Shavlik Agentless Solution for Patching Windows XP Embedded Devices
Shavlik Technologies announced an agentless solution that delivers complete and comprehensive patch management for Windows XP Embedded (XPe) devices commonly used in hundreds of applications. Windows XPe devices can include retail POS cash registers, slot machines, airport or train station kiosks, gas station self service pumps, and ATM-styled kiosks at movie theaters. The patch management solution helps secure Windows XP Embedded devices against viruses, worms, and hackers.
The agent-based approach is impractical for patching the vast majority of these devices, so they simply remain unpatched and an entry point for hackers. Shavlik’s agentless approach eliminates the obstacles to patching Windows XPe devices and leaves no footprint other than the patches themselves.
Windows XPe devices use a stripped down version of the Windows XP operating system on a thin client device like a kiosk or point-of-sales (POS) device. Because the XPe uses thin clients, many of the services and components used in the full version of the Windows XP operating system have been disabled or are not available. An agent-based approach to patching these machines often doesn’t work because there’s limited disk space or services required by an agent are not enabled.
Shavlik’s new XPe support not only provides a means to easily and effectively patch these devices, but also helps organizations using XPe devices to be fully PCI-compliant. The PCI Data Security Standard (DSS) requires that XPe devices that process electronic payments meet certain standards for patch management and vulnerability assessments. This includes requiring all systems to use the most recently released software patches to protect against insider threats as well as external hackers and viruses.
More info: Shavlik Technologies
If you are familiar with RSS feeds, you can also sign up for our free blog feed. Our RSS feed is updated in real-time while our newsletter is updated daily.