<div dir="ltr"><h3 style="margin:14pt 0in 4pt;break-after:auto;line-height:115%;font-size:14pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(67,67,67);font-weight:normal"><a name="_3shuibys8zn"></a><br></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span lang="EN">Hello BigFix Community,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span lang="EN">We are excited to announce the beta
release of the new Universal Checklist for Windows Server, the first stage of a
major initiative to simplify and streamline compliance management in BigFix.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span lang="EN">This is the first release from our new <b>Universal Checklist initiative</b>, a
project designed to simplify compliance management by creating single,
platform-specific checklists that work across all supported OS versions. This
initiative will ultimately reduce complexity and improve performance across
your entire environment.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span lang="EN">This first stage is focused specifically
on Windows Server, and here’s what it means for you today</span></p>
<h4 style="margin:12pt 0in 2pt;break-after:auto;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);font-weight:normal"><a name="_u7zofeig36kh"></a><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">What is the Universal Checklist for Windows
Server?</span></b></h4>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span lang="EN">The Universal Checklist for Windows
Server is a consolidated checklist designed to assess general purpose
compliance across all supported Windows Server versions, from Windows Server
2016 to 2025.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span lang="EN">The initial beta release is a collection
of all the checks from CIS and DISA benchmarks for all the supported Windows
Servers. It allows you to enforce security configurations across your entire
Windows Server environment with a single action.</span></p>
<h4 style="margin:12pt 0in 2pt;break-after:auto;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);font-weight:normal"><a name="_b8sdcyp9tfen"></a><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">Technical Snapshot</span></b></h4>
<h4 style="margin:12pt 0in 2pt;break-after:auto;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);font-weight:normal"><a name="_fa4t2f48f5p6"></a><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">Total Fixlets: </span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">508</span></h4>
<h4 style="margin:12pt 0in 2pt;break-after:auto;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);font-weight:normal"><a name="_x9n3u9qfyjgy"></a><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">Fixlets with Remediation: </span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">493</span></h4>
<h4 style="margin:12pt 0in 2pt;break-after:auto;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);font-weight:normal"><a name="_iruqnsmyv742"></a><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">Parameterized Fixlets : </span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">361</span></h4>
<h4 style="margin:12pt 0in 2pt;break-after:auto;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);font-weight:normal"><a name="_xx2nw8cafm1j"></a><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">Benchmark Sources: </span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">CIS and DISA STIGs</span></h4>
<h4 style="margin:12pt 0in 2pt;break-after:auto;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);font-weight:normal"><a name="_qcapj3gdpex9"></a><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">Applies To: </span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">Windows Server 2016,
2019, 2022, 2025</span></h4>
<h4 style="margin:12pt 0in 2pt;break-after:auto;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);font-weight:normal"><a name="_h5e0pq1oftjy"></a><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">Key Benefits in This Beta Release</span></b></h4>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span lang="EN">●</span><span lang="EN" style="font-size:7pt;line-height:115%"> </span><b><span lang="EN">Simplified Workflow</span></b><span lang="EN">: Instead of
selecting and managing multiple checklists for different OS versions (e.g., for
2016, 2019, 2022, 2025), you can now deploy a single universal checklist to
scan all your Windows Server endpoints. This new model eliminates the need to
manually identify, enable, and run multiple OS-specific checklists,
significantly cutting down on configuration time</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 12pt 0.75in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span lang="EN">●</span><span lang="EN" style="font-size:7pt;line-height:115%">
</span><b><span lang="EN">Version-aware
applicability</span></b><span lang="EN">: The checklist uses version-aware
applicability logic, ensuring checks only apply to relevant OS versions.</span></p>
<h4 style="margin:12pt 0in;break-after:auto;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);font-weight:normal"><a name="_mc4qd4u9r5zq"></a><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">What's Changing</span></b></h4>
<h4 style="margin:12pt 0in 12pt 0.75in;break-after:auto;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);font-weight:normal"><a name="_9b6suutbkgmg"></a><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">●</span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:7pt;line-height:115%;color:black"> </span><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">A Single Checklist Model: </span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">You will now
manage and deploy one checklist for the entire Windows Server platform, rather
than one for each OS version and Benchmark.</span></h4>
<h4 style="margin:12pt 0in;break-after:auto;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);font-weight:normal"><a name="_3jl0rrxmx9i3"></a><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">What Stays the Same</span></b></h4>
<h4 style="margin:12pt 0in 0in 0.75in;break-after:auto;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);font-weight:normal"><a name="_nozsofg96hqh"></a><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">●</span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:7pt;line-height:115%;color:black"> </span><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">Custom Checklist Creation: </span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">Your workflow for
creating custom checklists is not changing. You can still use the "Create
Custom Checklist" wizard with the content from this new Universal
Checklist.</span></h4>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in 12pt 0.75in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span lang="EN">●</span><span lang="EN" style="font-size:7pt;line-height:115%"> </span><b><span lang="EN">Parameterization</span></b><span lang="EN">: The ability to
parameterize checks, where applicable, remains unchanged from the existing
process.</span></p>
