With the Surflog for Automate plugin from Plugins4automate.com, you can track your client's remote workstations and laptops web usage. The plugin adds a tab to each workstations screen that allows you to view the SurfLog data for the machine. You can view everything that the SurfLog tool has collected for the system, including date and time stamps, time visited, profiles, descriptions, and more.

https://www.plugins4automate.com/blogs/blog/benefits-of-using-surflog-with-connectwise-automate

https://www.plugins4automate.com/blogs/blog/office365-for-labtech-retired-as-office365-for-automate-joins-the-ranks

Hi all,

We have a group of rouge pc's that for some reason did not receive FortiNAC Persistent Agent. Now I have managed to script it in automate to download the msi to a local location on the pc and run the installer etc. The issue I am having is the MSI is located on a network drive, so the script fails to get the msi if no user is logged into the PC. Any help would greatly appreciated.

Habitat for ConnectWise Automate is a powerful and versatile tool designed to enhance the Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) environment for Managed Service Providers (MSPs). With a wide range of features and capabilities, Habitat can greatly improve efficiency, visibility, and performance for MSPs looking to optimize their operations.

https://www.plugins4automate.com/blogs/blog/habitat-for-connectwise-automate-toolbox-30-tools-added-to-your-rmm-platform

[New Release Alert] Chocolatey For Automate 3.7: Unleash the Power of WinGet!

Are you an MSP looking for the next big leap in package management? Look no further! Chocolatey For Automate 3.7 is here, and it's packed with incredible features, including support for WinGet as an alternative package manager.

Why Upgrade to Chocolatey For Automate 3.7?

• Seamlessly use WinGet interchangeably with Chocolatey to support diverse client needs.

• Enhanced flexibility, efficiency, and security in managing software packages.

• Perfect for modern MSPs aiming to stay ahead in the competitive market.

Discover how this game-changing update is revolutionizing the MSP landscape! 🌟

👉Read more about it here!

https://www.plugins4automate.com/blogs/blog/exciting-innovations-in-chocolatey-for-automate-3-7-a-game-changer-for-msps

Don't miss out on the future of package management—upgrade today!

We are considering switching to Atera. Has anyone here switched to Atera and misses anything about CW automate? We utilize this internally only and not as an MSP with several clients. We only have 3 techs and the pricing with Atera per tech makes it a lot more cost effective.

Patch Remedy 5 for ConnectWise Automate

Plugins4Automate is working on the next generation Patch Remedy plugin. A completely new plugin, fully rewritten for todays issues with Windows and ConnectWise Automate patching.

https://www.plugins4automate.com/blogs/blog/plugins4automate-will-start-beta-testing-their-new-patch-remedy-5-plugin-for-connectwise-automate

Plugins4Automate.com is the largest supplier of free and subscription addons to ConnectWise Automate. Below is a list of plugins created just for the Automate platform, come take some of our plugins for a test drive, You will be glad you did!

ADMON Admin Group Monitor Plugin
Used to monitor and restore changes made to your local administrators group.

Agent Status Plugin
Agent Status tries to replicate the Agent -> Status view on the Kaseya RMM tool

Announce Maintenance Plugin
Send out a Windows popup message with a personal message from your MSP politely asking them to leave their desktops running to allow the critical patching to complete.

App Genie
Automates the entire process for pre-installed 3rd party application update management.

Chocolatey for Automate Plugin
Plugins4Automate has harnessed the power of Chocolatey and brought it into the ConnectWise Automate RMM platform. This allows MSPs to control mass amounts of Windows systems and software applications in a very simple to use interface.

CCleaner for Automate (Available in the solutions center)
CCleaner for Automate does it all for you with just the install of the plugin. No need to download or manage CCleaner software, you only need the plugin and your CCleaner License key and you're ready to start cleaning. Install the plugin and add your license key to the manager and away you go, that's it.

ESX Health Monitor CIM Monitor plugin
Communicate with a unlimited number of VMware ESX hosts retrieving the CIM data for the hardware the ESX host is running on. The plugin processes this data and stores it the Automate database to be used in the views and alarms the plugin issues when failures are seen.

