What tools have you found that make your support life easy?

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jaymz

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#36109 19-Jun-2009 11:24

Hey guys,

Time for some info sharing! As a network engineer i have come across loads of tools that make my life easier when troubleshooting and supporting my clients. Thought it would be a good idea to share these with you.

CD's:

ERD Commander - Can reset local passwords, fix registry corruption

Acronis Partition Expert - resize disk partitions

Ultimate Boot CD - loads of hardware tools, HDD checks, Mem tests, CPU stress tests

Apps on my USB drive:

Dial-a-fix - fix issues with windows installer, windows update,ssl/https

Keyfinder - find windows and office key (usefull if you need to rebuild a windows box but missing keys)

macshift - change your MAC address of your network card

Malwarebytes - great anti spyware program

PTEDIT32.exe - partition table editor (helpfull with recovery)

Spybot SD - more anti spyware

XPtcprep.exe - TCP/IP and WINSOC repair tool (great for fixing a network connection issue after removing some spyware

AccessEnum - Lists the folder permissions for selected folders

cports - great for finding what app has what port open on your machine

Norton removal tool - does what the name says!printmig.exe - perfect tool for migrating your printers from one machine to another. backs up the drivers etc so you can restore on another machine

That is the main ones i use at the moment.

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#226631 19-Jun-2009 11:46

VNC - Saved me from many late-night call-outs. I even setup a customized Single-Click version of it complete with repeater server to bypass most firewalls.

GParted - Just like Partition Magic, but free.

"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads." - Doc Emmet Brown

freitasm

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#226632 19-Jun-2009 11:47

Logmein.com - Free for client and Pro for servers
Hamachi - easy quick VPN
Symantec Backup Exec System Restore - great for servers and clients

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jaymz

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#226634 19-Jun-2009 11:53

ShadowProtect IT edition - great for imaging PC's (nice and quick too!)
Belarc Advisor - perfect for a quick inventory of a machine

Canterbury

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#226642 19-Jun-2009 12:05

Google.com

magu

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#226648 19-Jun-2009 12:18

Canterbury: Google.com

What happens when you have no Internet? Or do you just work on always-online computers?

"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads." - Doc Emmet Brown

jaymz

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#226655 19-Jun-2009 12:28

maybe he has downloaded the internet already?

----> http://www.w3schools.com/downloadwww.htm

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Adamal

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#226704 19-Jun-2009 14:32

I'm all for Logmein as well.

Where I'm currently working, the Reverse VNC thing has been very helpful.
Thats where you setup the IP address, ports etc, then create an executable file. Set your VNC to listen, send the file to someone and get them to run it and it connects to your VNC to let you take control of their PC.
Works great when the standard remote package isn't working for some reason.

Hiren's Boot CD is a good one as well.

Dameware is actually quite good as well when impliemtented on an AD setup. Allows you to access pretty much anything on a remote computer, even their command prompt.

Canterbury

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#226709 19-Jun-2009 14:59

magu:
Canterbury: Google.com

What happens when you have no Internet? Or do you just work on always-online computers?

Very unlikely not to have internet in some form these days as i see you reference with VNC....

Worst case is using the my phones internet :) which has the google search app

magu

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#226716 19-Jun-2009 15:21

Canterbury:
magu:
Canterbury: Google.com

What happens when you have no Internet? Or do you just work on always-online computers?

Very unlikely not to have internet in some form these days as i see you reference with VNC....

Worst case is using the my phones internet :) which has the google search app

My reference to VNC is when Internet is, indeed, working. That doesn't mean I only rely on VNC for making support life easier. As the OP mentioned, Ultimate Boot CD is also a handy tool in most cases.

I think it's a given that anyone posting on this thread already has the 'search for it' option well covered, so your comment to use Google is kinda pointless, amirite? ;)

Instead, you could've just said: "I use my phone when the Internet is down at customer/client/grandma's place. It makes for a nice plan B."

"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads." - Doc Emmet Brown

garvani

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#226723 19-Jun-2009 15:32

Hiren cd (as previously mentioned) as a lot of the programs that the op posted all on one cd, as well as ghost and countless other programs.. Also has a mini xp in the later versions which is a bootable live xp.

We have reverse vnc setup here too and goes out on the desktop of every machine that comes through the door, makes troubleshooting a lot easier..

Erd commander was good but has been replaced by hiren, and a bootable linux (gos or ubuntu)

Portable ccleaner, regvac, norton utilities.. good general system cleaners that dont need installing.

pcdecrapifier: automated uninstaller of adobe, google products, norton trials and office trials.. great for HP, dell laptops that come in, that you would normally have to manually remove all the bloat from..

Jelly bean keyfinder: office, os keyfinder

Hijackthis! See everything that is starting with windows, ability to then disable services etc

Winsockfix and Lspfix: Clean out winsock and tcp/ip.. then repair it.. resolves a lot of connectivity problems

Revelation: reveals passwords under ******'s

Angry ip scanner: scan your network for hosts..

Combofix: awesome free antimalware scanner, always the first stop when cleaning a pc, followed by malwarebytes and superantispyware.. anyone recommending spybot and adawre needs to get with the times, these programs have had there day and are next to useless now compared to the 3 just mentioned.

Security administrator: great for locking down machines, freindlier version of policy editor..

so many more apps and utils but should be doing work not talking about it

CYaBro

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#226733 19-Jun-2009 15:50

garvani:

Combofix: awesome free antimalware scanner, always the first stop when cleaning a pc, followed by malwarebytes and superantispyware.. anyone recommending spybot and adawre needs to get with the times, these programs have had there day and are next to useless now compared to the 3 just mentioned.

Security administrator: great for locking down machines, freindlier version of policy editor..

Adaware is crap yes but Spybot is good again.
I've had it pick up stuff that Malwarebytes hasn't.

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

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meesham

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#226738 19-Jun-2009 15:56

putty - I only look after Linux boxes! :)

magu

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#226741 19-Jun-2009 16:01

meesham: putty - I only look after Linux boxes! :)

Very, very handy. Always carry one copy around.

When I was running a jailbroken OS on my iPhone, I started using Terminal on it as a quick tool for emergencies as well.

"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads." - Doc Emmet Brown

garvani

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#226742 19-Jun-2009 16:03

CYaBro:
Adaware is crap yes but Spybot is good again.
I've had it pick up stuff that Malwarebytes hasn't.

Thats why i followup malwarebytes with super antispyware.. theres nothing in the known world that can hide from these two* :)

* Disclaimer.. Maybe a slight over exaggeration..

wazzageek

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#226847 19-Jun-2009 20:17

meesham: putty - I only look after Linux boxes! :)

Don't forget that it's also very handy to connect to serial devices after hyperterminal has been dropped in later versions of Windows...

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