Its difficult to prevent and fix security issues if you don’t know they exist. Right Click Tools help to surface and remediate blind spots that otherwise slip through the cracks. Our dashboards built into Microsoft SCCM surface common weak points like these and are paired with tools to quickly address problems that are discovered.

In this series, I'll be walking through how I've setup our Dev ConfigMgr Lab. This post will give a basic overview, and links to the posts as they are added. At the time of this posting the main lab setup will be complete, but additional items and posts will continue to be added as we add additional features and services into the lab.

If we have a lab and we want to keep it separate from rest of our environment, we need a gateway. You can do this with a linux VM, another physical router, or several other options. For our lab, we decided to use Microsoft Windows Server to be our gateway.

This post will be going over creating the Domain Controller for the Lab. This will be the basic setup, we'll be revisiting the Domain Controller later when we need to extend the schema and start adding additional users and groups into the mix, but for now, we're just going to get it functional, with DNS & DHCP. This post is 99% pictures, not much text.

This is the big one, this is our MEMCM server, so much is happening to setup this server it's going to take a few posts. This post is covering some basics, and the pre-reqs, we'll move into SQL & the actual CM Install in up coming posts.

Along the way when you setup your lab, you'll need to create accounts, groups, gpos, and other things to make life easier. While you want to keep it fairly clean and lean, if you plan to keep this lab around awhile, you'll want a few of these setup:

This short post will explain how I've setup the Source Share on the Server. The Source Share is were all content sources for Apps / Packages / Updates / Operating Systems / Drivers, etc will go. It is not the content in the DP, but it's the content that supplies the DP

So far, we've got our Gateway, DC and started to setup our ConfigMgr Lab Server, in this installment, I'll be going over the SQL install for CM.

We've been building up to this one, all the ground work has been laid. Let install ConfigMgr.

This post will go over all the things we need to do now that we have a server

So now we have a functional ConfigMgr Server, lets setup some Collections and Create a few Apps

This is a bonus, you can do everything you want in your lab without this feature, but guess what, if you're going to do anything that needs HTTPS, having your own Certificate Authority (CA) makes this so much slicker.

In this post, we're going to confirm OSD, and make sure we have what we need for basic OSD. This post will NOT cover the fancy stuff, but just the basics of getting OSD working.

So you've got your CM Server and some clients, now you want to surface that data via reporting. [MS Docs] Sure Power BI is cool, but who has money for that, SSRS is included and there are some pretty nifty free reports in the community. In this post, we're going to be installing SSRS 2019, along with getting it configured then installing the Reporting Service Role in ConfigMgr.

What a month! New terms entered our vocabulary, Social Distancing for example, activities cancelled, conferences gone virtual or postponed, schools closed, IT infrastructures put to the test as employers urged working from home, and toilet paper nearly became a currency. It's been a crazy month.

March is Women's History Month. We looked around the IT community and noticed so many strong women leaders. This blog highlights a few of them, giving them a chance to tell their stories.

Has this happened to you recently? Manager walks over to your cube, "What would it take to enable most of our employees to work from home, like yesterday?".. then walks out saying "Make it happen."

Someone on twitter pointed out that it would be better to use "Installed Software" instead of "Install Application" for the query, while I don't disagree, depending on your reasons, Installed software is not included in Hardware Inventory by default, so unless you went out of your way to enable it (and you should), you could not use it in a query.

Do you have a need to lock down devices to support kiosk-style requirements, such as computer labs or digital signage? Watch this webinar recording to see a walkthrough of how to set up these single-purpose devices with ConfigMgr, using Right Click Tools' Kiosk Manager.

To fully utilize the Right Click Tools, you need to have some settings configured in your environments.

This post will walk you through creating Collections to help find machines in your environment that have Recast Software Installed.

Here’s a quick summary of the new features added, and bugs fixed in Right Click Tools for February. Each month we will provide a full recap of what’s new and each quarter we will publish a series of deep dives of all the big new features you’ve been asking for.