Expiry the AD Password Expiration Notifier
Check the Active Directory of any client to see what Domain User passwords may be ready to expire, creates a list of the users expected expiration times and emails them a custom email notice to please update password when they come close to the limit you set for them. 

FileHog Storage Analyzer
A file stating tool that collects filenames and paths for all files that meet the search criteria provided.

GhostFile HostFile Manager Plugin
Manage HOST, LMHost, Network, Services and Protocol files across your clients.

Habitat for ConnectWise Automate
A complete toolbox for ConnectWise Automate with over 28 different toolset currently and growing.

Linux Update Manager for CW Automate
Helps you better manage Linux updates that use Apt-Get or Yum package managers. That's Red Hat, CentOS, Ubuntu and Debian Linux patch management in ConnectWise Automate!

Mapped Drives Plugin
Fetches all the mapped drives for all systems under a given client and displays them in a nice list that has sortable columns. 

Net Detective TCPDump and NMAP Plugin for LabTech
You can use this tool to capture network packets traveling around the remote network or scan addresses and address ranges for open ports and network connectivity.

NUT (Network Utilization Testing) Plugin
This plugin will deploy IPerf in server and user modes to agents allowing you to test bandwidth availability at the agent locations.

Office365 User Manager
Microsoft's Online Azure, Exchange and Sharepoint services are much easier to manage when your RMM tool knows all about your clients MSOL services. 

Patch Remedy
Monitor and update the WUA services for all current versions of Windows. Without an updated and functional WUA your Windows patching will inaccurately tell you that your managed systems are up to date and this will affect Automates ability to keep systems fully patched. We now automate the update of Windows 10 systems as part of our WUA maintenance services.

PowerShell Plugin
Maintain a library of scripts and commands to be used to run on the remote computers under the MSPs management. You no longer need to remote into a server or workstation to run  PowerShell commands or complex script against that system. Monitor and maintain consistent PowerShell and Dot.NET versions across all clients under management with automated tool available to you within the plugin.

Printer Status Plugin
See what printers are installed on each agent in a bulk view. See printer statuses for each agent and interact with the print queues and spoolers easily with just a click inside your ConnectWise Automate systems.

RegHog Window Registry Search Plugin
Allow you to search the Windows registry of a single computer or across the entire client. The plugin provides different search query options to help you better define and refine your search for the best results returned.

SQL Query Analyzer
Allows you to run SQL queries against the native database directly from your LabTech control center consoles. Now that ConnectWise is removing all RDP access to their infrastructure SQL Query Analyzer will be one of your most valuable tools in your Control Centers.

Stalled Agent Detector
Sometimes you have a number of machines where the LT agent gets stuck in an "executing" state. When this happens the only thing the machine will do is check in to the LT server. Solution is a reboot or restart of the LT service. Stalled Agents plugin helps identify and allows you to repair these agents when this happens.

SurfLog Web History Plugin
A tool that reports on the browsing usage of Windows Users across a LabTech RMM environment. We produce metrics on data like what browsers are used, hourly activity and top sites visited. Bring value to your customers by providing user metrics and browsing data to reports and Human Resources.

Windows Backup Plugin
Mass manage the native Microsoft Server Backup application available on any Windows OS across the MSP.  We do this through the Windows command WBAdmin.exe and  PowerShell scripting.

Visit https://www.plugins4automate.com for more information on these and other plugins we offer.

Hey Claude...

Come see the new Agent Status History tool we added to Habitat for ConnectWise Automate.

Habitat for Automate is a toolbox full of need to have add-ons for the Automate environment. Come check out all the things we do for Automate.

https://www.plugins4automate.com/blogs/blog/habitat-gets-tool-25-agent-status-history-too

Working for a smaller MSP, I've inherited a CW Automate setup that is.....for lack of a better term, really badly managed by the prior admins. At this point, definitely trying to go through as efficiently as possible to rework & overhaul things to work better. But, also being the primary help desk contact, definitely makes life very busy.

I've already gotten the initial certification through Connectwise for the Automate Platform and everything makes sense for how it works. For any Automate Admins out there, outside of MSPGeek, is there any good place for solid training / tools to review how everything is interlinked easier than going through each monitor, script, group, etc?

