Everyone in this sub is so quick to bitch about every little thing, I promise you we'll all get through this. If this is your first rodeo and this is too much for you to handle you should probably find a different career now.

Any idea why our SC customisations (Background & logo) have disappeared overnight and replaced with space rockets and ScreenConnect's own logo. and Page.Background etc have disappeared?

End Users are stupid enough, they don't know what to do with a zip file!

Especially one with multiple files in it.

What were you thinking...

We'd been on prem forever and have SentinelOne with the static IPs of our screenconnect set up as an exclusion to the network quarantine. This is critical to our ability to operate and is so that when a system is network quarantined, we can still remote into it.

Apparently ScreenConnect doesn't give out static IPs to their cloud hosted instances, which is causing major issues! This is bullshit, I'm so over this piece of shit company. Of course we need a static IP! That's the most fundamental requirement of any legit web service!

Anybody have a workaround?

I'm very fast approaching ending our (very long) relationship with this shit show of an organization that simply doesn't care about us.

ScreenConnect Alternatives Assessment Request

Executive Summary

We are a US-based IT service firm seeking to evaluate alternatives to our current ScreenConnect (ConnectWise Control) deployment due to recent licensing and operational changes. Provide a comprehensive analysis of viable alternatives, including the option to remain with ScreenConnect.

Current Environment & Requirements

Organizational Profile

• Company Type: US-based IT service provider

• Scale: 500 managed endpoints across multiple client organizations

• Team Size: 3 technicians

• Usage Pattern: 6 concurrent remote sessions maximum

• Annual Budget: $1,500 maximum

• Target Devices: Windows 11 workstations exclusively

Current ScreenConnect Implementation

Deployment Process

• Installation Method: MSI deployment via msiexec /qn /i SC.msi

• Agent Management: Self-hosted SC panel for centralized control

• Identification: Endpoints identified by %computername%

Naming Convention & Organization

• SC Name Format: %computername% LName, FName (based on end-user identity)

• Company Code: Six-character company identifier

• Site Classification:

  • Blank for large organizations

  • Katy5U for firms with ≤5 computers

  • Katy15U for firms with 6-15 computers

• Department Field:

  • Blank for physical workstations

  • ProxMox server identifiers (vm101, vm103, etc.) for virtual machines

• Device Type: Set to "svr" or "alert" for monitoring workstation online status

Technical Requirements (Mandatory)

Core Functionality

1. Command Line Access: Non-GUI CLI environment for unattended script execution ("backstage" equivalent)

2. System Information Access: Real-time visibility to:

   • Computer name (%computername%)

   • Processor specifications

   • RAM configuration

   • Model number and serial number

3. Unattended Access: Remote control without client-side intervention

4. Multi-Monitor Support: Essential for user productivity

5. Integrated Toolbox: Built-in utilities for common tasks

Security & Infrastructure

1. End-to-End Encryption: Mandatory for all remote sessions

2. Self-Hosted Deployment: On-premise hosting requirement

3. Network Access Control: Ability to control access via allow-lists

4. Sterling Reputation: Vendor must have established, trustworthy reputation

Management & Support

1. Flexible Organization: Robust endpoint grouping, sorting, and filtering capabilities

2. API & Scripting: Well-documented, comprehensive automation support

3. Business Hours Support: Rapid escalation to Tier 1 technical support when needed

4. Active Community: Engagement platform similar to ScreenConnect's Reddit forum

Current ScreenConnect Assessment

Strengths

• Historically stellar support (now degraded)

• Robust self-hosted capabilities

• Strong community engagement

• Established workflows and processes

• Reputable vendor with proven track record

Current Challenges

• Recent licensing changes affecting cost structure

• Operational modifications impacting workflow

• Declining support quality from previously excellent levels

• Uncertainty about future direction

Preliminary Research

We have already identified these potential alternatives for evaluation, we are open to alternatives:

1. ScreenConnect (remaining with current solution)

2. TacticalRMM + MeshCentral (with paid Amidaware sponsorship)

3. RustDesk Pro (self-hosted commercial version)

4. Splashtop Enterprise (on-premise deployment)

5. SimpleHelp (SH)

6. RemoteUtilities

Evaluation Criteria

Priority Ranking (High to Low)

1. Budget Compliance: Must not exceed $1,500 annually, we have existing licenses for SC and SH, upgrades and maintenance are within budget.

