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FullArmor Corp. on Tuesday launched a new Web services tool that extends Active Directory Group Policy security benefits to machines not connected to the directory.
The new PolicyPortal provides a centralized way to manage ADs Group Policy on any machine connected to the Internet.
Those could include kiosks, point-of-sale machines, traveling or home clients as well as contractor or visitor machines.
“There are more computers out there that are connected to the Internet but not a part of an AD Domain,” said FullArmor CEO Rich Farrell, in Boston. “Were taking Group Policy outside the fishbowl of AD and applying it in the ocean of the Internet,” he added.
FullArmor is targeting enterprises with large AD deployments that have disconnected machines such as traveling sales people who are disconnected for a period of time, and when they do connect arent linked long enough to receive policy updates.
And it is intended for managed services providers who require centralized management across multiple customers.
One such service provider found the offering to be unique in its ubiquity and low cost.
Competitors such as Desktop Standard “do group policy extensions, but they dont do it anywhere. And these guys (FullArmor) charge $1 (per PC) a month,” said early user Rick Neubauer, president and CTO at Itility in Chicago, Ill.
It is also intended for small and medium-sized enterprises that dont have the resources to deploy AD but want to leverage Group Policy infrastructure for security, Farrell added.
PolicyPortal is based on Microsofts 64-bit Windows Server 2003 R2. It allows users to constantly apply and enforce the configuration settings in AD for machines not connected to a domain.
It includes a dashboard that shows all machines out of compliance with security policies or those that havent received policy changes over the past seven days. “In Active Directory setting a policy doesnt mean that its being enforced or that it was even received,” explained CTO Danny Kim.
PolicyPortal works with FullArmors IntelliPolicy for Clients, although it does not require that tool. It is available now for $1 per PC per month with a one-time $1,500 per administrator charge.