ARCHIVED: When using the IU Microsoft Update Service, how can I verify that patches install successfully?

The IU Microsoft Update Service is only one part of properly maintaining and securing your computer; it does not guarantee installation of patches, and therefore is not a substitute for patch administration on your computer. You should use additional tools to manage your computer's patches.

Windows Update

To see if critical updates are needed, you can visit Windows Update; see What is Windows Update, and how do I use it to update my Windows installation?

MBSA

To verify that patches have installed properly, you can use Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA). For more, visit Microsoft's TechNet article on MBSA.

At Indiana University, you can download MBSA from IUware.

HFNetChkPro

At IU, you can install HFNetChkPro.

Windows Event Viewer

When the IU Microsoft Update Service client installs software, the Event Viewer logs an Event ID 19 in the system log. You can filter on this event ID to monitor updates, and then use the details of each Event ID 19 returned from the filtered view to see what updates were installed and when. You will also see which Microsoft knowledge base article corresponds to the update (so you can get more information if needed).

Details of an Event ID 19 will look like the following:

Event Type: Information
Event Source: Windows Update Agent
Event Category: Installation
Event ID: 19
Date: 6/16/2005
Time: 9:03:59 AM
User: N/A
Computer: BL-UITS-XXXXX
Description:
Installation Successful: Windows successfully
installed the following update: Security Update
for Windows Server 2003 (KB896358)

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