Abstract: A computer system configured for policy-based management of software updates is disclosed. The system maintains group-policy objects, with which groups of computers are associated. The system obtains identities of software updates from a source of software updates. The system also obtains filter criteria for each update, for determining whether the update should be applied to a particular computer or not. The system assigns newly available updates to respective selected group-policy objects and adds the obtained filter criteria to each such group-policy object. The system performs necessary installations of updates by, for each group-policy object, determining whether, for each combination of a computer belonging to a group associated with that policy object and an update assigned to that policy object, the computer satisfies the filter criteria for the update, and if so, applying the update to that computer, but if not, refraining from applying the update.