2008-10-21 14:41:02 -

- For Savant Protection Sue Balzano, 781-784-1090 Executive Consulting Services Sue@executiveconsultingservices.net Savant Protection announces the availability of Version 2.5 of its flagship product suite. Significant capabilities have been added to both the Enterprise Management and Agent components providing companies of all sizes with an easy-to-manage application whitelisting solution that removes the barriers created by centralized and policy-based whitelisting software. Savant

Protection version 2.5 includes new application intelligence, remote management, Active Directory synchronization, and USB device control.

Building on Savant's award winning distributed whitelisting architecture, version 2.5 features management capabilities that make it much easier for organizations to achieve application control and security. Centralized, policy-based approaches to whitelisting require significant up front planning and ongoing management overhead. In contrast, Savant does not rely on a centralized policy engine or gigabyte-sized database of so-called "known-good" application signatures.

Because Savant is distributed and resides on each computer, it can produce an instant whitelist with a complete inventory of applications and hardware. With Active Directory synchronization, it is even easier to identify which applications are running by system, group or across the enterprise. Finally, trusted and authorized applications are allowed to automatically perform updates while unauthorized applications are blocked.

"Organizations are increasingly interested in whitelisting, yet are very concerned about manageability and flexibility," said Paul Paget, CEO of Savant Protection. "Our unique "bottoms-up" approach makes it easy, automatically discovering which applications are running on each machine, and putting the power to block unwanted software in the hands of IT."

With version 2.5, organizations can, from one console, deploy and manage Savant's client, synchronize with Microsoft's Active Directory, control access to USB data devices, manage software licenses, and control application use both inside and remote from the organization.

"San Miguel County Colorado has a small IT staff and many remote users, yet must ensure security across all departments from administrative services to very critical safety and emergency services," said Jim Soukup, San Miguel County's IT Director. "Savant's Enterprise Management System was easy to install and gain the benefits of whitelisting immediately. We knew within a day what was running and where, making it easy to whitelist all critical applications while rendering unneeded and unauthorized software useless."

Savant Protection EMS version 2.5 now includes:

Application Intelligence: Remove unwanted applications and manage license usage from a central console. Granular views allow application control on an enterprise wide basis, by group or by system.

USB Storage Device Lockdown: Enables blocking of storage devices that may be connected to a device via a USB port - eliminating unwanted applications and malicious code from entering via the USB port and preventing removal of company data.

Active Directory Synchronization: Simplifies deployment and management by building groups automatically based on existing Active Directory configurations. Assign group rights, view existing applications and disable unauthorized software with a click of the mouse.

Remote Management: Manage any system, inside or outside the organization from a single web based console. Change authorizations, add new software or grant temporary privileges to support connected and disconnected systems.

About Savant Protection

Security professionals turn to Savant Protection to regain control of company systems by preventing unauthorized applications from running. Its flagship product, the Savant Enterprise Management System is the only solution that provides system lock down, stops the execution of unauthorized software, and eliminates the intrusion and spread of malware - without the management, processing and memory overhead required by today's centralized whitelist signature approaches. Selected by Network World as one of the Top Ten security companies to watch, Savant has received the prestigious 5 Star Recommended Award from SC Magazine and was voted a finalist in the eWeek 2007 Excellence Awards. Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Hudson, New Hampshire, Savant Protection is a privately held company. www.savantprotection.com

Removes major obstacles to deployment of whitelisting solutions