Windows Inventory

Windows PC Auditing Software


11th March, 2005.
0.7.02 released.
I wanted this out today, so I can have the weekend off !!!
I think all the pages now have been thru the w3c validator.
Unfortunately, I've had to fix the content tables (to 700px), because IE spews them horizontally over the page - even though the code states 100%. Seems IE takes that 100% as the window, not the Div it is contained in.....
Anyway, there's a few bug fixes in there as well. I'd suggest you use this for your web front end, and your scripts. There should be no need to change the database (and hence lose any manual inputs).
Give it a whirl, and post your feedback.
Mark...
28th February, 2005.
It's been too long, but 0.7 IS RELEASED !!!
Many changes -
  • MyODBC 3.51 support
  • Use Nmap to detect any items on the network, and report open ports
  • Detect Monitors & Local Printers
  • Software Licensing
  • Other items in groups
  • Interface redesign
  • Select the number of systems to display on a page
  • Many other suggestions from the forums
Please check it out, and let me know in the forums if it's as good for you, as it is for me !!!
Mark...
18th January, 2005.
I have a few small improvements to WI, but I'll hold off on a release till there are some things making it worth while.
I have been sorting out a script that works with Nmap that probes a subnet, and if it finds anything NOT in WI, it sends an email, and inserts the found object automatically. Works with PCs as well as routers, printers, etc, etc. I am thinking you would leave this script running on an admin station, and any 'new' items found would generate an email. On the index.php, new items discovered (last xxx days) would be displayed.
I am also working on the config page - as well as general config, another section for what you would like on the index.php, along with the number of days for each section.
I really only have a couple of days work for this - the problem is getting the time to do it !!!
Mark...
5th January, 2005.
0.65 has been uploaded.
Included are some additional menu items - Display All Laptops, Display All Workstations (Systems with XP PRo, 2000 Pro, etc), Display all Desktops now excludes laptop systems.
Don't forget to change the file include_config.php
Graphs definately work (there was some forum discussion on this). You MUST have GD working within PHP.
4th January, 2005.
Have released 0.63 -> it addresses some bugs I found in 0.62.
It also has a slightly revised menu on the left
In "Admin" the config page doesn't actually do anything at the moment.
I shall try to release more often now, but some features may be 'works in progress'....
Mark
*** Update - have released 0.64 now (more damn bugs - squish 'em).
*** Be sure to setup the file include_config.php with your details (this was renamed from config.php).
3rd January, 2005.
Happy New Year.
Have been doing a bit of work on WI lately, and thought I should upload what I've done.
0.62 is ready when you are !!!
There are NO database changes in this one - hence it is not a 0.7 release.
Some fields, however, are used slightly differently. So I would urge you to use the new audit.vbs and re-audit all your workstations. There is no need to remove your existing database (and hence lose your data).
There is a new file called "list_software.php". The menu item is "All Software" (surprise) and it's only a start. It will list ALL software installed in an organisation (your database). You can then select a package name, and see on what systems it is installed. This is the EARLY beginnings of the software license register.
There are heaps of other minor changes (and bug fixes), the most major would be the new "index.php" page. This page now displays systems not audited for 5 or more days, systems with less than 5% on a partition and any new software detected in the last 7 days. I am hoping to include some other useful info here - if you would like anything included, please let me know via the forums.
Mark...
15th December, 2004.
Just a quick update. A new audit.vbs is available (and has been for a week or so). This addresses a few issues, and I've made improvements to string checking. Hopefully this will help any non-English users.
There are a few errors with the current version as posted (0.6). I changed the way the web interface calls PCs - it now uses the PCs MAC address instead of the system_id field. This works fine, but I missed a few spots in the web code, so some are still trying to call the system_id - this of course breaks some stuff. One example is a software query (Show All PCs that have VNC installed), when the result is shown, the individual PC links use the system_id, not the MAC Address, and the hyperlink fails. I will address these links shortly. For the most part, however, it works OK.
In my current version, I have queries made to show all the MS CD Keys for Windows, and another for Office. These work quite well, and you can sort by PC Name, IP Address, Office/Windows type, CD Key. Management (licensing) loved it !!!
Hey - I made NewsForge !!! Article.
This with some comments over on the OCS message boards, has given me renewed enthusiasm for the project, and I'll try to finish off the Inventory part, then get into a Software Licensing register, and maybe some sort of Helpdesk / Change management sections as well.
