Shavlik NetChk Protect

Description

Shavlik NetChk Protect is the first solution that automates the management of critical security patches, spyware, malware and unwanted software applications from one easy-to-use console. Protect your organization with easy patch management. Shavlik NetChk Protect is also known as Shavlik Patch, Shavlik Protect, and Shavlik Patch Management.

Total Coverage from Shavlik (84.82 KB)

Key Features

Provide rich-targeting and system grouping by Active Directory, organizational unit, domain name, IP addresses, IP ranges and hostnames
Identify, report and remove out-of-policy applications to keep computers compliant with established corporate standards
Provides patch XML the same day they are released by Microsoft so you can respond quickly to active vulnerabilities
Flexible reporting features offer high-level summary reports and detailed reports of a specific machine or group of machines that can be automatically emailed to administrators, end-users and executives
Secure frequently disconnected devices with a highly flexible and scaleable architecture that blends agentless and agent-based solutions
First solution to assess and remediate patch levels of physical servers, online virtual machines and offline virtual machines - in VMware and Microsoft virtual environments.

System Requirements

Management Console System Requirements

Processor: 500 MHz or faster CPU

Memory: Minimum 256 meg RAM; Recommended 512 meg RAM or higher

Video: 1024 x 768 screen resolution or higher (1280 x 1024 or higher recommended)

Disk Space: 60 meg for application; 2 GIG or more for patch repository

Operating System: Windows 2000 SP3 or later (Professional, Server or Advanced Server), Windows XP Professional, Windows Server 2003 Family

Pre-requisite Software: Internet Explorer 5.5 or later, Windows Installer 2.0, Microsoft Data Access Controls (MDAC) 2.8 or later, MSXML 4.0 or later, Jet 4.0 SP6 or later, Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1

Support Clients System Requirements

Browser: Internet Explorer 4.0 or later required to receive patch deployments
Operating Systems: Windows NT Workstation 4.0 (SP4 or higher), Windows NT Server 4.0 (SP4 or higher), Windows NT Server 4.0 Enterprise Edition (SP4 or higher), Windows NT Server 4.0 Terminal Server Edition (SP5 or higher), Windows 2000 Workstation, Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000 Advanced Server, Windows 2000 Datacenter Server, Windows 2000 Small Business Server, Windows XP Home Edition (local scans and deployments only), Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition, Windows Server 2003 Web Edition, Windows Server 2003 for Small Business Server, Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition

FAQ

Q: What are the new features in the spyware management solution in version 5.8?
A: The Active Protection feature for spyware has been updated so the AP managed systems can automatically update themselves with the latest spyware scanning and remediation XML files. Also, the spyware scanning and remediation results are included in the data that is aggregated from the remote consoles and sent to the master console for reporting purposes.

Q: Do I have to uninstall my current version of the product to upgrade to NetChk Protect 6.0?
A: If you are currently running Shavlik version 5 software, you can install version 6.0 on top of your existing installation. All prior scan and remediation data and configuration items will be migrated to the 6.0 installation. If you are running version 4.3, you will need to manually uninstall version 4.3 and then install version 6.0.

Q: I have multiple locations that I need to manage, can NetChk Protect meet this need?
A: The short answer is yes. NetChk Protect can scale across remote locations and WAN links using distributed scanning and remediation consoles. The remote consoles are similar to the central console, however all of the scan and deployment results are encrypted and sent to the central console for reporting and patch policy can be distributed from the central console to each of the remote consoles. This allows remote sites to be managed with a local console, preserving network bandwidth and can allow the remote site to be managed either centrally via policy and/or remotely via a local patch admin.

Q: Why are agents now being offered with the product when the solution has always been agentless?
A: For systems that are frequently disconnected from the network, such as laptops, the Shavlik agent provides administrators with a secure and scalable solution to manage all of your Windows systems. Shavlik does recommend the agentless technology for managing most of the newtwork, saving the need to install and manage agents on each of your systems.

Q: Does Shavlik patch non Microsoft applications?
A: Yes, NetChk Protect 6.0 platform enables Shavlik to deliver support for non Microsoft products without requiring any updates to the console or code. Shavlik can quickly add support for scanning and deploying patches to products that weren't prviously supported under earlier versions of the product. see the Total Coverage PDF above for exactly which ones it covers

Q: Does it scan and patch old Microsoft Operating Systems that Microsoft no longer supports?
A: Yes it does. Refer to the Total Coverage PDF above for more information.

