Once you have set up Venn on your Mac computer, you can start using Venn's Blue Border™ to securely access work apps, websites, and files.
Learn how to get started with Venn's Blue Border on a Windows PC.
Open and Log in to Venn
Venn's app, Workplace, will automatically launch when you start your computer. To manually open Venn, click to open the Workplace app from your Dock, Launchpad, or under Applications in the Finder. Learn how to open apps on a Mac.
When you open the Workplace app, you will be prompted to log in using the same username and password you used during enrollment. You may need to verify your sign-in by completing multifactor authentication on your mobile device.
Your Company's Requirements
In order to ensure the security of your company data, your company may choose to put Security Compliance Checks in place that your device must pass in order to use Venn's Blue Border.
When you sign in, Venn checks your device to ensure that it complies with your company's requirements before you can gain access to your work.
If your device fails any of your company's required compliance checks, you will not be able to access your work. Learn how to fix Security Compliance Check failures.
Open Work Apps and Websites in Blue Border
Once you've logged into Venn and passed all required compliance checks, the Launcher will open.
To access apps or websites for work, open them from the Launcher or a window with a blue border to ensure they open in Venn’s Blue Border rather than using the Dock, Launchpad, or Finder.
The Launch page of the Launcher shows your starred apps and websites for easy access. Use the tabs at left to access the full list of work Apps and saved Websites that your company has set up for your use in Venn's Blue Border. The first time that you access an app or saved website in Blue Border, you may need to sign in and configure the app. Learn more about launching a new app using Venn for the first time.
You can star apps and websites on the Apps or Websites pages to make them appear on your Launch page.
Each app must be installed on your computer in order to access it using Venn's Blue Border. You may notice that some apps in your list appear with a brown download icon. This icon indicates that the app cannot be detected on your computer by Venn. Typically, this means that you need to download the app before you can use it on your computer. Learn how to install work apps not detected on your computer.
Learn more about using work apps and websites in Blue Border.
Open Work Files in Blue Border
When working in Blue Border, you will store files in OneDrive or Venn's proprietary file system, Workplace Drive.
To access your secure file system folders:
- Click the Drive icon in the bottom left of the Launcher or click the app called Files or Finder on the Launch or Apps page of the Launcher.
- Finder will open inside Blue Border.
- Click workplace_ or OneDrive under Locations.
Learn more about using our supported file systems:
Work and Personal Use on the Same Computer
We know that work and life overlap and that there is rarely a complete separation of work and personal time in our modern interconnected world—people use the same device to listen to music from their personal library while working during the day, check work email while online shopping in the evening, and more. Venn's Blue Border was designed to isolate and protect work activity from personal use on the same computer. Learn more about how Venn's Blue Border works.
Any work apps, websites, or files that you open from Venn will have a blue border around them. This indicates that these applications are open in a company-controlled Secure Enclave on your Mac.
Applications that you open outside of the Venn Launcher (for example, from the Dock, Launchpad, or Finder) are personal and will open without a blue border. They are completely isolated from work applications, almost as though they were running on separate computers.
Venn does not monitor, track, access, or record any of your personal data or activities, including private personal information, browsing activities, and personal files. Learn more about how Venn protects your privacy.
Using Work and Personal Applications at the Same Time
In order to enable you to easily switch contexts between work and personal app use, Venn provides seamless switching between using apps inside and outside of Blue Border.
If you try to open an app in Blue Border (from the Venn Launcher or a window with a blue border) that is already open outside of Blue Border, you will be asked if you would like Venn to close the personal instance to open the app in Blue Border.
If you try to open an app outside of Blue Border (from the Dock, Launchpad, Finder, or from a window without a blue border) that is already open inside Blue Border, you will be asked if you would like Venn to close the Blue Border instance to open the app outside of Blue Border.
Typically, users notice the need to switch between using apps inside and outside of Blue Border with their internet browser. We recommend using two different internet browsers if you want to use an internet browser for work and personal use at the same time on the same device. For example, you could use Safari outside of Blue Border for personal browsing and Google Chrome inside Blue Border for work purposes.
Macs package all Microsoft Office 365 tools (Outlook, Word, Excel, etc.) together and treats them as if they are one application. Therefore, you cannot have any Office 365 tools open inside and outside of Blue Border at the same time.
Your Company's Restrictions
In order to secure company data, your company may choose to put Data Loss Prevention policies in place that restrict what you can and can’t do in Blue Border.
Every application that you have open in Blue Border will have a round Badge on the side of the application window when the window is active. If you click on the Badge, you can see a list of your company’s Data Loss Prevention policies.
For example, your company may set a policy that ensures that anything you download from the internet while working in Blue Border will automatically be saved in a secure folder.
Policies with a lock to the left of them are current restrictions that your company has in place. These policies only apply in Blue Border.
Learn more about Data Loss Prevention Policies.