Re: RWW - log off after timeout?

Yes, the hack would be a definite violation of the EULA. I've seen these
hacks before and they appear to be based on a Windows XP RC1 "feature" (or
Beta release) which was removed in later versions. I've also seen posts
that say it doesn't work on domain based workstations and you need "Fast
User Switching" turned on to make it work.

I also don't know how running a concurrent RDP session is going to help with
your goal here since you wouldn't be "shadowing" the original user's
session, but just allowing a second (separate user) RDP session to the same
LAN workstation.

--
Merv Porter [SBS-MVP]
============================

"SusanV" <svanallen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:%23mjoLQB4HHA.4476@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The article I linked uses a screensaver (and thus the idle timer) to log
the user off, but you're right, files transferring while the user is off
getting a cup of coffee would kick the idle timer despite actual activity
as it's looking at human interface devices for idle, not data transfer...

Also, good point on the connecting drives issues, however, it's vital that
I allow this functionality .We have users who travel all over the world
and have to transfer files - sometimes databases up to half a gig in
size - back to the home base before leaving the jobsite. These users
*normally* only connect using company issued laptops - however I do have a
couple of users who will connect from home occasionally... I trust my
TrendMicro Suite though, kind of have to! The optional setup would be an
FTP site, and I'd *really* rather avoid that, as there are so many friggin
holes in ftp...

I found another option here to my original issue - a hack to allow
multiple concurrent remote desktop sessions, I can post the link if you're
interested (NOTE - this hack is probably a EULA violation)

--
SusanV


"Merv Porter [SBS-MVP]" <mwport@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:OEDieKB4HHA.4476@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I think you may be chasing your tail Susan. There are several ways to
"force" a logoff of a user, but you never know if that user was actually
doing something at the time of the logoff or if the session has just been
"orphaned" (user did not log off the LAN workstation, RWW session timed
out, RDP session was left running).

I've been fighting this same thing for quite some time and haven't found
a suitable solution other than VNCing into the workstation. IMHO, a
forced log off is not the answer (data can be lost if the user leaves
files open, but not saved, and a forced logoff is implemented). We
really need a way to determine if the RWW part of the session has "timed
out" while the RDP session still running. Even then, we would still not
know if the user had open files on his workstation when RWW timed out
(again, the Open Files and Sessions parts of Server Management might give
us clues about this).

BTW... I also have a problem with RWW users "connecting their drives" to
transfer data. Since you don't know where the remote machine has been,
who it's been talking to, or what the state of its antivirus/antispyware
is, this seems like a perfect path for trojans or other malware to inject
themselves into the network. I normally remove the "Connect Drives"
option in RWW so the RWW user doesn't even know about it.

--
Merv Porter [SBS-MVP]
============================
"SusanV" <svanallen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:%234O827A4HHA.3400@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Thanks Merv, I'd never heard of this software before! I looked into an
article on shadowing an XP Remote session but boy it was fugly... If I
can't work out the logoff, this will be very helpful! I'd rather get the
logoff working, though, so that if user A leaves a machine locked on
Friday night User B can still get in on Saturday without interrupting my
weekend <grin>

I found this article, which will logoff using a screensaver, rather than
locking the machine:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314999

However, I can't implement this on the in-house folks - only the RWW
connections.

Next step - how can I set a policy to set the user's screensaver to the
winexit.scr if the user logged on via Remote Desktop, and to whatever's
in their profile if logged in locally?

<digs deeper>
--
SusanV

"Merv Porter [SBS-MVP]" <mwport@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:unu4%232A4HHA.5740@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I normally install TightVNC (www.tightvnc.com, a remote control program)
on each workstation and put only the "listener" portion on the SBS
server. From the server, this allows me to access their workstation
session and "look over their shoulder" to see if there is any activity.
If there appears to be no activity, I can then log them off from within
the TightVNC user interface, then close the TightVNC session.

You can also look for activity in these two places in the Server
Management Console, although I'm convinced this 100% reliable as I've
seen a few times when the info at this places was not accurate. (This
is where VNC comes in handy).

Server Management | Advanced Management | Computer Management | System
Tools | Shared Folders | Sessions
Server Management | Advanced Management | Computer Management | System
Tools | Shared Folders | Open Files

--
Merv Porter [SBS-MVP]
============================

"SusanV" <svanallen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:%23TTognA4HHA.1208@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi all,

I have 2 PCs setup for users who are out of the office to connect to
via RWW in order to transfer files or whatever, all is working fine,
however sometimes a remote user will "forget" to log off, leaving the
machine locked. I can unlock it by forcing a logoff, but I hate to do
this as I can't tell whether the user is actually active or simply
left the session open - on a couple of occasions I've bumped a user
who was in the middle of something during a time they are not normally
logged on, and needless to say they weren't best pleased.

Is there a way to force a RWW session to log the user off after a set
time of inactivity?

Failing that, is there a way to check if the user is active before
bumping them?

I know this is more of a "training" issue, but some refuse to be
trained <g>

TIA,

SusanV











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Relevant Pages

  • Re: RWW - log off after timeout?
    ... doing something at the time of the logoff or if the session has just been ... "orphaned" (user did not log off the LAN workstation, RWW session timed out, ... determine if the RWW part of the session has "timed out" while the RDP ... open files on his workstation when RWW timed out (again, ...
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  • Re: RWW - log off after timeout?
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  • RE: RWW question - SBS2003 Standard
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  • Re: RWW - log off after timeout?
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