Five Windows 7 Features IT Must Prep For Now

Your Windows 7 rollout may seem far in the future, but a research report from Forrester warns against starting your migration from Windows XP too late. Also, learn now about five key enterprise features in Windows 7 that IT managers must understand.

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BitLocker To Go: This encryption feature extends the BitLocker Drive feature of Vista, which encrypted hard drives on laptops, to secure data on USB thumb drives and other external devices. With BitLocker To Go, access to data on removable storage can be restricted to authorized users only through pass-phrases set by IT.

AppLocker: This feature aims to reduce the threat of employees running unauthorized software that could lead to malware infections. It allows IT admins to specify through a Group Policy what exactly is allowed to run on their systems, giving users the confidence that the applications and programs they are running have been granted permission, Microsoft says.

Federated search: In Windows 7, search in Windows Explorer will be expanded with added support for search across local and networked corporate data. Through Libraries in Windows 7, search results will also spread across different file types, folders, hard drives and PCs. Additionally, federated search will allow users and IT to create search connectors to internal and external sites, making it easier to find Web-based applications and documents in SharePoint, Microsoft says.