The field of computer network administration and support has become increasingly important and complicated in today's society. Computer network environments are configured for virtually every enterprise or organization, typically with multiple interconnected computers (e.g., end user computers, laptops, servers, printing devices, etc.). In many such enterprises, Information Technology (IT) administrators may be tasked with maintenance and control of the network environment, including executable software files on hosts, servers, and other network computers. As the number of executable software files in a network environment increases, the ability to control, maintain, and remediate these files efficiently can become more difficult. Generally, greater diversity of software implemented in various computers of a network translates into greater difficulty in managing such software. For example, in large enterprises, executable software inventories may vary greatly among end user computers across departmental groups, requiring time and effort by IT administrators to identify and manage executable software in such a diverse environment. In addition, IT administrators and other users may want to use efficient computer scanning methods to identify and remove vulnerabilities quickly and effectively. When networks have hundreds to millions of nodes, scanning all the nodes for many possible vulnerabilities presents challenges to IT administrators. In many cases, IT administrators may have to run approximately 30,000 vulnerability checks covering thousands of applications and operating systems, and perform dozens to hundreds of new checks in any given week. Thus, innovative tools are needed to assist IT administrators in the effective control and management of executable software files and computer scan methods on computers within computer network environments.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds