diff --git a/lib/linux.js b/lib/linux.js
index 08de844..2973678 100644
--- a/lib/linux.js
+++ b/lib/linux.js
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ function trim_exec(cmd, cb) {
 }
 
 function ensure_valid_nic(str) {
-  if (str.match(/[^\w]/))
+  if (str.match(/^[\w.-:]{1,15}$/))
     throw new Error("Invalid nic name given: " + str);
 }