Thanks again for the feedback, Mark.
26th November, 2004.
Windows Inventory 0.6 released.
New stuff - Windows XP, Office XP & Office 2003 CD Keys detected.
Audit PCs not on your domain.
Security Page - Firewall and AntiVirus settings.
Please check it out and report any bugs in the forums.
Thanks, Mark
14th November, 2004.
Update
I have been working on Audit.vbs a lot - it now has the option to use an external file for PCNames. As well, the PCNames and credentials can be supplied to audit PCs not on your domain. This all works quite well.
I have added a section for XP SP2 firewall settings. This is working. To go with this, I have added a new 'Security' page for the firewall details, along with AntiVirus details.
If anyone wants their particular AV and / or firewall software included, please let me know the name as reported on the software page. If you can work out how to get definitions dates, (usually from the registry), please let me know as well. I have Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Ed, and AVG - so I don't need either of those.
Thanks to a poster in the forums - I will shortly have CD Keys for Office 2002/2003 and Windows 200/XP/2003 being generated. Whomever that was, a BIG thankyou.
I should have a new release out shortly (0.6)
Thanks for all the input.
Mark...
2nd November, 2004.
New Audit.vbs
In the downloads section. Fixes a few bugs. Asks for a PC to audit (optional - you have to uncomment a few lines). Removed the second DNS field. Fixed the descriptions for services, programs, etc - as per the entry below. Try it out. A new release should be out in a day or two (I keep saying that, don't I). 0.52 will address mainly bugs. A couple of new audit scripts are nearly done, as well. How about auditing a PC that is NOT on your domain. I have this script roughly working. A bit of testing needed, and as long as you have the PC details, along with a network connection, you can audit any PC... much better (we have mutiple domains at my work). As well as the others I mentioned below - multiple PCs from another file (containing IP Address or name, etc). And another to input all the generated offline files in a directory into MySQL.
PS - apologies to all those that I have not replied to via email. I've received quite a few lately. Thanks for the encouragement, and the suggestions / bug fixes. I shall attempt to reply to you all in turn.
Thanks again,
Mark...
2nd November, 2004.
News
I have made quite a few changes to the way audit.vbs works. I was having issues with it on some computers - some not returning any NIC info. It turns out that the second DNS field was the issue. There seem to be some weird characters in there, that even resetting to "" doesn't seem to cover. Removing this field fixed a LOT of issues. There were also some issues with descriptions in services, installed programs, startup, etc. I have addressed all these, and the script seems much happier
I have a long weekend coming up, so I should be able to put out another release (0.55) this weekend. I'll see how things turn out. Other thoughts are a 'Security' page - it would hold things such as AntiVirus, Firewall, Adware programs & settings. Does anyone want this ? Please reply in the forums.
I am also working on a script for offline SQL file processing. My idea is.... I audit quite a few systems in offline mode. This creates a text file for me, and I end up with 30 or so of these SQL/TXT files. Now if I had a script that would go through the directory, and process each file in turn. THAT would save a heap of time.
Another idea is to have an audit.vbs that calls a text file with the name or IP of each PC per line that you wish to audit. It could be setup to run the audit from the server (or a desktop with suitable permissions) each night. I have a similiar thing setup and working, but the PC names must be actually in the audit.vbs - not optimal....
So there you have what I am currently up to....
See you in the forums !!!
24th October, 2004.
Windows Inventory 0.5 released.
Changes are many & varied. Check out changelog.txt for them all. Some are:
Multiple NICs
Groups
audit.vbs auto generates a text file for offline audits. Just set the flag, and computername.txt is created & populated.
audit.vbs can be run on remote systems provided you have admin rights on the remote PC.
audit.vbs has a 'verbose' flag. Set it to see where the script is up to (without upsetting the offline audit).
PCs without network cards are now catered for.
there is now a 'scripts' directory - in future all scripts will be in there.
there is a script called firewall_allow.vbs - run it on XP SP2 PCs to enable remote auditing.
another script is audit_domain.vbs **CAREFUL** I have not been able to thoroughly test this. If run on an XP machine with domain admin priveledges, it should query Active Directory, and then proceed to audit each PC on the domain. I know it will return the PC names, so I cut & pasted the audit.vbs script in between. As I said - THIS IS UNTESTED - USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Having said that, if someone does have a testing domain setup, could they please run this, and provide feedback.

