Who will want to use smart cards?
Network administrators who want to enhance the security of the organization's computers, particularly portable computers used by remote users, will appreciate the simplified deployment and use scenarios made possible by smart card Plug and Play PIV support. Users will appreciate the ability to use smart cards to perform critical business tasks in a secure manner.
What are the benefits of the new and changed features?
The new smart card support options in Windows 7 include:
Encrypting drives with BitLocker Drive Encryption. In the Windows 7 Enterprise and Windows 7 Ultimate operating systems, users can choose to encrypt their removable media by turning on BitLocker and then choosing the smart card option to unlock the drive. At run time, Windows retrieves the correct minidriver for the smart card and allows the operation to complete.
Smart card domain logon by using the PKINIT protocol. In Windows 7, the correct minidriver for a smart card is retrieved automatically, enabling a new smart card to authenticate to the domain without requiring the user to install or configure additional middleware.
Document and e-mail signing. Windows 7 users can rely on Windows to retrieve the correct minidriver for a smart card at run time to sign an e-mail or document. In addition, XML Paper Specification (XPS) documents can be signed without the need for additional software.
Use with line-of-business applications. In Windows 7, any application that uses Cryptography Next Generation (CNG) or CryptoAPI to enable the application to use certificates can rely on Windows to retrieve the correct minidriver for a smart card at run time so that no additional middleware is needed.
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