Holes in your jeans - cool. Holes in your software - dangerous

Think of all the computer programs you have on your computer. If you have a setup like my computer you've got FireFox, Internet Explorer, Thunderbird and Outlook, Microsoft Office or Word Perfect, Adobe Acrobat reader and tons more. I even have tools so I can use my cell phone as a modem, FTP software (CuteFTP), Google desktop, Bloglines notifier, Messenger, Gmail notifier, Audacity (great tool for recording audio files), and more.

The problem with all these programs and your operating system is that hackers frequently find holes in them that make the programs vulnerable to attack. If the programs don't have security holes then the holes they have make the programs less stable, crash and/or otherwise not run well.

One solution that you should definitely turn to is Microsoft's Automatic Update which will automatically update Windows. The problem, security vendor St. Bernard Software tells me, is that Microsoft's auto update tool is targeted at individual users rather than to businesses. This auto update happens at different times and is not coordinated. Sometimes this auto update might take place during day time and affect user productivity. Auto update updates only critical patches to the OS, and a few applications. Usually there are many more patches that are applicable but not deployed using Auto Update Tool. Also, you can not track which machines are updated and which are not. This could be a compliance issue. Auto Update requires each individual machine to contact Microsoft Website which could be an internet bandwidth issue. In the past there were many instances when Microsoft's patches were broken and this had created issues to users.

St. Bernard Software announced UpdateEXPERT Premium, an advanced policy-based patching solution that simplifies and speeds patch management of distributed systems. Automated security settings capabilities are also included at no extra charge to provide a unique, affordable solution.

Over 50% of today's small- to medium-sized businesses do not have adequate security in place to protect their networks. Complete system hardening requires advanced security configuration, combined with diligent patching, said Charles Kolodgy, research director, Security Products at IDC. UpdateEXPERT Premium offers comprehensive patch management and automated security setting functionality all in one product, that saves IT administrators time and money.

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