There are also a few other changes - checkout changelog.txt

I am aware of a change to MySQL - versions 4.1.3 and up. The php pages don't work if a password is used with the database. Works fine without a MySQL password. I shall work to fix this next (shortly). Bear in mind the package is only at 0.5.....

As always, any feedback is appreciated.
Mark...

23rd September, 2004.
Here are some thoughts on where I would like to take Windows Inventory. Ideally, it would run on a server, only accessible to the System Administrator(s). This server would be THE place for system administration on the LAN - Inventory, Updates, App Deployment, Monitoring, etc, etc.

1 - Inventory
This is nearing completion, and is what you can see when you run the app.

2 - Application Deployment
I am thinking this will run from a console, using a script, to push the app to the remote PC. Most of this I have done before manually, but it would be good to have a 'point and click' interface thru Windows Inventory for this. This should not be too hard. Also, I have a simple script to push the MySQL ODBC to clients. This would be incorporated here. Maybe some means of packaging applications as well - thinking something like the Nullsoft Installer.

3 - MBSA Intergration
It would be good to have the MBSA reports for each machine in the database. I think this is possible, but haven't done too much research on this yet.

4 - Windows Update Server
Somehow link Windows Inventory to WUS (when it is released). Some sort of link to push the updates to a machine using Windows Inventory. When WUS is released, there will probably be an interface redesign, to make Windows Inventory look like WUS.

5 - Subnet Scan
To scan a range of IPs, looking for any unknown devices. This is quite common amoung commercial apps, and I would like to do it as well.

6 - Varied databases
MySQL, PostgreSQL, MS SQL Server, Access

7 - Dosumentation
A help and how-to section would be nice

As you can see, there is a lot left to do. Please bear with me, while I plod along !!! Section 1 is nearly complete, the next section I have in mind is 2 (App Deployment). Thanks again for all the feedback on the forums, constructive critisism is always welcome. If you see a feature in another application of this type (and I haven't mentioned it), please feel free to make a feature request. I DO keep track of them.

11th September, 2004. Apologies to the people who attempted to download 0.41. Somehow, it was a corrupt .zip file. I have uploaded a rezipped version (I checked, yes it works).
I have also changed how I was using the SF File Release System. If you wish to monitor the package releases, you should now use the link. Before, I was creating a new package each time. Now it will be a new release only, so you should be emailed when this happens.
28th August, 2004. Windows Inventory 0.41 released.
Changes include -
Second DNS field.
Software Audit history.
Index.php now the default page.
Query page.
Ausit Script generation pages.
I apologise to all the supporters waiting for this release. This release has a couple of bugs, but as I am going away for a couple of weeks, I wanted to release what I have. I thank you for being patient.
22nd July, 2004. UPDATE I am still going on 0.5.....
The next release will have many improvements and suggestions incorporated into it.
Things like a full software audit trail, queries, assigning PCs to groups, etc...
As for a release date...... maybe end of this weekend..... I'll be trying. Stay Tuned. Also keep an eye on the forums for updates.
7th June, 2004. Well, the forums are setup.
For a while I shall allow anonymous posts (non registered users). Hopefully this will encourage people to get involved, without any commitment. If things get out of hand, I will change this to only registered users being able to post.
Try HERE for the forums. The link on the menu at the left also now points to these forums.
I will be disabling the (old)SF forums shortly.
6th June, 2004. Windows Inventory 0.4 released.
Have altered the password setup. In config.php there is use_pass = ''. Set it to 'no' to not use a password.
Handy for testing - you aren't constantly inputing the password.
Included some manual input stuff on the PC Summary page - date of purchase, value, physical location, serial number & description.
Many people use serial number for internal tracking that do not correspond to the BIOS serial number, hence the duplication.
Initial work completed on a page (graphs.php) to generate a historical graph of disk usage. Have also completed the .vbs script to go with it, along with an updated MySQL database. Naturally you must have ODBC working on the system to run the disk.vbs script - so it can automatically insert the results into the database. For info on setting up a scheduled task every hour / minute / etc, see the docs page. You will need the GD Image library extension working for the graphs. See the php.net pages for setup instructions.
I have only setup the graphs for disk usage. I could setup some for Memory & CPU usage, however, these two can change very rapidly and by large amounts (compared to disk usage), so I don't think any real meaningful conclusions could be drawn from observation of these graphs. If anyone REALLY thinks they would be a useful feature, let me know...
Next job is to write some decent documentation !!!
Oh, and I'd like to get phpbb2 setup here - I like it much better than the standard SF forums (sorry SourceForge)...
29th May, 2004.

