Automatic Updating

Automatic Updating

DISCUSSION: Probably the most common security vulnerability is the lack of patching software. Patching software means updating the software on a routine basis as the new releases become available. Unfortunately that is not always accomplished. Either people don’t do it or they don’t know to do it. There is also the business case where you have to slowly push out updates to ensure it doesn’t impact your production environment. The other is legacy operating systems and software may be necessary for business production. In that case, it is best to isolate those hosts as much as possible from the Internet and the rest of the network. There is also confusion when Microsoft, Apple, or choose your operating system, updates the system and people believe all of their software is updated. That is not the case because those vendors only update their software, not the third-party software like Adobe Reader, Java, Flash, Firefox, etc. The companies that distribute PCs and laptops, Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc. add third-party software that often leads to security compromises.

There are third-party programs that can assist with maintaining security updates. However, many of those cost money, but are worth the investment. Keep in mind that there are a significant number of third-party software programs available on the Internet and no tool is going to protect you from all the malicious software that exists.

Accordingly, the other software program that is needed is anti-virus (AV). Pick your study and you’ll see it varies at how much malicious code AV detects. That is not the primary issue. You need AV to protect you from the most common malware and from the new unknown malware. Some AV software perform better than others. Many are installed with bloatware or additional features that use a lot of memory or CPU. Some vendors will install trial versions of AV and people forget about the trial version messages and believe they are protected. AVG and ESET are two really good AV products. Try to find an AV product that can also scan your web traffic. Some can even scan secure web traffic. That is a not a bad option these days since it is best to block a malicious web site and software before it is installed or before your browser can connect to it than after the breach occurs.

In this lab, we’ll use Ninite to install a few software programs and continue to use Ninite to update the third-party software programs All that needs to be done is to re-run the Ninite software program and it will find updates for the software that it is able to monitor. You will note it supports quite a few of the most common software programs.

Preparation:

Use your Windows 10 Virtual Machine.

Visit https://ninite.com/

Lab:

Minimum:

** Select 7-zip, AVG, and Malwarebytes.

Select any other tools you want, but not too many for this lab.

If someone:

• Complains about Disk Space running low, select “WinDirStat”

• Need an audio editor, select “Audacity”

• Want an editor and not Notepad, select Notepad++

• Need a DVD/Video Player, select VideoLan

• Need to burn DVDs or CDs, select “CDBurnerXP”

Once you have selected all of the tools you want, click on “Get your Ninite”

It will download an executable file. All you have to do is double-click on the executable when it has finished downloading.

Once all the tools are installed, check to be sure each one is installed.

SUBMISSION: Double-click on Ninite again.

• Take a screenshot of the Ninite window once it has finished running.

• 
• Answer the following question: What actions did it perform in context to maintaining software?

Ninite installed and updated the above listed programs. If a user sets ninite to run on startup it will continue to update the programs regularly.

NOTE: This is a tool that could be used on your family’s computer to help them maintain their third-party software. Just have them double-click on Ninite every couple of weeks and they should be good to go. Remember, it only works for software that Ninite maintains AND that you installed using Ninite.