A method for providing a subscription service wherein a remote host
enables the automatic receipt at a customer site of the most recent
updates, patches, or fixes for services the customer site is running. The
remote host uses a secured private port to transfer the updates to the
subscribed systems. A remote host server searches an update database for
updates of the services from a list configured by an administrator. The
host server then downloads the updates and notifies the administrator
that an update is available. An update script is subsequently generated,
allowing the update to be pushed to a subscribing system. The host server
the searches a listing of subscribing systems to determine which
subscribing systems run a service for which an update is available. The
host server, through a private port, uploads the content to the
subscribing system automatically. The communication port is a secured
port that will require authentication of the host server by the
subscribing system prior to uploading.