Re: getting users to logoff


"Computerguy" <phil2627@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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On Jan 17, 10:27 pm, "Al Dunbar" <AlanD...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
"Computerguy" <phil2...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

news:087f2e54-bd83-49ef-bf75-43b6ed89ca2f@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On Jan 15, 2:04 am, "Al Dunbar" <AlanD...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:





"Computerguy" <phil2...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

news:43d4a82b-b658-427b-a9bb-c7e9eef2a901@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On Jan 14, 1:45 pm, "Mathieu CHATEAU" <gollum...@xxxxxxx> wrote:

Hello,

this is not really a security issue, but more a functionnal issue.
Roaming profile won't get updated, as it is updated at logoff.

We use a vbscript to reboot stations, which force logoff on the way.
You may change the code to only logoff without shutting down the pc
Are you intereseted in ?

--
Cordialement,
Mathieu CHATEAU
English blog:http://lordoftheping.blogspot.com
French blog:http://www.lotp.fr

"Computerguy" <phil2...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

news:3f7cd77b-bb0f-42c5-a1cb-d5235b4495bf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Is there any security threat to the following ?
- windows xp2 is locked (have to enter Ctrl+Alt+Del)
- servers setup to disconnect users at 10:00 PM

For electricity savings reasons we are starting to request users
logoff and shutdown at the end of the day. Right now we have users
who forget to logoff, but their PC will go to the Windows XP locked
screen. If we are in the wrong forum please let us know to repost.
Thanks.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Mr. Chateau,

We are interested in anything to get staff to exit the network. I
almost forget we have files synching at logoff to their directory and
if they never logoff..... We have Altiris and tried assigning a job
to restart at 10:00 PM, but when users do shutdown they would come in
the next day and after powering on the computer they are greeted by
the same shutdown job that powers off their computer. At first we
were looking for software. We would welcome a script to somehow
remove users from the network at a certain time.

===> If you don't get a scripted solution to force users to do what
company
policy tells them they should do, you could run a job at 10pm that
checks
to
see which workstations are logged on. 'net view' will do this, but the
output might need to be filtered to include only workstations at your
location. A further step would be to also determine who is logged in at
each
workstation - a bit trickier but doable.

Then for the first week or two you send each person logged in (or the
owners
of the powered on computers) an email reminding them of the company
policy,
and that a report of powered on workstations/logged in users will be
sent
to
the president (or whomever).

/Al- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Mr. Dunbar,

Users cannot login before 6:00 AM. I come in a couple times a week
early to do things (best time is to get things done when there is no
one on the network). We can see the users still logged in and send an
email to the supervisors. We have been doing this for 2 years and we
have the same 10 to 15 people who repeat.

===> Yes, I am familiar with the phenomenon of the users who routinely
refuse to follow suggested best practices. That is why I suggested the
reference to company policy.

But in reviewing the thread I see that you initially said that the goal
was
one of electrical power savings. If the power bill is paid from *your*
budget, look for some way to implement a charge back for workstations left
on. Failing that, shutdown the server every Wednesday and tell people that
since you are getting no cooperation from users to shutdown their
computers
when they are not using them, and not getting additional funding for the
increased power costs, this is your only option. If upper management says
that that is not appropriate, tell them that they need to either get the
users to help, or pay for the power used.

If the power bill is paid from someone else's budget, send that
person/department, copies of the emails you have been sending for 2 years,
and cc them any of these messages you send in the future. If you have done
your best, but are just getting poor support, well, at least you've done
your best.

But let me ask you this: how much does it cost to leave those 15 computers
on all the time? And is this *your* initiative, or something you have been
tasked with? I hate to rain on your parade, but if your primary function
is
to support your company's infrastructure, taking it upon yourself to get
people to shutdown computers to save money is likely inappropriate. Do you
check to make sure their coffee machines are off after hours?

/Al- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

We are doing what one of our sending district's is doing and it just
part of a bigger picture of cost savings. We are also talking around
300 to 400 computers overall. None of the lab computers get shutdown
(about 250 right there) you will get a most users to logoff, but not
shutdown. Our overall objective eventually is to get users to
shutdown. We have different higher ups requiring different things.
Shutting down would take care of everything, but we (in the tech
department) would like them to logoff for security reasons.