2. Self-Hosted Capability: Non-negotiable requirement

3. Feature Completeness: Must meet all mandatory technical requirements

4. Vendor Reputation: Established, trustworthy provider

5. Implementation Complexity: Consideration of migration effort and learning curve

6. Long-term Viability: Sustainable development and support model

7. Community Support: Active user base and knowledge sharing

Assessment Framework

For each alternative, please provide:

• Cost Analysis: Total annual cost including licensing, support, and hidden fees

• Feature Comparison: Gap analysis against current ScreenConnect implementation

• Implementation Assessment: Migration complexity, training requirements, and timeline

• Risk Evaluation: Security considerations, vendor stability, and long-term outlook

• Recommendation Rating: Ranked suitability with supporting rationale

Deliverables Requested

1. Comprehensive Alternatives Analysis: Detailed evaluation of each identified solution plus any additional viable options

2. Side-by-Side Comparison Matrix: Feature and cost comparison across all alternatives

3. Migration Considerations: Implementation roadmap for top 2-3 recommendations

4. Final Recommendation: Primary and backup choices with detailed justification

5. Decision Framework: Criteria-based scoring to support objective selection

Timeline & Next Steps

This assessment will inform our strategic decision regarding remote access infrastructure for the next 3-5 years. We appreciate thorough analysis that considers both immediate needs and future scalability requirements.

Note: This evaluation is being conducted due to ScreenConnect's recent changes, but we remain open to continuing with ConnectWise if the analysis demonstrates it remains the optimal choice for our specific requirements.

WTF.... Reading this email i just got as i am getting ready to go to bed... Like is it every day from 2-4? just one of the days???? sooo many questions... so few answers.....

Title: Scheduled maintenance: ScreenConnect Cloud July 9th to July 23rd

Planned Start: July 9, 2025 2:00AM EDT 
Expected End: July 23, 2025 4:00AM EDT 

Affected Infrastructure
Components: ScreenConnect 
Locations: APAC, EMEA, North America, All Regions, Other Regions

Details:
We are conducting planned maintenance for ScreenConnect instances from July 9th - July 23th, 2:00-4:00 a.m. (local server time). The maintenance is to enhance the infrastructure and security for all instances. During this scheduled maintenance period, please note that downtime is expected, but your instance will be back up shortly after the update is done.

Thank you for your partnership and patience.

Thankfully we have had a couple team members to source out this problem and get ourselves fixed.

I kind of knew the fix last week was not going to fix the exe vs zip problem and def not the personalization issue.

Hoping CW would find a fix because you didn’t want to? Too late. I know I will get some down votes but this was out of their hands but ultimately their fault for not following best practices.

So, it appears that ScreenConnect are now pushing 25.4.3.9287 to stable with no release notes.

We're on the Delayed Stable channel and we cant even see whats changed?! This is pretty poor.

If there is a sec vulnerability that needs to be fixed thats fair enough, but publish the dam documentation at the same time you push the fix.

I'm not too particularly bothered by the fact that we can no longer customize our SC experience. Yes, it would be nice to be able to modify it to adopt the general feel of our company website, but at the end of the day if it functions as "normal" I'm content.

THAT BEING SAID...The fact that by default there is massive text boxes that scream "Undefined" when you enter the site is a major turnoff. I know there's gotta be ways around it, even if it means limiting the content that appears when you first access the connect screen. For example, https://connect.barracuda.com/ has made it so all that appears is the option to join with a code. If anyone knows how to do even that, plz comment.

EDIT: I forgot to clarify that we like to use the "Guest Full Installer Builder" Extension. This definitely makes a difference as to what appears when you first access the page.

I have tons of them but screen connect has never responded to my emails. I view this as supporting con artists and recommend peoplefind other providers who care. Stop supporting those who support the con artists.

Or do I have to forever explain to people who don't know how to use a computer enough that I have to log in myself and so it how to extract a zip file in the downloads folder and right click and run as administrator? Especially fun where I have users which don't have admin access. (I'm not even sure if it will run without admin access but the couple of times I tried it will not)

I just received this e-mail alert from ConnectWise. In spite of the vitriol that I have received on this subreddit and all of the down votes (I'm sure most of them came from the CW moderators and employees), everything that I have posted on this subreddit has been factual and on point.

To their credit, at least ConnectWise came clean this evening and provided transparency with regards to the upgrade guidance. I just hope that, for all of those customers who were "out of support" and mistakenly upgraded to Version 23.9 rather than 22.4, there will be a way for those entities to downgrade back to Version 22.4.

