There are a multitude of tools and scanners you can use to ensure that you don’t stumble upon a site that’s afflicted by the Heartbleed OpenSSL bug. You can add popular security software maker AVG to the list of companies and developers that have made such a tool.
AVG announced on its official blog that it has integrated a Heartbleed scanner into AVG Web TuneUp, a beta desktop app that aims to safeguard you while you surf the web. AVG Web TuneUp protects your privacy by stonewalling trackers, alerting you to dangerous sites, and also giving you an easy way to wipe your browsing history, among other functions. Similar to browser add-ons like Chromebleed and Netcraft, AVG’s Web TuneUp app will alert you if you happen to be visiting a site that’s not Heartbleed-proof.
However, there are some compatibility issues at play here. AVG Web TuneUp is only compatible with two browsers: Google Chrome and Firefox. On top of that, Web TuneUp is PC-only, so Mac OS X users can’t take advantage of the program’s new scanner. Also, Web TuneUp is not available for Window 8 or Windows 8.1, and is only compatible with Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. It’s worth noting that Windows 7 and Windows XP are two of the world’s most popular desktop operating systems though, and by wide margins as well.
We reached out to AVG to determine whether a version of Web TuneUp for Windows 8/8.1 is or will be in development at some point, which we would love to test out for ourselves. We even tried to install it despite the fact that we’re running Windows 8.1, but the setup program halted our progress, noting that we’re using an OS which Web TuneUp wasn’t built for.
In the meantime, feel free to test out these Web-based Heartbleed scanners.
