Why Restricting Local Administrator is Important for Computer Security

Small business owners are always looking for ways to keep their computer systems and data secure. One way to do this is by restricting the local administrator privilege. By restricting the local administrator, businesses can ensure that their computers are properly configured and protected from malware and other online threats. In this blog post, we will discuss the importance of restricting the local administrator and provide tips on how small businesses can protect their systems.

What are Local Administrator Rights, and why are they important?

Admin rights are the most generous permission level that a computer user can receive. An admin account has complete access to all areas of your network and system. Admin rights present a huge risk to the security of your data, as an attacker who infiltrates a business and has access to these rights could do significant harm.

What harm can users do with admin rights?

Change Registry Keys

Admin rights allow users to bypass Group Policy Object (GPO) settings and other central management policies whenever they choose by providing the ability to directly access and modify particular registry keys. Local admin users might potentially have access to all areas at all times.

Take Control of System Services

Admin rights enable users to stop or disable services such as anti-virus, monitoring, and firewalls. Giving users (or an attacker) the ability to switch off these key safeguards represents a significant risk.

Take Ownership of Files and Folders

Users with admin rights have the power to manage any file on the system at any time—and privileges always outweigh permissions. It implies that administrative users may modify file ownership, restrict access, copy or transfer data without needing further authorization, or tamper with secure security policies.

Cover Tracks

Because users or attackers can now modify any IT system, this means admin rights provide them with the power to conceal their activities. They have the capacity to remove apps, event logs from systems and security monitoring tools.

Manage and Create New Users

Any compromised local administrator account has the potential to create numerous new local administrators in the future, thanks to the freedom to establish new accounts and adjust privilege levels. This capability is a considerable security risk, since it allows persistent access for bad actors outside your company. If an attacker can compromise a domain admin account, persistent access might be given across the entire domain.

How to protect your computer systems by using Local Administrator Rights

The idea of least privilege is to assign each user as little power and access possible. In order for this system work, you must begin by removing any local admin rights from your computer’s current holders so they can’t wreak havoc on their own accord without being monitored or restricted in some way.

How to achieve balance between productivity and security

While we understand that it can be frustrating not to have the same level of permissions as a Local Administrator, these restrictions are in place for your safety. If you do need specific permissions for software that is no longer supported or does not work correctly with restricted local admin rights, please contact us and we would be happy to help. We want to make sure your computer is as safe and functional as possible.