[doron]

We use Ninite Pro extensively within our network. Not only does it allow remote updates (whereas locally it requires administrative rights most users don't have) it also allows disabling of update notification and disabling of shortcuts.

The update process Adobe employs is a nag for admins, the constant flow of acrobat updates and flash updates is a bombardment of announcements which most users in a corporate environment don't have control over.

I prefer paying ninite for the hassle free service, rather then adobe who seem to have no clue or interest in making users life easier. From my perspective, i don't care who profits as long as I can achieve my goals with a minimum of hassle. Ninite provides this, Adobe does not.

[m0nty]

As a sys admin in a school, Ninite is awesome. I really don't want installers and updaters popping up in front of small children and (often, technically illiterate) staff, and Ninite facilitates this. At the same time, it makes it easy for me to update software at a time to suit me - usually the holidays. The fact it denies Adobe the chance to trick me (or my users) into installing additional, unwanted software is a major bonus. It just means I don't have to visit users' PCs later to uninstall the crap.

[l0c0b0x]

(School Sys admin here too)... We don't use Ninite, but at my old job I looked at the implementation and liked the fact that you can have a local-central repository (This saves bandwidth and keeps things in our control).

[m0nty]

It depends on the number of users, but I found it was very affordable for my network. I think it's less than $200 for the year. Beats using GPOs via Active Directory, visiting each machine in turn, or relying on users to do it (which is largely impossible anyway). The central repository is handy, but the software expires fairly quickly in some cases so it's most useful when I'm updating many PCs at once. If you can persuade your finance dept to fork out some money, I would recommend it.

[noinsight]

Any larger company should be using SCCM or e.g. Miradore for configuration management anyway, so Ninite doesn't seem that useful.

[astrodust]

If your users get used to clicking "yeah, whatever" on any and all software update pop-ups, this will almost certainly become an attack vector. Adobe Reader, Flash and Oracle's Java each have their own nuisance updaters that are constantly pestering you for attention.

That software-updates-as-a-service is now a thing is really a sad state of affairs, but if Ninite can make a go of it, right on.

[SoftwareMaven]

Adobe Flash updates are already an attack vector for some malware. My wife was presented with a "FlashPlus" installer to "update to the latest version of Flash" that looked exactly like Adobe's with the exception of the name. I'm still not sure what good fortune intervened to show me that particular installer before she hit "install".

[im3w1l]

Before we talk about your fortune, how many phony installers did you miss?

[BHSPitMonkey]

I wonder why the creators of such an installer even bothered changing the name? Virus/malware authors shouldn't care about the possibility of trademark violations; They usually take care to ensure the software can't be traced back to their identities regardless.