To help make patching easier, here are some simple tips to help your Patch Tuesday go by a little smoother and keep your systems up to date.
- After you’ve done the prep work to ensure a plan is in place for patching, you’re ready to take on Patch Tuesday. Do some research to determine what is expected to be released by Microsoft, Adobe, Java, Apple and other vendors that may affect your systems and determine how these patches will impact your organization. Don’t forget to review any internally developed applications or custom patches that may be needed. Keep your eyes open for pre-announcements from vendors that can help you do this prep work. Reserve time slots to deploy the patch updates. Mission-critical servers should be patched within 72 hours. Do a final scan of your machines prior to Patch Tuesday to make sure that everything is as up-to-date as it can be before the patches are released. Don’t forget that some patches won’t deploy if prior patches aren’t installed.