Windows only 
One of the Firefox extensions that I’ve absolutely fallen in love with is Update Scanner. It is capable of scouring any website for changes, and can display a notification within the browser when it finds that the content is different. That’s handy for websites that don’t have RSS feeds, or maybe you’re waiting for an online store to get something in stock. Either way, being able to scan a website for changes can come in handy.
If you don’t use Firefox, or don’t want to install the extension there is always the freeware WebMon application that should do the trick. As you can see in the screenshot above you can monitor an unlimited number of websites for changes, and you can customize how often it checks for changes. When it finds that something is different it will, by default, display a notification similar to this one:
Alternatively you can have it execute a program, open a website, or play a sound when it finds an update.
When setting up a website for the first time you might want to make note of the Specify content to check button in the bottom-left corner. By using that feature you can narrow down the area on the website that you want to be monitored, which I’ve done in this example:
If you plan to use this feature it’s best if you understand a little bit of HTML, otherwise it might look like a lot of gibberish to you. For those of you that already know at least the basics of HTML this feature will be rather useful.
The program uses just 7MB of memory on my computer, which isn’t bad at all. If you’re in the market for a website monitoring program this should be just what the doctor ordered.
Get WebMon for Windows (100% free)
This is just one of the many helpful tips that we have done. You can find more of them by visiting our Helpful Tips category, or by subscribing to our Helpful Tips feed. We also have a full feed available if you want to receive all of our articles in your reader!
Tags: Freeware, Helpful Tips, Software, Web Sites, Applications, Features, How To, Settings
Related Posts:
- Helpful Tip: Monitor Sites for Changes with RSS Feeds
- Helpful Tip: How to Move Windows with the Keyboard
- CyberNet’s Year in Review: November-December
- Dell Offers 2405FPW Monitor For $899
- Helpful Tip: Display Mac Menubar Underneath Your Mouse
You also might want to try out Check4Change. I have used both Update Scanner and C4C, and presently find the latter more useful for my needs.
http://www.changedetection.com
online - no install + has a great “changes viewer”
very god
I’ve used Check4Change before as well, but the fact that you have to leave the tabs open is a real killer for me. The last thing I need is more tabs open.
Only checks once per day for changes though. That’s the disappointing part of these online services.