Update Scanner

A lightweight Python automation tool that monitors Microsoft-related RSS feeds and community blogs, filters articles by topics relevant to a Windows IT environment, and delivers a categorized weekly email digest.

Designed to run as a scheduled task on PythonAnywhere with zero infrastructure overhead.

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What It Does

Every Monday, the script:

1. Fetches articles from six RSS sources covering security patches, product roadmap changes, IT pro guidance, and community analysis
2. Scans each article's title and summary against keyword lists organized into six topic categories
3. Deduplicates matches across feeds (the same article won't appear twice)
4. Emails a plain-text categorized summary — or stays silent if nothing matched

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Monitored Sources

Source	What It Covers
MSRC (Microsoft Security Response Center)	Official CVE and patch announcements
M365 Roadmap	Upcoming feature changes and rollouts
Windows IT Pro Blog	Operational guidance and update behavior
M365 Tech Community Blog	Microsoft 365 product announcements
AskWoody	Update regressions, known issues, patch-readiness analysis
Chris Titus Tech	Real-world impact of OS changes, driver issues, tooling

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Filter Categories

Articles are matched against these categories. An article can appear under more than one.

Category	What Triggers It
32-Bit / Legacy App Impact	WOW64 changes, x86 compatibility, legacy application support
MS Access	Microsoft Access runtime, .accdb format, version-specific mentions
Printer Impact (Okidata / Epson)	Print spooler changes, driver updates, Windows printing subsystem
Email Security	Exchange, SMTP behavior, SPF/DKIM/DMARC, mail flow rule changes
Network Shares / SMB	SMB protocol changes, mapped drives, UNC paths, LanMan auth
Deprecations / EOL / Breaking Changes	End-of-life notices, behavior changes, regressions, workaround advisories

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Requirements

• Python 3.8+
• feedparser (pip install feedparser)
• A Gmail account with a generated App Password

All other dependencies (smtplib, ssl, email) are part of the Python standard library.

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Setup

1. Clone or upload the script

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/microsoft-update-scanner.git

2. Install the dependency

pip install feedparser

3. Configure your email credentials

Create a config.py file in the same directory as ms_update_scanner.py:

SMTP_SERVER     = "smtp.gmail.com"
SMTP_PORT       = 465
SENDER_EMAIL    = "you@gmail.com"
SENDER_PASSWORD = "your-app-password"   # See below — must be a Gmail App Password
RECEIVER_EMAIL  = "you@gmail.com"

This file is excluded from version control via .gitignore — never commit it.

4. Generate a Gmail App Password

Regular Gmail passwords will not work. You need an App Password:

1. Go to myaccount.google.com
2. Navigate to Security → 2-Step Verification (must be enabled)
3. Scroll down to App Passwords
4. Create a new one named something like PythonAnywhere Scanner
5. Copy the 16-character password into SENDER_PASSWORD (no spaces)

Security note: Never commit your App Password to a public repository. Consider loading it from an environment variable in production:

import os
SENDER_PASSWORD = os.environ.get("GMAIL_APP_PASSWORD")

5. Test locally

python ms_update_scanner.py

You should see each feed fetched in the terminal, followed by Email sent successfully.

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Deploying to PythonAnywhere

PythonAnywhere offers free scheduled task hosting — no server management required.

1. Log in to pythonanywhere.com
2. Upload ms_update_scanner.py via the Files tab
3. Install feedparser in a Bash console: pip install --user feedparser
4. Go to the Tasks tab → Scheduled Tasks
5. Set the command: python3 /home/yourusername/ms_update_scanner.py
6. Set the schedule: Weekly, Monday, at your preferred time

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Customizing

Add a new keyword to an existing category

Find the relevant category in the CATEGORIES dict and append to its list:

"Network Shares / SMB": [
    "smb", "network share", ...
    "kerberos authentication",   # <-- added
],

Add an entirely new category

Add a new key/value pair to CATEGORIES:

"Remote Desktop / RDS": [
    "remote desktop", "rdp", "rds", "terminal services",
],

Add a new RSS feed

Add a new entry to the FEEDS dict:

"Bleeping Computer Windows": "https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/feed/",

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Testing

python3 -m unittest test_ms_update_scanner -v

30 tests across 4 classes, no network calls or real credentials needed:

Class	Coverage
TestMergeResults	Empty input, single feed, cross-feed deduplication, insertion-order preservation
TestBuildEmailBody	Date header, uppercase category labels, placeholder for empty sections, any_hits flag
TestFetchAndCategorize	Title/summary matching, case-insensitivity, multi-category hits, malformed feed handling, parse exceptions
TestSendSummary	SMTP server/port, login credentials, correct From/To/Subject/body on the outgoing message

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Project Structure

update_scanner/
├── ms_update_scanner.py      # Main script — all logic and configuration
├── config.py                 # Credentials (gitignored — create locally, see Setup)
├── requirements.txt          # feedparser
├── test_ms_update_scanner.py # Unit tests
└── README.md

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License

MIT — free to use, modify, and redistribute.