fwcampbell

To update my previous post you can get a package (trial) version of Kaspersky AV from the Windows XP Embedded blog at the following link. This is ideal for running in a WINPE boot disc: http://embedded.members.winisp.net/blog/downloads/Kaspersky_Anti_Virus_Trial_version.zip

The security in Word 2003 can be enhanced by changing the cryptographic settings (In Options/Security/Advanced). The highest level seems to be: RC4, Microsoft Strong Cryptographic Provider / 128-bit This is substantially better than the basic protection provided by a ZIP file. It is also worth remembering that when you open a ZIP file a temporary copy is made - someone with the right tool can recover this, even after it is deleted. This isn't a problem for Word which allows you to edit encrypted documents on-the-fly. Fi

The Windows AIK includes WinPE. You can use this to create a bootable Windows CD that boots to a command prompt. The AIK is a free download. We use this to make recovery discs etc. Download details: Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK)

Yes, we had some problems with ez-gpo. It worked sometimes but was never very consistent. Data Synergy's Powerman is quite similar but has more configuration options. The thing I really liked was the 'No User' policy. This was really useful to create a different power scheme when nobody was logged on. This nicety was beyond the bosses though - they just liked the pretty graphs it drew. I think we will buy it when the new year starts.

Yes that makes sense. There seems to be some relationship between them and ergo - there is an ergo case study on their website. I really liked powerman, it seemed to do exactly what it says on the tin and the tech support we got was brilliant. The problem was budget - although it wasn't very expensive we don't have any budget until the new year to buy it. This was kind of frustrating because by then it would have probably saved us the cost!

I think the ergo powerman software is the same as the Data Synergy powerman tool. If you look on the ergo website it says 'powered by powerman'. They have an energy calculator on their website. We used their free trial to see what was going on with our computers - it was really shocking when we measured it. Fi