‍Welcome to the Recast Endpoint Management Recap, February 2020

In a recent customer survey, we found that the use cases for locking down devices are wide and vary by industry, from healthcare to education to manufacturing. Right Click Tools’ Kiosk Manager (previously Lab Manager) allows customers to support common kiosk-style requirements, including Shell Replacement, Automatic Login, Restart on Idle, and more.

In this post we dive into how one school district saves hundreds of hours by using Kiosk Manager to more efficiently administer their state tests.

See a walkthrough of how to lock down a machine and set up digital signage players in ConfigMgr, using Right Click Tools' Kiosk Manager.

Having Model & Manufacturer collections can be quite useful. Targeting Client settings based on Manufacturer, deploying BIOS / Drivers based on Model, having collections makes it a bit easier.

Presented by the developers of Right Click Tools, get a closer look at all the new features and improvements in 4.1, plus a transcript of several topics from the Q&A section.

Episode three of a monthly edition of recent updates, news and helpful resources for the ConfigMgr community.

Here’s a quick summary of the new features added, and bugs fixed in Right Click Tools for January. Each month we will provide a full recap of what’s new and each quarter we will publish a series of deep dives of all the big new features you’ve been asking for.

In our recently release of Right Click Tools 4.1, we added the Hardware Audit Dashboard, as we continue to add functionality, to make best use of this feature, you'll have to make sure you're collecting additional information via hardware Inventory, mainly Product in Baseboard.

Learn how to add additional items into Hardware Inventory. Two examples, one for HP and one for Lenovo help to import additional information into your CM Database which will help with reporting and queries.

Recast Right Click Tools 4.1 released and as part of it the Recast Management Server also has a new installer. The upgrade is very straight forward, and we have a few minute video to show for it.

Several new tools and features have been added to Right Click Tools version 4.1. A new Remote Software Center can be run remotely from the administrator machine and at scale on numerous devices or device collections.

Learn more about the 4.1 release of Right Click Tools, now available for download. Several new tools and features have been added to both the Community and Enterprise editions of Right Click Tools 4.1.

Several new tools and features have been added to Right Click Tools version 4.1. The new Hardware Audit Dashboard provides a visual of the hardware of the endpoints in an environment.

This is the final post of a mini series of small (but important) tips to help you when troubleshooting your Task Sequences. Tip 7 is: Run PowerShell Step

Here’s a quick summary of the new features added, and bugs fixed in Right Click Tools for December. Each month we will provide a full recap of what’s new and each quarter we will publish a series of deep dives of all the big new features you’ve been asking for.

This is the sixth of a mini series of small (but important) tips to help you when troubleshooting your Task Sequences. Tip 6 is: Static IP Addresses and OSD

This is the fifth of a mini series of small (but important) tips to help you when troubleshooting your Task Sequences. Tip 5 is: Run Task Sequence Step

Episode two of a monthly edition of recent updates, news and helpful resources for the ConfigMgr community.

This is the fourth of a mini series of small (but important) tips to help you when troubleshooting your Task Sequences. Tip 4 is: SMSTS Log Stamping

This is the third of a mini series of small (but important) tips to help you when troubleshooting your Task Sequences. Tip 3 is: Variables Gather and Capture

This is the second of a mini series of small (but important) tips to help you when troubleshooting your Task Sequences. Tip 2 is: Task Sequence Pause

This is the first of a mini series of small (but important) tips to help you when troubleshooting your Task Sequences. Each day we'll post something simple and easy to start using right now. Tip 1 is: Use the Description Field as a way to version your Task Sequence.

This post we'll cover Microsoft's Unified Write Filter (UWF) technology and how Recast's solution will remove some of the pain of implementation of UWF.

Microsoft's Unified Write Filter, its a windows feature included in your OS, off by default, but gives you the ability to prevent changes to your system. This post is geared toward a general overview and demo of implementation.

Here’s a quick summary of the new features added, and bugs fixed in Right Click Tools for November. Each month we will provide a full recap of what’s new and each quarter we will publish a series of deep dives of all the big new features you’ve been asking for.

This is the first of many to come, a monthly edition of recent updates, news and helpful resources for the ConfigMgr community. Highlights include events, Microsoft product announcements, hardware vendor updates, community tools and Right Click Tools updates.

