This software from SmartLine is a good option to prevent users from stealing
data from systems by blocking access to all commonly used ports such as USB,
WiFi, Bluetooth, Serial, FireWire and Infrared. It even controls ccess to other
devices such as CD-ROM drives, floppy drives, and PCMCIA slots. Nowadays, it's
very easy for anybody to pull data out of a system thanks to the plethora of
devices that work on these ports. Regular security mechanisms like firewalls can't
prevent such usage, which is where this software comes in handy. It installs
easily on your Windows domain or workgroup server and requires a one step
configuration, wherein it prompts to choose the devices you want to lock. This
software provides a finer level of control over USB ports, as most of the
devices are available for this port. It provides specific options that include
enabling/disabling USB mice and keyboards, USB printers, scanners, storage
devices, etc. What this means for instance, is that you could allow a user to
access a USB printer, keyboard, and mouse, but not a flash drive.
Price: Rs 1,450 (single user license) |
Meant For: IT managers |
Key Specs: Device scanner, centralized management control, white-listing, certificate based control, temporary white-listing |
Pros: Domain and workgroup integration, policy creation for access control, wide range of wired and wireless devices covered |
Cons: None |
Contact: Cubic Computing, Bangalore Tel: 25700527 Email: info@cubic.co.in |
Once the software is installed, it easily integrates with your Active
Directory Domain. You can set policies for access permissions that can be
categorized for computers, local users or domain users as per your requirements.
The software comes with a Device Lock Service that has to be installed on all
computers you want to control including your server. This service can be
installed from the 'Device Manager' window itself that provides a central
management console. We checked its ability to block various ports, including a
serial port, a CD-Drive, and a USB flash drive. One nice feature we found in the
software was its ability to centrally control all access, and you could even set
pre-defined schedules for users. So you might block certain ports for certain
types of devices during a particular time, but allow it during another time.
The Device manager window has customized views. You can view all resources on
your network on the basis of categories viz. Domains, Types, and Computers. The
difference between first two is that the former gives the view of Domain
Controllers, Additional Domain Controllers and servers, like database, print
servers, etc in a tree format. While the types options displays the same
entries, it can't be expanded in a tree form. The software is not limited to
portable devices only as it can even prevent users from formatting a hard-disk
on a particular computer. Another good feature in the software is the 'USB
Device White List'. Devices in this list are always allowed access without any
restrictions. Thus, while providing fine control over devices, the software also
gives a degree of freedom for devices that don't need any monitoring.
The service options dialog in the Device Manager window allows specifying policy settings for a particular device type |
Bottom Line: The software provides much wanted security from
information theft within the organization especially using portable drives and
media. It covers a complete list of vulnerable ports and devices. Bundled with
an economical price tag, it is a definite requirement for organizations who fear
data theft from their systems.
Anadi Misra