Right now, all across the world, IT departments are working diligently to adjust to their organizations Work from Home (WFH) requirements.  We at Quest understand this can be a challenge, so we have compiled some resources that may be useful to you at this time.  Some of these resources are related to helping you harden and secure your Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA), so that you can continue to manage and secure your endpoints while they are outside of your network.  We have also put together some resources to assist you in downloading and installing collaboration/remote tools onto your endpoints.  These command lines and MSIs can be utilized with a Managed Installation or Script from your Quest KACE SMA. 

Useful KB Articles for Securing and Hardening your Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance

(Note that if your users are connected via VPN, you wont need to make your appliance available externally, but you may want to take a look at any schedules from a bandwidth perspective)

• https://support.quest.com/kb/118540/how-to-make-your-system-management-appliance-sma-publicly-facing-sma-integrity-test
• https://support.quest.com/kace-systems-management-appliance/kb/267753/best-practices-for-securing-your-sma
• https://support.quest.com/kb/111781/how-to-configure-the-kace-systems-management-appliance-for-remote-access
• https://support.quest.com/kace-systems-management-appliance/kb/111348/ssl-configuration-guide-for-kace-sma

How to Create a Managed Installation

• https://support.quest.com/kace-systems-management-appliance/kb/156198/how-to-create-a-managed-installation

Software Deployment Cheat sheet

• https://quest.box.com/s/y8e5fdhem9ch85sa0ncogz1n036iz4zq

Command Lines and Download Locations for Common Collaboration Tools

Zoom

• Command: msiexec /i ZoomInstallerFull.msi /quiet /qn /norestart /log C:\ProgramData\Quest\Kace\zoom_install.log
• Download: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362163-Mass-Installation-and-Configuration-for-Windows

Teams (Requires a user logout and login order install to complete)

• Command: msiexec /i Teams_windows_x64 /qn /norestart OPTIONS="noAutoStart=true" /log C:\ProgramData\Quest\Kace\teams64_install.log
• Download: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/msi-deployment

Slack (Requires a user logout and login for install to complete)

• Command: msiexec /i SlackSetup.msi /qn /norestart /log C:\ProgramData\Quest\Kace\slack64_install.log
• Download: https://slack.com/help/articles/212475728-Deploy-Slack-via-Microsoft-Installer#msi-for-per-user-deployment

WebEx

• Command: msiexec /i webexapp.msi /qn /norestart /log C:\ProgramData\Quest\Kace\webexapp_install.log
• Download: https://www.webex.com/downloads.html/downloads/
• Additional Parameters: https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/td/docs/collaboration/webex_centers/esp/webex_b_it-administrator-guide-mass-deployment-desktop-app.pdf

WebEx Teams

• Command: msiexec /i WebexTeams.msi /qn /norestart /log C:\ProgramData\Quest\Kace\webexteams_install.log
• Download: https://www.webex.com/downloads.html/downloads/
• Additional Parameters: https://help.webex.com/en-us/nw5p67g/Cisco-Webex-Teams-Installation-and-Automatic-Upgrade

Citrix Workspace VPN

• Command: CitrixWorkspaceApp.exe /silent /noreboot /AutoUpdateCheck=disabled
• Download: https://www.citrix.com/downloads/workspace-app/windows/workspace-app-for-windows-latest.html
• Additional Parameters: https://docs.citrix.com/en-us/citrix-workspace-app-for-windows/install.html

Cisco AnyConnect (Download requires Login - Untested)

• Command: msiexec /package anyconnect-win-version-core-vpn-predeploy-k9.msi /norestart /passive /lvx* C:\ProgramData\Quest\Kace\anyconnect-win-version-core-vpn-predeploy-k9-install-datetimestamp.log
• Download: https://software.cisco.com/download/home/286281283/type/282364313/release/4.8.02045
• Additional Parameters: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/security/vpn_client/anyconnect/anyconnect48/administration/guide/b_AnyConnect_Administrator_Guide_4-8/deploy-anyconnect.html

User Portal Tips and Tricks

• Create user roles so the end users don't have access to what you don't want (if you aren't using service desk, definitely hide that tab)
• Create helpful links for common requests like your VPN and Webmail links
• User downloads can be helpful in many ways:
  • Downloads - user needs rights to install software, but they're getting the package from you.  Also useful to send files (PDFs, etc).
  • Installs - KACE is deploying the software using SYSTEM rights, so end user doesn't need admin rights
  • Scripts - Similar to Installs, but utilizing Scripts from your appliance
• LDAP Authentication - get them logging in to the UI using their everyday credentials

Want some general Work from Home tips? Click here.

If anyone else has any other tips, tricks, or software installation details feel free to post in the comments below!

The following article was brought you by your friendly neighborhood Quest KACE Professional Services Team.