Top 6 Device Control Software

Device control solutions are often offered alongside features like Data Loss Prevention (DLP) and Mobile Device Management (MDM) to address a wide range of security needs. Our analysis compares six solutions based on feature sets, integration capabilities, and user feedback from B2B review platforms.

Comparison of the top 6 device control software solutions

Features comparison (Part 1):

Features comparison (part 2):

List of common device control software features and key criteria for comparison.

Ranking: Products are ranked by the number of features, except for AIMultiple’s benchmarking services subscribers ranked at the top.

Market presence criteria comparison for device control software

* Data gathered from leading B2B review platforms.

How we selected the vendors for the comparison.

Analysis of the top device control vendors

We list the pros and cons based on:

• Differentiating features.
• User experience focusing on device control features (From leading B2B review platforms). 
• Findings & insights from AIMultiple’s DLP benchmark tests.

1. NinjaOne MDM

NinjaOne MDM manages Android, iOS, iPadOS, and macOS devices and controls them through policy restrictions, such as disabling USB file transfer and Bluetooth on Android devices.

Pros:

• Single console for mixed fleets: MDM-enrolled devices appear alongside Windows, macOS, and Linux endpoints, virtual machines, and network devices in the same console.
• Declarative Device Management: Apple devices use Declarative Device Management for app deployment and OS updates, so technicians can approve a specific update and enforce it by a set date and time; devices below the required OS version fall back to standard MDM.
• Android remote control: Technicians can take full remote control of company-owned, fully managed Android devices once the user grants permission, while BYOD and COPE devices support remote view.
• Policy-based FileVault management: FileVault can be enabled silently during Automated Device Enrollment or prompted at login, logout, or setup, with recovery keys escrowed to NinjaOne MDM.

A 14-day trial is available.

Cons:

• No Windows or Linux MDM enrollment: MDM enrollment covers Android and Apple devices; Windows and Linux endpoints are managed through the NinjaOne agent instead.
• Policy enforcement lag: Policy changes reach an online device in roughly 10 seconds to 10 minutes, depending on its network.
• Limited report customization: Android location tracking requires the MDM Pro plan and activation through NinjaOne sales, and users can turn it off on personally owned devices.

2. DeviceLock by Acronis

DeviceLock by Acronis is an endpoint DLP product that controls ports, peripherals, storage devices, connected phones, and the clipboard on Windows PCs, Macs, and Windows servers

Pros:

• DLP for virtual desktops: Enforces policies on Microsoft RDS, Citrix, VMware Horizon, and other virtual sessions, controlling data moving between the virtual workspace and a personal device’s peripherals and network.
• Separate offline policies: Switches automatically between regular and offline policy sets based on the endpoint’s network status, so a laptop outside the corporate network follows different rules.
• Temporary USB access codes: Administrators can issue a temporary access code that unlocks a specific USB device for offline work.
• Shadow copies and observation mode: Keeps copies of transferred data alongside audit logs, and can run in a passive mode that logs and shadows transfers without blocking them.
• Tamper protection: Stops local administrators from changing policies or removing the agent; changes go through the central management console.

Pros:

• No Linux agent: Supported endpoints are Windows PCs, Macs, and Windows servers.
• Windows-only virtual coverage: Virtual session support applies to Windows guest machines.

3. Netwrix Endpoint Protector

Netwrix Endpoint Protector is a DLP product built around device control. Our analysis and testing indicate that it covered the most device-control capabilities among its competitors. Device Control runs as one of four modules, alongside Content Aware Protection, eDiscovery, and Enforced Encryption.