<h4 style="margin:0in 0in 12pt 0.75in;break-after:auto;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);font-weight:normal"><a name="_61wk7u9s8b5p"></a><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">●</span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:7pt;line-height:115%;color:black"> </span><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">Checklist-Level
Reporting: </span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">For this beta phase, you will find the compliance score for the
Universal Checklist in the same location as your other checklists SCA >
Reports > Checklists section. or you can access the same data by running the
existing compliance reports in Web Reports
(https://<bigfix_server_name>:8083/webreports)</span></h4>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in 12pt 0.5in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b><i><span lang="EN">Note:</span></i></b><i><span lang="EN"> It is important to note that
this report shows the overall compliance for the general-purpose Universal
Checklist itself and is not a substitute for a benchmark-specific (e.g., CIS or
DISA) report.</span></i></p>
<h4 style="margin:12pt 0in 12pt 0.75in;break-after:auto;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);font-weight:normal"><a name="_ce7el6ilu58f"></a><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">●</span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:7pt;line-height:115%;color:black"> </span><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">Availability
of Individual CIS/DISA Checklists: </span></b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">This Universal Checklist is for
general-purpose use. To generate specific CIS or DISA compliance reports, you
must continue to use the individual CIS and DISA checklists, which will still
be delivered through the existing method.</span></h4>
<h4 style="margin:12pt 0in 2pt;break-after:auto;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);font-weight:normal"><a name="_hat8ul5m40qd"></a><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">How to Get Started</span></b></h4>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span lang="EN">The Universal Checklist for Windows
Server (Beta) is available now. To get started, please subscribe to the content
from the </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family:"Roboto Mono"">[Universal Checklist for
Windows Server]</span><span lang="EN"> external site and deploy it to your
desired endpoints.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span lang="EN">To get started:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span lang="EN">1. Enable and gather the Universal
Checklist for Windows Server external site from the License
Overview Dashboard.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span lang="EN">2. Create a custom site using Create
Custom Checks wizard.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span lang="EN">3. Change the default parameters if
required.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span lang="EN">4.
Run and schedule the “Deploy and Run" Task periodically.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span lang="EN">5.
If you use custom sites, update your custom sites accordingly to use the latest
content. You can synchronize your content by using the Synchronize Custom
Checks wizard. For more information, see</span><span lang="EN" style="color:black"><a href="https://help.hcltechsw.com/bigfix/11.0/compliance/Compliance/SCM_Users_Guide/c_using_synchronize_custom_checks_wiz.html"><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34);text-decoration-line:none"> </span></a><a href="https://help.hcltechsw.com/bigfix/11.0/compliance/Compliance/SCM_Users_Guide/c_using_synchronize_custom_checks_wiz.html"><span style="color:rgb(0,136,204);text-decoration-line:none">Using the
Synchronize Custom Checks wizard</span></a></span><span lang="EN" style="color:rgb(0,136,204)"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span lang="EN">6. Subscribe all the relevant Windows
Server (2016/2019/2022/2025) endpoints.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span lang="EN">7. Run SCA import to get the compliance
status reports.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span lang="EN"> </span></p>
<h4 style="margin:12pt 0in 2pt;break-after:auto;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);font-weight:normal"><a name="_y1zy1bxegoxt"></a><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">We Need Your Feedback</span></b></h4>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span lang="EN">As this is a beta release, your feedback
is crucial. Please share your experience, report any issues, and provide
suggestions in this forum thread to help us prepare for the general
availability release.</span></p>
<h4 style="margin:12pt 0in 2pt;break-after:auto;line-height:115%;font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);font-weight:normal"><a name="_2bhx2zayamyr"></a><b><span lang="EN" style="font-size:11pt;line-height:115%;color:black">What’s Next?</span></b></h4>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span lang="EN">This is just the beginning! Future stages
of the Universal Checklist initiative will include:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span lang="EN">●</span><span lang="EN" style="font-size:7pt;line-height:115%"> </span><span lang="EN">Expansion to other
platforms like Windows Workstations, macOS, and multiple Linux distributions.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in 12pt 0.75in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span lang="EN">●</span><span lang="EN" style="font-size:7pt;line-height:115%"> </span><span lang="EN">The Universal
Checklist will introduce advanced framework-specific mapping for standards like
CIS, DISA, PCI DSS, HIPAA, and others, enabling capabilities including:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in 12pt 1.25in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span lang="EN">○</span><span lang="EN" style="font-size:7pt;line-height:115%"> </span><span lang="EN">Framework-specific
scoring</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in 12pt 1.25in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span lang="EN">○</span><span lang="EN" style="font-size:7pt;line-height:115%"> </span><span lang="EN">Drill-down by
Fixlet, device, and group</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in 12pt 1.25in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span lang="EN">○</span><span lang="EN" style="font-size:7pt;line-height:115%"> </span><span lang="EN">Historical trend
analysis</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 12pt 1.25in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span lang="EN">○</span><span lang="EN" style="font-size:7pt;line-height:115%">
</span><span lang="EN">Exportable audit reports</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span lang="EN"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><span lang="EN">Thank you for your continued support and
participation.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:12pt 0in;line-height:115%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><i><span lang="EN" style="font-size:12pt;line-height:115%;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial">– The BigFix Compliance team</span></i><span lang="EN"></span></p></div>