Owning a computer, especially multiple ones for a business, means that you and the IT department have a lot of work. Not only do you need to have policies in place to ensure that people don't visit the wrong sites, but you also have to upload, download and make sure everything runs smoothly. Patch management is a complicated process, and it can't be explained in just a few sentences. However, there are six steps to ensure best practices, making it a little easier to keep computers secure.
Best Practices for Patch Management
At ITarian, we understand your difficulties. You have to:
- Know what patches are available
- Decide which ones are more important to install
- Test the patches to ensure they work properly
- Decide how best to install them and in what order
Those tasks can be hard, but our patch manager can help.
Develop Inventory
The first step for patch management best practices is to ensure that you have an inventory of all the systems, including:
- IP addresses
- Physical Locations
- Function
- OS Types
- OS Versions
You'll need to keep that inventory up to date, and there are commercial tools to help make the process easier.
Standardize
You'll also want to create a plan to help regulate production systems, so everything is using the same OS and software. While not everything will be the same, the fewer versions that are running, the easier it will be later.
List
Security is essential, so make sure you list all the security controls you have, which can include anti-virus, IDSes, and firewalls, along with their configurations. Including nonstandard and system hardening configurations can also help. When there's a problem, it can make it easier to respond.
Compare/Classify/Apply
Next, you can compare vulnerabilities against your lists. If you don't have a comparison option, our patch management product could be of use. Classify how big the risk is and if necessary, apply the patches. Contact us today to learn more.