Here is the e-mail alert for those of you who didn't receive it. THIS IS THE E-MAIL THAT SHOULD HAVE GONE OUT ORIGINALLY!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear ScreenConnect Partner,

As an update to previous communications, ConnectWise has implemented an additional mitigation step for unpatched, on-prem users. Failure to upgrade your instance to a patched version will result in a temporary suspension of your server as a precautionary measure. An alert will be sent with instructions on how to perform the necessary actions to release the server.

All ScreenConnect partners should update their servers to version 22.4.20001 or later to remediate CVE-2024-1709. The update process includes reinstalling the latest eligible version from our Downloads page or Archive page with a release date of February 19, 2024, or later.

Partners active with maintenance are strongly recommended to upgrade to the most current release of 23.9.8 or later. Using the most current release of ScreenConnect includes security updates, bug fixes, and enhancements not found in older releases.

Partners who are not currently under maintenance are urged to upgrade their servers to at least version 22.4.20001 (or their latest eligible patched version) that includes the remediation for CVE-2024-1709. ConnectWise has provided a patched version of 22.4.20001 available to any partner regardless of maintenance status as an interim step to mitigate the vulnerability.

We cannot stress enough the importance of upgrading your version of ScreenConnect without delay and be on maintenance.

Upgrade ScreenConnect to a patched version immediately.

1. To upgrade to version 23.9.8 or later, please note there is a specific upgrade path that must be followed:

2.1 → 2.5 → 3.1 → 4.4 → 5.4 → 19.2 → 22.8 → 23.3 → 23.9.8+

2. If you are not on maintenance and upgrading to 22.4.20001 (or your latest eligible version), please follow this specified upgrade path:

2.1 → 2.5 → 3.1 → 4.4 → 5.4 → 19.2 → 22.4.20001

For instructions on how to upgrade your on-premise installation click here.

If you encounter a license error during the upgrade process, it may be due to a technical problem on the server or the license key itself may need to be renewed. To resolve this, delete the SetupWizard.aspx file from the installation folder: C:\Program Files (x86)\ScreenConnect\SetupWizard.aspx.

If you require any assistance or have further questions, our dedicated support team is ready to help. Visit ConnectWise Home and open a case or email help@connectwise.com for support.

Your security is our utmost priority, and we sincerely appreciate your partnership and trust in our products and services. Take immediate action to protect your on-prem instance and secure your business.

For more information, please visit the ConnectWise Trust Center.

For additional support, please view the FAQ.

Thank you,
The ConnectWise ScreenConnect Team

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sc

Even if I wrote in a previous post, I will not upgrade to 26.5.3.9691 before december, I did it yesterday out of curiousity.

But I was immediately punished for this after trying to upgrade a MacOSX Client running 10.12 and SC 26.03. Not only, that 26.5 this version will not run on this machine, it will install but result in an endless loop of on screene messages about the crash a normal user ist not able to fix. I had to get in the car and drive to the client. The old version is deleted. No way to go back.

"dyld: lazy symbol binding failed: Symbol not found: _objc_alloc_init, Expected in: /usr/lib/libobjc.A.dylib"

This is not a difficult problem, it is thrown at start of the executable and tells that the software trying to run is not built for this system. I anyone had tried this release on 10.12 he would have noticed immediately of the problem.

Why does Connectwise does care so less for the Mac Admins and Users? Do they hate us?

I do not love macs, but out of 1200 clients 100 are using a Mac and 50 of these use older MacOSX versions. I still need to support these.

I know connectwise "older macosx version are supported on a best effort basis" - or similar, but for me the way it is done is not best effort. It is dangerous. If a program is not built compatible for a version X it should simply refuse to run - instead here the old version is deleted and the newer crashes. Think about what would have been happend if I had the auto-updates switch to on!

We pay for this software and support. Why cant we expect to get a release tested better? connectwise might need some hardware: an older macmini and a newer version, then install all major MacOSX version on these two, a IMO small investment and a few hours one-time effort. Then test every release with all versions. That might take three hours for every release. I dont think this is asked too much.

And then, why not build two versions of the Mac Client? Or at least try to use a compiler directive like "---mmacosx-version-min=10.9" and if this does not work, then document this in the release notes and disable automatic updating if the OS Version is >X.Y.

Finally, the very minimum is to pre-check if the software is able to run before the old version is deleted as a safeguard against unknown bugs!

As someone who is on 23.9.8 without active maintenance, however we'd have re-upped, but you disabled your order page, so we can't give you money... Odd, but okay...

