Wednesday, February 13, 2008

UltraAdmin Version 6 Now Available

As promised, version 6 of UltraAdmin® is now available for download from the Dorian Software website. This version is being made available at no charge to any network administrator who wishes to use it. For those organizations and individuals that need priority support for the product, you can purchase it here.

We've also made available a PDF file listing all of UltraAdmin's features.

The new features in Version 6 include the utility's support for Microsoft Vista™ (important for those admins who are using it on their workstations), support for EVTX and EVT event log reading when installed on Vista, and a new database query tool that can be used to comb through data exported by UltraAdmin into a Microsoft Access database.

A rather nice, but often overlooked feature we introduced in Version 5, is UltraAdmin's ability to manage startup programs on servers and workstations remotely. Specifically, UltraAdmin can manage Run key programs, BHOs, Winlogon notification packages, and Startup folder links. Consequently, UltraAdmin can be used to remove or limit some types of spyware or malware that hook these areas to ensure their load at startup.



For example, an administrator using UltraAdmin can:

1.) Locate the offending executable or DLL that is loaded at startup.
2.) Change the NTFS permissions on that executable or DLL remotely so that no one has access to the file.
3.) Reboot the workstation or server in question remotely.
4.) Delete the offending files after the system has been restarted, and delete the startup hooks referencing those files.

Obviously, some forms of spyware/malware are more tenacious than others, and will be substantially harder to remove. For powerful anti-spyware software, we recommend CounterSpy™ from our friends at Sunbelt Software. Still, UltraAdmin remains an excellent tool in the admin's arsenal, especially for spyware/malware that be surgically extracted in the manner mentioned above.

Friday, February 8, 2008

UltraAdmin Is Now Free, and Features LogRefiner Technology

When you take a bit of a hiatus from blogging, you need to resurface with a bang. To that end, we're excited to announce that UltraAdmin Version 6 will be released next week. The best part?

We're making it available FREE to any network administrator who wants to use it. Fully functional, uncrippled, comprehensive Windows domain and Active Directory management at your fingertips.

We will sell priority support plans for it at $99.00 USD per admin per year, for those who desire that level of assistance.

Some of the biggest Version 6 highlights:

1.) It now supports Microsoft Vista™

2.) It can read both live and saved EVT and EVTX log files when run on Microsoft Vista. Admins won't need to crank up two different versions of the Microsoft Event Viewer to view their logs. We've placed some of our amazing LogRefiner™ technology inside UltraAdmin to accomplish this.

3.) It has a built-in query tool that complements the UltraAdmin Reporter/Exporter module, allowing the administrator to quickly comb through the Microsoft Access databases that UltraAdmin can populate with domain objects and their properties.

We'll post more information on UltraAdmin - including a link to download it and a comprehensive feature listing - early next week.