ActMon Computer Monitoring Professional contains support for deployment and use on Local Area Networks (LAN).
Deployment over a local network is easy, just follow these two steps:
1.Prepare a "ACM.INI" file
The "acm.ini" file is a text file that contains all logging engine settings. It is created by the Control Center for the logging engine. To create the file, start the Control Center on ONE system, and define which settings you want. For example, you probably want to select the "Network/LAN" option and enter a the (network) path to the "Administrator PC" where ActMon Computer Monitoring should send the logs. You can designate any PC in the network as "Administrator PC". To make sure that your ACM.INI file contains the correct settings, you should exit and enter the Control Center once. All settings are stored once you exit the Control Center (or when you enter the Expert Settings mode).
To display the ACM.INI file, open the ActMon Computer Monitoring Control Center and go to HELP > DISPLAY SETTINGS. The file opens now in a text editor. Please save the file as "acm.ini" (not ActMon Computer Monitoring.ini.txt). The file name is NOT case sensitive.
Important: If you installed ActMon Computer Monitoring in secure mode all installed files are automatically renamed. Please install in standard mode, so all files have their standard names that are used in this manual.
Note: If you have a peer-to-peer network without a server ActMon Computer Monitoring will work equally well. The only requirement is a single shared folder that all machines have "Full Access" to. On the Network settings tab, you can also enter a USER NAME / PASSWORD for access to this folder. This allows you to restrict access to the report folder to only one special user name and deny access to this folder for all general users.
In addition to using access restriction for the report folder, you can also create a shared folder that other workstations cannot see. To do this, append a "$" character to the folder's share name (i.e. "ActMon Computer Monitoring$"). This folder should be on the server but it can be on any machine on the network. The network transport protocol is unimportant. ActMon Computer Monitoring clears old records on the CLIENT PC automatically and needs no maintenance.
By using a shared folder the ActMon Computer Monitoring reports (and the ActMon Computer Monitoring log file) are always available to the Administrator - even if the source machine has been shut down.
2. ActMon Computer Monitoring Deployment
Deploying ActMon Computer Monitoring in a network is done by cloning the settings of a SOURCE machine. Since ActMon Computer Monitoring is written as a very compact software only a few files are needed. The installation is transparent and can be easily automated. The source machine can be any PC on the networking running ActMon Computer Monitoring, including this PC.
Remote Deployment for Networks is available to all users with a multi-user or site-license.
Typically there are 3 ways to deploy ActMon Computer Monitoring:
Option 1: Network install
Copy all logging engine files to the appropriate SYSTEM folders on the CLIENT PC. Typically this C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 on a Win 2000/XP/2003 system or C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM on the older Win 98/ME systems and start "wskrnl.exe". We recommend the use of a remote exectution tool to start wskrnl.exe remotely.
Note: The "acm.ini" must be in the same folder as "wskrnl.exe" (= the SYSTEM folder). Wskrnl.exe will automatically pick up this file and store the settings in the registry. After this, the "acm.ini" fine in the SYSTEM directory is automatically deleted.
Directly after the first start the logging engine ("wskrnl.exe") completes the setup and the "ActMon Computer Monitoring.ini" file is automatically deleted. There will be NO message after the installation, but the disappearance of "ActMon Computer Monitoring.ini" indicates that the installation was completed. The Process Protection and the hardware-level keylogging are active after the next reboot. All other functions are active right away (without reboot). If you want the double-check that the installation is complete, you can start "ActMon Computer Monitoring.exe" (the reporting and settings tool). It should indicate "Logging engine was running".
Option 2: Use Login Script
This is a popular method for large networks and where file sharing is not practical. Your login scripts needs to copy all logging engine files to the target machine and start the logging engine. After it is started, the logging engine invisibly completes the setup and deletes the "acm.ini" file automatically.
Option 3: Using Group Policies. This requires Active Directory. Option 4: Manuall installation using a "Clone" disk or network path.
This is the most simple option and can be used where option 1 and 2 are not practical: Simply copy all logging engine files in the appropriate folder on the target machine and start the logging engine once. After it is started, the logging engine invisibly completes the setup and deletes the "acm.ini" file automatically.
2. When you need to update the settings, create a new "acm.ini" file and copy to the client PCs. The logging engine automatically picks it up, reads the settings and deletes it at the next start up. To switch off a running logging engine, create a ActMon Computer Monitoring.ini file with the setting "Autostart=0" and copy it to the same directory as "wskrnl.exe". The logging engine reads this file after the next reboot and stops itself from running at the following PC start.
3. Make sure that the network (or local) directory exists and has full access rights (read and write) for all users! If a directory does not exists, ActMon Computer Monitoring will ask you to create it when you press the "TEST" button on the LAN options page.
4. There is no limit to the size or type of network that ActMon Computer Monitoring is installed on, and there are no requirements for any particular transport protocols. ActMon Computer Monitoring is currently running on small peer-to-peer office networks and multi-server networks with 100+ machines, with mixed operating systems including Windows /98/Me/2000/XP/2003 and Novell.
5. The number of Client PC installations ("logging engine") allowed on your network is embedded in your license key. Installation of the ActMon Computer Monitoring Commander are unlimited
6. If the connection to the network folder is lost at any point, ActMon Computer Monitoring will save all information locally and resends it once the network connection is established again. This is especially important for a laptop that may be disconnected for long periods.
7. To make sure you have the correct path, we recommend that you use the "Browse" button on the LAN options page. There must be a slash "\" at the end of the directory path. If you forget it, ActMon will add it for you.
8. Share Name Hint: You can setup an "invisible share" by proceeding you share name with a dollar sign ($). An invisible share is not shown in the list of shares on your computer, but can still be accessed by the share name (example: \\my-computer\shared$ where "my-computer" is the name of your computer on the network an "shared$" is the name of your hidden share).