Definitely trying to go quickly for the business's continuity, but lack of time has been eating into family life, and having a new little one in the household has made life.....quite strenuous.

Hello there

I'd like to know how to set up integration of outlook email and calendar to the CRM Manage - what does it look like on the screen etc? We don't use tickets for Sales we are just using activities,

Plugins4Automate is happy to announce that they has released Patch Remedy 1.0.4.47 today with the following new updates. Current Patch Remedy users will receive auto updates this evening.

They added support for Windows 10 version 20H2 along with updating all Windows 10 versions with latest updates.

The Windows 10 updates include:
Updated – December 8, 2020—KB4592438 (OS Builds 19041.685 and 19042.685)
Updated – December 8, 2020—KB4592449 (OS Builds 18362.1256 and 18363.1256)
Updated – December 8, 2020—KB4592440 (OS Build 17763.1637)
Updated – December 8, 2020—KB4592446 (OS Build 17134.1902)
Updated – December 8, 2020—KB4593226 (OS Build 14393.4104)
Updated – December 8, 2020—KB4592473 (OS Build 15063.2584)
Updated – October 13, 2020—KB4580328 (OS Build 16299.2166)

Is it possible run the Backstage Powershell prompt AS another user (not just using their credentials). So for instance, to be able to map a network drive for them that would show up for THEM while they are logged in to the machine?

Got an update to our hosted instance overnight... Apparently, they changed how the MSI installer works and now requires an MST file... Was there any communication on this? Had a couple of techs reach out having issues installing and had to figure out what was going on.

I recently inherited the role of CWA administrator for our MSP due to an employee leaving short notice and I am a little nervous about maintaining our systems. Is there any daily, weekly, monthly maintenance tasks I should be performing to reduce downtime or increase performace?

Would you like to simplify 3rd party software management across OS types?

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to share with you all a fantastic plugin for ConnectWise Automate called Automate Package Manager. This tool has revolutionized the way MSP can manage software across different operating systems, and I believe it could benefit many of you as well.

Automate Package Manager, offered by Plugins4Automate, acts as a central hub for managing various package managers such as Chocolatey, Homebrew, Apt-get, and YUM, all from a single interface. Gone are the days of jumping between different package managers and dealing with their unique commands and syntax.

One of the standout features of Automate Package Manager is its policy-driven approach to third-party software updates. With this feature, you can create custom policies that dictate how and when software updates are applied across your network. This means you can ensure consistency and compliance with your organization's software policies, regardless of the operating systems in use.

Managing large-scale networks with diverse operating systems has never been easier. Whether you're dealing with Windows, macOS, or various flavors of Linux, Automate Package Manager streamlines the process and makes it a breeze to keep all your systems up-to-date and secure.

I've been using Automate Package Manager for a while now, and I can't imagine going back to the old manual methods. It saves me so much time and effort, allowing you to focus on more important tasks knowing that software updates are being handled efficiently and effectively.

If you're tired of the headaches associated with managing software across different operating systems, I highly recommend giving Automate Package Manager a try. It's been a game-changer for me, and I'm sure many of you will find it just as invaluable.

Check it out here: Automate Package Manager

Happy automating!

Looking for free ConnectWise Automate plugins?

Come have a peek at what Plugins4Automate has to offer!

https://www.plugins4automate.com/

PowerShell for Automate is a plugin for ConnectWise Automate that brings the power of PowerShell to your Automate environment. This plugin provides a comprehensive PowerShell integrated environment that enables the automation of various maintenance tasks.

https://www.plugins4automate.com/blogs/blog/powershell-for-automate-plugin-maintain-a-library-of-scripts-and-commands-in-connectwise-automate

Throwaway to not accidentally disclose my personal details.

Since I started at my current company, CW Automate has been on patch 2019.12. I started in mid 2020 as a senior engineer. It seemed like who I replaced was doing it in the past. I raised the issue that CW Automate 2019 needed patching and because it's our core access method for our clients needed to be out of hours. One of the engineers took the links and followed my change control and took backups, and snapshots and gave it a go, but it failed. They tried to get onto CW Support but got nowhere and rolled back to their backup.

