Windows Analytics service updated with more features
Windows Analytics is a service offered to enterprises to easily manage large networks, and with this new update, it can help IT admins determine whether computers in their organizations are secure or not.
The information is provided at a glance in a straightforward UI, as you can see in the screenshots in this article, and includes details regarding the antivirus status. Certain security products might no longer be compatible with the newest operating system updates, and starting with this new version, Windows Analytics can provide stats on how many of them run unsupported security solutions.
Additionally, Windows Analytics can now tell whether Windows security updates have been installed or not. This is particularly helpful in cases like the Meltdown and Spectre patches, where some IT admins needed to disable fixes on specific systems, so this update makes it possible to quickly find out how many computers require further assistance.
And last but not least, Microsoft is adding firmware status support, which means that IT admins will get to see details about the firmware installed on the device. The company says it’s working with other partners to expand the data offered by this feature.
“This insight reports if the installed firmware indicates that it includes the specific protections required. Initially, this status will be limited to the list of approved and available firmware security updates from Intel. We will be adding other CPU (chipset) partners’ data as it becomes available to Microsoft,” the software giant says.
Microsoft has already released Meltdown and Spectre fixes as part of the January Windows updates, and now the company is in the process of shipping revised updates that include the latest Intel microcode improvements.
