LicenseChecker

While unlicensed software is somewhat harmless on a private individual's computer, the same cannot be said about companies or businesses. To avoid fines or even harsher consequences, companies must ensure the legality of their software. LicenseChecker is a compact utility that determines the licensing of all applications installed on any workstation.

Run LicenseChecker to access its list containing all programs installed on the machine, and their latest version. Along with that, the software's type, license, price is identified. Moreover, a replacement app or alternative is suggested sometimes, based on how popular the program is.

If you test this app on a personal computer, you'll probably have a lot of "???" within your list. This is because the third-party applications detected contained less to no trace of information about their licensing. That's the reason LicenseChecker leans towards offices and businesses mainly and offers less value to casual users.

A low level of color coding accompanies the automatic search. Still, you cannot set up the colors or parameters yourself, you can only switch the color feature on or off. You can only figure out what colors apply to what license types.

The short toolbar has nothing more to offer than three search modes. Manual program search is defined by its ability to dig for application in up to three directories at once. If you suspect the automatic search skipped something, this mode can back you up.

The Database Search is self-explanatory. You write down a keyword, and the database will push forward the results containing that tag.

A bit curious and out of place — that’s how the third method looks like. Searching for media files like images, videos or music is part of the app's inventory, apparently. Why would you need such a feature on a license checker? Well, the answer seems to be given by the community asking for a way to track find media files hidden on a work PC.

LicenseChecker is a fairly useful application for the specific job it does. Filtering out bad software and ensuring all programs fit the legal boundaries is not to be laughed at, especially when it can bring economic consequences, and that's what this tool is good for.