Active Directory Reports and Audit Tools

How often is your IT staff tasked with searching Active Directory to find specific information, such as a list of inactive or disabled accounts, to satisfy an internal audit or management request?  Manually mining Active Directory for data on users, groups, computers or printers, can be very time consuming.  And if you’re under a deadline, you need to find the information fast.

You could write a script or use third-party reporting software to accomplish the task, but wouldn’t it be better to have a reliable tool at your disposal that allows you to find and filter the exact data you’re looking for?  And what if this tool also provided a customizable report, or allowed you to create your own report from scratch?

Namescape’s mPowerTools is just that – an efficient and flexible search engine designed to automate and streamline Active Directory administrative tasks, and eliminate time spent manually digging through Active Directory.

Read how Gloucester County Public Schools used mPowerTools to find and delete unused accounts.  “mPowerTools is a powerful search engine for getting information out of Active Directory,” says their Director of Technology Services.

For auditing Active Directory, Namescape’s mPowertools can provide easy access to:

ü  Information about users, groups, computers, printers, ACL’s and more

ü  Over 160 customizable reports and advanced smart-filters to provide accurate information

ü  Update AD objects in bulk for adding, modifying, deleting

ü  Import and export information with other databases for more consistency

ü  Schedule reports, updates, and jobs to automate repetitive tasks

Namescape is committed to providing the best possible tools for Active Directory management and supporting them with incomparable customer service.

Please contact me to view a web-demo at your convenience, or you can also download an evaluation copy right away. I look forward to working with you.

John Boyer

Namescape

602-667-8910 – Direct

John.boyer@namescape.com

Keys to Unlocking Active Directory Accounts

Watch the brief web-clip about resetting passwords and unlocking accounts

Do your users often lock themselves out of the network by entering an incorrect password?

According to a Microsoft research paper on password habits, “ For a user with, e.g. 30 password accounts, the problem becomes not remembering 30 distinct passwords, but rather remembering which of 5 or 6 passwords was used. This appears to be done using a combination of memory, pieces of paper, trial and error (trying each of the passwords in turn), and password resets”. ¹

If your company has effective complexity requirements in place that prevent familiar passwords from being re-used, your users may have a tough time remembering their log-in.

Questions to think about:

·         Do you have access points in place at each entry point to your network for users to reset their passwords and unlock their account?

·         Are your users enrolled in a Q&A Profile Validator for password reset/account unlock?

·         Do you have a backup method for users who are not enrolled and need to reset/unlock?

Namescape’s comprehensive password management solution, myPassword, is currently helping thousands of users world-wide who require a cost-efficient, safe and secure method for resetting forgotten passwords, meeting complexity requirements and managing locked accounts.  

With links at each “entry point” to your network, users can safely and quickly resolve password issues for themselves. And, for those users without a Q&A profile, myPassword’s vouching feature allows managers or designated groups to vouch for a user or send them a secure link to their external email account so they can unlock or reset!

Watch the brief web-clip about resetting passwords and unlocking accounts

Please call or email me if you would like to see a brief web-demonstration of myPassword or would like to receive a 30 day key to evaluate the software.

John Boyer

Namescape Corporation

602-667-8910 – Direct

John.boyer@namescape.com

¹  Herley, Cormac and Florencio, Dinei.  A Large Scale Study of Web Password Habits.  Microsoft Corporation, 2007.  Web. <http://research.microsoft.com/pubs/74164/www2007.pdf>

Tightening Active Directory Security

How many employees in your IT department have administrator rights, and yet probably need to perform only one or two maintenance tasks within the network?

If your answer is more than one, keep reading.

Granting administrator rights to non-administrators is an accident waiting to happen.  An inexperienced user with too many rights can unintentionally cause damage to your network if they wander into the wrong areas. If your company must adhere to specific regulatory reporting requirements, it is imperative that you know who has access to what.

How can you limit user rights and allow a non-admin to perform selective network tasks?   You could use native AD tools, but the process is tedious, complicated and unforgiving if not done correctly. You could delegate more tasks to your administrators, but they’re already overloaded.

Or, you can use rDirectory.

rDirectory’s flexible role-based access allows an IT manager to leverage existing relationships when delegating Active Directory tasks.  Account creation, identity and group management, and other routine tasks that typically consume valuable IT time, can be performed by non-administrators without granting additional rights.

And, rDirectory automatically creates an audit trail of AD activity via logs and email notifications, instantly providing essential reporting information about who changed what and when.

Please call or email me to request an evaluation copy or schedule a short web-demonstration on how rDirectory’s unique authorization model increases the power and security of your network.

John Boyer
Namescape Corporation

602-667-8910 – Direct

john.boyer@namescape.com

Tips for a Great Web Directory

Watch a brief web-clip about today’s topic – Having a Great Web-Directory

Although many companies have some form of an employee directory, not all directories are created equal. Printed directories have become obsolete; expensive and time-consuming to update and redistribute.

A web-directory on the other hand, is just the opposite - easily accessible and searchable, and easy to update in real time.   

Tips and tricks for a great company web-directory:

Enroll your AD users.  They are already logging in and out of your network daily.  A web directory gives them immediate and secure access to your company’s contacts and resources.

Empower users to edit personal information.  Home addresses, phone numbers, emergency contact information may not always be current if the user has to email the changes to HR or Help Desk, only to find the info is entered incorrectly and has to be changed again.

Make your directory accessible. Why not snap into SharePoint, add a link into Outlook, or insert a link on your intranet portal?

Leverage existing roles.  Allow managers, HR, or the Help Desk the ability to maintain relevant employee information and reduce duplicate efforts across other departments.

Add photos.  Enhance the sense of community when employees recognize each other, especially in a large company. On a practical level, photo ID’s improve security as a secondary method to verify users.

You can quickly download Namescape’s free web-directory software, rDirectory Community Edition, and in just a few minutes, deploy an out-of-the-box solution for displaying and searching the information in Active Directory.

Visit Namescape.com to request a complimentary, fully functional evaluation copy of rDirectory’s Enterprise Edition and learn how you can customize your company directory using roles, groups, and existing relationships, and integrate password management for a complete, secure, identity information and password management solution.

Watch a brief web-clip about today’s topic – Having a Great Web-Directory

Please call or email me if you would like to schedule a brief web-demonstration of any Namescape product. I will be happy to demonstrate how we can immediately add value and productivity to Active Directory and your company.

                                              

John Boyer

Namescape Corporation

+1-602-667-8910 – Direct

John.boyer@namescape.com