Beta :: IntelliAdmin - Remote Administration For Windows

Change Power Save Settings Remotely

Posted by Steve Wiseman on October 23, 2009 with 10 Comments

We have been working hard on Network Administrator 3.

It was just released – You can download it from here:

http://www.intelliadmin.com/NetworkAdministrator.exe

Network Administrator allows you to make tweaks and changes to computers across your network, and in version 3 we have an extensive plugin system that allows us to add functionality quite quickly.

One of the requests we keep getting is a plugin to change power management settings. It turns out that this is actually much harder than it seems. There are different ways in each version of windows – and some of them don’t even work all the time.

We worked around the clock to work around all of the quirks and issues, and finally built a plugin that allows you to change these settings on Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, 2008, and Windows 7.

Power Management Plugin

These settings are not even available with group policy, or any specific registry settings – so this is a huge time saver.

The settings for the plugin are packed with power management options:

Power Management Settings

In a few clicks you can change the power management options for multiple computers across your network.

Best of all, Network Administrator is a free tool to use on up to 3 computers at a time.

Give it a spin and let us know what you think.

Need to use Network Administrator 3.0 on more than 3 computers? Get an unlimited copy for only $199 Click here to purchase

Filed Under: Beta, Network Administrator, Tools, Utility, Windows 2000, Windows 2008, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP

Network Administrator – Beta 4 Released

Posted by Steve Wiseman on October 8, 2009 with 4 Comments

We are right on track with our beta – Network Administrator Beta 4 has been released.

You can get a copy of the beta from here:

Network Administrator Beta 4

As I wrote last week, we were working on the remote execute engine within Network Administrator. I am pleased to say that it is complete.

As a result of that implementation we were able to add two new plugins. They are:

Change Network Settings

Switch a computer to DHCP, or update the DNS Settings to different servers

Change Network Settings

Remote Execute

This allows you to remotely execute a vbscript, batch file, MSI installer (It automatically makes it quiet for you), or command line program. This is a very powerful addition, since it gives you the ability to create a script, and push it across all the machines on your network. One other point to note about this is that this will be faster than you doing this yourself from the command line using tools like PSExec. This is because Network Administrator will spawn more than one process at a time to accomplish your task.

Remote Execute Plugin

If you missed my post last week, we promised 10 plugins by the time we release on October 30th. In addition to the two I just discussed, here is what we have created so far:

Mass Folder Copy – This plugin allows you to pick a folder on your hard drive, and copy it to many machines across your network. Perfect way to copy a set of shortcuts to everyone’s desktop.

Offline Files Disabler – Disables the annoying offline files setting in Windows XP, and 2003.

Logon Disclaimer – Allows you to set a logon disclaimer that is displayed to a user before they login.

Wallpaper Set – You can set a common background wallpaper image, and set options such as tile, stretch, and center.

One of our next plugins will allow you to change the password of a local admin user account. It is easy to change an Active Directory user account, but when an admin leaves, you still have those local account passwords floating around. This would allow you to change it in a few moments – across your entire network.

Get your suggestion in by mailing us at plugins@intelliadmin.com We cannot answer all of the emails sent, but we do read them all.

Give it a spin, and let us know what you think.

Pre order your upgrade of Network Administrator 3.0 for only $99 (Includes a copy of 2.9)- Don’t wait – It will be $199 when it is released on October 30th. Click here to purchase

Filed Under: Beta, Command Line, Network Administrator

Network Administrator 3.0 Beta

Posted by Steve Wiseman on September 2, 2009 with 0 Comments

Purchase Network Administrator 2.9 for only $99 per administrator (50% off since you are a reader of my blog), and when it is released you will receive 3.0 Free.
Just follow this special link

We have been hard at work building a new version of Network Administrator, and have been taking many suggestions from you.

Here is a screen shot of the main form:

Network Administrator

The first thing we did was make the actions multi-threaded. Currently the system only works on one machine at a time.

Silly as this sounds, it was due to a limitation in the Remote Registry service with threads – We found a way around this problem.

It means you can reboot all of those computers in record time.

Network Administrator Progress

Plugins, Plugins, and Plugins. It seems kind of crazy that we did not do this earlier, but the current version of Network Administrator does not have any plugin system. It makes it difficult to add new actions. In our redesign we have added a fantastic plugin system:

Network Administrator Plugin Selection

Best of all, when you purchase a license, new plugins will be automatically downloaded to you for maximum plugin goodness

IntelliAdmin Update System

What else will you see in the new version? It depends – on you. What plugins would you like to see in 3.0? We will take the top 10 ideas and put them in the final version. Send your ideas to plugins@intelliadmin.com

If you purchase Network Administrator 2.9 today, you will get 3.0 for free. In addition, since you are a valued reader of my blog – you can get it for half price!

