Managing Unix users

June 30, 2009:Perth software house, Applecross Technologies has announced General Availability of V2.2.0 of its Privileged User Manager ("PUM") Client software.

PUM allows end user organizations to centrally manage, monitor and audit the use of super user accounts, providing an indelible audit trail of all activity. The new version of the web browser based PUM Client software now provides these super users with the ability to concurrently manage multiple systems through the same user interface.

Neil Chaney, CEO of Applecross Technologies said, "Systems administrators have sometimes baulked at restrictions imposed on them by security and compliance managers. The new PUM Client software now provides those administrators with additional capabilities not provided by standard UNIX and Linux operating systems. The new software will allow them to perform their jobs with greater efficiency, and to decrease error rates."

The new PUM Client software provides an authorised user with concurrent privileged access to any number of managed servers through the same intuitive web browser based user interface. Without PUM installed, systems administrators of UNIX and Linux based systems typically have to bring up a separate window for each system they are managing. In large sites, it is not unusual for a technician to be working with tens of windows open, with the resultant possibility that a command is entered for the wrong server. If an administrator requires a command to be entered into multiple systems, then it has to be entered separately into each window in turn.

Chaney went on to say, "PUM provides a modern, intuitive web browser user interface that allows a privileged user to invoke a command against a single Managed Server, to all Managed Servers, or to any chosen subset of Managed Servers in the same multi-tab interface. In each case the command will only be allowed if that user is allowed to invoke that command on that Managed Server at that time. All the traffic to all the Managed Servers is then centrally audited.”

Because the command is only issued once against a chosen subset of Managed Servers, the chance of erroneously issuing the command to the wrong server is reduced, and the time taken to manage multiple Managed Servers is significantly less than using traditional methods.

Chaney concluded, “Security and compliance managers often find it difficult to cost-justify additional spend, as proving a Return on Investment (RoI) is not always easy. PUM is now both inexpensive and a productivity enhancer, making that justification considerably easier. "

The software is offered on an annual subscription license basis only, and the annual fee includes the license, support and all upgrades. Pricing is set at US$1.00 per system per day, or US$365 per system per year.