Multiple Users Accessing SCCM 2012 Console

My SCCM 2012 server is running on a Server 2008 R2. That means only 2 users can be actively logged/remoted in at the same time. In my situation I needed to give our helpdesk access to use the SCCM Console and it starts to get messy with who can be logged into the server actively. An easy way to get around this is Microsoft now includes an .exe of the SCCM 2012 Console that can be installed on other machines.

-You can find this on the .iso here: \SMSSETUP\BIN\I386\ConsoleSetup.exe
-Alternatively you can search for ConsoleSetup.exe on your SCCM server and it will reside somewhere in the ConfigMgr directory.

If you have many machines to install the Console on, Microsoft provides the following command line switches for automation:

•  /q – runs in quiet/silent mode. 
• /uninstall – removes the console. Example: consolesetup.exe/uninstall /q 
• LangPackDir – use this switch if installing the console for a different language than the default.
• TargetDir – where to install the console, otherwise it uses the default. Example: TargetDir=D:\CfgMgr
• EnableSQM – enables the Customer Experience Improvement Program option for the console, i.e., collects usage data for improving the product/application. 1 = enable, 0 = disable. Example: EnableSQM=0
• DefaultSiteServerName – FQDN of SCCM server Example: DefaultSiteServerName=SystemCenter.payneb.com

*Don't forget to lock down those users using the Security Roles in the SCCM Administration. Allow only what you want them to be able to do.

Malware/Viruses in the Workplace

Now that our campus is dominantly running Windows 7, I've seen MAJOR improvement on malware/virus infections on campus machines. When we were running XP, I typically cleaned about a machine or two a day. Mostly using ComboFix, Malwarebytes, and/or Microsoft FEP 2010. If those scanners didn't clean the infected machine, I'd resort to a reformat/rebuild of the OS. My time was consistently being pulled away from projects, server maintenance, etc. Thanks Windows 7!

We still have a handful of machines out there running Windows XP. My new motif (which has been quite some time now) that I've learned is that "most of the time" it's easier to just grab a different hard drive, image it, move over the files. This process is usually quicker than cleaning the infected machine and taking a chance of it not being cleaned after spending time on it. Or even the chance of lingering infections that will come back to haunt. This is something that I've learned over my desktop support years.

For on the spot imaging, we use Acronis True Image. I can image a hard drive typically in about 4 minutes, boot it up, let Win7 find the drivers and am ready to go.