Q: Can you run both agent and agentless for the Shavlik product?
A: Yes

Q: Does Shavlik have a patch rollback feature?
A: Yes.

tips, tricks and peer reviews

Productive Publishes its Newest P-Guide, Patch Management: An In-depth Look

Productive has published its newest P-Guide entitled, Patch Management: An In-depth Look. This P-Guide discusses the critical and challenging need to patch and examines the advantages and functionality of four potential solutions in the market place today; WSUS, Shavlik, BigFix and PatchLink. Read an executive summary of the article and well as download the full P-Guide here. Read more

Upgrading to Shavlik verison 6.5

As a current Shavlik customer, how do I patch my virtual machines? - Mike, Shavlik customer for 4 years. Thanks for the question Mike. To request your free upgrade (if you are currently on maintenance) email, migrate@shavlik.com requesting the upgrade. Shavlik will then provide you with a key code. Once you receive your licensing information the process is quite simple. If you encounter any issues, please contact your Productive Account Executive and they would be happy to help you or call 800.726.4099, help@productivecorp.com and you will be directed appropriately.

Significantly shortens my maintenance window

I am currently evaluating Shavlik and what I like about it so far is that it significantly shortens my maintenance window compared to WSUS. Also, the flexibility it gives my end-users (students and teachers) for rebooting is great. - Fred, Information Systems Manager

Productive releases its newest P-Guide: Mid-market Software Licensing

Productive has released its newest P-Guide entitled, "Mid-market Software Licensing". In recent years, Software as a Service (SaaS) and open source solutions have been emerging as potential solutions to the challenges posed by software licensing. While both have undeniable benefits, users should examine four reasons to think twice about SaaS and open source as components to critical infrastructure while taking a look an innovative new offering from Microsoft OVS. Read an excerpt from the article and learn more about the P-Guide. Read more

Easy to learn

As someone who is a new user of Shavlik Protect, I find it to be incredibly easy to learn and use. Once I am able to figure out how to fully tweak if, I'm confident that Protect will save me much time (and money) by allowing me to easily update and patch my servers and workstations. - Kraig, VA

Makes my life easier

I can have my 50 systems LAN patched in no more than a couple of hours. The users don't even realize I am doing it. In the morning, when they start their computers they are fully patched. That makes my life easier. - Pat, System Administrator

Couldn't imagine doing my job without it

There is not much to dislike about Shavlik. There is no way I could update 70 machines on my own or that's all I would be doing with my time, not to mention it finds updates that windows update does not. I think Shavlik is an excellent product and I couldn't imagine doing my job without it. - IT Manager, Northland Financial Productive's Take: It is critical to have a solution that can identify patch level vulnerabilities in your environment for not only Windows applications but all your software applications. Learn more about what questions you should be addressing regarding the security of your environment when it comes to patching. Read more

Patching 3rd party applications

In our Shavlik NetChk Protect Webinar, Shavlik NetChk Protect's ability to patch non Microsoft products was discussed. This resonates with individuals in charge of their network security because by updating 3rd party applications, an additional layer of security is provided. By using updated programs, hackers, viruses and other malware have less of a chance to corrupt one's network because fewer "holes" exist.

Eric Bruggemann

Clearly superior to WSUS

Shavlik NetChk Protect is easy to learn and use and is clearly superior to WSUS. It helps to protect many of our older applications that WSUS leaves unprotected and provides an additional, valuable layer of security. - IT Manager, Manufacturing

Covering more than just Microsoft

The primary reason that we purchased Shavlik Protect was that it covered so many other vendors outside of Microsoft. The ability to patch Adobe, Mozilla, and others is huge. - System Admin, Manufacturing Company

Saves my customers hours per week

Shavlik saves my customers hours per week that they can dictate for more mission critical needs. - Consultant

Shavlik is money well spent

Shavlik saves me both time and money because it is so easy to scan and patch many of the older applications that we still use. This has saved us much in the cost of upgrades and has helped to allow our older programs to stay up to date. Shavlik is money well spent. - IT Director, State Housing Authority

Provides accurate reporting

I really like how easily I can create and define patch scans for my environment. Also, the reporting tool is useful because it provides a precise account of which machines are missing certain patches. That reporting is imperative because we have to follow strict federal guidelines for our network security. - Network Administrator for a financial institution

Shavlik secures offline virtual machines

Shavlik Technologies has developed a way to patch all virtual machines, even one that are offline. This provides organizations with the ability to assess and remediate the patch levels of their physical servers, online virtual machines and offline virtual machines for both VMware and Microsoft virtual environments. Read more

Shavlik NetChk Protect provides security for older programs

"It does an outstanding job of maintaining many of the older programs that the majority of the users are running, and provides an additional layer of security by identifying any gaps in our system." - IT Manager, VoIP Provider Productive's Take: as Microsoft begins to end support for their older products in order to migrate users to Vista, keeping your older Microsoft products secure is going to be challenging without a product that supports those updates. Read more

Protect saves time

I love that my patch management is centrally managed with Protect. It saves me a ton of time from having to walk to every user's work station. - IT consultant

Shavlik NetChk Protect 6.0 Release Date February 19, 2008

Shavlik is rolling out 4 new features that will enhance an already robust product in Release 6.0 Read more

Productive Corporation

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