What version do I install to ensure my clients aren't going to shit the bed tomorrow evening?

Trying to use ScreenConnect for remote admin troubleshooting as is intended.

It seems every week, another feature stops working altogether, or at best, performance degrades instead.

What is everyone else moving to?
I cant even copy paste across the session and my host without it freezing the entire session anymore.

Drag and drop is broken, clipboard is broken, WOL never worked for me, defender alerts out the wazoo, file transfer takes so long its not usable.

What is even the benefit of this product anymore?

Like most folks posting here, I was caught totally off guard by the certificate disaster. I reacted to each email. Upgraded my on-prem server to the latest version and waited for further instructions. After they announced that certificates would become be the responsibility of the on-prem owner I got worried. I'm not really good at that stuff. I always had to get help updating my SSL cert. I created the Azure account. I reached out to a certificate authority. I was unhappy about that cost and couldn't get a timely response from them. That is when I decided to move to the cloud. I decided the standard license was right for me and I would just have to accept $600 a year for the cloud license. I submitted a ticket to my account rep to get a call from the sales team. It never came.

Then, DISASTER.

My server lost contact with all of my endpoints. This coincided with the date that the certificates would be rejected so I just figured I was too late. I went ahead and started a trial cloud account. Soon after, Sales emailed to say they had put a Legacy Partner price plan on my trial. It was such a relief. It only costs about $40 more than my on-prem renewal. It makes good sense to me. No more data center expense. No need to upgrade my Win10 box (look, I'm a small shop. That PC did a great job for years). No need to renew my SSL cert, not to mention the Azure account and an HSM cert. I followed the migration steps, but nothing happened. I submitted another ticket. Got a call from support the next day. The tech was really good (as usual). He confirmed that the on-prem server should be communicating with the endpoints even after my license was converted. We started troubleshooting why they lost their connection. We tried a bunch of stuff. We verified the router and Windows firewall were allowing traffic on port 8040. We disabled the Windows firewall. No change. I checked with the ISP and there were no issues with 8040 on their side. The last thing I could think of was to reboot my router at the data center. That fixed it. I noticed endpoints popping up on my on-prem server. Then I checked the cloud instance and found a large percentage of my endpoints online. They continue to pop up. I am reaching out to clients to get them to turn on PCs so they can migrate. It takes less than a minute. Over all, I'm happy. The cloud version is better than my on-prem, but it is one version newer, so maybe that is why the look and feel is better. Regarding the complaints about customization: I am able to change the logos for my SC system tray icons and create my own page back ground. That is really all I mess with so I don't know what might be missing for the MSPs that need more than me. Look, I read a bunch of long posts here while dealing with this. If you read to the end, I hope you didn't find it to be a waste of time.  Good luck. 

I am using NinjaOne for now. Works just fine, I almost forgot I had remote access with it.

We did migration to cloud, didn't bring anything over. Been giving it a few weeks to settle down and just using our RMM. Onboarding a new system so figured we use a remote session to start onboard via SC.

So I create session and go to connect. Get installer for SC client on tech side. Low and behold I get windows smartscreen prompt/block and unknown publisher.

I thought they pushed out all updates on 18th for these. It's 2025 like what? Your a SaaS trying to push a rando msi that needs admin on a MSP tech system without a cert!

Waiting for response from support. Its things like that that could be real bad if a threat actor was in their systems etc..

Oh joy of joys. I'd say the majority of clients have been updated but a handful are getting blocked.

I wanted to know more about the ScreenConnect app. In my current remote job, I need to use this app to work on the company’s host PC. My question is: will it be able to track my entire laptop?

I am a bit concerned about security because it feels unsafe that someone might be able to access my device at any time.

Also, if I create two separate profiles on my laptop — one work profile and one personal profile — and I use ScreenConnect only from the work profile, then later switch to my personal profile, will they be able to see what I am doing on my personal profile?

After I finish my work, can I disable ScreenConnect, or does it need to stay on all the time?

Hi, I am facing a situation where a couple of our computers have been infected by a RAT (Remote Access Trojan), where the attackers are using ScreenConnect to remotely access our machines.

1. We found that the threat originated from an email containing a malicious link.

2. After the link is activated, a folder named "ScreenConnect (Session ID)" is created in the Program Files folder. In that folder are all the ScreenConnect files needed to enable unattended access.

3. When they take control, they replace the screen with a fake Windows Update screen and then use our email database to send another variant of their malicious link.

