* Desktop Authority 7.5 adds USB and port security
In the music business, songs that maintain their popularity over long periods of time (think “White Christmas” or “Bohemian Rhapsody”) are called “evergreens.” The dictionary defines “evergreen” as: “Something that remains perennially fresh, interesting, or well liked.” There are software products that deserve the title “evergreen,” including ScriptLogic’s Desktop Authority.
Just this week the company released Version 7.5 of the product. Some vendors ship out new “point releases” (i.e., the number to the right of the decimal point is incremented) every other year or so, to correct bugs or simply to be able to issue a new press release. ScripLogic seems to release a new version of Desktop Authority every six months but it does so to include new functionality. That’s why Desktop Authority deserves the “evergreen” title.
The latest version of Desktop Authority adds USB and port security, preventing data theft using removable storage devices as well as enhanced software management functionality. At the same time, the company announced Desktop Authority Image Center (DAIC), a tool to provision all user desktops quickly and efficiently by centrally storing hard disk images for distribution. Using Desktop Authority and DAIC, network managers can address the entire PC lifecycle. DAIC should be available within the next few weeks.
As I mentioned, Version 7.5 of Desktop Authority introduces USB and port security. This feature allows you to lock down a desktop or notebook computer and prevents data theft using removable storage devices such as USB sticks, PCMCIA devices, CD-RW/DVD, MP3 players, PDAs, smart phones, modems, FireWire and Bluetooth devices. This is in addition to Desktop Authority’s ability to lock down all other aspects of the PC.
Still, users continually find ways to introduce new problems (in the form of user-installed software) or security holes (through opening up links to the outside world). Desktop Authority Version 7.5 now allows you to automatically update and modify desktop configurations at regular “refresh” intervals, giving enterprises more flexibility in desktop management and allowing them to continually enforce compliance and security standards.
Other enhancements in Version 7.5 include an upgrade to Desktop Authority’s software deployment and management capabilities, which now offer “point, click, done” ease-of-use for deployment, updates and removal of software applications from enterprise desktops. Also, the management console is now integrated with ScriptLogic’s Desktop Authority MSI Studio, which allows the administrator to create, edit and customize Microsoft Windows Installer packages for virtually pain-free software deployments.
Desktop Authority 7.5 includes more than 50 other customer-requested enhancements (the product can now configure desktops at times other than the standard logon and logoff events) so I’d urge you to head over to the ScriptLogic Web site and see them all for yourself. While you’re there, get a free 30-day eval version so you can try it out yourself. And be sure to go back to look at DAIC when that’s available later this month.
