PGP License expiration may cause drives encrypted with PGP Whole Disk Encryption to automatically decrypt

Products

• Symantec Products

Issue/Introduction

 When a license for PGP Desktop expires, it may force the automatic decryption of drives encrypted with Whole Disk Encryption.

Cause

 This can occur under the following scenarios:

• An enrolled user does not login prior to the license expiration, and then logs in after the license is expired.
• An enrolled client is unable to contact Symantec PGP Universal Server to renew the license.
• The Consumer Policy for the client is setup to use the Default license.
• License has been expired for 90 days or more.

Because the license is stored on a per-user basis, an infrequently-used user account can end up with an expired license. Once used, it can trigger this issue.

Resolution

Upgrading to the latest version of PGP Desktop can provide a solution to this issue since it has a different license behavior. If you have upgraded from a previous version of Symantec PGP Universal Server and have input your client license, it will be used instead of the default license.

Applies To

 This primarily occurs with PGP Desktop 9.x in a managed environment.