Faronics has announced the release of Deep Freeze 2.0, a new version of its disk protection tool for Mac OS X, now with support for Apple Remote Desktop (ARD).
Deep Freeze enables Mac lab managers and system administrators to set up a standard Mac OS X system image that the computer is returned to each time it restarts. This way, IT managers don’t need to worry about system misconfiguration, corruption or malicious damage.
New to the 2.0 release is deployment and control support for ARD, Apple’s own network management solution that enables managers to audit the contents of Macs on their network and remote control them.
All changes that occur to a Mac running Deep Freeze are temporary for that working session, including new software installation, removal of software, renaming or deleting of files and folders and application preference configuration.
Even the root user account can be frozen, along with LDAP, Active Directory and Open Directory accounts. User data can be saved to a network location, removable media or a “Thawed” Deep Freeze partition.
Standard pricing on the Mac product starts at $372.55 for a 10-user license. A trial version is ready for download. Deep Freeze Mac ARD requires Mac OS X v10.3 or later.