Microsoft stopping free advance security advisories

Microsoft is stopping its free advance notifications for security patches.

In a blog post, Microsoft Security Response Center senior director Chris Betz said this is due to tech environments and customer needs having "evolved."

"We are making changes to how we distribute ANS (Advance Notification System) to customers. Moving forward, we will provide ANS information directly to Premier customers and current organizations involved in our security programs, and will no longer make this information broadly available through a blog post and web page," Betz said. http://blogs.technet.com/b/msrc/archive/2015/01/08/evolving-advance-notification-service-ans-in-2015.aspx

He said the ANS was created more than a decade ago as part of Update Tuesday to provide advance information about security updates for Microsoft products.

But over the years, he said technology environments and customer needs have evolved, prompting Microsoft to evaluate its information and distribution channels.

Betz also said that while ANS has been optimized for large organizations, customer feedback shows many large customers no longer use ANS in the same way.

"While some customers still rely on ANS, the vast majority wait for Update Tuesday, or take no action, allowing updates to occur automatically. More and more customers today are seeking to cut through the clutter and obtain security information tailored to their organizations. Rather than using ANS to help plan security update deployments, customers are increasingly turning to Microsoft Update and security update management tools such as Windows Server Update Service to help organize and prioritize deployment," he said.

Also, he said customers are moving to cloud-based systems, which provide continuous updating.

Betz said Premier customers who would still like to receive this information may get it via their Technical Account Manager support representatives.

He said ANS will also continue to be provided to current organizations that are part of Microsoft security programs such as the Microsoft Active Protections Program.

"As our customers’ needs change, so must our approach to security. We remain relentless in our commitment to protect customers and the ongoing delivery of secure computing experiences," he said. — Joel Locsin/LBG, GMA News