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diablo2nd

84 posts

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#318227 28-Dec-2024 15:56
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Hi - 

I've been asked to help an extended family member thats starting high school in 2025 with a laptop. It needs to be Windows (despite what my own preferences are) so i'm looking for some info on what tools are available to aid in remote management. I've been looking at MDM (Mobile Device Management) however that seems a little bit overkill for what I want. I've also looked at ansible which at the moment is looking like a favoured approach. Thought it put the question out there and see what else might exist. 

Some key things im looking for:

 

  • Can enforce windows updates
  • can manage local user account
  • can limit installation of software
  • can push new software
  • potentially some policy/group policys - i havnt looked into this space much but i'd like to 'secure' the laptop while not restricting use.
  • Must support windows,
  • if also supports android mobile thats a bonus but not required

 

 

Why im doing this:
I dont have much experence in newer windows. I've barely touched windows 10/11 and only minimal exposure on 7. Back in the XP days i had reasonable experience in XP and 2000 and the accompanying windows server 2003 and 2008. I've seen first hand that windows laptops get clunky and generally slow down over time as more and more things are added, edited and changed. 

 

My ultimate goal to to prevent curious fingers from changing important settings, adding unknown softeware, and protecting from threats (malware, virus etc) 

My current line of thinking, is to go down the ansible route - setup the device initially then add zeroteir, so The device and the ansible controller can talk to each other on differnet physical networks. 

 

 

 

Open to all suggestions, and to hear about what you may have down to support your own family devices. 


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K8Toledo
1014 posts

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  #3325361 28-Dec-2024 16:24
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Most schoolwork is stored on Google Drive, students log in with Chrome. 

 

 

 

BYOD's are either Crapbooks running ChromeOS, which I do not recommend, or laptops running Windows. 

 

 

 

  • Can enforce windows updates
  • can manage local user account
  • can limit installation of software
  • can push new software
  • potentially some policy/group policys - i havnt looked into this space much but i'd like to 'secure' the laptop while not restricting use.
  • Must support windows,

 

 

You manage all that with Group Policy, GP requires W10/11Pro or Enterprise. 

 

 

 

Android is out of the question, unless your BYOD is a tablet.

 

  • if also supports android mobile thats a bonus but not required

 




MadEngineer
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  #3325362 28-Dec-2024 16:24
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That's all OTT.

 

Use Microsoft Family Safety and a non-admin account.  Sorted.

 

End.





You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

K8Toledo
1014 posts

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  #3325363 28-Dec-2024 16:27
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MadEngineer:

 

That's all OTT.

 

 

Yeah I thought so too... lol

 

 

 

I prefer supplying ex lease laptops, so kids can use them for more than just schoolwork, Thinkpads are my fav the keyboards are great for touch-typing on.




Goosey
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  #3325372 28-Dec-2024 16:53
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The school account will be under school supervision so no need to worry about that one.

 

the personal account, well just use that ms family safety….

 

just be sure to adhere to whatever said school requires for them to be able to admin the school login…the school will have some guides.

 

 

 

 


MadEngineer
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  #3325374 28-Dec-2024 17:01
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Has the school said anything about this?  Have they provided instructions that they want it new out of the box for example, so they can set it up?





You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

K8Toledo
1014 posts

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  #3325375 28-Dec-2024 17:06
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MadEngineer:

 

Has the school said anything about this?  Have they provided instructions that they want it new out of the box for example, so they can set it up?

 

 

Schools I deal with don't admin local accounts, only Chrome profiles. They use Chrome Enterprise.

 

 

 

It's not schools place to admin devices owned by end users. :) A company provided lappie for employees, sure.


diablo2nd

84 posts

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  #3325425 28-Dec-2024 17:28
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No guidance from the school on setup that I've seen..it's Epsom girls grammar if anyone happens to have first hand experience - from how they have worded things I.e. "must support Google Chrome" and "we use a customised gsuite apps" I gather that they are using managed chrome profiles only.

Companies manage company devices to facilitate there employees being able to complete there assigned duties without disruption. Is it so wrong to want to manage a personal device that's not co-located to me in the same way? So the student can complete there education without disruption.

I'll look at family safety more, I had seen it previously and thought it was a glorified screen lock and dns solution for content blocking.

 
 
 

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K8Toledo
1014 posts

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  #3325476 28-Dec-2024 17:58
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diablo2nd: No guidance from the school on setup that I've seen..it's Epsom girls grammar if anyone happens to have first hand experience - from how they have worded things I.e. "must support Google Chrome" and "we use a customised gsuite apps" I gather that they are using managed chrome profiles only.

Companies manage company devices to facilitate there employees being able to complete there assigned duties without disruption. Is it so wrong to want to manage a personal device that's not co-located to me in the same way? So the student can complete there education without disruption.

