Version 4.6 introduces new technology intended to streamline deployment and usability.
This release provides what V-One calls "cross-realm Federated Authentication functionality," and it expands single sign-on capabilities to include users who authenticate via PKI. Federated authentication provides a foundation for validating users or services from various organizations that are part of a network of trusted partners and allows users to seamlessly access the resources provided by those trusted partners, according to V-One. SmartGate 4.6's federated authentication is said to deliver:
- Single sign-on whereby a single action of user authentication and authorization permits access to all computers and applications where the user has access permission. this is said to reduce human error, a major component of systems failure
- Support for multiple authentication methods to accommodate heterogeneous environments
- Distributed encryption servers to optimize data flows
- Cross-realm authentication to accommodate multiple authentication sources, including identity entitlement that is portable across autonomous domains
V-One says the new release of SmartGate includes end point security features that ensure users are running specific versions of anti-virus, malware protection and other security software defined by their system administrator before connectivity is allowed. Additionally, SmartGate 4.6 detects the user's environment -- be it their personal desktop or an Internet cafe -- and either grants or denies access appropriate to that environment, the company says.
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