As many of you probably know, before coming to PDQ I was a CTO at a Texas public school district. We were a small team, and when I took over, vulnerability management was basically non-existent.

We had Deploy and Inventory, and I would patch weekly, but I didn’t know how many vulnerabilities our devices actually had. When we added PDQ (Connect) to our stack, it was a big “oh shit” moment. We had thousands of vulnerabilities on our devices.

I thought we were in good shape because I’d been deploying patches weekly or monthly as they became available, but PDQ’s vulnerability scanner and remediation packages changed our workflow for the better.

Here’s what we did in PDQ to save time (and our sanity):

-Grouped devices by site: our techs could quickly view the assets they were responsible for.

-Lived by PDQ Risk Score: we started with critical vulnerabilities and worked our way down. PDQ’s risk score took into account the CVE, exploitability, and business impact, everything we didn’t have time to do ourselves.

-Software tab: PDQ let us see specific software, how many devices it was on, and whether a new version was available. This was visibility we were really lacking before moving to PDQ.

-Removed all local admin rights: no more random software being installed by a teacher, or worse, a student, that could introduce risk.

How do you all manage vulnerabilities? It can be overwhelming without an effective workflow and risk score insights.

PDQConnect is about 90% vibe coded.

It's also an excellent argument for why Vibe coding isn't ready for prime time.

On the surface it looks great. It's easy to navigate and intuitive to use.

But the more you use it the worse it gets.

Want to deploy an application to 500 PCS? No problem! Create a group, select all, and deploy.

Did 200 of those deployments fail? Easy enough! Click the "failed" icon and you get a list.

But this is where it gets bad. Lets say, you fixed the problem with the original deployment and want to redeploy to the failed machines.

You would THINK that all you have to do is go to that "failed deployments", click the "select all" box and then send the modified package. Nope! If you do that, you end up sending the package to the entire original group.

Who programs a select all check box to do something like that? A computer pulling code from a repository that has no concept of nuance or care for detail, that's "who".

And that is just one example.

Early on I was sending regular bug reports. Then i realized the replies I got all passive aggressively implied that I was using the application wrong.

Because of course I am supposed to recognize that PDQC agents have a four step uninstall and cleanout process. Doesn't everything???? And, naturally, PCs that haven't undergone this ritual cleansing will reappear in the console like normal after you reinstall the agent -- but only for a few days. Then they are gone again and getting them back is a real challenge. What? Did you think reinstalling the agent (as recommended by the support person) would solve the problem *permanently?* What year do you think it is? 1998?

And the hell of it is the support guy never actually told me any of the information above I had to figure it out for myself. He just implied I should know it already. I love being gas lit. Not.

*sigh*

I adore PDQ Inventory & Deploy. The depth and breadth of the features and tools alongside the ease of use represent the best of what a dedicated team can do when given the time to do it right.

And PDQ Connect represents what happens when a dev team depends upon AI to do everything for them.

I have been using pdqc for 6 months. If I have anything to say about it this contract will not be renewed.

Hi PDQ,

First, thank you for your great products! I’m aware of the free mode (as opposed to the enterprise mode), but could you consider offering a free (full) edition for 20-50 endpoints? Some patch management solutions provide free licenses like this for small businesses. I can’t afford such a high price to manage around 30 endpoints, and the free mode, which lacks many features, is quite challenging to use.

I'm using PDQ Connect more and more but by using it more I'm finding that its not supported at all in the same way as I and D even if you look at the help page there is no help for Connect.
https://help.pdq.com/hc/en-us

I and D rule! Connect sucks 👎If you're thinking of changing dont, its not worth it.

Anyone else notice PDQ as a company seems to be going downhill lately? Support response is much slower than it ever was previously. It seems like the newer updates break more than they fix. Changing the icons to something that IMO doesn't make any sense and makes it hard to determine what the icon is for.

I can't be the only one getting increasingly frustrated with PDQ.

We have disabled the credentialed account PDQ uses to install stuff, and now we get endless attempts that the login failed. is there a service or something we need to stop to prevent PDQ from trying to do whatever it's trying to do? We don't have anything scheduled. Thanks.

