There have been plenty of updates to popular software applications lately. Java, Flash, Firefox, and the others all make keeping systems up to date a living nightmare for IT and home users. Even keeping a local copy of the current installers for new computers can be a time-consuming task. To make that job easier, you can use Ketarin.
Ketarin is an open source program written in C# from the same developer behind the excellent CDBurnerXP application. Ketarin downloads the latest setup packages for applications that you specify. It is not meant to keep a system up to date, just the installers.
Setting up Ketarin was easier than I expected. To get started, you download Ketarin and extract the files to a folder where it can reside. You launch Ketarin and you will get a window like you see below except it will be empty with no applications listed. To remedy that, you click the ‘Add new application’ button in the bottom left.
This will bring up another window where a lot of your configuration is. You can name and categorize the applications as you like. You provide the path to the download or use the file repository FileHippo.
I set the majority of my applications to use FileHippo. You just enter the ID from FileHippo and it simplifies the process from there. You can find the ID on FileHippo by searching for the program you want and visiting its page. The URL will be something like: filehippo.com/download_program_name/. The ID is everything after download_ until the forward slash, so in this example, it would be program_name.
You can set the download to go to a specific folder or even taking a specific name. This is useful in the case that you might have a script partner up with Ketarin to keep a system or process up to date.
On the other tabs, you can check other various settings you can configure or commands you can have executed after a download. Ketarin is a framework and gives a lot of flexibility with regular expression support, custom commands, and other options.
If you have client PCs come in frequently and you always install the latest Adobe Flash, Reader, Java, and other free applications for them, I recommend setting up Ketarin so your installs are always up to date and the process is very automated.
From the main Ketarin window, under the File menu, you can set more preferences like downloading or avoid Beta releases, so be sure to check that section out. For more details on using Ketarin to the fullest, check out its Wiki.
Download Ketarin from Ketarin.org.
Version tested: 1.6.0.434