Update out-of-date computers

If you use role-based administration, you must have the Remediation - updating and scanning right to update computers.

After you have set up the updating policies and applied them to your networked computers, the computers are kept up to date automatically. You do not need to update computers manually unless there is a problem with updating.

If in the Endpoints view, in the computer list, you see a clock icon next to a computer in the Up to date column on the Status tab, the computer has out-of-date security software. The text indicates how long the computer has been out of date.

A computer can be out of date for one of two reasons:

  • That computer has failed to fetch an update from the server.
  • The server itself does not have the latest Sophos software.

To diagnose the problem and update the computers:

  1. In the Endpoints view, select the group that contains out-of-date computers.
  2. On the Status tab, click the Up to date column heading to sort computers by how up to date they are.
  3. Click the Update details tab and look in the Primary server column.
    This shows you the directory that each computer updates from.
  4. Now look at the computers that update from one specific directory.
    • If some are out of date, but others are not, the problem is with individual computers. Select them, right-click and click Update Computers Now.
    • If all are out of date, the problem could be with the directory. On the View menu, click Update Managers. Select the update manager that maintains the directory that you suspect to be out of date, right-click and click Update Now. Then on the View menu, click Endpoints. Select the out-of-date computers, right-click and click Update Computers Now.

    If you have several update managers and are not sure which one maintains the out-of-date directory, use the Updating Hierarchy report to see which shares are maintained by each update manager. To view the Updating Hierarchy report, on the Tools menu, click Manage Reports. In the Report Manager dialog box, select Updating hierarchy and click Run. Look in the “Shares managed by update managers” section of the report.