March 3, 2010
· Filed under Microsoft Security and Systems Management, Patch Management, Shavlik General · Tagged The More You Know...
It has been quite a while since I have blogged and I am finally getting some free time to get back to it. Today, we announced our new SCUPdates offering. We will be providing third party software updates (non-Microsoft) data files for the System Center Updates Publisher for SCCM. SCCM users will now be able to easily patch non-Microsoft products without having to create their own updates.
The SCUPdates offering is a data file. There are no Shavlik products that need to be installed on your servers or workstations. If you are a SCCM user, you can keep your same environment and use our data in your environment. Importing the data in your SCCM database will result in patch/product detection on the same reports you see today.
Patching third party products can be quite an undertaking. SCCM users can patch Microsoft products but they need a way to patch third party applications without adding to their workload.. With SCUPdates, we are providing a new patching mechanism for third party products such as Adobe, Apple and Firefox.
Third party product attacks are becoming more common. Only focusing on Microsoft products is half the battle. The Shavlik Data Team puts in a lot of research on these applications already in the Shavlik NetChk product line. By taking our expertise to the SCCM/SCUP side of patching, we can help tackle the global problem of patching non-Microsoft products.
With the release of SCUPdates, I will be back on my normal blogging schedule.
- Jason Miller
January 5, 2010
· Filed under Shavlik General · Tagged The More You Know...
If you have tried installing Windows XP Embedded on a VMWare Workstation Virtual Machine, you know by now the process can be very frustrating. Getting the hardware setup just right in Windows Embedded is extremely tricky and takes a lot of trial and error. Build machine, boot, blue screen, rebuild, boot, blue screen, repeat.
This Windows XP Embedded user has provided a sld component file that will load all of the necessary drivers for Windows XP Embedded. You will need to be using VMWare Workstation version 6.0 in order for this to work. If you are using VMWare Workstation version 6.5, this component file will not work.
I know this saved me hours of trial and error.
- Jason Miller
November 23, 2009
· Filed under Shavlik General · Tagged The More You Know...
We are now tweeting our Shavlik XML status updates on Twitter. You can now be alerted to new XML patch data XML posts through our tweets.
And as always, we will continue to send out our email announcements and blog announcements.
- Jason Miller
August 25, 2009
· Filed under Shavlik General · Tagged The More You Know...
Depending on the frequency of security patches released, Shavlik can release new data files up to four times a week. Two common questions we commonly receive are: “When were data updates posted?” and ”What is contained in the update?”
There are a few different ways you can stay informed on data updates for the Shavlik product lines.
- On the Shavlik Website, you can subscribe to an email list that contains detailed information about data updates for the Shavlik Product lines. When Shavlik publishes new data file updates, we will send an email out to the list informing of the recent update and its contents. The Shavlik support web page contains a form that can be filled out to join this list. Or, you can send a blank email to subscribe-shavlik-xml-AT-listserv.shavlik.com (replace -AT- with @) to sign up for the email list.
Please note: When subscribing to the email list, you will be sent an email confirmation. You will need to follow the instructions contained in the email to approve the subscription request to receive notifications.
- Another method of receiving updates is on the Shavlik Support Forums, under the section “XML Announcements”. The Shavlik support team will place the contents of the email notification in the in this section of the Shavlik Support Forums. You do not need to be a registered user to view these postings.
- Lastly, the Shavlik NetChk Protect 7.0 product has a built in RSS feed on the home screen. The information displayed is the same information you would receive via the email list. The product will refresh new update announcements as they become available. This notification only contains patch information as NetChk 7.0 does not include Spyware or Configure in the console. You can also view this information on the Shavlik NetChk Protect 7 update blog.
NetChk 7.0 Data Updates Example
Our updates can be either Patch, Configure or Spyware updates. In the title of the email, you will see a designation on the type of update that occurred. There can be combinations of the following:
- [Patch] – These notifications include only Patch data update information.
- [Spatch] – These notifications contain both Patch and Spyware update information.
- [Configure] – These notifications include Configure data update information.
- [Spyware] – These notifications include Spyware data update information.
