5.5 Agent shows multiple versions of IE... why?
Why does the new 5.5 agent show multiple versions of IE in the "Discovered Software" list? (Software Catalog)
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Posted by:
AbhayR
11 years ago
This is because when we update IE from old versions to new version, microsoft leaves behind executables of old versions. In 5.5, the agent discovers all the executables present on the windows machine as part of the scanning mechanism and fingerprints them. Hence you may see multiple IE versions under Discovered Software list. This doesn't mean that they are necessarily installed.
Comments:
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I assume by "leaves behind executables of old versions" you mean that Windows is backing up the old version before installing the new version so that the new version can be uninstalled. Quite likely, but don't think the iexplore.exe in those locations are executable, and the agent shouldn't include those locations in its .exe file search. Just my two cents. Should I put this on the "User Voice" site? :-) - zookdj 11 years ago
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That is correct. However, those old versions of iexplore.exe are still executable files which you can find under c:\Windows\winsxs folder. Hence those get discovered as well. On K1, Discovered Software doesn't only mean installed software. It includes all executable on the system which are fingerprinted. Non-fingerprinted executables can be found under Uncatalogued sub-tab in Inventory->Software Catalog tab.
Hope this helps. - AbhayR 11 years ago-
Thanks for the information. I checked the WinSxS folder and found no instances of iexplore.exe. Regardless of that, I'm curious what purpose it serves to report the old versions of IE? Would someone use this information in a report? Is it useful to know what systems "used to have IE 6" for example? Perhaps... However, I'm guessing most sys admins would prefer to know what version of IE is on each system and don't care what versions used to be there, since they are moot once IE is upgraded. Just my two cents. - zookdj 11 years ago
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I find it hard to believe that there is no iexplore.exe. Please check if windows file indexing is enabled otherwise it may not return result. It happened with my as well.
The main purpose of reporting every executable on the system is:
1. To identify all apps on that client system which may not be listed under Add/Remove Programs. This feature will capture all such executables and allow admins to track standalone apps easily which was not possible earlier.
2. It also will help in metering Not Allowed apps(spyware, malware etc.) which might be lying around in the file system and are not registered in add/remove programs - AbhayR 11 years ago-
I searched the entire C:\ drive this time and it returned multiple results for iexplore.exe, so you are correct that it is working as designed. I don't like the fact that it reports older versions of IE (since it makes reporting more difficult), but I see your point. - zookdj 11 years ago
