InfoWorld
Lead with Knowledge
HOME/ SITEMAP
SUBJECT INDEXES
App Development
Broadband
Business Intell.
Business News
Business Strategies
Careers & Mgmt
Collab. Software
Content Mgmt
CRM
Database
E-Business
End-User Apps
End-User Hardware
Enterprise Apps
Ethics
Government
Licensing
Middleware
Mobile Computing
Networking
Online Community
Operating Systems
Processors
Security
Servers
Storage
Telecomm.
Web Services
Web Technologies
Wireless
XSPs
NEWS
CTO ZONE
TEST CENTER
FEATURES
COMMUNITY
OPINIONS
INTERVIEWS
FORUMS
RESEARCH
EVENTS
WEBCASTS
ADVERTISE
ABOUT InfoWorld
Reprints
ABOUT US
About InfoWorld
Services
Advertise
Contact us
Reprint
Employment
WHITE PAPERS

Learn to secure your PCs from new and unknown hacker attacks.

Free IDC White Paper - Discover Secure File Sharing for the Enterpriseattacks.
SEARCH:  
Home  //  Community //  Opinions //  Article
Print Article    Email Article
Window Manager
Brian Livingston
A patch of one's own

FOR THE PAST three weeks, I've discussed the seemingly weekly patches that emerge for Windows, spawning various patch-automation tools from Microsoft and ISVs. This week, I continue with my readers' findings on these products.

In addition to the products I previously wrote about, one called Patchlink (http://www.patchlink.com) was selected for a federal agency after an evaluation of alternatives by reader John Gambriel. "For about $12 a year per workstation and the cost of a server," he says, "patches are collected and distributed to the appropriate desktops for operating systems, suites, and a multitude of vertical applications."

This fulfills the agency's need for resource management as well as security updates.

Jay Miller was the first of several readers who recommended a different product called BigFix (http://www.bigfix.com). Its approach uses Fixlets, small files that detect potential problems and alert administrators or users to the cures.

Phil Schulan likes a free service called Catchup (http://catchup.cnet.com). "Catchup has separate scan functions for program updates, security patches, and adware/spyware," he writes.

Some readers praised free Microsoft utilities. Simon Mazzucca uses QCHAIN, a Windows NT/2000 tool, "when a new machine has to be prepared from scratch and a lot of patches and hot fixes have to be applied at the same time."

Because most fixes require a reboot, people hate waiting for multiple updates. But Mazzucca uses a batch file in which QCHAIN correctly installs several new Windows files in a single restart. For details, go to http://support.microsoft.com, click Show Options, select Article ID, enter Q296861 in the input box, then click Search Now.

Bob Juch recommends Microsoft's OCA (Online Crash Analysis), available for XP users and " Windows 2000 Premium Customers" at http://oca.microsoft.com. You upload a crash report and receive an analysis of the problem. For no good reason, however, Microsoft requires OCA users to sign up for a so-called Passport account, which is a security nightmare of its own.

Other readers criticized Microsoft for causing the need for so many patches in the first place.

"How ludicrous it is that one would have to buy software to do nothing but manage patch updates on what is ostensibly a mission-critical platform for some businesses," writes James Taylor of the East Cobb Group. "Considering the time a business has to devote to this process to protect itself, the utility should be gratis, with a rebate on the original software granted for every 50th use."

Bravo -- I couldn't have said it better myself.

For being first to send me comments I printed, readers who appeared in this and previous weeks' columns will receive a gift certificate for a book, CD, or DVD of their choice.


Send tips to brian@brianlivingston.com. He regrets that he cannot answer individual questions. Go to www.iwsubscribe.com/newsletters to get his Window Manager column and E-Business Secrets e-zine free via e-mail.



RELATED ARTICLES

Patch me up, Scotty
The patch that refreshes
Feel more secure yet?

RELATED SUBJECTS

Security
MORE >
SUBSCRIBE TO:    E-mail Newsletters  InfoWorld Mobile InfoWorld Magazine
Home  //  Community //  Opinions //  Article Print Article    Email Article
Back to Top
 ADVERTISEMENT
 

SPONSORED LINKS

Learn to secure your PCs from new and unknown hacker attacks.
Click here to receive a FREE Success Kit from Oracle.
SPEED, PERSONALIZATION AND INTEGRATION: THE KEY TO E-COMMERCE SUCCESS.
Protect Your Data: Get your FREE Enterprise Backup Intelligence Kit from ADIC.
New HP digital projectors — click now for limited-time introductory offers.

SUBSCRIBE
E-mail Newsletters
InfoWorld Mobile
Print Magazine

Web-based training
ABOUT INFOWORLD  |  SITE MAP  |  EMPLOYMENT  |  PRIVACY  |   CONTACT US

Copyright 2002 InfoWorld Media Group, Inc.