Firstly apologies for the lack of updates recently in here. What with a big push to get the CentraStage v4 release out of the door and a bout of ill health my updates have all but dried up. I’ll endeavour to put things straight from now on and post some more frequent updates focussing on some of the new v4 features that you may have missed or be wondering about.

ComStore

So the first big addition to v4 I want to talk about is the ComStore. This is an online repository of useful scripts, applications and monitors that may be useful to you in the day to day management of your environment.

The ComStore is being updated all the time and isn’t just stocked when we have a product update. So make sure you check back regularly for any new additions or updates to existing scripts.

You can use the “Check for Updates” link on the left hand side to update any components that you may already have in your component library to the latest version. For example, when Java 6 Update 25 was released, the existing Java component was updated and appeared in the Updates section of the ComStore. This way you are always guaranteed to have the latest version of the applications in your library.

You can search the ComStore for what you’re after by using the (newly) page sensitive global search bar in the centre at the top of the screen or clicking on any of the category navigation links on the left hand side.

Any Components released within the last seven days are in the top section of the ComStore landing page, featured Components are located in the middle section and the bottom section contains popular Components ranked in the order of most downloaded.

Version 4.0.9 will be adding a “Request Component” link here too so you can feed back as to what you’d like to see in stock and our ComStore team (including myself) will see what we can do about getting it built.

Make sure that you come back and leave a rating and review so that others can share your experiences with the various Components on offer.

Here is a brief description of each category with some examples of Components that you may find useful.

Scripts

These are Components that perform a particular action via a script and can be anything that doesn’t involve deploying an application. Scripts may require “Input Variables” which can be set at schedule time in order to modify information used by the script. Information about the function of these variables can be found by hovering over the “information” mouseover to the right of each variable.

I’ll be covering “Input Variables” in more detail in another post soon.

Defraggler Defrag

Defraggler is a disk defragging program from Piriform (the makers of CCleaner) and does a great job of replacing the Windows defrag.exe tool. The reason that I use this instead of the standard defrag.exe is that it just works on every O/S that we’ve tested on. The defrag.exe is missing on some O/S or has all sorts of different versions with different command line switches. This will just get on with the job in hand and does not require installation.

Java – Modify auto update settings

We all know what a pain the annoying Java Updater is to end users, especially if they don’t have the rights to update the product. This allows you to flip the updater on/off by modifying the registry directly.

Powershell execution policy

Powershell by default won’t let you run scripts unless they are digitally signed (thank you Microsoft!) so if you want to run any Powershell (which is now natively supported) from CentraStage you’ll have to set this execution policy to Unrestricted. Available options are: Restricted/AllSigned/RemoteSigned/Unrestricted

Applications

Applications are pre packaged installers that will install silently on any devices targeted. Typically Application Components will not require Input Variables. Everybody knows what things like Java, Adobe Air and Internet Explorer are so here’s a few useful Application Components that you may not be quite so familiar with:

Autoruns 10.07

Autoruns is a great little tool that is like a pimped up version of MSCONFIG and shows everything that is starting up on your device at boot time including the startup folder, Run, RunOnce, and other Registry keys. This is a great tool for combatting viruses as you can easily find where they are starting up from and prevent them from running at boot time. Once incapacitated, running something like Malwarebytes (also in the ComStore) has more of a chance of killing the infection stone dead. Showing which items are digitally signed and not Microsoft items massively reduces the possible options for malicious startup items.

Eraser 6.0.8.2273

“Eraser is an advanced security tool for Windows which allows you to completely remove sensitive data from your hard drive by overwriting it several times with carefully selected patterns” says the blurb. I couldn’t have put it better myself. Offering a drag and drop interface and multiple levels of data destruction. This tool is essential in todays data defensive environments and the Recycle Bin just doesn’t cut it. If you drop something into Eraser it’s a one way street. Military strength algorithms ensure that it will never be coming back. Only use this when you REALLY want to delete something for good.

TreeSize Free 2.51

Awesome little tool that can show you where all your precious hard drive space has gone. Install this and run it on your server and instantly find if you have a log directory buried five levels deep that is 5gb in size! Kill it and regain that precious disk space. Fully visual representations using pretty bars and directories listed in order of size makes this utility a breeze to cut to the chase when trying to squeeze the most out of an ailing device.

Monitors

These can be applied in the same way as standard CentraStage monitors by selecting “Component Monitor” from the dropdown list and filling in any Input Variables that may be required.

Various Anti Virus monitors are available including Sophos, Kaspersky, AVG, Bullguard, McAfee and Avast. More Components will be added soon along with scripts to monitor backups from various vendors including Symantec Backup Exec. Also Powershell scripts for Microsoft Exchange 2007/2010 mail store size and all sorts of file and custom performance monitors.