Yes, Vista contains quite a few USB control options. Many specifically relate to USB Mass Storage devices, so if you don't want to lock down the mice but instead target USB key chains, etc. it will be possible.
We currently use the XP SP2 ability to lock down writing to USB devices. While that is only 50% of the equation we really need, it is effective. Since there are business justifications for being able to use these devices in a write mode, the GPO is separate from all others. We have a group that has Deny access to that GPO. We just add computers to the GPO and manually reverse the registry entry controlling the USB device to allow users to write to them. It works... -Trevor -----Original Message----- From: Steven Hay [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, June 14, 2006 7:05 AM To: [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: RE: Controlling specific USB devices on Windows XP Just curious, does anyone know if Vista is going to have any intelligence for USB control built in either by registry key or additional GPO? -----Original Message----- From: Ken S [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: June 13, 2006 3:06 PM To: [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: Controlling specific USB devices on Windows XP I am investigating the possibility of locking down Windows computers to only allow specific USB devices to attach. I'm considering the mtrust product from www.m-systems.com, which the marketing materials say can force users to only use their particular USB storage devices (or those that they OEM to others, like Kingston, Verbatim, etc.). Does anyone have experience with this package? If so, what are the pros and cons? Also, are there other solutions are out there that can ensure only specific USB storage devices are allowed on a system? Is there anything specific for biometric USB storage? Any comments on the effectiveness of such software? Thanks, Ken S ------------------------------------------------------------------------ --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ --- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
