What is an authenticated scan?

An authenticated network scan is used to access the system from within by logging in with a user account,  where information such as patch levels, software versions, and the systems registry can be assessed.  

The success of an authenticated scan depends on the scanned OS and the permissions levels of the user account utilized by the scan to authenticate to the system.

For example:

• Windows systems
  On Windows systems, an unprivileged user is restricted and can't access areas like the Windows registry or the Windows system folder.
  Users with administrative permissions provide more results on Windows systems.
• Linux systems 
  On Linux systems, an unprivileged user is enough and can access the important areas for a good result.'