Patch Management
Third-Party Application Patching — Close the Gaps Attackers Exploit Most
Your operating system is only half the story. Chrome, Adobe, Java, Zoom, and hundreds of other business applications need regular patching too — and they're actually exploited more often than the OS itself. BrightWorks IT patches 200+ third-party applications automatically, so nothing falls through the cracks.
Why Third-Party Applications Are Your Biggest Blind Spot
Most IT teams focus on Windows Update and consider patching "done." Meanwhile, the applications your employees use every day are riddled with unpatched vulnerabilities.
75% of Vulnerabilities Exploited in the Wild Target Third-Party Software
Research from Secunia and Flexera consistently shows that the majority of real-world exploits target third-party applications — not the operating system. Applications like Chrome, Firefox, Adobe Acrobat, Java, and even Zoom have had critical vulnerabilities that were actively exploited before many businesses applied patches. Attackers know that most organizations patch Windows but forget about everything else.
Employees Install Software You Don't Even Know About
Shadow IT is real. Employees download utilities, browser extensions, media players, and productivity tools without IT approval. Each one represents an unmanaged, unpatched application that could be exploited. Without an inventory of every application on every device, you can't patch what you don't know exists. The average mid-size business has 40-60 unique applications installed across its fleet — most IT teams are only aware of about half of them.
Each Application Has Its Own Update Mechanism
Chrome updates itself. Adobe Reader has its own updater. Java prompts users to update (which they dismiss). Zoom updates on launch. Some applications have no auto-update at all. This fragmented landscape means there's no single button to push that patches everything. Without a unified third-party patch management platform, each application becomes its own maintenance problem — and the ones without auto-update simply never get patched.
Browser Vulnerabilities Are Exploited Within Hours
Web browsers are the most attacked application category. Chrome, Edge, and Firefox regularly release emergency patches for zero-day vulnerabilities that are being actively exploited. When Google releases a Chrome update marked "Stable Channel Update for Desktop" with CVEs flagged as "exploitation in the wild," you need that patch deployed across your fleet within hours — not whenever employees get around to restarting their browser.
How We Manage Third-Party Application Patching
Our platform discovers, catalogs, and patches over 200 common business applications — automatically and on schedule.
Automatic Application Discovery
Our agents scan every managed device and build a complete inventory of installed applications — including version numbers, install dates, and whether updates are available. This gives us (and you) full visibility into every application in your environment. You'll know exactly what's installed, what's outdated, and what's unauthorized — often for the first time.
Unified Patch Deployment
Instead of relying on each application's individual update mechanism, we deploy patches through our centralized management platform. This means Chrome, Adobe, Java, Zoom, Teams, Slack, 7-Zip, Notepad++, VLC, and hundreds of other applications are all updated through a single, consistent process with the same testing, scheduling, and reporting as your OS patches.
Vendor-Neutral Coverage
We're not limited to a single vendor's ecosystem. Our patching covers applications from Microsoft, Google, Adobe, Oracle, Mozilla, Zoom, Citrix, and dozens of other vendors. If it's a commonly-used business application, we almost certainly support it. For specialized or niche applications, we evaluate coverage during onboarding and add custom patch definitions where needed.
Silent Background Updates
Nobody wants a popup asking them to restart Chrome in the middle of a video call. Our patches deploy silently in the background. Applications are updated the next time they're launched, or during scheduled maintenance windows for applications that require a restart. Employees stay productive while their software stays current.
Version Standardization
In many organizations, you'll find three different versions of Adobe Reader, four versions of Java, and Chrome builds spanning six months. This version sprawl creates support headaches and inconsistent security postures. Our patching normalizes every application to the latest approved version across your entire fleet, reducing help desk tickets and ensuring consistent security coverage.
Application Lifecycle Management
Beyond patching, we track application end-of-life dates and notify you when software you depend on is approaching end of support. We help you plan migrations to supported alternatives before you're running unsupported software — whether that's moving from an old version of Java to the latest LTS release or replacing a deprecated PDF viewer.
What's Included in Third-Party Patching
Our third-party application patching service covers the full lifecycle of application management — from discovery and inventory through patching, verification, and compliance reporting. It's included as part of our managed IT services or available as a standalone add-on for businesses that handle OS patching internally but need help with the rest.
Why BrightWorks IT for Third-Party Patching
Complete Application Visibility
Most IT teams don't know what's installed on every device. We give you a complete inventory from day one — including shadow IT applications your employees installed without asking. You can't secure what you can't see.
Truly Automated — Not Just Enabled
Some IT providers turn on auto-update in Chrome and call it third-party patching. We deploy, verify, report, and remediate across 200+ applications through a centralized platform with the same rigor we apply to OS updates.
Audit-Ready Documentation
Every third-party patch is logged with the same detail as OS patches — application name, version, device, timestamp, and result. Compliance frameworks don't distinguish between OS and application patching, and neither do we.
"We thought we had patching handled because Windows Update was running. Then BrightWorks IT ran a scan and found 47 different applications with known vulnerabilities across our 80 workstations — including Chrome, which was 3 versions behind on half our machines. Within a week, everything was current. We had no idea how exposed we were."
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
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