Updating and Management Tools
Patch management is an essential network administration task. One particularly important element of operating a secure system is staying up to date on security patches. It's critical to know which patches have been applied to your system and, more importantly, which haven't. This task consists of scanning machines on the network for missing patches and deploying those patches as soon as they become available. Failure to do so makes a network doubly vulnerable, because not only is the vulnerability there, but it has now also been publicized, making it more likely to be exploited by malicious users, hackers and virus writers.
However, time and again, countless administrators fail to apply the right patches - as proven by worms such as Slammer, the January 2003 worm that spread by exploiting known vulnerabilities in un patched Microsoft SQL 2000 servers. Until recently, the main reason for this was because installing patches was a cumbersome and daunting job. Yet, with the advent of sophisticated automatic patch management tools, this scenario can be eliminated.
This page will help you scan and update your system by listing a few of the best scanning, reporting and record keeping tools that are available. Some tools are free, some are provided only as a reference to the full-priced product, and others can be obtained only if you buy the product.
Available topics:
- Windows Update
- GFI LANguard Network Security Scanner
- Microsoft Software Update Services (SUS)
- Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer v1.2.1
- HFNetChk
- Microsoft Security Bulletins
- Patch management with GFI LANguard N.S.S. & Microsoft SUS
- Shalvik HFNetChk Pro/LT
More items will be added in a short time, including SMS and others.
You should also visit my Patches and Service Packs and Download Service Packs for MS Products pages for more specific info on the hot fixes and patches that are required for each MS product.
