Sentillion, the company that created vThere™, the world's first packaged desktop virtualization solution, today announced a new feature, which allows network administrators to configure the Media Access Control (MAC) Address. This capability improves the security posture of the enterprise because it enables employee-owned laptops and remote unmanaged personal computers running vThere to connect to the corporate network only through a fully locked down and isolated guest operating system.    

“Unmanaged computers on a corporate network present a huge security risk, leaving   many organizations with having to make risky security compromises,” said David Fusari, vice president and CTO at Sentillion.  “Because vThere is a secure and separate environment from the host PC and is seen as a managed device on the network, the risks previously associated with allowing unmanaged computers to attach to the corporate network are mitigated.”

Recent commentary in the virtualization space, specifically related to the usage of “shared folders” between the enterprise and virtual computer environments, has heightened industry awareness regarding the need for enterprise virtual computers to be completely sealed off from the host environment.  While viewed as a necessary feature for consumer oriented users of desktop virtualization, the use of shared folders, when left unmanaged, has the potential to create a significant security flaw at the enterprise level that can leave organizations open and vulnerable to external threats. 

In sharp contrast to other desktop virtualization solutions, which include shared folder access as a default capability, vThere requires that this function be configured by an authorized network administrator – thus eliminating the potential for any inadvertent oversight that may compromise enterprise security.  

“The emphasis for the design and development of vThere is desktop virtualization for enterprise use,” said Mr. Fusari.  “There is no “one size fits all” approach to desktop virtualization, for there are vast differences between the functionality and security requirements of consumer and enterprise users.  As more and more organizations are looking to implement desktop virtualization, it is critical that they are aware of these differences so that they do not undermine the security of the enterprise.”