As Memorial Day ushers in May’s swan song, most colleges are wrapping up their spring semester. They are busy, focusing their efforts on for some much-needed spring cleaning.
However, this cleanup is not limited to maintenance/ updates to common areas and cafeterias, or dorms. Campus IT administrators have some free time on their hands to clean up any lingering cyber dust on lab computers, and execute some long overdue software updates.
Without the right tools, maintenance can be a time-consuming and labor intensive task. However with smart proven solutions, this task can be completed in a jiffy.
Computer Management Simplified
Like typical multi-user environments, educational institutions are highly susceptible to threats like phishing scams, malware/ ransomware which can result into theft of personally identifiable information belonging to students/ staff. According to NBC, such environments accounted for an estimated 10 percent of data breaches in 2015. By the end of the semester, it wouldn’t be surprising to see slow, dodgy, malfunctioning systems. The result is a lot of time consuming maintenance work for admins, involving cyber-scrubbing and patching.
Computer management software like Faronics Deep Freeze is widely used by schools/ colleges for this purpose. The core feature of this software is its patented reboot to restore functionality, which allows admins to lock and maintain the pristine system configuration regularly, while giving them the ability to restore the pristine state, with just a system restart. Rather than having to constantly troubleshoot infected machines, or take them offline until the end of the term, campus IT staff can easily keep computers clean all year long, with a automated maintenance schedule.
Automatic, Pre-scheduled Patching
Another key feature is the complete control it gives admins over updates and security patches for applications and operating systems. Not only can IT staff pre-schedule updates for specific software to automatically run at an opportune time – between semesters, or during holidays in the case of colleges – they can also manage these update processes easily. The easy-to-use Web-based dashboard can be accessed by an admin from anywhere.
This streamlined approach can help preclude zero-day exploits – which doubled in abundance in 2015 over 2014 – from wreaking havoc on systems. It’s simultaneously a huge time-saver, since it eliminates lengthy, manual patching processes. Furthermore, it gives admins complete control over their computing environments, as it allows them to pick and choose which updates they want to apply. Once the desired patches have been pushed through, IT can lock down the current system settings, and keep campus computers clean for the summer term, and for semesters to come.
Contact Faronics today to learn more about the benefits of Deep Freeze.
your Deep Freeze license count and free for up to 3 years