1. A computer program product embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium, comprising: computer code to establish a communication link between a client computer and a service provider computer over a network; computer code to run on the client computer and identify one or more software updates that correspond with software programs residing on the client computer; computer code to display a selectable visual reference for at least one software program that corresponds with an identified software update; computer code to receive a user selection of a first selectable visual reference that corresponds with a first identified software update, the user's selection received through interpretation of a pointer upon a graphical user interface, computer code to respond to the user selection by displaying information relating to the first identified software update, computer code to identify one or more software updates that apply to one or more of the identified software programs, wherein the step of identifying software updates is performed without transmitting to the service provider computer a list of the identified plurality of software programs; and computer code to compile a list of identified software updates, wherein the compiling is performed by using a second software module installed on the client computer and executed on the client computer.