8.1

Encrypting and Restricting a Virtual Machine
Encrypt and restrict your virtual machine to control the use of the virtual machine and access to its contents.
When you encrypt a virtual machine, you set a password that is required to open the virtual machine. You
can remove the encryption or change the password at any time.
NOTE Large virtual machines, such as those that exceed 50GB, might generate a low disk space warning.
If you have Fusion Pro, you can also turn on restrictions, so that users are prevented from modifying the
virtual machine. When you enable restrictions, users are prevented from removing virtual devices, changing
the memory allocation, modifying removable devices, and changing the virtual hardware compatibility.
You can optionally force users to change the encryption password if they move or copy the virtual machine.
For example, a teacher might provide a copy of the virtual machine to all students in the class and set this
restriction so that all students must create their own encryption password.
You can also cause the virtual machine to expire at a pre-set date and time. When the virtual machine
expires, the user is denied access to the virtual machine. You can extend an expired virtual machine by
removing the restriction or setting another date and time.
When you turn on restrictions, you set a restrictions password. After restrictions are turned on, you cannot
make changes to the virtual machine configuration settings or restrictions policies unless you first turn
restrictions off. To turn off restrictions, you must enter the restrictions password.
The restrictions feature is available only if you have Fusion Pro.
Encrypt and Restrict a Virtual Machine
You can encrypt your virtual machine with a password to control access to the virtual machine and its
contents. If you have Fusion Pro, you can also enable restrictions for the virtual machine to prevent users
from changing certain virtual machine settings and to set an expiration date and time for the virtual
machine.
When you enable restrictions for a virtual machine, you can set an expiration date and time for the virtual
machine.
Use these guidelines when configuring encryption and restrictions:
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If you have a Fusion license, you can enable and disable encryption only if the virtual machine does not
already have restrictions enabled.
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If restrictions are already enabled for a virtual machine, you can change encryption and restrictions
settings only if you have a Fusion Pro license. If you have a Fusion license, encryption and restrictions
settings are read-only. You can change only the encryption password.
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Restrictions policies are enforced only on virtual machines that are compatible with Fusion 5 and later.
Prerequisites
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Suspend or shut down the virtual machine.
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If you plan to turn on restrictions for the virtual machine, verify that you have a Fusion Pro license.
NOTE These instructions do not apply to Horizon FLEX virtual machines. To create a Horizon FLEX virtual
machine, you must use Fusion Pro with a Horizon FLEX license. For information about encrypting and
enabling restrictions for Horizon FLEX virtual machines, see the VMware Horizon FLEX Administration Guide.
Procedure
1 Select Window > Virtual Machine Library.
Using VMware Fusion
130 VMware, Inc.