===> in our environment we have been after people to leave their systems on
so that they will receive the weekly patch updates and other things we
rollout to the workstations. Recently an email came from the top to each
staff member stating that the computers should be shut off at the end of the
day (except for those posts that are running 24/7) as part of an energy- and
cost- saving plan. I asked what the expected cost savings would be if
everyone complied, but apparently nobody thought to figure this out, so
nobody knows. I also asked what impact they thought this might have on what
people do at the end of their shifts - same answer. I also asked how much it
actually cost in terms of dollars or greenhouse gas emissions to power the
entire fleet of workstations compared with all of the other things power is
used for - same answer.

At the same time I started running a scheduled task at two of our sites that
counted the number of powered on computers every ten minutes. Unfortunately,
I had no head's up of the announcement so was not able to start this before
the message was sent. At the smaller site I found that the daytime peak was
around 85, dropping to75 overnight and as low as 65 on the weekends. This
was the site where we traditionally never got much buy-in to the idea of
leaving the systems on. The other site where we had been working on that
longer had an even smaller proportion of shutdowns happening. If the message
were to have had a real impact, one would expect it to have had more of an
impact where we had been haranging people to leave the computers on. The
results suggest that the net effect of the message could have ranged as low
as, well, zero impact on user behaviour.

I also asked if there was any change in the pattern of power consumption,
but, as I suspected, there was no significant correlation.

Are we going to do anything to enforce user compliance with departmental
policy? No. If the users choose to disobey a direct order from the top, the
issue is between them and the big guy.

I'm all for doing what we can. When I was a kid we used to leave the tap
running as we brushed out teeth. Don't do that anymore, even though I do not
know for sure what the effect is. But if you are going to expend significant
resources to do some large scale things, it should be required (imho) to
base this on a rational analysis. PC's account for an unknown proportion of
power consumption. No stats are available to indicate how much time
computers are on but not doing useful work. No verifiable stats are
available on the impact of an email. so the net result could easily be so
insignificant as to be no different from leaving things as they are.

But if your company is adamant that something be done, why not go to the
source of the problem, and simply turn the power off at the breaker during
the off hours? This could be automated, and the power distribution
infrastructure segmented so that critical systems (computers and otherwise)
will remain on. You have seen that users cannot be told what to do, and you
are having trouble coming up with an automated solution that cannot easily
be defeated. Guess what: that is the nature of the beast.

Having said all this I would suggest that the company's best bet is actually
the employees. All that needs to be done is to find a way to
motivate/reward/recognize them for doing the right thing.

/Al


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: getting users to logoff
    ... as it is updated at logoff. ... logoff and shutdown at the end of the day. ... If the power bill is paid from *your* ... since you are getting no cooperation from users to shutdown their computers ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.security)
  • Re: getting users to logoff
    ... as it is updated at logoff. ... logoff and shutdown at the end of the day. ... If the power bill is paid from *your* ... since you are getting no cooperation from users to shutdown their computers ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.security)
  • Re: User Profile Hive Cleanup Service Question
    ... Although you don't specifically tell it to log you off, that's the first thing that has to happen whenever you do a Restart or a Shut Down. ... The value of the program is that it will try to insure that, whenever you call for a logoff, Restart or Shut Down, ALL of the programs will shut down properly and without causing any problems for the operating system. ... ShutDown = Logoff and properly close all open tasks in an orderly manner, and turn the power off or show the "OK to turn power off" message. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: User Profile Hive Cleanup Service Question
    ... Shutdown Stalls". ... Logging Off is a necessary part of doing a Restart. ... you call for a logoff, Restart or Shut Down, ALL of the programs will ... and turn the power off or show the "OK to turn power off" ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: newbie question Shutdown
    ... >> On most computers you can simply just ... >> push the power button. ... I never use the menu to shutdown. ...
    (alt.os.linux.suse)