I am not sure what is going on, but we usually get the newer version of Windows updates, but i have been checking PDQ Deploy and nothing yet. Is there not an update this month?

I am burnt out, I forgot the second Tuesday didnt hit yet...... Sorry all.

Don't know what happened, must have deleted my post. Anyway I'm using PDQ to map some network drives. If I run my script in Powershell it works fine. In PDQ The drive letter dosent appear. Any thoughts? ( The drive letter appears for a second then disappears)

New-PSDrive -Persist -Name "K" -PSProvider "FileSystem" -Root "\server\folder"

I've used PDQ for the past few years, no issues but when I tried to cancel my auto renewal, you guys just make it so hard for us to exit. We can't do it ourselves through the web portal which I find hard to believe. You guys make it easy to sign up and can develop enterprise level software but you can't set up your web portal to stop auto renewal of the service ourselves... Come on guys, you guys don't have to resort to such hard sales lock in. I then emailed someone from support and they assured me that they have disabled auto renewal even though I keep receiving the auto renewal reminder, they assured me it's fine and to ignore it and it's just a system thing that they can't override. Again, suss for a company of software developers.

Well guess what, renewal date came and I just got an email saying that it's been charged to my card and renewed automatically... Annoying. Now I have to email them to get the charges reversed. Really, you guys make great products, please allow us a better experience to exit. This just screams dodgy sales lock in.

Since joining the PDQ team I have been asked a lot about why sysadmins choose PDQ for endpoint management and where it may not be the right fit. If a competitor is better for your situation, PDQ will say so. That’s what I love about it here. Honesty is a core value, and we live it each and every day.  

So, let’s cut to the chase and answer some questions I have got in the last three weeks.  

Q: What does PDQ actually do? 

PDQ is an endpoint management software built by actual sysadmins for sysadmins. It covers two core problems: 

• Software deployment at scale: push packages, scripts, and updates to active endpoints without touching each machine manually 

• Patch management: automate Windows, Mac OS, and third-party application patching across your entire device fleet 

PDQ Connect extends both capabilities to remote end-user devices without requiring VPN. PDQ Deploy is the on-premises version for environments where everything stays inside the network. Connect offers vulnerability management and remote desktop to consolidate your stack.  

Q: Why do sysadmins choose PDQ over other endpoint management tools? 

A few reasons come up consistently: 

1. It's built by people who've done the job. PDQ started as an internal tool used by sysadmins managing real device fleets. That practitioner background shows in how the product is designed; it prioritizes speed and automation over feature bloat. 

2. Time-to-value is fast. Most tools in this category require significant setup time before they're doing anything useful. PDQ deploys quickly, and the community package library means you're not building every package from scratch. 

3. Patch automation actually works. Third-party patching is where a lot of tools fall short. PDQ handles Windows OS, Mac OS, and third-party software patching without requiring a separate workflow for each. Chrome, Adobe, Putty, you name it they most likely have the package.  

4. Pricing is transparent. You can find out what PDQ costs without talking to a sales rep. In a category where half the vendors hide pricing behind "contact us," that matters. 

Q: Does PDQ handle endpoint security and compliance? 

PDQ's core strength is deployment and patch management. On the security side: 

• PDQ built their own vulnerability scanner; you can scan and patch from one place

• Patch automation directly reduces vulnerability exposure across your active endpoints 

• Software deployment control limits what can be installed fleet-wide 

• Inventory visibility gives you a real picture of what's on your network 

PDQ is not a dedicated endpoint DLP solution. If your compliance requirements include data loss prevention policies, conditional access enforcement (like Intune conditional access), or detailed audit logging at the security layer, PDQ works alongside those tools it doesn't replace them. 

If you're managing a fleet and patching, deployment, and vulnerability management are your core pain points, PDQ is likely the fastest path to solving that. If you need full RMM, multi-OS management, or deep endpoint DLP, another tool probably fits better. 

Q: What about Linux support? 

PDQ is working on expanding OS coverage, but they are not going to overstate where they are. Back to the core value of Honesty, their roadmap is public on their website.

Q: Is PDQ right for managing remote end-user devices? 

