SIGUCCS 2017

Lehigh University currently utilizes the Flexera Corporate Software Inspector (CSI, formerly Secunia CSI) application to patch faculty/staff computers on campus. This system patches third-party applications on all currently supported Windows operating systems by piggy-backing on to Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). This presentation is not meant to focus on a particular patch management product or system, but instead show how such a system can be used to solve unusual problems when coupled with a powerful scripting language such as PowerShell.

This presentation will focus on specific scenarios that PowerShell solved when combined with our patch management system. Scenarios covered include an update to Firefox which disabled our ad-blocking extension, an issue of unknown origin which caused all of our Windows 7 systems to no longer activate utilizing our KMS (this included Microsoft Office products), a glitch in Windows 7 which caused garbage files to generate non-stop and completely fill end user hard drives, and our rather unusual implementation of Java. PowerShell saved us immeasurable time in resolving these issues across our entire campus. Taking PowerShell hand in hand with our patch management solution, we can resolve almost any issue campus-wide with the push of a button.