Control user installs of software
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InfoWorld - I've written many times over the years, including as recently as last week, that letting users execute and install their own software will always allow viruses, worms, and Trojans to be successfully installed. Traditionally, I've recommended that users not have admin or root access, that they let system administrators choose what software is allowed and what is blocked. But this recommendation breaks down for several reasons.
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(InfoWorld) - A security vendor is offering an add-on product for Windows Vista's User Account Control feature, which has been flagged as a threat to business users because it can be easily bypassed by hackers. BeyondTrust's Privilege Manager 3.0, which will be available on March 19 and costs $30 per user, protects enterprise desktops running Vista with User Account Control in two major ways, said John Moyer, CEO of BeyondTrust. First, it grants elevated privileges to certain applications and functions transparently to end users, instead of involving them in the process with dialogue boxes, he said. Hackers can use these dialogue boxes to trick users into unknowingly allowing malicious code to run on the machine. Security vendor Symantec recently released research thatÂ outlined some of Vista's security holes and listed User Account Control as one of them for the reason Moyer outlined. Microsoft has said it is evaluating Symantec's research about Vista and will take steps to fix any vulnerabilities in the OS. Microsoft included User Account Control in Vista to add security by limiting the access individual users have to applications or functions. While this is an enhancement for home users, it presents a security problem for business users because in order to access certain applications that are beyond the scope of their limited privileges, they must set up and use administrator passwords to set higher access rights, Moyer said. These dialogue boxes that ask them for passwords provide a way for hackers to get in, he said. The second feature of Privilege Manager that helps prevent intrusion through User Access Control gives IT administrators centralized administration of setting the elevation of privileges for users, even though Privilege Manager itself runs locally, Moyer said. BeyondTrust's application connects to the group policy features of Vista to allow for this type of administration, he said. BeyondTrust spun off from Desktop Standards, a company which Microsoft announced it had purchased on Oct. 2. Twenty employees of DesktopStandard took the Policy Maker Application Security product and became BeyondTrust. That product later was rebranded Privilege Manager, Moyer said.
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Vista expert Jonathan Hassell explains how you can now manage everything from LAN settings to network security modes to wireless capabilities to quality of service through familiar tools.
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Three new software management tools are designed to help businesses keep applications configured properly to avoid snarl-ups.
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Blog: Canonical Chief Executive Mark Shuttleworth invited programmers this week to help weed out proprietary software from the new Gobuntu version.
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Patch management is a particularly expensive burden for Microsoft Windows-based systems. While solution providers have profited from the services associated with installing patches, many businesses are starting
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Here's how to create NetBoot and NetInstall images using System Image Utility.
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A Desktop Pipeline reviewer invites readers to step into the SP2 waters, and offers some suggestions on how to do it as safely as possible.
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No one is forcing anyone to put their work into the public commons. But, once you do, you need to accept that you no longer can wholly control how it is used. The open-source software world understands this to its benefit.
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Distribution system could help businesses manage software upgrades on wireless devices.
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underpar writes &quot;According to this ZDNet.com article, Microsoft &#39;has launched a pilot program in which some visitors to the main Windows download page are being asked to let the software maker check to see whether their copy of the operating system is
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The User Account Control built into Windows Vista is supposed to help make the new operating system safer. But it can be spoofed, undermining the very mission for which it was created, according to Symantec.
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Site Offer 30% off this and other open source titles
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Security-minded users can find out faster if their applications need to be patched with a free tool.
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Placing your own code between a program and the  libraries it is linked against is easy when you use the LD_PRELOAD  environment variable.
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Software maker has its eye on consumers who might be ready to make the switch from Windows.
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With automatic download of Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) enormous SP2 security patch to the Windows XP operating system set to begin, the industry still waits to understand its ramifications. Home users that have their preferences set to receive operating-system updates as they are made available by Microsoft may be surprised to learn that some of the software they already run on their systems could be disabled by SP2 or may run very differently.