'm very disappointed with the direction that Avast has taken CCleaner in recent months since they bought out Piriform and I prefer to use an older version of CCleaner Portable (i.e., without the Software Updater feature) that isn't constantly nagging me with pop-up adds or trying to connect to the backend Avast servers.
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32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox ESR v52.9.0 * Norton Security Deluxe v22.15.2.22

Kyle_Katarn:

...I'm the developper of SUMo. May I know more about the problem you faced ? We usually provide MUCH better results than CCleaner ...

Hi Kyle_Katarn:

Thanks, but finding a software program that automatically detects and patches my third-party software is not my main concern.  I have an older Vista SP2 machine with limited RAM and don't want all the built-in software updaters for third party programs like iTunes, Firefox ESR, WinRAR, etc., loading into memory at boot-up, so it was nice to have a small app like FileHippo App Manager v1.47 that could run a quick-and-dirty check for any new program updates that were still compatible with my Vista OS.

My main concern about FileHippo.com discontinuing service is that it maintained a full change log and and download links for older software versions. There are a few other reliable freeware download sites sites like MajorGeeks and Softpedia that don't bundle their installers with adware or other PUPs if you can't find a download link on the software developer's site (see gizmo's Best Free Download Sites for reviews), but I believe those download sites only offer the latest available software versions that are rarely compatible with unsupported OSs like Win XP and Vista.

Just FYI, when I tested with SUMo Portable v5.9.4 it missed an available update for CutePDF Writer v3.2 for my Vista SP2 machine that CCleaner Portable and the FileHippo App Manager both detected.  I didn't bother to file a report with SUMo, and if I have any specific concerns about the SUMo scan results on my Vista machine I'll post them in the SUMo user forum.

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32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox ESR v52.9.0 * Norton Security Deluxe v22.15.2.22

Kyle_Katarn:

...For your info, CutePDF is now correctly detected by SUMo : https://www.kcsoftwares.com/sumo/view.php?prot=2&ProductName=CutePDF&Com....

Hi Kyle_Katarn:

Not on my Vista SP2 machine.  I just tried the latest SUMo Portable v5.9.6, and it's even worse.  I still can't see CutePDF Writer in my list of installed programs, and v5.9.6 now reports I need 11 minor and 3 major updates (v5.9.4 reported 29 of 29 programs were patched).  I'd have to do a bit of research, but with the exception of Process Explorer v16.26, I don't think any of those recommended updates are compatible with my Vista SP2 OS.  For example, my current Firefox ESR v52.9.0, iTunes 12.1.3.6, Malwarebytes v3.5.1.2522, Norton Security v22.15.2.22, etc. are all the last (legacy) versions that still run on Win XP and Vista machines.

The recommended Norton Security v22.18.0.222 isn't even the correct version for Win 8.x and Win 10 users.  Version 22.18.0.222 is a recent bug fix for Win 7 SP1 only per Symantec employee Sunil_GA's 20-Aug-2019 post <here>.  Win 8.x and Win 10 users currently remain on Norton v22.18.0.213.
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32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox ESR v52.9.0 * Norton Security Deluxe v22.15.2.22

Good news (I hope).  It looks like the moribund FileHippo site at https://filehippo.com/ is slowly coming back to life as a re-designed website.

New updates are starting to appear at https://filehippo.com/latest/ (for example https://filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/ is now offering the current CCleaner v5.61.7392 rel. 20-Aug-2019) but there are still quite a few glitches and outdated links and metadata that needs to be fixed.  For example, I noticed the Technical tab for CCleaner states this v5.61 installer was added to FileHippo back on 25-Jun-2019 (the release date of v5.59.7230) instead of 20-Aug-2019.

My FileHippo App Manager v1.47 (the last stable release of this program) is currently throwing a "The connection has timed out" error when it tries to display a list of available updates in my Firefox browser, and if that problem doesn't resolve itself in the next week or so I'll try the newer v2.0 Beta 4 test version from https://filehippo.com/download_app_manager/ and see if that works on my Vista machine.
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32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox ESR v52.9.0 * Norton Security Deluxe v22.15.2.22

ganlezero:

...When I run FileHippo App Manager v2.0 Beta 4, in 2 pc's it's working fine, but in the 3rd one I get "failed to download program definitions"....(FileHippo App Manager v1.47 is working OK on all 3 pc's, but I prefer version 2.0)

Hi ganlezero:

FileHippo App Manager v1.47 was "working" briefly this morning on my Vista machine  (i.e., it did not throw the usual  "The connection has timed out" error in my Firefox browser) but the scan results were out-of-date.  For example, I have FileHippo App Manager v1.47 set to ignore beta versions, and it's currently recommending I update to Firefox v67.0.4 (rel. 20-June-2019) instead of the latest stable Firefox v69.0.0 (rel. 03-Sep-2019).  The most recent installer posted on the download page at https://filehippo.com/download_mozilla-firefox/ is the still the outdated v68.0.3 BETA (rel. 28-Jun-2019).

The list of Latest Updates at https://www.filehippo.com/latest/ currently indicates that only three new installers (CCleaner, FireAlpaca and Avast Free Antivirus) were added to the FileHippo site last month in August 2019, so I think it's going to be a while before the FileHippo App Manager is working reliably again.
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32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox ESR v52.9.0 * Norton Security Deluxe v22.15.2.22