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Dave Courbanou
November 30, 2011
2 Min Read
Centrify, the company behind the cross-platform Active Directory management suite, is at it again with an update to its line of management products for Mac OS X. This time, DirectControl is getting an overhaul and making life a little bit easier for IT admins working with Macs. Read on for the new features Centrify is bringing to the table …
According to Centrify, DirectControl is part of Centrify Suite 2012 and ensures compliance, auditing and secure application access across all platforms using it. But the specific new features for Mac OS X come as Centify sees “organizations … increasingly being required to support the Mac platform.” These enhancements may cause some IT admins to rejoice. Those features, in plain English, include:
Automated Digital Certificate Enrollment: Mac OS X can now automatically request a certificate if it is required to be part of a Windows Group Policy. Automatic renewal and updating is also included.
Smart Card Support: If you’re using smart cards to enhance secure access to machines (see: paranoid governmental organizations), Apple Mac OS X versions 10.7 and 10.6 now work with the CAC, CACNG and PIV smart cards, including the Oberthur ID One 128 v 5.5 Dual Smart Card. This enables government agencies to support smart card authentication on their Mac systems that use Apple’s 10.7 “Lion” operating system.
Apple FileVault 2 Full Disk Encryption: Now supported by DirectControl, Active Directory user information now can call the shots on whether a disk gets encrypted or unencrypted.
Printer Management Support: Pretty self-explanatory, but Active Directory now can be leveraged to create user groups around shared Mac printers.
Logon Access Restrictions: Mac OS X now will accept Centrify’s “Zones” technology, which can take Active Directory users and lump them into specific groups that have specific privileges.
And the price tag? According to Centrify, DirectControl for Mac OS X will go for $65 per workstation, which likely means per Mac. Partners can get their hands on it today.
Be sure also to check out Centrify’s past moves, which include its recent governmental certifications and overall user improvements with Active Directory.
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