Patch Management for SMBs

Good news everyone! Patch management can keep us safe from the majority of BadWare.

The bad news is that most patch management systems cost more than the chaos they prevent.

So lets look at our no to low cost option in 2023

Winget is a tool built into Windows 10+ that can apply OS updates and a growing list of 3rd party software.
-Office is notably missing from the list of 3rd parties
-no central control
-scheduling needs to be setup manually

WinGetUI builds upon the CLI product, making it user friendly for us non-techies
-runs in the tray and notifies the user when updates are available
-not service based so users without Admin privilege can’t update software
-still no central management

If your PC is missing Winget try running the following command via an Admin Powershell prompt
Install-Module -Name Microsoft.WinGet.Client

I have had mixed success on servers but try the following command
Install-Module -Name Microsoft.WinGet.Client -force

https://www.meziantou.net/keeping-your-software-up-to-date-using-winget-and-powershell.htm

Winget when run under the system context, doesn’t know the path to the winget.exe
more info and possible solutions here
https://call4cloud.nl/2021/05/cloudy-with-a-chance-of-winget/