What is the purpose of the global block by hash feature in Application Control?

The global block by hash feature in Application Control is designed to enhance security by leveraging known bad hash values for blacklist enforcement. This mechanism works by allowing administrators to submit the hash values of harmful or undesirable software into a global blacklist, effectively preventing those specific applications from running on any system that utilizes the Application Control feature.

By employing hash values, the feature ensures that it accurately identifies and blocks the exact versions of bad software, providing a robust defense against known threats. This proactive measure helps organizations maintain a secure environment by minimizing the risk of malicious code execution, thus safeguarding sensitive data and maintaining compliance with security policies.

The other options do not align with the primary purpose of the global block by hash feature. For instance, temporarily allowing all software changes does not focus on the enforcement of security measures, tracking system performance metrics is unrelated to application control, and monitoring software updates does not specifically address the enforcement of a blacklist based on known bad hashes.