Just follow this link

Want to part of the 3.0 beta program? Then Sign up here – We will release our first public beta in about two weeks.

Filed Under: Beta, Scripts, Windows

USB Disabler Pro – Beta

Posted by Steve Wiseman on July 8, 2009 with 0 Comments

USB flash drives are a concern at most companies today. They can bring in viruses, spyware, or trojans. On the flip side they can easily be used to copy out important data. We have a free program called USB Disabler that allows you to entirely disable flash drives.

Since it was released we have constantly received emails asking if there was a way to have greater control. Could you allow one device while disabling another? Or better yet, I want the members of the “IT Staff” group to have permission to use flash drives, but no one else.

This pushed us to find a way to accomplish those goals. It has taken quite some time to build an application that can do this – happily we are releasing the first beta today.

How does it work? First, you install the program and pick the type of user that will be allowed to have administrative access to the application (To block or allow flash drives)

Once you have completed that step an icon is displayed in the application tray. If you click on that tray icon and you are authorized:

USB Disabler Authentication Window

…you are shown the settings window. It allows you to see what devices have been inserted since the application was installed…and enable or disable them:

USB Disabler Settings Window

At any time, if a user plugs in a new flash drive it is disabled by default. A notification window will be displayed the first time it is plugged in, and the user will have the choice to enable it (If they have been given access)

USB Disabler Notification Window

During the beta program we are offering a special pre-release price of $9 per computer. This is 50% off the price when it is finally released.

To give the beta a spin, download it from here:

USB Disabler Pro Beta Download
Note: Windows 2000 is not supported.

Click here to pre-order at the discounted price

As always, send us your complaints, bug reports, and suggestions to support@intelliadmin.com

Filed Under: Beta, Windows

Remote Control Beta RC2 Released

Posted by Steve Wiseman on June 5, 2009 with 4 Comments

I can’t thank everyone enough for their bug reports and suggestions. We have fixed every bug submitted, and implemented most of the feature requests.

Keep sending them to support@intelliadmin.com or write a comment in this blog entry

One of the ideas was to put the edit computer list right on the find form. Here is what it looks like:

Remote Control Beta 4 RC2

In addition, many of you complained about the command bar at the top of the viewer window. It keeps getting in the way of stuff at the top:

Remote Control Beta 4 RC2 Command Panel

Now it hides a little further into the top of the window, and you must hover over it for 1.5 seconds before it will show.

There are lots of other fixes. Here is the list:

-If you picked an action menu item, and then pressed space..it would bring the action menu back up (fixed)

-Computer names not always pulled properly from remote host (Fixed)

-Refresh menu added to action list (You must upgrade to server RC2 for this to work)

-Calling from the command line had a file not found error (Fixed)

-Command panel is pinned by default on initial client install

-The command panel when hidden more when retracting

-It takes 1.5 seconds before the command panel will show when on auto-hide mode.

-Import, Export, and Edit computers added to find window

-1/1/1900 is not a valid date error, and crashes on non-english versions of windows (Fixed)

-Problem with black areas on the screen not being updated (fixed)

-JPG now includes date and time for quick saving

For a limited time – If you purchase Remote Control 3.2 today, you will get the 4.0 upgrade for free. This will cost you less, since we will increase the price when 4.0 is released.

Now for the download links. We have an updated distribution tool:

Distribution Tool

An updated MSI file for those who want to use group policy:

Setup_beta.msi

And the beta download:

Beta Install File

One final note. The command panel will show the current build number. When testing make sure you update the server, and the client. If you are connecting to a beta 1 or older server it will say “Unknown Build Date” (Note that this info will be replaced with the remote computer name on the final release). If everything is up to beta 2, then it will show a date. Make sure you uninstall everything before you install the new beta.

Filed Under: Beta, Remote Control, Tools, Utility, Windows

Remote Control 4.0 Beta

Posted by Steve Wiseman on May 26, 2009 with 17 Comments

We have been working hard on the new version of IntelliAdmin Remote Control.