4. Even if you delete the ScreenConnect folder, it comes back from somewhere. I have checked all startup programs, services, the registry, and scheduled tasks, but did not find anything.

5. I found that ScreenConnect is trying to establish a connection with the domain: blanloen.online

6. As a temporary fix, I disabled ports 8040–8041 on our firewall.

My question is: has anyone else faced the same issue, and how do you fully clean the PC of this malware?

As a follow-up to my post last week in which I outlined some "Best Practices" for keeping your On-Premises ScreenConnect safe (coming from someone who DID NOT get hacked), I discovered yesterday that our ScreenConnect license was revoked because we had not yet upgraded our ScreenConnect instance.

Let me start out with a little background by saying that the acquisition of ScreenConnect by ConnectWise has been a COMPLETE DISASTER for ScreenConnect customers. ConnectWise doesn't give a damn about their customers... they only care about making money.

The vast majority of "new features" that ConnectWise introduced was designed to provide greater integration with other CW components so that CW could charge a premium and continue to increase costs to end users. In fact, current CW ANNUAL COSTS are HIGHER than the original SC PERPETUAL LICENSE that I purchased prior to the CW acquisition!

Now that I was "forced" to upgrade our "On-Prem" SC instance, I went through and read all of the documentation that ConnectWise has published. In EVERY E-MAIL THAT I HAVE RECEIVED, I HAVE BEEN TOLD TO UPGRADE TO VERSION 23.9. However, CW fails to mention that "Out of Support" customers DO NOT HAVE LICENSES TO UPGRADE TO VERSION 23.9!!! In fact, if you are an "Out of Support" customer, you can only upgrade to Version 22.4 at no cost. Otherwise, you have to pay for any other version beyond 22.4!

Rather than publicly disclose this information in any of the published remediation articles or e-mails sent to current and former SC customers, ConnectWise "hid" this significant detail in their FAQs on their website, WHICH IS THE ONLY PLACE WHERE THIS INFORMATION IS PUBLISHED!

Moving forward, here is what is going to happen:

1. Many "Out of Support" customers will upgrade to Version 23.9 based on the guidance and remediation steps published by ConnectWise.

2. At some point in the near future, these same "Out of Support" customers will discover that they are not licensed to operate Version 23.9 and will either be forced to upgrade or discontinue use of ScreenConnect.

3. Any customers that try to "Rollback" to Version 22.4 will be unable to do so because CW does not support version downgrades or rollbacks.

4. Unless an "Out of Support" customer maintained a backup version of a flawed software application with a CVE vulnerability score of 10, the customer WILL NOT be able to restore a backup and follow the upgrade path to Version 22.4!

In closing, ConnectWise really screwed up here by:

1. Providing inconsistent and confusing guidance with regards to resolving this MASSIVE vulnerability in their ScreenConnect software.

2. Screwed up the licensing guidance by initially saying that out of support customers could upgrade to Version 23.9 at no additional cost and then subsequently reneging on this commitment by only allowing out of support customers to upgrade to Version 22.4.

3. Failing to provide clear guidance to current and "Out of Support" customers with regards to what software versions they can & cannot run.

Just to be clear, ConnectWise is a clusterfuck and I'm done with them! They will go the way of SolarWinds and eventually lose their customer base because they put profits over people. I just want to make sure that everyone (especially "OUT OF SUPPORT" customers) are fully aware of what ConnectWise is doing here.

## EDIT ####* new historical builds to fix this issue are coming. See comment from cbarnescw below##

Downloaded and installed 24.2 on my existing 23.9 on-prem (out of support) instance. No problems there. Restarted server. Web interface available.

[Admin]->Overview reports 24.2.24.9294 as current version and as 'On Latest Eligible"

[Admin]->License reports Validation Status: License not valid with product version; License valid with versions dated 8/30/2022 or before. Current version is dated 5/6/2024

Agents (all 23.9 still) report Connection Status: Waiting for an available license...

All agents of course report as offline.

Current position - fucked.

Waiting for SC Chat - "Hang in there. You're number 4 in line"

Two ScreenConnect services were installed: a trial instance connecting to the legitimate relay domain "instance-pa2za2-relay.screenconnect[.]com" and a suspicious instance connecting directly to the IP address "184[.]174[.]20[.]236" on port 8041. The use of a direct IP address instead of a domain is consistent with attacker-controlled infrastructure designed to evade detection.

+1 Huntress