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Need network monitor tool to monitor naughty users - 16.Jan.2003 5:06:00 PM

skbryan

Posts: 30
Joined: 6.Dec.2002
From: houston
Status: offline

Can someone recommend a good, simple to use network monitoring tool that monitors the users usage? We have a couple rogue users that have been sucking up all our bandwidth. . . Can someone recommend a simple to use package? Thanks.

Post #: 1

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RE: Need network monitor tool to monitor naughty users - 18.Jan.2003 1:47:00 AM

Guest

You might take a look at LK Log Scan for Exchange Server available at http://www.lklogscan.com. It is very inexpensive and should do the trick nicely.

(in reply to skbryan)

Post #: 2

RE: Need network monitor tool to monitor naughty users - 13.Mar.2003 6:14:00 PM

atguilmette

Posts: 401
Joined: 4.Mar.2003
From: Southfield, MI
Status: offline

You could install a proxy server, and configure all users to use it for web access. That way, you could log everything your users do and check through to see where they're going.

MS Proxy Server 2.0 or ISA server are relatively easy to implement for this purpose, because you can force users to authenticate and use their standard domain names, making tracking them a snap.

--Aaron

(in reply to skbryan)

Post #: 3

RE: Need network monitor tool to monitor naughty users - 13.Mar.2003 7:04:00 PM

skbryan

Posts: 30
Joined: 6.Dec.2002
From: houston
Status: offline

Thanks for your answers, we don't have ANY controls where I work. You gotta laugh when one of the guys asks you to burn him a CD of all the porn that he has downloaded. . . I don't care what anybody does, just as long as they don't bring down the network. thanks again.

(in reply to skbryan)

Post #: 4

RE: Need network monitor tool to monitor naughty users - 13.Mar.2003 8:09:00 PM

atguilmette

Posts: 401
Joined: 4.Mar.2003
From: Southfield, MI
Status: offline

I worked for an automotive supplier several years ago, and people would re-email the same porn joke/video attachments OVER and OVER again, and save it in their home directories. Disk space was much more expensive back then (server disk space was still around $.60 to $.80/mb). When we realized that we couldn't stop the influx of porn, we decided on a new course of action: all porn was to be removed from their home directories and saved to a special directory so everyone could access it. All porn email attachments were to be downloaded to that directory, and you would just send all the internal employees LINKS to the files, instead of sending the files.

As crazy as it sounds, we were able to cut our disk space costs by about 1/3. I suppose the added bonus was we provided a much longer porn retention time.

In the recent past, I worked for AT&T Broadband and AOL/Timewarner/Roadrunner for a couple of years, and we jokingly came up with an internal slogan:

"We don't make porn. We make porn faster."

[Cool]

Gotta love the industry.

--Aaron

[ March 13, 2003, 08:15 PM: Message edited by: atguilmette ]

(in reply to skbryan)

Post #: 5

RE: Need network monitor tool to monitor naughty users - 13.Mar.2003 8:20:00 PM

skbryan

Posts: 30
Joined: 6.Dec.2002
From: houston
Status: offline

What a great solution, and I got a good chuckle out of it as well. That's what I was going to do with all the gazillions of MP3's they've downloaded inside their roaming profiles. It is so true about seeing the same mpg emailed over and over and over again. Thanks for making me "laugh out loud".

(in reply to skbryan)

Post #: 6

RE: Need network monitor tool to monitor naughty users - 13.Mar.2003 9:44:00 PM

atguilmette

Posts: 401
Joined: 4.Mar.2003
From: Southfield, MI
Status: offline

The stuff we do for our users is crazy sometimes. And to think, that was the solution approved of by management. Guess everyone was a little more loose in the 90s.

On a different note, large roaming profiles can have a severe network impact. You can implement a GPO to limit the size of profiles to speed up your network. You can also do "My Documents" folder redirection (which is probably where most users are saving stuff -- that or C:\Program Files\Kazaa\My Shared Folder) to put them on the server. Maybe a nightly script that moves all .jpg, .mp3, .mpg, and .avi files to a network share, overwriting the destination would be in order, too. Anything to take back the network from renegade porn downloaders.

