PatchManagement
Reviewer’s Guide 2021

Table of contents
Introduction.......................................................................3What is Avast Business Patch Management?.................4How to get started ...........................................................5
Configuring Patch Management .....................................7
Patches page ....................................................................10Alerts..................................................................................10
Reports .............................................................................12Resources..........................................................................13
Avast Privacy Policy .........................................................15Contact .............................................................................17

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2Introduction
57% of data breaches are attributed to poor patch management1. Prompt patching is vitalfor cybersecurity. When a new patch is released, attackers use software that looks at theunderlying vulnerability in the application being patched. This is something that hackers
perform quickly, allowing them to release malware to exploit the vulnerability within
hours of a patch release. Their goal is to intrude systems as long as the patch hasn’t been
applied yet, and they count on the fact that often, vulnerabilities remain unpatched forweeks, months, or even years after they have become known. Therefore, applying security
patches is vital to prevent hackers and cybercriminals from exploiting vulnerabilities that
could halt operations.
If a vulnerability is successfully exploited, businesses risk:• Ransomware• Having their data lost or stolen• Significant time lost while restoring data or reinstalling operating systems and applications• Incompliance with industry regulations and business requirements• Lack of data integrity• Losing credibility and trust with customers and prospects
With security breaches being the new normal, the rush is on to implement effective security
practices and ensure proper patch compliance. And with the rising number of vulnerabilities
in third-party applications, this includes solutions that install critical security updates for morethan just Microsoft products.
Whether your endpoints are behind the firewall, remote, physical, or virtual, patching
your critical operating systems and apps in a timely, efficient, and cost-effective mannerremains challenging. Patching can be extremely time-consuming. Each patch needs to be
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Reviewer’s Guide 2021

reviewed, prioritized, and then tested to make sure it won’t break existing systems. When
there are dozens of patches to evaluate, this process can easily take days, if not longer,
which pulls resource-strapped IT professionals away from other critical initiatives.
Employees also present a risk to organizations. They desire convenience and rarely consider
security during their day-to-day operations - they simply want to get their work done aseasily as possible without interruption or distraction. Patching software tends to be anannoyance for end users (employees) and all too often, recommended patches go ignored.
Users typically ignore software updates because they lack the technical knowledge, it’s timeconsuming, and/or because they worry about potential issues with updating applications.
A solid patch management process is an essential requirement for any size business.
Unfortunately, many organizations do not have the expertise, software, or necessary
processes/systems in place to effectively secure their infrastructure. Manually checking
for and applying patches is an almost-impossible task.
Ignoring software updates isn’t an option. Having a strong endpoint security foundationis crucial to protecting businesses from cyberattacks – and antivirus alone isn’t enoughto combat these threats. If patches are not applied in a timely manner, networks can beseverely compromised.

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Avast Business Patch Management
What is it?
Avast Business Patch Management is a security service that simplifies and automates
the patching process, saving companies both time and money. This service automaticallyscans devices, identifies vulnerabilities, and deploys critical patches to all endpoints toprevent breaches, ensure regulatory compliance, and stay in control. With this, IT admins
no longer have to review, prioritize, and test hundreds of patches to ensure they don’t
break existing systems before being deployed.
Avast Business Patch Management is available in the Business Hub, an integrated, cloudbased security platform that gives IT admins access to granular, accurate control over theentire patching process, including patch discovery, distribution of software updates, andreporting - all from a single pane of glass.
Avast’s team of patch content engineers carefully inspects each patch before it getsreleased to users, ensuring proper compliance. The Avast team applies its over 30 years
of industry experience and innovation to the test, empowering businesses to quickly
patch and secure third-party apps.

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4How to get started

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5

How to get started
Create your Avast Business Hub Account
The Avast Business Hub is an integrated, cloud-based security platform that allows IT
admins to easily manage all Avast Business security solutions deployed in their networks.
It provides real-time visibility of threats, comprehensive reporting, and management
capabilities, all from one single interface.
Visit https://businesshub.avast.com/ to register and create your account. Once your console iscreated, click on “Account” on the menu to access the company profile and subscription page. On
this page, you will enter the license number to activate the Patch Management service.

How to install the patch service on a device(s)1. Go to the devices page
2. Click “install” in the patch column to enable and install the service

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Configuring Patch Management

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Configuring Patch Management
Scan Frequency
The Patch Scan checks all devices tied to the particular policy for missing
software application updates (patches). After a scan is completed, theresults for missing patches are displayed in the Patches page.
For scanning, you can select from the following options:• Daily: will run a scan every day at the selected start time.
• Weekly: will run a scan every week on the selected day and start
time of the week.
• Monthly: will run a scan every month on a specific day of the monthand start time, which you select.
• For Monthly scans, we do not recommend selecting the 29th, 30th,
or 31st day of the month for the scan, as these dates do not occur
every single month.

