Jobos Posted July 30, 2014 Posted July 30, 2014 One of my schools has been using PCE for a few years and it's been ok apart from the far too many false positives. They are running 5.1.4.8 and I've been told v6 is just around the corner but it needs Java to run so that put me off for a start as I've removed Java from all the clients months ago. Has anyone tried PCE v6 or is thinking about it? Like a said v5 is ok so don't want to move just because v6 is new and shiny
WikusVanDeMerwe Posted September 2, 2014 Posted September 2, 2014 The short answer is: yes It requires 64bit java if installing onto a 64 bit machine. But wait there's more! It also needs MS Visual C++ Redist for Visual Studio 2013 update (for 64 bit systems it needs the 32 and 64 bit packages installed) .NET 4 Also you need to make some changes to your firewall settings, your AV and it appears to want to have Full Control perms on a folder sitting on the root of the OS drive which I find a little disconcerting. I have to roll this out across our network in the near future.
Jobos Posted September 3, 2014 Author Posted September 3, 2014 It's the Java requirement that is putting me off so I'm going to hold out on upgrading for as long as I can. Any idea what has improved in v6 over v5?
WikusVanDeMerwe Posted September 4, 2014 Posted September 4, 2014 It's the Java requirement that is putting me off so I'm going to hold out on upgrading for as long as I can. Any idea what has improved in v6 over v5? Well as luck would have it my attempted install today has failed due to some nasty error the msi spits out which I'm having to submit a support ticket over. It's most annoying (more annoying that I'm willing to type about) as I've had nothing but trouble in the past with this software. The supposed benefits are orbiting around more monitoring functionality and better control systems as to what to ignore, I cannot verify any of this yet though as the swine won't deploy. It is a real shame because the XP version worked very well, after that it all went downhill. I will reply to this thread if I manage to get this package running and let you know how it's performing.
northeast_technician Posted November 27, 2014 Posted November 27, 2014 what firewall changes did you need to make?
Michael Posted November 27, 2014 Posted November 27, 2014 The question is, what exactly is Java required for? If I uninstall it, will it stop Policy Central 6 working? If it's as easy as that to stop it, then I'd say the more 'self contained' version 5 is better. It also requires many other components, including .NET, but you'd think most school deployments would have 4 or 4.5 installed already. The point is, installing .NET from scratch is a beast, which is why I also bung it on a master image. I very much doubt I'd deploy the 'all in one' MSI. I believe it uses an out-of-date version of Java (not even 8 point something). How on earth can they justify getting schools to install an out-of-date version, when we all know it's got more holes in it than Swiss cheese! The only issue I have with v5 is with infilter32.dll which crashes Internet Explorer, such as amazon.com believe it or not. If they patched that, it would buy us all a lot more time before rushing to deploy version 6.
Trojan Posted December 12, 2014 Posted December 12, 2014 The only issue I have with v5 is with infilter32.dll which crashes Internet Explorer, such as amazon.com believe it or not. If they patched that, it would buy us all a lot more time before rushing to deploy version 6. @Michael Hi, Can you elaborate on this as I'm experiencing this exact problem here at the moment... Thanks.
Michael Posted December 12, 2014 Posted December 12, 2014 Policy Central 5 overall works fine, however if they patched/updated the infilter32.dll file located in C:\Program Files\PCENT, this would probably buy us more time, instead of removing PCE altogether or rushing to deploy PCE6 only to discover this also will no doubt break something. Neither Forensic or Link2ICT have given us any solid time scales or indeed any support cycles for these products. I was sent an e-mail weeks ago detailing the specific requirements of PCE6, but haven't heard anything since. I personally think the requirements are too high and deploying Java is something I try to avoid. Bearing in mind schools are paying for this, it's a bit of a joke really. I obviously have better things to do than keep removing and re-installing unreliable software. 1
Trojan Posted December 12, 2014 Posted December 12, 2014 I obviously have better things to do than keep removing and re-installing unreliable software. Hear, hear..
