SystemTools 'ToolNews' - December 13, 2013 - Hyena 10.5 is Here

1. Hyena
• Hyena 10.5 is Here
• Hyena 10.0 'G' Available
2. Tips
• Windows Server 2008 Last Interactive Logon
• Viewing User Password Expiration Time
3. Hyena Maintenance
4. Resources
• SystemTools' discussion board
• Help us keep you informed
• Help us spread the word !
5. Contact Information

Hyena 10.5 is Here

Hyena v10.5 has been released, and is available for immediate download in both x64 and x86 in English, French, German, and Spanish. This update can be downloaded from Hyena's main download page.

The main new features in Hyena v10.5 are the 'Group Member Matrix' and a number of Active Editor Improvements. See below for more information.

Hyena v10.5 is available as a free update if your maintenance expiration date is after December 1, 2013. See the 'Hyena Maintenance' topic below for information on updating and how to check the maintenance expiration date. Everyone who purchased a Hyena v10.0 license is also eligible for a free upgrade to v10.5.

What is the new "Group Member Matrix"? This new view is able to show primary, direct, and indirect group members in a simple to understand grid. While Hyena has always had ways to show direct and indirect group members for multiple groups, the new matrix view gives you a better visual representation of the members and their relationships.

The Matrix view was also optimized for exporting as well, with flexible settings and customizable member fields. For a better view of the Matrix, see the Active Directory User and Group Management page, and click on the thumbnail image of the Group Member Matrix.

Other Changes in Hyena v10.5

Many of the other changes in Hyena v10.5 concern the Active Editor, which now allows multi-selection, account expiration date updating, and multi-valued attribute support. Multi-valued attributes can also be imported into as well.

For a complete list of changes in this release, see our Whats New page.

Hyena 10.0 'G' available

We've made one final change to Hyena v10.0; the current release is rev 'G'. This change involves a fix involving importing text fields into the Active Editor that contain carriage return / line feed (CR/LF) characters. Since CR/LF characters are difficult to write into a standard text file or copy and paste into Excel, Hyena replaces them with (by default) the ^ character. Rev 'G' will now reverse the CR/LF replacement when importing data back into Hyena. Care must be taken, of course, that the replacement character is also not a valid data element.

A special section in Hyena's help file has been added to further explain the CR/LF replacement rules.

The rev 'G' update can be downloaded from Hyena's main download page.

Windows Server 2008 Last Interactive Logon

Hyena v10.5 adds support for properly displaying the last interactive logon information added as a feature in Windows 2008. This information can be used in a variety of ways, including determining if a security breach is occurring, auditing, and just as a verification that an account is being used properly. This feature will only work if the domain functional level is Windows 2008, and is configured through a GPO. To configure, see the Microsoft article at:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd446680(v=ws.10).aspx

Once enabled, Hyena can be used to view the four attributes added to any user's directory account through the GPO:

msDS-FailedInteractiveLogonCount
msDS-FailedInteractiveLogonCountAtLastSuccessfulLogon
msDS-LastFailedInteractiveLogonTime
msDS-LastSuccessfulInteractiveLogonTime

To add any of these fields to a query:

• Select File > Manage Object View > AD Queries
• Click on Users (Summary), or select another query or create a new query
• Then, in the lower right corner, change the 'Attribute Category' to 'Other (Specify Attribute)'
• Enter in one or more of the above list of attributes and click OK.

To run this query, double-click on the All Users object to run the default query or right click and select the query by name that these attributes were added into.

Viewing User Password Expiration Time

Another new user directory attribute named 'msDS-UserPasswordExpiryTimeComputed' was added to Windows 2008, and since it is a calculated attribute, very few AD administrators know it exists. As the long name implies, this property contains the date/time that a user's password expires based on the current system password policies and even taking into account any fine-grained password policies.

The above instructions on how to add the 'Last Interactive Logon' attributes to a directory query can be used to add this property as well. However, since it is a computed value, it may be advisable to add it to a special query and not a default query for performance reasons.

Hyena v10.5 is needed to properly display this attribute's value, since it is a date stored internally as a large integer.

All Hyena licenses have a built-in maintenance expiration date, which can be displayed under the Tools > Settings > Licensing dialog. The maintenance expiration date determines whether new releases can be installed with the active license. If your maintenance has recently expired or is about to expire, it can be renewed now. For maintenance information and renewal options, visit:

http://www.systemtools.com/hyena/maint_main.htm

If you prefer to get an email quotation on maintenance renewal, send your current license information to sales@systemtools.com and request a maintenance renewal quote. You can easily get the current license information under Hyena's Tools > Settings > Licensing dialog.

If your maintenance expiration date is before December 1, 2013, the upgrade cost is only 50% of the licensing cost, which includes one year of maintenance. Maintenance expirations on or after December 1, 2013 can be renewed now.

SystemTools' discussion board

Our online discussion board, with thousands of postings, is a great online resource for all Hyena users. Our discussion board can be both a source for solutions to frequently encountered problems and a place to learn how others use many of Hyena's features. To access our discussion board, visit:

http://www.systemtools.com/toolboard

There is also a link on Hyena's Help menu (Help > Online Discussion Board) to go directly to our discussion board.

Help us keep you informed

Help us keep you and other users in your organization informed of updates and releases of SystemTools products.

Any Hyena user can register for this newsletter (ToolNews) by selecting "Newsletter Signup" on Hyena's Help menu. You can also go directly to our
ToolNews registration page as well. We could also use the help of our existing customers by passing along this newsletter to other SystemTools users within your company.

We use an automated service to handle sending this newsletter, including subscribing and unsubscribing. All new subscriptions require confirmation, and we will never share our newsletter email list with anyone.

Help us spread the word !

For over 16 years Hyena has helped tens of thousands of IT managers, administrators, help desk personnel, and auditors simplify the management and reporting of Windows. We have found over and over that the number one source of newcomers to our products has come from word-of-mouth of other happy users. The entire SystemTools Software family and community would very much appreciate it if you would mention Hyena to friends and associates that you feel could use it to simplify their jobs as well.

As our user base has grown, the amount and quality of feature recommendations has grown as well, making for an even better product for existing and future users. Simply put, the more we grow the exposure of SystemTools Software products, the more return you get from your investment.

Thank you for your help in keeping Hyena improving and growing !

Sales - sales@systemtools.com
Support - support@systemtools.com
Telephone - 1-877-SYS-TOOL (1-877-797-8665) or International Customers - 1-830-779-2349

SystemTools Software Inc.
P.O. Box 1209
La Vernia, TX 78121

Thank you for your support.