At Macworld Expo, Centrify released DirectControl 4.4 for Mac OS X, an update to the software that integrates Macs and Unix computers into Active Directory domains. The new version adds supports more group policies for Macs and adds several new features, including support for FileVault, support for Common Access Cards (CAC) smart cards, and better integration with Group Logic's ExtremeZ-IP. The update also improves support for Snow Leopard. (See also this press release.)

DirectControl enables administrator to manage desktop policies for Macs from the standard Windows server management tools. Version 4.4 adds new group policies, including those for login settings that tell the Mac which applications, folders, and server connections should be opened when a user logs on the Mac client.

DirectControl 4.4 now supports authentication of Mac home directories on Distributed File Services (DFS) shares on a Windows server via Group Logic's ExtremeZ-IP, an AFP server for Mac clients that runs on Windows servers. Use can log in to Mac OS X system with their Active Directory user ID and password to gain access to their home directory stored on a Windows server and shared with ExtremeZ-IP's AFP (instead of SMB).

DirectConnect 4.4 also enables mobile Mac users to authenticate to Active Directory when their home directory is on an NFS-mounted share.

See also our complete coverage of the top cross-platform announcements of Macworld Expo 2010.