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is a critical Windows IoT feature. UWF intercepts all write operations to the protected volume (e.g., C:) and redirects them to a RAM overlay. Upon reboot, the overlay is discarded. Consequently, even if a user downloads ransomware, the malware disappears at logoff. 5. Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Model We constructed a three-year TCO model for a mid-sized enterprise (500 users) comparing a standard Windows 11 Pro PC ($1,200 hardware + $200 Windows license) versus a Windows IoT thin client ($400 hardware + $50 license). The host server infrastructure (Windows Server 2022 Datacenter with RDS CALs) is held constant.

Optimizing Enterprise IT Through Windows-Based Thin Clients: Architecture, Security, and Economic Viability thin client windows

| Threat Vector | Fat Client (Windows 11 Pro) | Thin Client (Windows IoT) | Mitigation Mechanism | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | SSD with BitLocker; physical theft yields data. | No local storage; RAM cleared on reboot. | Zero data footprint. | | Malware/Ransomware | User installs .exe; lateral movement. | Locked down via Unified Write Filter (UWF). | Reboot reverts OS to gold image. | | Patch Management | 150+ devices; VPN-based SCCM. | Stateless; image streaming from WDS. | Instant N+1 patching at server. | | Credential Theft | Pass-the-hash attacks from LSASS. | No cached domain credentials. | Authentication proxied to broker. | is a critical Windows IoT feature