Interested in getting a refresher of some of our most-used Community tools? How about a look at what's new in 4.0 Enterprise edition? Check out a recent webinar from the developers of Right Click Tools for all of this and more.

A recap of MMS Jazz 2019, including sessions presented by the Recast team and photos of the event.

Recast Kiosk Manager is a fan favorite, used by many of our Enterprise customers to help control machines with a few clicks. Sometimes you want to deploy a computer and already have all of these settings applied, using the process Kiosk Manager uses, and stealing the end results, we can create a Task Sequence Module to deploy Recast Kiosk settings during OSD.

This post covers the automated deployment of the Recast Right Click tools Community edition.

This post covers automating the Install of Right Click Tools, Enterprise Standalone.

For this post we'll focus on deploying Right Click Tools Client with Enterprise server support and automating the Deployment of the Recast Client Tools.

Here’s a quick summary of the new features added, and bugs fixed in Right Click Tools for October. Each month we will provide a full recap of what’s new and each quarter we will publish a series of deep dives of all the big new features you’ve been asking for.

In this post, we'll cover deployment of the Recast Proxy Software. Using ConfigMgr to Deploy the Proxy Installer is pretty easy, and can be done in a few different ways.

Recast Proxy is a feature that enables you to extend your reach of the Right Click Tools into previously untapped areas, such as: Untrusted Domains, WorkGroup Machines, and machines the user [ConfigMgr Console User] doesn't have rights on directly.

Upgrading from Right Click Tools 3.2 to 4.0 has some special steps to get you upgraded. Due to the large infrastructure changes, and new features in 4.0, a simple upgrade, migrating settings just isn't possible.

Deep dive into Kiosk Manager (previously Lab Manager) to apply several settings to a machine or group of machines to lock it down, or turn it into a single use machine... like a kiosk, for example.

Recast Software recently released Right Click Tools 4.0. Updates include minor enhancements to the Community edition and an entire infrastructure overhaul to the Enterprise edition. Here's a quick overview on what's new:

Recast Software recently released the new 4.0 version of the Right Click Tools. Get a deep dive into what's new in the automation platform Builder.

Collection mode will give you a nice quick overview of the machines. This view allows customization and adding / removing columns.

Over the past 7 years of being a ConfigMgr admin and having the Right Click Tools at my finger tips, one of them stands out as my most used tool: System Information.

Another one of my Top 10 Right Click Tools is Advanced Collection Information. Right now you're thinking, ha, that tool is obsolete, in 1906, ConfigMgr now gives a list of collections a machine is in the lower pane. At first glance, you'd be right, however, once you launch the tool and take a closer look, you'll see some additional useful information.

This week, we highlight another nifty little tool, which is great for troubleshooting and reporting. Before I tell you which one it is, I'm going to talk about something instrumental in ConfigMgr, but not something we often think about, Status Messages.

LAPS is simple to setup, and greatly reduces a previously easily exploitable attach vector.

The "Local Administrator Password Solution" (LAPS) provides management of local account passwords of domain joined computers. Passwords are stored in Active Directory (AD) and protected by ACL, so only eligible users can read it or request its reset

Ever wonder why a machine doesn't show up in a collection?

Hey Recast Right Click Tools users. This is a nifty tip that I often forget about, but is pretty powerful when adding or removing machines to and from collections.

A deep dive into the issue with Rollback in Windows 10 and what you can do to fix it.

The success or failure of a systems management effort at any organization often hinges on the ability of it's IT department to manage people problems.

In some scenarios, installing Right Click Tools 3.2 can cause noticeable console slowness due to Endpoint Protection or other AV apps having to scan additional XML files that Right Click Tools add into the console.

Being Happy and Engaged in the Work is Critically Important... Especially in IT.

The System Information tool has a wealth of actionable information available at your fingertips. Here's how to use this tool to delete User Profiles from a device.

See the top reasons how Right Click Tools Enterprise edition helps SysAdmins be more productive and reduce the chance of human errors.