Patent ID: 8528107

Claim:
A method for enforcing restrictions against a virtual machine (VM) executing on a physical computer system by way of virtualization software comprising a virtual machine monitor (VMM) that provides a virtualized computer environment by emulating virtual system hardware for the VM, wherein the restrictions relate to an operation of the VM, the method comprising: enabling an administrator to set one or more restrictions related to the operation of the VM, wherein information on the one or more restrictions is stored to one or more policy files; providing one or more users with user access to the VM; and enforcing the one or more restrictions using enforcer software executing on the physical computer on which the VM runs, but not within the VM itself, wherein the enforcer software intercepts actions related to the operation of the VM that violate the one or more restrictions written into the one or more policy files so that the operation of the VM during the user access is restricted based on the one or more restrictions.