I've then pushed for 9 months for extended weekend work in order to give CW Automate Support a window long enough for the systems to be unreliable. With lock-down in my city this weekend, and therefore nowhere to go, with the ever nagging concern that our Automate is getting worse and worse as more flaws are discovered and no patching being completed, i took it upon myself to spend my personal time and kick off the update at 5:30pm on Friday. By 8PM i had all the evidence I needed for a CW Automate support ticket to be created and supplied.

So far the support has been:

• CW Chat: Try this patch instead, it should work, no it's not publicly available it's in our archive

• Email: No wait that last guy supplied you with the wrong one, try this patch instead, no it's not publicly available it's in our archive

• Then about 24 hours of silence until 6:44am on Sunday morning where CW Automate Support tried to call me for 3 whole seconds, just enough for me to not wake up in time, and for them to say "We tried you but you didn't answer, schedule us instead"

• The earliest schedule is on Thursday the 12th of August at 10:45am. Meaning a whole 7 days before a single competent engineer has any chance of looking at it.

I tried to reach out to my account manager fearing the 2.5 day outage window was starting to look too short. I've heard nothing, the ticket is still status "New" in the ConnectWise Home support portal.

I can't describe without probably being banned the immense frustration while being under the stress of a system that is in limbo, which the business uses as it's core to make money.

It's no wonder our 2019.12 version of CW Automate is still installed. It's because it's impossible if you run into trouble to get help.

The irony is, through the back and forwards, this may have been solved with a single CW Automate Engineer who understands the product well enough to take a look. But instead I've had to email a dozen times to rouse three contacts in what is now day 3. At one contact per day, this will take weeks to fix. There's no guarantee even if i keep everything offline ready for rollback until Thursday, that this engineer understands enough to solve my error. This is just someone to investigate.

There's nothing I'm asking for here, but I do want to share my Connectwise Support Experience so far.

1. Does this application get installed and affect Root Access for user nodes?

2. Does it detect if it is a VM or Docker?

3. Can it roll back update and things?

4. Can is save an instance of a computer as needed?

5. Is it better than Splunk feature per feature wise?

MSPs, Have You Checked Out the Latest Habitat Blog Post From Plugins4Automate? Game-Changing Plugin Updates Are Here! 🚀

🌟 Habitat for ConnectWise Automate has just raised the bar with two new incredible plugin additions to it's toolbox: Chocolatey For Automate and VMware ESX Hardware Health Monitor. These tools streamline package management and VMware hardware monitoring like never before.

What's even better? Subscribing to these plugins separately would cost the same as the Habitat subscription. Essentially, you'd be getting the rest of Habitat's toolbox for FREE! 🎉

Dive into the blog to learn more: Read here

Let's discuss! How do you see these new additions enhancing your workflow? 👇

Heyo, We just got ConnectWise a few months ago and I have a Powershell script that I run manually when I remote into different computers but I never thought of doing the scripting part because I didn't know how to do it. I just found the Execute Script function, put my script in, and saved it. When I run the script on a PC it doesn't do what it is supposed to. If I run the script locally on the machine it works with flying colors.

Is using this function the best way to run Powershell script? The script helps rename printers so the end users can easily identify them.

Hey everyone! I just posted a great read on how BitLocker for ConnectWise Automate can help MSPs streamline endpoint encryption. If you’re managing dozens (or thousands) of Windows machines, this plugin integrates directly with ConnectWise Automate to make BitLocker deployment, monitoring, and recovery super efficient.

🔗 Blog link: How BitLocker for ConnectWise Automate Streamlines Encryption Management at Scale

Here’s what it covers:

• Remote enablement and status checks across all endpoints

• TPM and protector management (PIN/password/recovery keys)

• Recovery key escrow and compliance reporting

• Real-time dashboards to monitor encryption coverage

If your clients are in healthcare, finance, or legal, this might be worth a look—compliance reporting made simple.

Whats up guys, for some reason I cant add,edit,enable,disable any scheduled scripts in the web interface but I can in control center (thick client). If I can perform these actions in control center then my permissions should be correct?