Curing the Pain of Patch Tuesday.
iPass Offers FREE Trial of Endpoint Policy Management to Distribute Microsoft's July Updates

IT staff take the well-being of their PCs very seriously. They go to great lengths to keep them healthy, safe and secure. However, during the process, some technicians begin displaying symptoms of their own: nervous behavior, cold sweats and rapid breathing as they run from PC to PC trying to contain the latest outbreak with a security update. And if that doesn't have your pulse pounding, consider this: Tuesday, July 11th is another Patch Tuesday.

The updates comprising this particular "Patch Tuesday" should cure critical Microsoft security flaws-a dozen in all: nine related to Microsoft Windows, two for Microsoft Office software and one for Exchange e-mail server software. A flaw is rated as critical when the identified vulnerability could allow a damaging Internet worm to replicate without the user doing anything to the machine. The most notable of these vulnerabilities is in Microsoft* Word XP and Microsoft Word 2003, and has already been exploited through "zero-day" attacks targeted at major corporations.

Finding the Best Course of Treatment
Manually implementing critical security patches is time-consuming and risky. You must read several security bulletins to understand the problem. You must prioritize patches based on your machine inventory. Then you have to test and verify the patches, download them to your machines, and ensure all the patches are installed properly. Until all systems are properly updated, your company remains vulnerable to exploitation.

If you're still trying to get by with a manual process, it's time to bring in a specialist—Endpoint Policy Management from iPass.

Endpoint Policy Management from iPass
Endpoint Policy Management is an on-demand service that allows you to easily inventory, assess and patch your remote and mobile devices over the Internet in a highly automated fashion. Endpoint Policy Management automates patching using the expertise of Shavlik Technologies, the recognized leader in Windows patch management. Each time an OS patch is released from Microsoft, it becomes directly available through the Endpoint Policy Management Web console, complete with risk severity details. Simply select the relevant patches and press "Deploy." Endpoint Policy Management handles the rest, using agent-driven updates to ensure systems are updated quickly.

Since iPass hosts the Endpoint Policy Management servers in its secure Transaction Centers, there is no software or hardware for you to install, configure or maintain. You can literally be patching systems the same day you subscribe to the service.

To load the Endpoint Policy Management agent on your remote and mobile devices, send your users an email with a one-click agent delivery process. Inventory starts immediately.

The next time your users touch the Internet, the appropriate patches will be delivered and installed, typically with no user intervention at all. This powerful solution remediates systems regardless of a user's location or connection type-whether they connect from your LAN, from home or in a hotspot café across the world. Endpoint Policy Management's administrative portal provides a central point to manage systems and generate reports at any time, showing patch-level status across all your systems.

Try Endpoint Policy Management for Free
For a limited time, you can try out the Endpoint Policy Management service free of charge to help you distribute July's Microsoft patches and keep your company safe.

Learn more about Endpoint Policy Management-your cure-all for taking the pain and stress out of Patch Tuesday. Check out these resources or talk to your iPass Account Manager today. Or, get your free trial here.

View Endpoint Policy Management Demo »

Endpoint Policy Management Product Brief »

Microsoft Security Bulletin »

	»	Endpoint Policy Management Overview

Preventive Medicine for Genesis Health System

Kevin Stanfield, client device administrator for Genesis Health System knows the challenges of keeping distributed PCs up to date. After all, his IT team supports 2,700 wired and wireless medical devices across 50 locations. Prior to purchasing Endpoint Policy Management, Genesis faced a major virus threat.

"When the Sasser worm threatened us, it was all hands on deck for three days going from PC to PC cleaning up machines," recalls Stanfield.

Today, Genesis handles software updates with Endpoint Policy Management. "With one person and a click of the mouse, we can do what it took 70 people and three days to accomplish," insists Stanfield. So each Patch Tuesday, deployment costs, as well as IT staff blood pressures, remain low.