Everyday Nerd » Remote Access

Cisco VPN Finally Supports x64!

Nerd — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:44:57 +0000

For those of you that telecommute, or ever work remotely, you probably use Cisco’s VPN software. Up until now, it was only supported on 32 bit OS’s, leaving anyone that wanted to run 64 bit out in the cold, or forcing them to dual boot, or other nasty hacks… FINALLY, Cisco has released a 64 bit version of their VPN client that works on Windows 7 x64!

For some dumb reason, it’s not publicly available on Cisco’s website, so do a quick Google search for “vpnclient-winx64-msi-5.0.07.0290-k9.exe” and you will see multiple sites to grab the file.

Think I’m going to re-load my laptop tonight to 64!

TeamViewer now for Linux!

Nerd — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 16:45:34 +0000

EverydayNerd loves TeamViewer! Use it all the time to remotely support computers (well actually the users of the said computers…)

Anyway, TeamViewer now works on Linux! The software not only allows remote controlling, but is also fully functional as a host as well – working just like the Windows/Mac versions.

Great job from TeamViewer!

[ Teamviewer ]

How-To log off a user from remote computer

Nerd — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 16:33:47 +0000

If you work in IT, I’m sure you’ve run across a time that you needed to log off a user from a remote computers – even if it’s yourself (especially when it’s time to change your password). Personally, I have to change my network password every 30 days, and there are times that I may be logged into any of 150 computers. I try to remember to use the log off button, but sometimes, I have idle sessions on computers.

This being said, I needed a way to log off any session I was logged into, in a list of computers I knew I might be logged into. My first thought was to use PSLOGGEDON.exe (from Sysinternals) which is a fantastic tool, but I don’t want to search the entire domain, plus I might be logged in to multiple domains.

So, I found a nice little utility built right into windows – quser.exe

Quser.exe can be used to show what user is logged in to a remote computer, as well as the localhost. Use quser.exe /SERVER:servername to query a remote system.

If you want to specify just one user account instead of finding all users logged in, user this syntax: quser.exe user6 /SERVER:servername

Now to log off this user, or session, you can use another built-in utility in Windows – Logoff.exe

Logoff.exe can either log off a session ID, or SessionName remotely – not by username (username works locally though). The syntax is similar to quser.exe:

LOGOFF [sessionname | sessionid] [/SERVER:servername]

So to log off user6 from the example above, I can use either the session name (rdp-rcp#443 – or I can use the ID – 2 – I’ll go with the ID

logoff 2 /SERVER:server1

That was easy! Now, to check to see if I’m logged any of the 150 servers I manage, I create a quick bat file using excel (more on that here) and now I can run it at any time, and see what remote systems I’m logged into, and log my session off if needed.

This is a really simple way to do this, but if you have another way to do it, please post below! I’d love to see how you handle this problem!

Windows 7 – Enable $admin share

Nerd — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 13:28:50 +0000

So I‘ve been running Windows 7 RTM for a while now, and really liking it. There are a few “gotcha’s”, and the $admin share is one of them. Out of the box, Windows 7 (and Windows Vista) disabled File and Printer sharing, as well as the $admin share. Normally, in the home environment, the $admin share is not needed, but in the corporate world, it’s used quite regularly, especially with tools like psexec, IntelliAdmin tools, and certain software deployments.

This is how to enable the $admin share in Windows 7:

First, Folder and Printer Sharing must be enabled. Open the Control Panel, and select Network and Internet. Then click on Network and Sharing Center.

Look to the left side of the Network and Sharing Center, and click on Change advanced sharing settings.

In the new window, you can change each network’s sharing settings (Home, Public, and Work/Domain). Expand the profile you want to modify, and click on “File and Printer Sharing”

Save your changes.

Next (I know, I wish it was just that easy…) you have to add a registry key. Open Regedit, navigate to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System – create a new DWORD:

LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy with the Value of 1

Reboot. You can now access the $admin share remotely.

RDP Update from Microsoft: no more /console

Nerd — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 21:10:12 +0000

Recently Microsoft released an update (also in SP1 for Vista) to the RDP (Remote Desktop Client) that seemed to break the /console. I found this out earlier this week when trying to connect to the console of a server, but would not – would only connect to the normal RDP non-console session.

Well, after verifying that my shortcut to with the /console switch was there, and I wasn’t going crazy, I ran mstsc.exe /? from the run line, only to find this:

/admin — Connects you to the session for administering a server.

Needless to say, I think Microsoft should have given some warning about this, or at least keep /console active until the next release – to give people a chance to the change. But that is my opinion…

LogMeIn for Mac Released

Nerd — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 17:25:00 +0000

The remote control tool LogMeIn Free for Mac was released today after a few months of beta testing. I wrote about the beta version, which is substantially unchanged in its release, in “LogMeIn Adds Remote Control for Mac,” 2007-06-11. The program allows you to connect to any of a group of computers that you have set up or that others have given you access to after the installation of a lightweight client. Little configuration is needed once you’ve registered the software and set up groups of machines.

The software is a little clunky working within a browser window, but it can traverse network address translation (NAT) gateways, a feature that lets you connect to otherwise unreachable computers. Leopard’s Screen Sharing feature can tunnel with inconsistent success, too, via Back to My Mac and iChat AV 4. (Back to My Mac works among a set of computers you register with a single .Mac account; iChat Screen Sharing requires you to grant or request permission for a buddy to see your screen or vice versa.) For a run-down of other options, see the TidBITS article noted above.

The company, eponymously named LogMeIn, also announced a beta of LogMeIn Rescue with Mac OS X support, extending their existing support for Windows. This tool, designed for remote technical support, lets a customer install a tiny applet with zero configuration to allow remote control; the beta includes Mac OS X remote control. The software costs $99 per month per technician paid as a lump sum of $1,188 for a year’s subscription, or $129 per month per support person for a single month’s service at a time.

Both products require Mac OS X 10.4 or 10.5.

Source: “LogMeIn for Mac Released” — TidBITS

VNC: What is the best version?

Nerd — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 23:25:00 +0000

VNC (Virtual Network Computing) is a wonderful program. I use it almost every day to remotely control other computers – PC, Mac, and even Linux! I’ve had several people ask me; “What is the best version of Ultra VNC?”

I personally use, and recommend UltraVNC. Why you ask? Look at the features!

Comes with video driver for faster viewing
Legacy and Windows Authentication (Both local and Domain Auth)
Can disable remote users display and/or their keyboard and mouse
File Transfer
“Silent” server – can disable tray icon, so user doesn’t know they are being watched.
Forbid user to shut down server
Can Lock / logoff workstation when client disconnects
Window Scaling – Great if you remote a machine that has higher resolution than yours.
View only mode
Works great for tunneling through SSH
Optional Proxy / Repeater for going through firewalls

I personally use UltraVNC, and have deployed it to many machines that I service. It comes with all the great features that Real VNC Enterprise version has, except that it is FREE!