Folder Guard Administrator's Kit

The Folder Guard Administrator's Kit is a set of tools designed to automate the deployment and installation of Folder Guard on a large number of computers.

The Kit includes the following files:

The installation file of Folder Guard that does not require license key validation over the Internet, to be used with both the x86 and x64 Windows clients.
The client installation packages of Folder Guard in the MSI format that do not require license key validation over the Internet.
The Administrative Template file (FGuard.adm) that can be used to deliver the license key of Folder Guard to the client computers via the Group Policies.

NO REDISTRIBUTION IS PERMITTED

Please note that while you are free to copy and use the Kit within your organization as you see fit, any redistribution of this kit to any third party without expess written permission from WinAbility Software Corporation is PROHIBITED. Please direct any inquries about obtaining a copy of the Kit to WinAbility Software Corporation at: http://www.WinAbility.com/support

Using the Kit

Using the Kit involves the following steps:

Select one of the computers as the "model" one. Install the full package of Folder Guard on it and configure the protection settings as needed.
Copy the protection settings from the "model" computer to the rest of the computers you want to be protected in the same way.
Deliver the license information to each computer using the Group Policies.
Install the executable files of Folder Guard to the client computers using the MSI packages.

Delivering the protection settings to the client computers

When you configure the protection on the "model" computer, the protection settings are saved in sevaral files in the ProgramsData folder on the "model" computer. This folder is usually C:/ProgramsData/Folder Guard for the Vista and Windows 7 computers, or C:/Documents and Settings/All Users/Application Data/Folder Guard for the Windows XP/2000 computers. The files created there are usually Default.FGD, FGuard.FGP, FGuard.INI, but there could be other .FGD files created there as well. You need to copy all such files to the same folders onto other computers, to make them protected in the same way as the "model" computer. If you change the protection settings on the "model" computer, don't forget to use the File - Save command of Folder Guard to save the changes on the "model" computer, and then copy (or better synchronize) the updated protection files from the "model" computer to other computers. To make the new settings take effect, you need to disable the protection and then enable it back on each computer after that, as described below.

Delivering the license information to the client computers

The FGuard.adm file can be used to deliver your license information for Folder Guard to the client computers.

To use the FGuard.adm file, use the system policy management tool that comes with your server, such as Group Policy, or Policy Editor. Please refer to Windows Help and Windows Resource Kit (available from Microsoft) for the instructions on how to use such a tool. For example, if you use Windows XP Pro or Windows 7/Vista, copy the file FGuard.adm into the folder C:\WINDOWS\system32\GroupPolicy\Adm and then run the Group Policy Editor (C:\WINDOWS\system32\gpedit.msc).

After you have installed the FGuard.adm file, you can enter your license information for Folder Guard under the branch Computer Configuration \ Administrative Templates (Classic Administrative Templates) \ WinAbility \ Folder Guard. IMPORTANT: be sure to enter your license details EXACTLY as they appear in our message, including all punctuation and capitalization. You may want to copy and paste the information, to avoid typos and character conversions.

To purchase a license and receive your license key, please contact us.

Using the MSI packages

You can use the MSI packages to quickly deploy Folder Guard within a large number of computers on your network. You should use the x86 MSI file to install Folder Guard on the 32-bit clients, and the x64 MSI package (that contains the native 64-bit executables) to install it on the clients with the x64 versions of Windows. Each MSI file installs the required executables of Folder Guard into a subfolder under the Program Files folder on the client computer. Note that the installation options are not configurable.

The MSI packages install only the executable files of Folder Guard that are necessary to perform the protection. They do not install the main configuration program of Folder Guard. This allows you to confugure the protection settings on only one "model" computer and then deistribute the resultant configuration files to other computers, without having to configure each computer individually.

Controlling the protection of the client computers

You can enable or disable the protection of the client computers by using the tools provided Folder Guard: by running the FGKey.exe file remotely on the target computer with the appropriate command line parameters, or by logging in to the computer and using the shortcut menu of Windows Explorter, or the menu of the taskbar icon, or the hot key, if you have enabled them.

In addition to such tools, the MSI packages also install a separate service of Folder Guard, that allows you to control the protection by controlling the service: when you pause the service, the protection is temporarily disabled. When you resume the service, the protection is enabled back. This allows you to use your remote administration tools to control the protection of the client computers without the need to log in to them.

Restricting access to the administrative tools

Deploying and managing Folder Guard with the Administratort's Kit as described above assumes that the users of the client computers do not have the administrative privileges. Otherwise, they would be able to disable Folder Guard by, for example, pausing or stopping the service of Folder Guard, or even by completely uninstalling Folder Guard via the Control Panel.

Please contact us if you would like to evaluate or purchase the Administrator's Kit of Folder Guard.