Symantec Encryption Desktop not working properly with AppSense Application Manager Virtual Machines

Products

• Symantec Products

Issue/Introduction

AppSense is a solution that stores software settings in a back-end database and can control software centrally for virtual sessions end users can then use.  When Symantec Encryption Desktop is installed in this environment, the settings are subsequently stored in the AppSense back-end database and if not properly configured, could cause unexpected behavior.

 

In one such scenario, when attempting to right-click through the context menu, an error appeared stating "could not open default key rings. Another application might have them open?"

Although the keyrings are, in fact, intact and accessible by the user getting this error, this unexpected behavior is a side effect of the AppSense solution not being fully configured for Symantec Encryption Desktop.

Cause

The cause of this behavior is due to AppSense not providing all access to Symantec Encryption Desktop in order to operate properly. This causes unexpected behavior with the encryption product and the decrypt and verify option do not work as intended. 

Resolution

The solution is to create a group for Symantec Encryption Desktop and ensure all the applications it uses are include in the group for the encryption product to operate correctly.

 

Below is a screenshot of the applications that you need to include in your encryption group in order for it to work properly:

As you can see from the above screenshot, the PGPmnApp.exe application is highlighted (C:\Program Files (x86)\PGP Corporation\PGP Desktop).

It is also necessary to add the correct registry keys within AppSense for Symantec Encryption Desktop

After applying the above configuration settings, Symantec Encryption Desktop should run properly.

Note: Symantec Encryption Desktop has not been officially tested or certified with AppSense and is not guaranteed to run without any further issues and this information is provided on a best-effort basis.