Application Control

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What's new in Application Control?

Version 2018.3

Silently Block Executables

New option Do not show access denied message when denied on rule creation. This allows administrators to intentionally block certain executables and perform a 'silent deny' so that the end user does not receive a denied access message.

For more information see Denied Items

Disable Rule Items in a Group

New right-click option to Disable a rule, useful for troubleshooting issues and prevents the administrator from having to remove the rule. The option toggles between Disable and Enable so the rule can easily be re-enabled.

For more information see Allowed Items Denied Items, Rules Items

Trusted dlls for Self Authorized Items

When you self-authorize an application exe all subsequent child dlls are now automatically authorized. Whereas in previous versions of Application Control each child dll would need self-authorizing, often causing the application to crash, now self-authorization can be completed in one click.

For more information see Rules

Message Box Network Port Variable

The network port number is now shown in the Blocked Port message box, if applicable. This helps with troubleshooting issues.

For more information see Message Settings

Ignore Event Filtering per Rule Item

A new option has been added to Ignore Event Filtering. When this option is selected for a specific rule, it means that if an event ID is selected on the Auditing dialog, this event will be raised for this rule regardless of the event filtering settings. So even if no file types have been selected, the event will still be raised for this rule.

For more information see Allowed Items and Denied Items

BitLocker Component Support for Suspend/Resume

A new option had been added to User Privileges > Components so that you can now Disable or Suspend BitLocker, and the Enable option has been extended to include Resume. This gives more granular control over the BitLocker component.

For more information see User Privileges Controlled Components

Version 10.1 FR3

URL Redirection Whitelist

The URL Redirection feature is used to automatically redirect users when they attempt to access a specified URL. By defining a list of prohibited URLs you redirect any user attempting to access a listed URL to a default warning page or a custom web page.

This feature has been enhanced in 10.1 FR3 with the ability to whitelist specific URLs to address the following use cases:

Control access within a single domain - access to a domain can be prohibited whilst access to certain of its sub-domains is permitted. For example, you could deny access to www.company.com whilst allowing access to www.company.com/resources.

URL Allow Video

Implement a whitelist approach to controlling internet access for your organization. By creating a redirection that prohibits access to all internet sites, you can add items to allow access to the web sites you want to be available for your staff.

URL Whitelist Video

For more information about this feature, see URL Redirection.

255-character message limit removed

The 255-character message limit for messages that get displayed to end users has been removed.

In the Message Settings & Application Termination dialogs within the Application Control Console, the administrator can configure the text that gets displayed to end users for the different message types. With 10.1 FR2 and earlier releases, this text was limited to 255 characters. For this release, the limit has been removed so more information can be included.

For more information, see Message Settings.

Support for additional environment variables in the Application Denied message box

Additional environment variables can be displayed in the Application Denied message box. From 10.1 FR3, all of the information that is included in the Application Denied log can be used.

For more information, see Access Denied.

PowerShell scripts in Custom Conditions

In addition to VBScript and JScript, PowerShell scripts can now be created and used within Custom Conditions.

For more information, see Scripted Conditions.

Auditing of elevated child processes for User Privilege Management

Audit logs now capture details for elevated child processes. If the Apply to child processes option is selected in the configuration, once the primary process has been elevated, this elevation also applies to any child processes. However, in 10.1 FR2 and earlier releases, there was no auditing of those child processes so there was a lack of visibility to the associated activity. 10.1 FR3 audit logs now capture the details for both the primary process as well as any child processes to provide increased audit visibility.

For more information about where the Apply to child processes option is used, see Rules Items and Self-Elevation.

Version 10.1

Extended Audit Logging

Application Control Event Logging has been extended to include the following:

New event for stopped and started services by a user
Parent process name now included in 9000 events
File owner now included in 9000 events
Determining rule now included in events

For further information about Application Control Auditing, see Auditing.

Windows Operating System Condition

The Microsoft update model now uses build numbers to identify feature releases and service packs. When you are creating a computer operating system rule, the target build number can be specified and configured to match the specific build number entered or to use it as the maximum or minimum build release.

For more information, see Computer Conditions.

Extended Metadata with Digital Certificate checking

When verifying a file using metadata, administrators can compare the entire certificate to determine the authenticity of the file and whether the metadata can be trusted. The feature also includes real-time certificate verification that helps you diagnose any issues by selecting different combinations or verification settings. As you configure the settings, the certificate status is updated.

For more information, see Metadata and Verify Options.

Self-Elevation Enhancements

Self-Elevation has been extended to support all file types. Administrators can also specify that certain file extensions can be elevated only when open with certain applications. For example, you can specify that VBS files can be elevated only with wscript.exe.

For more information, see Self-Elevation.

Command Line Matching

Application Control can now apply rules based not just on the application being launched, but also any command line arguments. This is useful if full access to an application is not required but specific users need to launch certain files or run applications under certain conditions. Command line arguments can be added for File and Signature rule items.

This feature also includes two new advanced settings - Validate PowerShell scripts and Validate Java archives. When these settings are turned on, powershell.exe, powershell_ise.exe, and java(w).exe are blocked and PS1 and JAR files are subject to trusted ownership checking. Specific files can then be added to rules which do not require a trusted owner. Add powershell.exe or java(w).exe to a rule to allow them for specific users, while blocking them for all other users. For example, you may want to allow powershell.exe for your developers so they can launch any PowerShell script.

For further information, see Rule Items and Advanced Settings.

Process Protection

The System Controls feature of Application Control has been extended to include the protection of processes. Using this enhancement, a specified process - such as antivirus software - can be protected from termination by all users, including administrators.

For further information, see System Controls.

Enhanced Windows Store App Support

Further support has been added to the control of Windows Store Applications. Applications can be blocked or allowed based on the application's publisher. Using the publisher for sideloaded apps means multiple apps can be controlled. This makes it possible to configure a restriction for all Store Apps while allowing those sideloaded by an organization or IT department.

For further information, see Rule Items.

Policy Change Request per Rule

Administrators can enable the Policy Change Request feature on a per-rule basis. This allows the type of change request and the available request methods to be configured differently for different users or groups of users. Some aspects of the feature, such as specifying the email address and shared key, remain global.

For further information, see Policy Change Requests.