UltraAdmin

More Information

Confronted daily by burdensome tasks like resetting passwords, rebooting computers, scheduling jobs, updating group memberships, and reporting on users, then sifting through all the different tools and interfaces to do the job, makes Windows domain management much more difficult than it should be.  And, for many, an Active Directory implementation only complicates matters further.  This is why Dorian Software created a consolidated, intelligent tool to reduce the time often wasted in the labyrinth of Active Directory and domain management.  

Among its accolades, UltraAdmin has been called an "uber-management" tool by Ziff-Davis.  Those across the globe who manage Windows based domains with UltraAdmin no doubt agree - they have already learned what a cost saver and time saver UltraAdmin can be.  

Now, UltraAdmin 5 brings additional tools that have become "must have" functionality for many administrators on a daily basis.  Spyware removal, start-up program management, and Terminal Services client integration make UltraAdmin a time-saving and cost effective tool for administrators feeling the pinch of exanding duties and shrinking resources.  

Some of the many features included in UltraAdmin 5 are:

Anti-Spyware Tools and Startup Program Management
Spyware, malware, and unauthorised software installations will continue to plague IT staff for years.  UltraAdmin 5 has the ability to list some of the most common areas used by programs both good and bad to ensure their ability to load at startup or at user logon.  However, UltraAdmin takes this one step further by enabling administrators to:
  • Directly view the properties of the executable file or .DLL on the target workstation in Windows Explorer, dramatically reducing the clicks and navigation required to access that view
  • Directly view the properties of service and device executables in Windows Explorer, dramatically reducing the clicks and navigation required to access that view
  • Adjust the Access Control List of the file to prevent its execution or load
  • Remove the registry entries associated with the file
  • Remove the file itself
  • Remotely reboot the system after modifications are made
  • Report on/Export startup objects and files on certain machines using the built-in UltraAdmin Reporter

Consequently, UltraAdmin 5 enables administrators to surgically remove various startup programs and suspected malware components one-by-one, rather than take the riskier "shotgun blast" approach of many anti-spyware software packages.  Now, when a user calls in complaining of system performance problems, an admin can immediately see the quantity and type of programs set to load at startup or logon, document the items via an exportable report, and take steps at remediation.

New Organisational Unit Targeting

Active Directory migration usually requires consolidating smaller domains into large domains with rights delegation managed by Organisational Units.  UltraAdmin 5 can now be configured to target a specific OU, so that individual OU administrators can zero in on information for only those users, groups, computers, and other objects they are responsible for within a larger domain.  When in "OU Mode", UltraAdmin only retrieves and displays objects within that OU.  However, full Domain Administrators can still manage all objects in the entire domain as required.

Group Policy Management

When viewing the entire Active Directory, or just a branch of it, UltraAdmin 5 enables the administrator to easily invoke the Microsoft Group Policy Editor to tweak the policies linked to various objects in the domain.  Furthermore, administrators can quickly view what policy or combination of policies is affecting a particular user or computer account.  In addition, admins can also link or unlink specific policies to domains and OUs in the portion of the Active Directory they control using the Linked Group Policy Objects Dialog in UltraAdmin.

Immediate Exports and Reports of Object Information

The UltraAdmin Reporter can be easily accessed to export and report on various objects?  properties with the click of a button.  Conveniently report on such objects as shares, user accounts, and group accounts without abandoning a specific dialog or view.

Custom Computer View

Administrators can directly add the names or IP addresses of various computers into UltraAdmin's interface, and then summon that list by selecting the "Custom Computer List" category from the category drop-down menu.  If the systems are not in a domain, UltraAdmin's "Authenticate" feature can be used to remotely logon to the machine with a specific machine account to manage and report on the various objects of that machine.

RDP/Terminal Services Client Integration

With UltraAdmin 5 on a Microsoft Windows XP workstation, administrators can immediately shell out to a Terminal Services Client session on a listed computer.

Improved User Interface

Areas of the UltraAdmin interface have been improved while maintaining the ease and simplicity that UltraAdmin has always promised its users.  For example, a logon hours grid for logon hour management has been seamlessly included for UltraAdmin 5.