Pros:

• Device coverage: Controls 45+ device types, including USB drives, printers, Bluetooth devices, and ports.
• Granular device categories: Server 2604 and Client 2605 (May 2026) added biometric devices, separate Audio Input and Audio Output categories on Windows, and rules that distinguish optical drives from USB storage.
• Read-only mode for Android phones: Windows endpoints can allow charging and reads from a connected phone while blocking writes to it.
• Bluetooth as a monitored channel: The Windows client tracks and blocks file transfers sent through the operating system shell, in both directions.
• AI application coverage: Content-aware policies now treat ChatGPT and Claude as cloud service exit points, with client-side monitoring of the Claude and ChatGPT desktop apps, Cursor, and Copilot inside Microsoft Edge.
• Log API for SIEM pulls: A read-only Logs REST API entered preview in Server 2604, covering device control, content-aware, encryption, and admin action logs.

Cons:

• Policy refresh delays: Policy enforcement lags by default, though the refresh interval is adjustable.
• Preview features carry conditions: The Logs REST API is disabled by default and enabled by request through support. Field coverage and rate limits may change before general availability.

4. Falcon Device Control by CrowdStrike

Falcon Device Control by CrowdStrike controls USB devices and peripherals and runs on the Falcon sensor alongside other CrowdStrike modules such as Falcon Insight.

Pros:

• No extra agent: Runs on the existing Falcon sensor, so deployment adds no new software or hardware.
• File-level forensics: Records file metadata for items written to external media, reads ZIP archive contents, and recognizes Microsoft sensitivity labels.
• Source code detection: Machine learning flags source code movement across 40+ languages on any supported connection type.

Cons:

• No built-in media encryption: Approved drives can be set to read-only, but the module does not encrypt data written to removable media. Encryption requires a separate tool.
• No location-based policy: Policies key on device identity and host group rather than physical location.
• Platform-dependent coverage: Bluetooth and Thunderbolt storage control applies to Mac hosts. Windows coverage centers on the USB bus.
• Value depends on adjacent modules: File-level visibility into what was copied to a device requires Falcon Insight alongside Device Control.

5. DriveLock

DriveLock is an endpoint security product from DriveLock SE, and its device control module manages access to USB drives, printers, and other peripherals.

Pros:

• Wide Device Control: Features including USB drive blocking and device whitelisting.
• Zero Trust Architecture: Built on Zero Trust principles.
• Industry Recognition: Recognized in the ISG Provider Lens Cyber Security – Solutions & Services.

Cons:

• Weak Reporting Features: Lacks advanced reporting functionalities seen in some competitors.

6. ManageEngine Device Control Plus

ManageEngine Device Control Plus controls USB and peripheral access and is the peripheral security component of ManageEngine Endpoint Central.

Pros:

• File size and type limits: Allows transfers to removable devices within set limits on file size and file type instead of blocking them outright.
• Read-only access: Can set a device to read-only or block copying files from it.
• Timed temporary access: Grants a device access for a set period, whether the endpoint is inside or outside the network perimeter.

Cons:

• Limited Advanced Encryption: No built-in USB encryption.

Common features checklist

Common device control features:

1. Policy-based device control: Automatically enforces security rules based on predefined policies for device usage.
2. Whitelist/blacklist device management: Allows or denies specific devices based on a trusted or restricted device list.
3. Real-time activity monitoring: Logs device connections and file transfers as they happen.
4. Reporting: Reports on device usage, applied policies, non-compliant endpoints, and policy violations.
5. Device coverage: Covers USB drives, printers, Bluetooth devices, and other peripherals.
6. File transfer control: Manages and restricts file transfers between devices to prevent unauthorized data movement.
7. Device encryption: Encrypts data on devices, such as USB drives, to protect sensitive information from unauthorized access.
8. Remote wiping and management: Allows IT teams to remotely manage devices, including data erasure, from any location.
9. Script execution on clients: Runs scripts on endpoints to apply settings or check compliance.
10. User behavior analytics: Flags unusual user activity, such as large or off-hours file transfers.
11. Device backup & recovery: Ensures regular or on-demand backups and allows recovery of critical device data when needed.
12. Isolated work environment on personal devices: Separates work apps and data from personal data on employee-owned devices, as in an Android work profile.
13. Application control/application whitelisting: Limits device access to approved apps, blocking unauthorized ones.

