Systemhygiene

System hygiene refers to practices that keep computer systems and networks healthy, secure, and reliable. It combines policy, process, and technical controls to keep configurations standardized, software current, and assets well managed, reducing vulnerabilities and maintenance burden across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments.

Core practices include maintaining an accurate asset inventory; patch management and vulnerability remediation; enforcing standardized configurations; removing unused services and accounts; credential hygiene and access control; secure defaults and hardening guides; software license compliance.

Operational activities cover continuous monitoring and log management; regular backups with tested recovery; change management and automated deployments; vulnerability scanning and tests; incident response planning; end-of-life decommissioning; and thorough documentation for governance.

System hygiene applies to servers, desktops, mobile devices, networks, cloud platforms, and IoT, relying on automation and repeatable processes with clear ownership.

Benefits include improved reliability and security, easier compliance, and faster incident response; reduced downtime and lower long-term costs. Challenges involve resource demands, keeping pace with software sprawl, balancing agility with control, and coordinating across teams and vendors.