If you missed the popular webinar with Group Policy Guy and Microsoft Group Policy MVP, Darren Mar-Elia and Viewfinity on Windows 7 Security and Managing UAC Prompts, then you can catch the recording here.

The analysts and IT community at large are starting to spread awareness about the importance of protecting endpoints running Windows XP after the April 2014 support sunset date.  This is a smart move.

A fundamental safeguard to preventing security attacks is to remove administrative privileges from the desktop creating a least privileges environment to secure endpoints.  Organizations that run Windows XP today, and who will continue to run PCs on Windows XP, need to re-assess their position on allowing users to have local administrator rights.  Removing administrator privileges from endpoints is a fundamental safeguard that is vital to every IT infrastructure, including those running Vista and Windows 7.  This equates to less vulnerability to hackers, malware, and costly security breaches.

Viewfinity plays an important role in offering a level of endpoint protection for companies that will still run the Windows XP OS after April 8, 2014.  Let me know if you’d like us to contact you and discuss how to approach the process of removing administrator rights and managing privileges for users that will need elevated permissions. 

Darren Mar-Elia, Group Policy MVP and GPOGuy.com, is Viewfinity's guest speaker on “Windows 7 Security and Managing UAC Prompts.”  This webinar will explore Windows 7 migrations and the removal of local administrative rights as part of this desktop refresh.  Topics to be discuss include desktop lockdown, use of Windows 7 built-in security features, and management of UAC prompts. 

The webinar takes place on Tuesday July 31, 2012 at 2pm EDT.  Darren Mar-Elia will discuss the components of the Windows built-in security features and the best practices surrounding these features. Darren will also introduce additional methods for enhancing endpoint security within Windows 7 as related to managing UAC dialog boxes and applications that require administrator rights. 

Register for the webinar here.

Microsoft offers various sources to learn more about its partner products.  More information related to how Viewfinity complements and supports Microsoft Configuration Manager and Windows Endpoints and Servers can be found on Microsoft’s Pinpoint directory and Microsoft’s System Center Alliance Solution Guide.

The Microsoft Pinpoint directory is a unique place for business customers to research the right technology solution for their company and also is a place for developers and technology service providers to find the right technology solutions for their customers.  Here you can read and submit reviews about Viewfinity and learn more about Viewfinity Privilege Management.

The Microsoft System Center Alliance Solution Guide allows you to learn more about its partners’ solutions and respective compatibility with Microsoft System Center components.  The solution guide comes in three phone apps which can be downloaded from the site.

In a recent Viewfinity survey for which more than 600 IT security professionals responded, a major vulnerability was uncovered: 2/3 of companies don’t know who has local administrator rights.  The infographic below describes the findings:

"Admin rights" can be used by malware to install malicious software on local computers through the administrator account. Further penetration into the IT environment is then accessible through this vulnerability allowing other security threats to enter a corporate network. 

Don’t get caught off-guard - download Viewfinity’s complimentary Local Admin Discovery Tool.  This free tool allows you to discover user accounts and groups that are members of the local “Administrators” built-in user group on computers in your Windows domain.  Once the analysis has been run, IT Administrators can take action by removing the users or suspicious groups from the Administrators group.

If you are looking for competent expertise to manage administrator rights on your desktops, then look no further than Viewfinity.  Viewfinity repeated the highest achievable Microsoft Partner Certifications, earning Gold and Silver competencies as an independent software vendor (ISV). Along with these competencies, Viewfinity achieved outstanding results in the required Gold certification Customer Satisfaction Survey (CSAT), earning well above Microsoft Partner averages in all categories, including 100 percent ratings in "Satisfied" and "Likely to Recommend" loyalty categories. 

What do these Microsoft competencies mean for your business?

This means your business will receive outstanding service and expert guidance when it comes to managing administrator rights because Viewfinity has been able to demonstrate best-in-class expertise within Microsoft’s marketplace and the highest level of expertise with Microsoft technologies, along with service readiness, capacity, and scalability expected of a trusted software provider. 

Contact info@viewfinity.com to start your path on getting sound expertise on managing administrator rights today!

Viewfinity Privilege Management earned high marks in an independent product review by Wayne Rash, President and Analyst, of Wayne Rash & Associates. 

 “The single greatest security threat to most enterprises is the lack of control over administrative rights on client computers. By allowing employees administrative rights, you are opening the door to worms, Trojans and a host of other security problems. The security improvements in Windows 7 and third party privilege management solutions make the OS refresh the perfect time to remove rights. However, this issue is so critical that the removal of administrative privileges should be made as soon as possible,” says Wayne Rash, president and principal analyst of Wayne Rash & Associates.”

Here are some highlights of the Viewfinity review:

• “You can also use the Policy feature to block applications, so if a user has a peer to peer movie downloading package already installed, for example, you can prevent it from operating.

• “You can implement Viewfinity on any network using Windows machines, regardless of whether it Active Directory is in place."

• “With Windows 7, users are presented with a message from the User Account Control system when they attempt to invoke a function that requires administrative rights.” “Because Viewfinity is controlling the administrative rights, you can also control the UAC message.” 

 Click the picture to read the entire review:

Last week Microsoft & Viewfinity presented a joint webinar entitled:  Windows 7 Migration is the Opportunity to Lockdown Desktops & Manage Standard User Privileges.  During this webinar, Alex Shteynberg, Technology Architect in the New York City Microsoft Technology Center discussed reasons why the desktop refresh fits perfectly into a Windows 7 migration project for securing and managing endpoints.

Next, Alex Shoykhet, VP of Product Management for Viewfinity, discussed how Viewfinity Privilege Management allows IT professionals to remove administrative rights and manage privileges for standard users with zero impact on user productivity. He demonstrated Viewfinity's non-disruptive, automated method for transitioning to a least privileges environment, which is an end-to-end approach that automates the analysis required to determine user needs and prepare your environment.

View Recording