Inventors:
William Cheng - San Gabriel CA
Kenneth Hwang - Los Angeles CA
Ravi Kannan - Los Angeles CA
Babu Katchapalayam - Los Angeles CA
Bing Liu - Alhambra CA
Balaji Narasimhan - Culver City CA
Gopal Ramanujam - Los Angeles CA
Jonathan Tran - Alhambra CA
Assignee:
Networks Associates Technology, Inc. - Santa Clara CA
International Classification:
G06F 1310
US Classification:
710 36, 709220, 709221, 709224, 709200, 709206, 714 25
Abstract:
A system and method update client computers of various end users with software updates for software products installed on the client computers, the software products manufacturered by diverse, unrelated software vendors. The system includes a service provider computer system, a number of client computers and software vendor computer systems communicating on a common network. The service provider computer system stores in an update database information about the software updates of the diverse software vendors, identifying the software products for which software updates are available, their location on the network at the various software vendor computer systems, information for identifying in the client computers the software products stored thereon, and information for determining for such products, which have software updates available. Users of the client computers connect to the service provider computer and obtain a current version of portions of the database. The client computer determines that software products stored thereon, and using this information, determines from the database, which products have updates available, based on product name and release information for the installed products.