What is the recommended credential for discovering Windows machines?

The recommended credential for discovering Windows machines is a domain user with local admin rights. This type of account provides the necessary permissions to access and collect data from Windows systems within a domain environment efficiently.

Having domain credentials allows the discovery process to traverse network resources and interact with multiple machines in a cohesive manner, as domain users have broader access rights than local users. Furthermore, local admin rights are crucial because they grant the necessary permissions to execute commands and access system-level information on the Windows machines being discovered.

Using a local user with admin rights may limit the scope of discovery to only the local machine, which is not ideal for environments where multiple systems must be accessed. Similarly, utilizing guest user credentials would result in insufficient access to perform the required discovery tasks effectively, as guest accounts typically have restricted permissions. Lastly, a service account without admin rights would not possess the requisite privileges to gather comprehensive system data from Windows machines, hindering the discovery process.

In summary, a domain user with local admin rights strikes the right balance of access and permissions needed for effective machine discovery in a Windows environment.