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Benefits for Desktops

Implementing least privilege with Privilege Guard provides many benefits, including increased desktop security, reduced operational costs and the ability to meet external or internal compliance initiatives. The flexibility of Privilege Guard enables users to be more productive, as they can perform simple administration tasks for themselves without the need for over the shoulder support.

Mitigate Malware Threats

Implementing least privilege significantly reduces the threats posed by malware, as most malware will take advantage of a privileged account. In fact over 90% of Microsoft’s critical vulnerabilities can be mitigated by moving to least privilege. Privilege Guard’s flexible policies can also be used to whitelist applications, ensuring that only authorized applications are allowed to run, providing proactive protection against many zero day threats.

Achieve Compliance

The concept of least privilege has become more prevalent in recent years due to the need for many organizations to be compliant with standards such as USGCB, PCI DSS, Government Connect and HIPAA. Meet internal and external compliance initiatives by ensuring all users log on with a standard user account. With Privilege Guard, access to privileged applications is centrally managed through policies and all privileged activity is audited.

Reduce Desktop Costs

A user with excessive privileges can either deliberately or accidently cause system configuration problems, resulting in downtime and an increase in support costs. A user with too few privileges can also be costly to support, as they will require extensive over the shoulder assistance, due to being in an over-locked state. Moving to least privilege and giving users access to the privileged applications they require to perform their role will reduce desktop costs.

Increase User Productivity

Empowering users with the privileges they need to perform their roles leads to increased end user productivity. Users are often granted admin rights to ensure they remain productive, but with Privilege Guard it is possible for users to achieve the same level of productivity under a standard user account, without introducing the security risks and support problems that often arise when users log on with administrator rights.