Some things that will be in the new version:

Screen scaling – The client will automatically shrink the view to fit the screen within the window. With huge resolutions, you no longer are forced to constantly scroll around

Alpha Capture Disable – Applications like Office 2007 need alpha capture turned on, or parts of their windows will not be sent back to the remote client. This was always turned on in 3.x. Once side effect of this setting is the mouse flickers with some video cards. Now you have the option to turn this off and keep the mouse flicker to a minimum – great if you are given the task of watching a user without them knowing.

Screen Shots – You can easily save the current view in the client window to a JPG file. This is good for keeping a visual log of crash events, or activity of users.

Auto-Reconnect – When a connection is lost, it will automatically attempt to re-establish the connection

Computer Lists – We have loaded it up with options for getting lists of computers. You can get them from Windows Networking like you do right now, but in addition you can import them from an XML file, add them manually, or update them in real time from a http URL – this allows you to create a common computer list that all administrators can see and use.

Computer Search – This is the big one. When talking with customers the biggest complaint is finding a single computer among 1000s. When remote control connects to a machine, it will pull username, computername, and operating system info. All of this is stored in a database. When you click on the find button in the client window, you are shown a full listing of computers:

IntelliAdmin 4 Preview

When you start typing in the search box at the top it will narrow down your results immediately. So, if you get a call from a user you can simply start typing their username and their computer will be automatically filtered out – no more digging around for their IP address, or computer name.

Lots of time was spent to make sure this was efficient – we threw the client on an old XP machine and it was able to search 10,000 computer records in less than 1 second.

Everything about the “find computer” section was designed to reduce the time it takes to find and control a computer, and make you more productive.

Why am I teasing you with all of this? Because I want you to join our beta program. To join, simply follow this link:

Make sure you check the 4.0 beta option.

The final release date will be June 27th. If you order Remote Control 3.2 right now the upgrade protection option will allow you to get a free upgrade when it comes out – a good deal since this will give you close to 40% in savings

While we are at it. What do you want to see in 4.5? File Transfers, Chat, or what other wish do you have for the next version. Post in the comments.

Filed Under: Beta, Remote Control, Windows, Windows 2000, Windows 2008, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP

Windows 7 to have an XP Mode

Posted by Steve Wiseman on April 27, 2009 with 1 Comments

The first release candidate of Windows 7 has been dated to release on May 5th. One of the big revelations by Microsoft in recent days is the availability of a Windows XP mode.

This is unlike previous versions of windows that simply had a compatibility check box. This will be a fully functional Virtual machine with XP running inside of it.

Windows XP Virtual Mode

This is a brilliant move on Microsoft’s part. This means that with every Windows 7 license you purchase, you get Windows XP along with it. I think most businesses will find justifying the purchase much easier. Why? Because now there will be a significantly lower number of compatibility issues.

From that first screen shot you would think it is simply an included copy of Virtual PC with XP installed. Windows 7 will go way beyond that. The virtual environment will be fully integrated into windows. Take a look at this screen shot of the start menu:

Windows 7 Compatibility

If you notice above, you can see Office 2003. This was not installed directly under Windows 7, but in compatibility mode. Click on the Word 2003 icon, and it is running just like any other application:

Windows 7 Office 2003

This means seamless usage of old apps – something most IT admins will need in their environment. In addition, the Virtual PC environment can be customized to have any special mappings or virtual devices added as you need them:

Windows 7 Virtual PC XP

Can’t wait to see that Release Candidate in May. Still – one last thing I wish Microsoft would do is allow the old start menu to be turned back on (If you didn’t know…that funky new start menu is the only option in Windows 7). I can’t imagine the hell users will raise when they have to make such a huge change.

Filed Under: Beta, Microsoft, Windows, Windows 7, Windows XP

Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2 Links

Posted by Steve Wiseman on January 20, 2009 with 0 Comments

I have been looking through Microsoft’s website for more information about Windows 7, and 2008 R2. I thought you might appreciate some of my findings:

Remote Administrator tools for Windows 7

Windows 7 (Beta) Automated Installation Kit

Windows 7 Walkthrough: Deployment Image Servicing and Management

Windows 7 Walkthrough: Problem Steps Recorder

Windows 7 Walkthrough: User State Migration Tool

Release Documents for this Beta Release of Windows Server 2008 R2

Windows 7 Walkthrough: Enterprise Application Compatibility

Before we know it 2008 R2, and Windows 7 will be released, and Vista will be a bad memory.

Filed Under: Beta, Windows 2008, Windows 7