Audit via your network

Auditing via your network is very straightforward.

• You do not need to install any software to any of your PCs.
   

• You do not need to install any software to your server.
   

• You do not need to run any services on either your servers or clients
   

• All you need is two folders dedicated to E-Z Audit on a server on your LAN, and to add one line to your logon script.

Step 1.

Create two folders on a server accessible to your users on your network.  For example, let's say your sever has its user folders on the D:\ partition:

Create D:\ezaudit and below that D:\ezaudit\audits.

In UNC convention, these become \\your_server_name\ezaudit and \\your_server_name\ezaudit\audits from your user's perspective.

Assign these folders explicit Read, Write, Create, Delete, Modify and Execute permissions (or their equivalents based on your network operating system) to the "Everyone" group or its equivalent.

Note: While it's intuitive to think that "Full Control" means just that, it may not under some circumstances.  Granting the permissions explicitly can avoid problems and is the recommended method.

Step 2.

In the E-Z Audit Admin Console – what you installed to your PC – create a configuration file to tell the E-Z Audit Scanner Module what to do.

For more information on what your configuration options are, read the section on Configuring the Scanner Module.

Once the configuration has been saved, you will be advised where the files are that you need to deploy by the configuration tool.

Copy the files that you are advised to copy to the folders your created in Step 1.

Step 3.

Add one line to your logon script.  Below are examples for the three most commonly scenarios: Windows Server, Netware and using the third-party freeware product KixTart.

Please understand that we assume our customers are IT professionals with working knowledge of their network operating systems.  As such we cannot educate you on how to implement or manage a logon script.  Our Troubleshooter for common issues arising when starting out with network auditing covers many network specific issues and should be worked through if you encounter any problems.

The examples below assume you have one configuration file with the default name of config.ezc  You can have more than one configuration at the same time.  These advanced topics are covered at the end of this section.

Here are the command lines to use:

• Windows networks

  “\\your_server_name\ezaudit\ezstart.exe” /auto 

  Please note the quote marks.  While not strictly mandatory (unless your path contains spaces), it is what we support and recommend.
   

  • The script must be a logon script, not a startup script.
     

  • Assign the logon script for E-Z Audit to the Users object and not the Computers object.  If either or both of these are not observed, the audits will not be performed. 
    
    Example – To assign a logon script to the Users object t open Group Policy Object Editor  | User Configuration  |  Windows Settings  | Scripts then assign the script to the logon object.
    
    This menu may vary depending on the Windows Server version you use.
     

  • If you use VBScript as your logon script language, this is the recommended code to launch the scanner. Advanced scripter writers may find it redundant, but it is valid and pursues the most conservative approach.

    	Dim objShell, shellthis, shellcmd
    	shellthis = "\\your_server_name\ezaudit\ezstart.exe"
    	shellcmd = Chr(32) & "/auto"
    	Set objShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
    	objShell.Run Chr(34) & shellthis & Chr(34) & shellcmd ,1,False
    	Set objShell = Nothing

• Novell Netware

  Depending on your Netware version specific syntax may vary.  Check with Novell's documentation as needed.  The example below assumed you have mapped the location as the F:\ drive.

  @ f:\ezaudit\ezstart.exe /auto

   

• KixTart

  RUN "\\your_server_name\ezaudit\ezstart.exe /auto"
  
  In some environments, the syntax may have to include the %comspec% command:

  Shell “%comspec% /c start \\your_server_name\ezaudit\ezstart.exe /auto”

  Note that ezstart.exe takes under 5 seconds to launch and terminate, so either is appropriate and won't hang up your logon script.

Advanced Topics:

You can use multiple configuration files.  We added this functionality per user feedback, and the reasons vary widely.  If you think this could be useful for you, here is how to do so:

• Create additional configuration files as needed and save them with different file names, for example execgroup.ezc, branchaudit.ezc, etc.
   

• To tell the scanner to use an alternate configuration file, use the cfg- switch in the command line followed by the alternate configuration file name:
  
  "\\your_server_name\ezaudit\ezstart.exe" /auto cfg-yourfilename.ezc