Expanded Reporting

For years, UltraAdmin has shipped with a domain object reporter, allowing administrators to quickly and easily produce detailed reports on objects in a domain, such as user accounts, groups, computers, installed software, and more.  In response to the need for network administrators to report on an ever-increasing number of objects, reporting capabilities and options have been expanded significantly in version 5.

These are in addition to the existing features and supported management categories that have made UltraAdmin an acclaimed domain management tool:

  • Event Log Support - An internal event log viewer ships with UltraAdmin, allowing administrators to quickly examine and filter for events in their active and saved event logs.  In addition, this can work alongside Dorian Software Creations' other event log software to provide a powerful log management solution.  
  • User Terminal Services Property Editing - Administrations can adjust per-user Terminal Server settings, such as disconnect times, remote control options, and more.  
  • Robust messaging and shutdown/restart capability.  
  • Flexible multitasking capability.  
  • Microsoft Windows 2003 Server installation supported.  

Active Directory Support

  • All Windows 2000 group scopes, types, and members are supported
  • All Windows 2000 user account properties
  • All Windows 2000 computer account properties
  • All Active Directory contacts
  • All Active Directory file shares
  • All Active Directory printers
  • All Active Directory organisational units

Organisational Units

  • Manage the OU/container hierarchy in your domain
  • Drag-and-drop support simplifies moving objects around the directory
  • Add organisational units
  • Edit organisational units
  • Delete organisational units

Computer Management

  • Add and delete computer accounts
  • Edit Active Directory information
  • Manage NT services remotely
  • Manage NT devices remotely
  • Manage open server resources
  • Manage user sessions/connections
  • Manage shared printers
  • Manage network shares and access control lists
  • Manage scheduled jobs
  • Manage account policy
  • Manage audit policy (both NT 4.0 and Win2K)
  • Check disk space, volume names, and file systems remotely
  • Check processor and OS type remotely
  • Check original date of installation remotely
  • Check Service Pack information remotely
  • View used and total disk space remotely
  • View installed software remotely
  • View network devices remotely
  • View remote server time and time zone information
  • Reboot/shutdown servers remotely
  • Hide servers/workstations from the browse list
  • Forcibly authenticate with (logon to) untrusting computers
  • Send popup messages to remote machines
  • View event log information

User Management

  • Create users
  • Edit users
  • Delete users
  • Copy users
  • Rename users
  • Manage user rights for each individual user (NT 4 and Win2K user rights)
  • Set RAS (Dialin) properties
  • Set all NT 4.0 and Win2K user account flags (e.g.  require smart card logon, etc.)
  • Edit Active Directory information
  • Auto create home directory folders and appropriate access control permissions

Group Management

  • Create groups
  • Edit groups
  • Delete groups
  • Copy groups
  • Rename groups
  • Manage user rights for each individual group (NT 4 and Win2K user rights)
  • Edit Active Directory information
  • Change group types/scope

Domains

  • Manage user account policy
  • Manage audit policy (both NT 4 and Win2K policies)
  • Initiate full and partial domain resynchronisation
  • Auto-detect and display domain modes (NT 4, Win2K mixed, Win2K native)
  • Filter computer groups into over 12 different categories (NT/2000 servers, 95/98 machines, print servers, PDCs, BDCs, master browsers, etc)
  • Manually adjust the specific domains/workgroups you wish to manage

Network

  • Perform ping (ICMP verification) tests before administering computers, preventing costly timeouts
  • Calculate relative network speed, number of hops, and round trip time to a server
  • Browse to computer file shares (like Network Neighborhood)
  • Quickly open connections to hidden administrative shares (C$, ADMIN$)

Miscellaneous

  • Map security identifiers to account names and vice versa
  • Create and delete Exchange Server mailboxes when you add and delete domain users
  • Plug in command-line utilities inside the UltraAdmin interface
  • Search for objects by exact name or partial name matches


Screenshots

Machine Properties
Event Log Management
Group Properties
"Custom Computer" Management
Terminal Server User Settings



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