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They'll warn you when new patches appear, and you then sort out any updates yourself. The simplest of these tools work as little more than PC update reminders. (Ever run a PC speedup tool, for instance? Some will disable software updaters to improve boot times.)Ī dedicated patch manager replaces this chaos with a single central interface to scan multiple apps for updates, report any missing patches it finds, and (sometimes) automatically rectify the situation. You must make sure the apps are set up correctly, allow them to run any standalone updaters, pay attention when they raise alerts, and spot any problems. The standard approach to patch management lets every app handle its own updates. This is important, because with new software vulnerabilities and exploits appearing daily, it's vital to install Windows and application security patches just as soon as they're released.
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