After the service is activated, go to the “Policies” page to configure
your settings. In the policies section, you can configure the settings forscheduled patch scans, how and when missing patches are deployed,customize patch exclusions, and configure restart options.
In the Service Settings, you will find a Patch Management tab. In thissection, you will be able to configure patch scans, deployments, andother settings, such as clear local patch cache.

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Patch Deployment
Enabling automatic patch deployment in the policy will deploy missing
patches on an automatic, recurring basis. If you would like to perform a
one-time manual patch, you can do so from the Patches tab for one or
multiple devices or from the devices page.
You can choose from the following options for automatic deployment oncea patch scan has completed on the device and identified missing patches:• Do not deploy patches: Patches will need to be deployed manually.
• Deploy patches immediately once found missing• Deploy patches later: Recommended to set for night hours. You canschedule patches to be deployed daily at a chosen time, weekly ona chosen day of the week and time of day, or monthly on a specificday of the month and time of day.
8Configuring Patch Management
Device restart
Often, patches require devices to be restarted after installation. When
you install patches using the policy settings, you can tell devices torestart and control when that restart begins. If patches are installed but
those patches don’t require a restart, the devices won’t be restarted.
In the General Settings, go to the Restart Options section and selectone of the following options for endpoint device restart:• Restart only when needed by the service: A device restart will
happen when a major update or a critical patch is deployed that
requires the device to be restarted. The user will be shown amessage prompt ten minutes before restart.

Clear local patch cacheIn this section, you can select when to clear patch files to free discable to either postpone the restart up to three times or cancel therestart altogether, depending on which box is selected.
• Do not restart: You will have to restart manually either from theConsole or on the physical endpoint device.
• Restart when user logs off: Display a message that restart is needed
to the endpoint user. If no one is logged in, the device will restart
automatically.
• Do not restart: The device will require a restart from the Business
Hub or the endpoint device. The device information and status will
only be updated after the restart has finished.

• Force restart automatically: The device will be set to be restarted
automatically, and a warning message will be displayed on the user’smachine an hour prior to device restart. However, the user will bespace on your devices. You have the following options:• Immediately after deployment• 7 days after deployment• 30 days after deployment• 60 days after deployment

Exclusions

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In the Exclusions settings tab, you will find a section for PatchManagement. Here, IT admins can add exclusions so that patches will
not be deployed to devices.
9Patches page and Alerts

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Patches Page

AlertsAt the top of the Patches page, IT admins will find a quick summary of
the status of the patches along with the number of affected devices.
• Missing patches• Scheduled patches• Downloading patches• Installing patches• Devices pending restart• Failed to install
The Patches page is designed to provide a comprehensive view ofall OS and third-party patches. The dashboard will display the patch
name, type of patch, severity, CVSS score, status, and action needed
so that IT admins can streamline their work, and easily prioritize anddeploy patches from a central dashboard.

On the alerts page, you will find alerts for different categories,including Patch Management. The alert types include critical patches
missing, patches missing, and device restart needed.
For alerts that have related tasks that can be created to resolve theissue, a link will appear beside the alert for the appropriate action. Youcan take immediate action from this page and initiate a scan, restart adevice, etc. All alerts will display the number of affected devices, and alink you can click to review more alert and threat details.

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11Patch Reporting
In the reports section, you will find reports for each service, including Patch Management. The
Patch report will provide IT admins with a consolidated view of the status of all patches anddevices during a predetermined period of time. You can view a report on demand or create aschedule to automatically receive reports via email. The report will include:• Patch name• Number of deployed patches• Severity• Number of missing patches• Vendor name• Number of failed patches• Patch status• Number of scheduled patches• Deployment method (reason)• Number of ignored patches• Date and time

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Resources

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Resources
Avast Business PatchManagement
Product URL
Screenshots
Box Shot
Customer support options
1 year/1 seat $14.99
1 year/1 seat $144.90
30-day free trial*Up-to-date pricing can be found on the Avast website.

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Privacy Policy

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Privacy Policy
As one of the world’s most trusted antivirus software companies,
Avast defends businesses against threats in cyberspace. To do so,
Avast may have to collect personal data to provide its users withthe best weapons and the most up-to-date security. Avast does nottake this trust for granted. Avast has developed a Privacy Policy thatcovers how Avast collects, uses, discloses, transfers, and stores users’
personal data. Avast’s full privacy policy, which includes why and how
Avast processes data, and how Avast discloses and protects its users’
personal data, can be found here.

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Contact
If you are a member of the press, please contact PR@avast.com forany questions regarding Avast Business or any of its products.
Media materials can be found at https://press.avast.com. If you area customer and have a question about Avast Business or any of its
products, please contact the Avast Support Team by visiting
https://www.avast.com/en-us/business/support.

1Ponemon Institute, State of Endpoint Security Risk, 2018

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