--Aaron

(in reply to skbryan)

Post #: 7

RE: Need network monitor tool to monitor naughty users - 13.Mar.2003 9:56:00 PM

skbryan

Posts: 30
Joined: 6.Dec.2002
From: houston
Status: offline

You've made some great suggestions. I especially like the one about the script moving jpgs, mp3s, etc. to a different place. I'm not sure about how to do so. Can you provide me some direction or point me towards a website giving detailed and easy information on how to do so. There are some enormous roaming profiles, and I am trying hard to educate our users on where to put things, but it is pretty hopeless. I do need some help in getting things organized and going to a better place. I am still tickled with your earlier solution. . .

(in reply to skbryan)

Post #: 8

RE: Need network monitor tool to monitor naughty users - 14.Mar.2003 7:36:00 PM

atguilmette

Posts: 401
Joined: 4.Mar.2003
From: Southfield, MI
Status: offline

Group Policy for Roaming Profiles:

1. Open AD Users and Computers, and select the container for which you wish to manage the Group Policy Object.
2. Right-click on the container | Properties | Group Policy tab.
3. Click New, and then name the Group Policy.
4. Click Edit. Navigate to User Configuration | Administrative Templates | System | Logon/Logoff.

Here are two very important options for limiting Roaming Profile size:
- Limit Profile Size - Pretty self-explanatory. Options for warning users when their profiles are getting too big.
- Exclude Directories In Roaming Profiles - You can choose to exclude certain directories from traveling with the user. Very useful--Temporary Internet Files is a definite must here.

----

The script one will be a smidge more difficult because I'm not a Win32 scripting guy. If you want to run out to http://www.research.att.com/sw/tools/uwin/] and get the Unix tools for NT/2000/XP, I could help you out more.

[Smile]

Perhaps, though, there's a CSCIRPT/WSCRIPT-savvy person reading this that could cough one up just the same (though it's more of a systems-task than a purely Exchange task).

--Aaron

(in reply to skbryan)

Post #: 9

RE: Need network monitor tool to monitor naughty users - 14.Mar.2003 10:54:00 PM

skbryan

Posts: 30
Joined: 6.Dec.2002
From: houston
Status: offline

Those were great step by step instructions, I've gone in and done what you suggested. Thanks so much for all of your help, I really do appreciate it. I'll let you know if I have any luck with the scripts. Thanks again.

(in reply to skbryan)

Post #: 10

RE: Need network monitor tool to monitor naughty users - 17.Mar.2003 6:24:00 PM

skbryan

Posts: 30
Joined: 6.Dec.2002
From: houston
Status: offline

It took me a day to get everyone's profile under 30mb. There was a LARGE variety of files that I moved. On another note, a couple weeks ago I thoroughly cleaned up everyone's computer to remove all the spyware stuff and other miscellaneous programs. Sent them all a memo telling not to download any of these programs - comet cursor, save now, hotbar, etc. Much to my dismay, much of it was back. They are complaining about popups, and I know I can install a popup blocker, but since our company has grown so much, I no longer have time to nursemaid everyone's computer, so something more drastic is called for I think. I suppose the easiest might be for me to make them all regular users rather than administrative users so that they can't download stuff. Any ideas? I hate being the bad guy. . .

(in reply to skbryan)

Post #: 11

RE: Need network monitor tool to monitor naughty users - 18.Mar.2003 7:56:00 PM

atguilmette

Posts: 401
Joined: 4.Mar.2003
From: Southfield, MI
Status: offline

Well, another facet of Group Policy is software distribution. You can use Winstall LE to create MSI packages and distribute them via Group Policy. Ad-Aware http://www.webattack.com/get/adaware.shtml is a great freeware program that you could use to minimize the garbage that gets downloaded. Build an MSI with this, and distribute it via a Computer Configuration GPO to all of the computers in your domain. Ad-aware is also available in IT/Professional versions designed specifically for corporate network use (about $40/seat until you start getting to about 200 seats).

--Aaron

(in reply to skbryan)

Post #: 12