![]() ![]() They allow or block applications based on the path in which the application has been installed. Path rules are one of the weaker types of rules. Any time that you patch an application, the hash changes for any files that have been replaced, rendering previously existing hash rules obsolete. Anyone who is responsible for match management within an organization knows that we are bombarded by patches at an alarming rate. I have to admit that hash rules were a good idea at the time that they were first introduced, but today they are impractical. The idea is that Windows can create a mathematical hash of executable files, and use that hash to uniquely identify the application. The second type of rule that software restriction policies support is a hash rule. If I choose to allow applications that have been signed by Microsoft, then all Microsoft applications will be allowed unless I create a separate rule with a higher priority that blocks a specific unwanted Microsoft application. Even today you will find software vendors that do not attach a digital signature to their applications.Īnother problem with certificate rules is that they have too broad of a scope. The problem with this type of rule is that when software restriction policies were first introduced with Windows XP, almost nobody signed their code. They allow you to either permit or to deny applications based on the application’s digital signature. Certificate RulesĬertificate rules are probably the most secure of the available rule types. You can create certificate rules, hash rules, path rules, internet Zone rules, and network zone rules. Software restriction policies are made up of various types of rules. Besides, AppLocker still supports the same types of rules as the software restriction policies did, so I think that it makes sense to give you a quick crash course in software restriction policy rules. Software Restriction Policy Shortcomingsīefore you can really appreciate AppLocker, you need to understand what it was about software restriction policies that made them so terribly ineffective. Do not expect AppLocker to be as comprehensive as third party desktop lockdown solutions, but it is quite a bit better than software restriction policies were. This newly redesigned feature has also been renamed to AppLocker. The good news is that in Windows 7, Microsoft has finally redesigned software restriction policies. They added a new type of rule called network zone rules, and introduced a new security level called Basic User, but that was pretty much the extent of the changes. To my disappointment, Microsoft only made minor changes to software restriction policies in Windows Vista and in Windows Server 2008. I have to tell you that the answer that I was given to my question really didn’t make me feel any better, but I accepted the fact that software restriction policies were brand new, and assumed that they would be greatly improved in the next version of Windows. They would have to perform deliberate actions to get around the policies, and at that point you could terminate them for violating your corporate security policy. I was also told that even though users could circumvent some of the policies that users wouldn’t be able to do so by accident. I was told that software restriction policies were in their first generation form, and that they would get better over time. During the demo I had noticed that it would be fairly easy for a user to get around most of the types of policies that could be created, and I asked the presenter what good software restriction policies were if they were so easy to circumvent. Software restriction policies were about to be introduced for the first time, and I had just seen them demonstrated for the first time. I will never forget a conversation that I had with someone in Redmond many years ago. While it is possible to lock down user workstations using software restriction policies it tends to be very difficult to create policies that the users can’t easily circumvent. ![]() Over the last several generations of Windows, if you wanted to restrict which applications users were allowed to run, your only real options were to use Software Restriction Policies, or a third party utility such as Bit9’s Parity. The problem with using software restriction policies is that, to be perfectly frank, they really are not very good. This article explains why software restriction policies are ineffective and how AppLocker can help. A new Windows 7 feature called AppLocker attempts to address everything that is wrong with software restriction policies in previous versions of Windows. ![]()
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