Key criteria for comparison

We compare the solutions on these criteria:

• SIEM Integration: Sends events to Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) tools for central monitoring and threat detection.
• Device Inventory Tracking: Tracks devices in real time, including device status and authentication details.
• Location Awareness: Adapts device policies based on physical location, such as applying stricter rules when a device is outside company premises.
• Remote & Temporary Access: Lets administrators grant or restrict temporary device access remotely.
• Activity Reports & Audits: Reports on device usage and security incidents.
• USB and Peripheral Device Blocking: Prevents unauthorized devices from connecting.
• Device Tagging & Grouping: Organizes devices into categories so different rules can apply by device type or location.
• Bluetooth Support: Controls and monitors Bluetooth connections.
• Platform architecture support: Whether the agent runs on ARM as well as x86-64.

AI applications as an egress channel

A device control agent enforces policy where data leaves the endpoint. That point used to be a physical bus. Generative AI moved the same problem into software channels, so vendors extended the existing policy engine rather than building a separate product.

Where the agent intercepts

• Browser traffic: A plugin or TLS inspection reads the request before it reaches the network. Inspection depends on the agent being able to decrypt the session.
• Native desktop clients: Each app runs its own network stack, so coverage means hooking it by name. A policy that blocks uploads in Chrome does nothing to the same account inside the vendor’s desktop app.
• Clipboard: Pasting bypasses upload controls, so agents intercept clipboard reads per destination process.

Where coverage stops

• End-to-end encrypted channels: No session exists to inspect.
• Tunneled protocols: Content cannot be read, so the control becomes blocking rather than filtering.
• Agentic features: Files are read inside the host process, below the layer where upload dialogs and paste events occur. Netwrix states that its Claude desktop coverage excludes the Cowork and Claude Code features for that reason.

Two questions separate claims from coverage: is the tool handled as a native process or a browser tab, and what happens when an agent touches files instead of a person clicking upload?

Vendor selection criteria

• Number of reviews: The number of reviews is correlated with the product’s availability and popularity. Plentiful reviews help understand the customer experience, and higher reviewer counts yield more accurate ratings.
• User rating: Customers rate different aspects of the product on B2B review platforms, such as its general purpose, usability, functionality, customer support, payment terms, etc., and the review platform aggregates these scores into an average score. A lower user rating indicates lower satisfaction, and vice versa.
• Number of employees: The number of employees provides an indication of the vendor’s human capital, financial position, research and development investments, and market position. We chose vendors with 50+ employees.
• Focus: All vendors selected for the comparison focus on device control solutions.

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Further reading

• Top 10 RMM Software
• Top 5 Endpoint Management Software
• USB Blocking Software Solutions

Cite this research

Pick the format that matches where you're publishing. Pasting the link version into your CMS preserves the backlink.

@misc{hafa2026,
  author = {Hafa, Adil and PhD., Ezgi Arslan,},
  title  = {{Top 6 Device Control Software}},
  year   = {2026},
  month  = sep,
  howpublished    = {\url{https://aimultiple.com/device-control-software}},
  note   = {AIMultiple. Retrieved September 25, 2026}
}

Changelog

14 updates

202620252024

1. Aug 20

   Added a new section on AI applications as an egress channel.

2. Apr 28

   Updated the vendor ranking, moving DeviceLock by Acronis from fifth place to second.

3. Feb 18

   Added iOS 26/macOS Support to the NinjaOne MDM product's pros.

Adil Hafa

Technical Advisor

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Adil currently works as a CISO and he is a security expert with over 16 years of experience in a wide range of industries: Retail including online food ordering, finance including exchanges, defense and government.

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Researched by

Ezgi Arslan, PhD.

Industry Analyst

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Ezgi holds a PhD in Business Administration with a specialization in finance and serves as an Industry Analyst at AIMultiple. She drives research and insights at the intersection of technology and business, with expertise spanning sustainability, survey and sentiment analysis, AI agent applications in finance, answer engine optimization, firewall management, and procurement technologies.

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