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What is GFI LANguard Network Security Scanner (N.S.S.)?
GFI LANguard N.S.S. is a security scanner that checks your network for possible security vulnerabilities by scanning your entire network for missing security patches, service packs, open shares, open ports, unused user accounts and more. Its powerful reporting allows you to easily lock down your network against hackers. GFI LANguard N.S.S. can also remotely deploy missing patches and service packs in applications and operating system.
What is Windows Software Update Services (WSUS)?
Microsoft WSUS is a free patch management tool provided by Microsoft to help network administrators deploy the latest Microsoft product updates to Microsoft Windows Server 2000, Windows server 2003 and Windows XP operating systems. In addition, WSUS allows information technology administrators to easily deploy security and other update patches to Microsoft applications including Microsoft Office XP, Microsoft Office 2003, Microsoft Exchange 2003 as well as Microsoft SQL Server 2000.
By using Microsoft WSUS, administrators can fully manage the distribution of patches that are released through Microsoft Update to computers in their network. In simple terms, Microsoft WSUS is a version of Microsoft Update that you can run on your network. Instead of each workstation having to connect to the Internet to update Windows, each workstation connects to the Microsoft WSUS Server instead and updates from there. In addition, a WSUS (Master/ Upstream) server can be the update source for other WSUS servers within the organization. Thus, the WSUS (Master/Upstream2) Server alone requires access to the public Internet as it connects to Windows Update.
By connecting to Windows Update, Microsoft WSUS Server provides notification of critical updates as well as performing automatic distribution of those updates to your workstations and servers. Microsoft WSUS server gives the administrator more control over updates: The administrator can test and approve updates from the public Windows Update site before deployment on the corporate intranet. Deployment takes place on a schedule created by the administrator. Information on updates is first downloaded into the database. When a WSUS client reports that it needs an update, WSUS decides that on the next synchronization cycle, it'll download the update.
WSUS is a development based on Software Update Services (SUS) and it builds on the features of SUS by providing: - Increased bandwidth efficiency: Exploits bandwidth efficiency through the Background
Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) 2.0
- Multi-lingual support: Includes additional language support for customers worldwide - Configurable deployment options: Allows the administrator to specify the required update action by selecting an option out of Install, Remove Update, Detect?only or Decline - Data migration and import/export features - Database options: Allows the administrator to select the WSUS database where update information and WSUS server settings are to be stored - Reporting capabilities: Allows the administrator to monitor the update activity - Update suitability check: Allows the administrator to estimate how many computers need to be updated. A ?Detect-Only? action determines if an update is suitable for each computer before proceeding to patch deployment - Update targeting: Allows the administrator to configure which computers need to be updated - More updates and automated download capabilities: Automatic update, enables both server and client computers to receive updates for Microsoft operating systems and applications from Microsoft Update or from a source server running WSUS (i.e. a Master/Upstream server).
What are the advantages of using GFI LANguard N.S.S. and Microsoft WSUS server together?
Microsoft WSUS server is a good solution for pushing out Microsoft patches. It supports all Windows XP, 2000/2003 operating system patches, including those for applications that are part of the operating system such as IIS and Internet Explorer. Additionally it supports patches for Microsoft Office XP/2003 applications, Microsoft Exchange 2003 and Microsoft SQL Server 2000.
However, Microsoft WSUS does not offer the following features that are provided by GFI LANguard N.S.S.: - Deployment of patches to ISA server machines - Deployment of patches to machines running Windows NT - Deployment of third party software patches and software.
Therefore, GFI LANguard N.S.S. and Microsoft WSUS jointly make a perfect combination to keep Windows machines up-to-date, including Microsoft application patches and service packs, and third party software and software patches.
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