Windows Inventory 0.3 released.

Added ability to add / delete a pc for 'offline' generated entries.
Added ability to add / edit / delete 'Other' items.
Tidied up percentage to two decimal places in Statistics page.
Added sub menus for Statistics page
Removed .exe's wol, psshutdown & psexec. These should be downloaded seperately.
To download, go to :
PSExec at SysInternals
PSShutdown at SysInternals
WOL at GammaDyne
Password protected the pages. Rudimentary, but it works. Setup username & password in config.php . Make sure you check the docs page here for IIS setup info on HTTP Authentication & php.
NOTE - When deleting a pc, Mozilla based browsers do not seem to wait for the OK box to be clicked, before they action the delete. IE seems to work OK. Will look into this. This is also true for delete a note, delete a password, etc, etc.
NOTE - The audit.vbs script doesn't seem to be working at the moment on WinNT. I will look into this, but wanted to get this release 'out there'.
16th May, 2004. I have recently been asked to enable remote inventory collection - this is next on the list...
In the mean time, I find the easiest way to collect inventory, is to either put the script in the 'startup' folder of the PC,
or to have it as a logon script. Using either of these means you must have already setup the PC with WMI, VBScript & the ODBC connector for MySQL.
Of the two, logon scripts are easier.... providing your PCs are on a domain.
16th May, 2004.

Windows Inventory 0.2 released.

Added config.php to use as a central place to store MySQL variables.
Added actions page. Syntax seems to be correct. Please test & let me know if it works.
Included now are a couple of utilities to enable the 'Actions' page. These are:
wol.exe - Wake-On-LAN Utility 1.1, by Greg Wittmeyer.
psshudown.exe - PsShutdown v2.11 - local and remote system shutdown/lock, by Mark Russinovich.
psexec - PsExec v1.42 - execute processes remotely, by Mark Russinovich.
The first two are in use, and I am planning on using the third to run remote inventories.
9th May, 2004.

Windows Inventory 0.15 released.

Fixed a couple of bugs.
Added a Statistics page.
8th May, 2004.

Windows Inventory 0.1 released.

Being a 0.1 version, there is still a lot to be done. There is NO security checking done on input. The basic hardware & software inventory functions work.
If anyone wants to send me any error details they receive, just send them by email for now...
Suggestions most welcome.
Please see the docs page for information on setup.
5 May, 2004.

New screenshots uploaded.

Interface design nearly finished.
Should be on track for upload by weekend.
2 May, 2004.

Apologies for the delay in uploading the files (been away).

Script runs in 'offline' mode now - output to a text file, for input into MySQL back at the server.
I want to redesign the interface, not happy with the existing one. When this is done, I'll upload it. Next weekend (8/9th May), with a bit of luck.
18 April, 2004.

Windows Inventory initial website design is completed.

Windows Inventory itself is 80% completed.
I will have a downloadable file up in a few days. NOTE - it will be beta   only. NO permissions, input validation, etc, etc.