I'll look at family safety more, I had seen it previously and thought it was a glorified screen lock and dns solution for content blocking.

 

Employees don't own company devices, the company does.   BYOD stands for Bring Your OWN Device, so the kids own them.

 

You're way overthinking this or out of touch..... we're not talking Air New Zealand here.. :) 

 

 

 

The schools all use Chrome, so what's to manage?  For some clients kids, if they're competent,  I'll remove Chrome restrictions so they can use it however they want.


diablo2nd

84 posts

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  #3325649 28-Dec-2024 21:59
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Yes I am out of touch 🙃 my intention was to make that clear up front in the first post apologies if that wasn't the case.

Mabey I'm approaching this the wrong way.

How do I ensure that updates are applied, and that I can remotely manage the machine as required to resolve issues.

Or are windows laptops as reliable and maintenance free as macs these days?

K8Toledo
1014 posts

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  #3325656 28-Dec-2024 23:46
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diablo2nd: Yes I am out of touch 🙃 my intention was to make that clear up front in the first post apologies if that wasn't the case.

Mabey I'm approaching this the wrong way.

How do I ensure that updates are applied, and that I can remotely manage the machine as required to resolve issues.


 

OS updates are installed automatically. 

 

 

 

How many machines are we talking, if it's less than a handful or just one, GP (Group Policy), and TeamViewer (or Anydesk) for occasional remote support stuff. 

 

For imaging I recommend Macrium Reflect.

 

 

 

If you haven't touched Windows since XP, I'd start here: MS Technical Library, now even informative.

 

Windows client documentation

 

Documentation for IT pros on how to deploy, secure, and manage Windows clients for your organization.

 

 

 

Or are windows laptops as reliable and maintenance free as macs these days?

 

 

 

Last I checked Macs held around 5% of Desktop/Laptop market. MS Windows accounted for roughly ~95%.

 

Maintenance Free would be one way to put it. :D  Macs are locked down tight these days and almost impossible to work with, so yeah maintenance free I guess. 

 

2nd hand iPhones/MacBook's with locked Apple ID's end up landfill.  

 

 

 

For years the only difference between a Core2 iMac and Core2 Desktop, other than the OS, was the price.

 

 

 

Not much has changed, luckily you missed Vista and Windows 8/8.1, both disasters.

 

 

 

 


lxsw20
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  #3325658 29-Dec-2024 00:28
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K8Toledo:

 

Most schoolwork is stored on Google Drive, students log in with Chrome. 

 

 

 

 

Note this is school dependent. While most primary use Google Workspace, plenty of high schools use O365 or a hybrid of 365/Google.

 

 

 

K8Toledo:

 

Maintenance Free would be one way to put it. :D  Macs are locked down tight these days and almost impossible to work with, so yeah maintenance free I guess. 

 

 

 

 

Much like Windows, with the right tool sets in place, there are no issues managing Mac.


K8Toledo
1014 posts

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  #3325659 29-Dec-2024 00:48
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lxsw20:

 

Note this is school dependent. While most primary use Google Workspace, plenty of high schools use O365 or a hybrid of 365/Google.

 

 

That's probably true, I'm only going by the 4 schools I deal with.....

 

 

 

lxsw20:

 

Much like Windows, with the right tool sets in place, there are no issues managing Mac.

 

 

I hate Macs in general lol. Loathe them


lxsw20
3552 posts

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  #3325662 29-Dec-2024 01:02
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For the OPs use case, I'd probably just install the home version of Patch my PC and leave it at that. You don't need a highly scalable solution for a fleet of one. 

 

 

 

Data will be backed up via OneDrive/Google Drive.

 

 

 

Windows has built in AV these days.

 

 

 

If they break something, then they've had a good learning opportunity to not do it again. Reset/Reinstall Windows if it all goes really bad, and you're on your way. 


Goosey
2829 posts

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  #3325721 29-Dec-2024 07:49
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Here’s the info from September 2024

 

id be checking out the pricing with preferred suppliers to see how that stacks up and how that stacks up vs white gloved vs DIY

 

https://www.eggs.school.nz/assets/Documents/BYOD/BYOD-2025.pdf

 

https://www.eggs.school.nz/eggs-life/school-information/byod-requirements-and-suppliers/

 


Note, it says they get access to free MS office (but sounds like you have to sort it yourself once you get a student ID).

 

 

 

edit:  I don’t want to take this off topic or sound like I’m gaslighting…

 

”the above info would have been given to them at the time of enrolment acceptance and as part of the stationary, uniform etc lists being published”.   


sdavisnz
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  #3326879 1-Jan-2025 18:01
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What's to stop end user wiping and reloading os?




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