Jobos Posted January 30, 2015 Author Posted January 30, 2015 Any update on how well or not v6 is working? I'm still on v5 here but sooner or later I'm going to be forced to install v6
ConnorByrne Posted January 30, 2015 Posted January 30, 2015 We have got V6 and all we have had is problems, It is installed on all machines, green tick on our RMMC, However the AUP doesn't show up when you log in, instead we get a stupid error message, Anyone else had this? Any advice would be appreciated.
northeast_technician Posted February 19, 2015 Posted February 19, 2015 Works fine for me as long as you have the pre reqs in place prior to install I have done it in multiple sites with little problem
Jobos Posted February 20, 2015 Author Posted February 20, 2015 If it wasn't for the java requirement I would have tested it before now. Just can't face all the monthly java updates!
ConnorByrne Posted February 25, 2015 Posted February 25, 2015 Does anyone have or know of any other software that does the same or similar as policy central? Thanks
Kyle Posted April 29, 2015 Posted April 29, 2015 Does anyone have or know of any other software that does the same or similar as policy central? Thanks Anyone?
Trojan Posted April 29, 2015 Posted April 29, 2015 (edited) Securus Education - Securus https://www.imperosoftware.co.uk/products/education-pro-classroom-management-software/ Are two that I know of that I'm currently thinking of investigating. Edited April 29, 2015 by Trojan
Jobos Posted July 8, 2015 Author Posted July 8, 2015 We moved to v6 a couple of months ago and I'm struggling to get all the clients working. Some work fine but others wont report in or auto update. It's fair to say I have wasted a lot of time on this. Does anyone know how the costs of PCE compare against Impero say for 200 machines?
Michael Posted July 8, 2015 Posted July 8, 2015 I too have had numerous problems, but here's what I did which fixed the issue, using build 6.2.3.22: The issue is that in many instances, (when deploying via GPO), Policy Central 6 fails to detect Java (as confirmed in the event logs). It does this by using JavaDetect.exe as part of the install process. By preventing JavaDetect.exe from running during the install process, it will install even if Java and .NET 4.5.1 or later isn't, so you still need to pay close attention to Task Manager for the 4 processes after a restart. If they're not running, but Policy Central appears in Programs and Features, it means Java or .NET 4.5.1 or later isn't installed. Download/install a tool called Orca and proceed to open the MSI (the GPO version). On the left locate 'InstallExecuteSequence' Highlight 'RunJavaDetect' and delete the row, then save the MSI. Create a new GPO labelled Policy Central 6, then attach Java8Update45 first, and then Policy Central itself. This has worked on every network I have tested it on 2
Jobos Posted July 8, 2015 Author Posted July 8, 2015 That sounds very useful and I will definitely give it a go on machines where PCE is not running. The main problem I have is auto update not updating. PCE is running and reporting back to the server but no sign of any updates. These machines are from the first wave and running 6.2.3.18 but the second wave was deployed using 6.2.3.22 via gpo with around 60% success so maybe your advice above may fix these. I don't know if anyone has come across this before but it seems completely odd to me. The HT has said PCE must be on all machines from now on, including the admin machines which I had previously excluded. Since this I keep getting random keyboard errors when remoting into other machines and servers. So say I've remoted into the DC to add a new user and I start typing the users name in ADUC. As soon as I get to the letter R the run box opens or if I type the letter E, Explorer will open. The only way I've found I can complete the task is to go back to my machine, type the name into notepad, copy it then switch back to the DC and paste it in ADUC. It has happened on 2 different server 2008 boxes and 2 win7 machines when remoted from my machine and has started since installing PCE.
Michael Posted July 9, 2015 Posted July 9, 2015 I've only deployed the newer build, I've not had the pleasure of deploying the older build so I can't help there. Try my fix and see if it'll let you deploy the newer PC6 over the existing installation with devices running 6.2.3.18. I've not seen any of the symptoms you describe either. You can manually uninstall PC6 if you have to, to isolate the issue. Does it go away? If the HT insists PC6 must be on all devices, then the logical thing to do is bung it on an image. Windows 10 helps some way, as .NET 4.6 is installed as standard, so all you need to worry about is Java and PC6 itself. For your reference I am using the latest Java 8 Update 45 on all PC6 installs. If you wish to continue using Windows 7, then make sure (at the very least), .NET Framework 4.5.2 is installed as part of your new image.
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