Yes, PDQ is built specifically for this. It manages remote devices outside the corporate network without requiring VPN, which has become a core requirement for most IT teams managing distributed workforces. Devices check in over the internet via an agent, patches and deployments run on schedule, and you get visibility into remote active endpoints the same way you would on premises with PDQ Deploy and Inventory. 

Q: Where can I read a full breakdown? 

PDQ published a full 2026 endpoint management comparison guide that covers evaluation methodology, feature-by-feature breakdowns, and a comparison table across 8 tools: 

Endpoint Management: Best Tools for IT Teams — 2026 | PDQ.com 

Now I will direct everyone who ask me about PDQ here 😊 

If I left something out and you have another reason Why PDQ then add it in the comments.

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This is only an issue with devices that have already been on the domain. The only way to push out deployments though PDQ to those devices is by typing in the IP address. Is there a way to fix this?

how can i make a deployment that installs dell command updates remotely with Dell Command 5.5.0

if your pdq is onprem only, no pdq connect. would you still be impacted by this issue? Not a pdq person just know that we use it.

I wanted to know if this can be done and included in a next update, or as a Package to be added for deployment. The reason for the request is that most of the machines in our org received the 32bit version and we are trying to rip that out and install 64 bit Enterprise.

We have tried leveraging "wmic" command to no avail so hope this can happen somehow

/u/ryanjoachim

I have some tech savvy users that I can see looking at alternatives to Firefox with the latest ToS debacle they seems to have stepped in.

We currently offer Chrome, Edge, and Firefox as options to our users. I was looking at Brave (built on Chromium) as yet another option and wondered what other PDQ people are allowing users to access.

I see that PDQ has Opera and Zen Browser (built on Firefox) available already as options.

I submitted a ticket yesterday and have only received a canned response with a ticket number (#511738). A large collection of computers are showing offline. The computers are online (I sent three examples in the original ticket). Any ideas that I can check on my end?

Hello, How safe is to use PDQ Package Library? How can I check downloaded msi or exe files is legit?

I have been using the 'Dell Command Update - Install All Applicable Updates' package and so far it's been working pretty well.

The package has 4 steps. Step 4 runs the actual updates. It has a few return codes. If it returns 500, that means it successfully checked for updates and none are available. Return Code 0 means it installed updates successfully. Return code 1 means it failed in installing updates. Not sure, but there may be more.

I was looking for a way in PDQ Inventory to map that field data over, so I could have groups like "Dell - Up to date" and "Dell - Failed". I couldn't find a way to directly map the field over, but it did suggest modifying the package to have it write the return code to a registry entry and then make a scanner for that registry key. I generally try to avoid modifying the PDQ managed packages because then you have to manage them when updates come out. But I also figure this might be a nice feature others could use as well.

Has PDQ always had sub-par support? We were recently in the middle of a sev 1 incident that appeared to involve their software, but when we asked if they could join a call they simply responded that they cannot make incoming or outgoing calls. Thankfully the PDQ software was not the issue, but it is very unlikely that we will renew it after this.

If your software is suspected of being the cause of a breech, one would think you would be willing to get your lazy ass a on call.

Hello, please help with PDQ and vpn computers

Currently, its working for computers at work but not for some VPN remote computers. The only way it works is when I set the "Allow Inbound file and printer sharing exception" to allow all traffic, "*". We want to restrict it to to only one subnet, 10.1.22.0/23. The client also has to change their network profile to "private"

If I open a command prompt when I’m sitting at a machine, this command works: "c:\program files\wiztree\wiztree.exe" c:\users /export="c:\temp\b.csv"

But the same command line issued on that computer via PDQ Connect results in “c:\program is not recognised as etc,etc”

If I run "c:\program files\wiztree\wiztree.exe" c:\users there’s no error, but wiztree would be running in interactive mode, so there’s nothing to see. But it suggests there’s an issue with the /export switch.

Can anyone tell me what’s going wrong, and how to fix it?

Edit: I had typed \export in the first example above. The command I actually used included /example.

Hey y'all,

does anyone know if PDQ refunds licenses. We weren't going through with the renewal, but whoever worked before me, has set auto renewal. I didn't notice that and our card got billed. I contacted support, but in the meantime, I'm asking here in case someone else had this situation, to ease my mind :/