Release Notes
KACE® Desktop Authority 11.1
Release Notes
December 2019
These release notes provide information about the KACE® Desktop Authority release.
Topics:
About Desktop Authority 11.1
Desktop Authority enables admins to proactively provision and manage the complete Windows user environment. Using Validation Logic, a patented targeting engine, Desktop Authority can tailor the environment to the user based on over 40 criteria. Admins can map drives, manage printers, configure web browsers, Outlook profiles and much more. Customize settings based on Active Directory information, network information, or whether the user is connecting from a physical, virtual or published desktop. Desktop Authority lets admins eliminate login scripts, simplify and streamline group policies and add powerful new configuration options to traditional client management systems.
- Desktop Authority 11.1 is a minor release, with enhanced features and functionality. See New features and Enhancements.
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IMPORTANT: Starting in version 11.0, Desktop Authority has migrated to a new licensing system. All license keys and files from earlier versions (pre 11.0) are no longer valid and a new license key is required to proceed with the current installation. Please visit https://support.quest.com/kb/264001 for more information. |
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Important: The security status of the Desktop Authority installation file can become "blocked" after download, inhibiting the ability of the product to be properly installed. Please see Desktop Authority KB 262298 for information on detecting and resolving this issue. |
About Expert Assist 8.7.1
ExpertAssist is the perfect choice for anyone who has ever needed to access and control a PC or server from elsewhere, be it from down the hall or from halfway around the world. All that is required to control a PC or server is a web browser or WAP-enabled wireless device.
ExpertAssist is a remote administration tool that lets you control and administer Microsoft® Windows®-based computers over a local area network or the Internet. Originally designed for network administrators, the ExpertAssist has evolved to offer a wide variety of remote computing solutions for an equally wide variety of users. Today, the ExpertAssist provides many useful capabilities such as Java-based desktop remote control, file transfer protocol (FTP) for downloading and uploading of files, configuration of the host computer, remote-to-local printing, advanced scripting, and dozens of other features.
ExpertAssist acts as the host software on the machine that is to be controlled or accessed. The client (the remote computer that is used to access the host) requires no special software. The client software is any Java enabled web browser, such as Internet Explorer (IE version 11) and others. Many Remote Control features can also be accessed and controlled using such client software as that found in handheld PDAs and WAP-enabled mobile telephones.
- ExpertAssist 8.7.1 is a minor release, with no new functionality. See Resolved issues.
New Features
New features in Desktop Authority 11.1:
- Microsoft Windows Server 2019 support.
Desktop Authority now supports Windows 2019 for installing Desktop Authority 11.1 Manager (issue ID 4408). - Microsoft SQL Server 2019 support.
Support for Express and all Server editions of SQL server 2019 is available in this release (issue ID 4528). - Enhanced profile validation logic allowing the targeting of new Windows 10 release IDs 1903 and 1909.
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- Windows 10 November 2019 Update.
Version number: 1909
Build number: 10.0.18363
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Windows 10 May 2019 Update.
Version number: 1903
Build number: 10.0.18362
- Windows 10 November 2019 Update.
- Multiple bug fixes and performance enhancements.
For more details, see Resolved issues.
Resolved Issues
The following is a list of issues addressed in this release.
Table 1: General resolved issues
| Resolved Issue | Issue ID |
|---|---|
| Added Windows 10 Release IDs 1903 and 1909 to Validation Logic Rules for both UBM and CBM profiles. | 4524 |
| The Operations service stops running which causes ETL performance issues. | 4518 |
| Operations Service failed to install when credential password contained double quotes '"'. | 4511 |
| Operations Service does not stay running even immediately following a restart. | 4497 |
| CBMConfig.xml in SYSVOL locked by CBM Service on client and results in replication issues. | 4473 |
| USB object caused a blue screen (BSOD) in EmbargoM.sys under exremely rare conditions. |
4451 4434 |
| UBM: Desktop Authority variables $iefilespec and $browserfilespec were the same, even when the default browser was Mozilla Firefox. | 4446 |
| After upgrading from 10.x to 11.x a Server Error was generated in the console due to IIS 32 bit Apps being set to False. | 4396 |
| Software inventory report returns no results when wild cards were used in the computer name field. | 4390 |
| In the Profile Object - One Drive report, Auto sync Desktop was set to SyncDesktop whether the box was selected or cleared. | 4284 |
| Local Account Management profile object report had unreadable rules. | 4057 |
| SideBySide error was reported on Windows 10. | 3572 |
| Errors ("FireFox: Exception caught in GetPref while parsing for pref line..") in sltracecc logfile when attempting to use the Web Browser feature to set certain Firefox 57 (or later) browser settings on client machines. | 3568 |
| Password expiration warning from General object was not displayed on Windows 10 clients. | 3017 |
| Context-sensitive help topic for the Web Browser page updated to indicate that selecting a default browser is only supported on versions up to Windows 7/2008. | 2120 |
| Some firmware revs of Surface Pro 3 docking station do not work correctly with USB/Port Security component installed. | 1734 |
| On a shortcut element, after browsing to an icon file and then clicking Load icons, the console showed a message and cleared out the path. | 553 |
| It was not possible to add HTTP and HTTPS exceptions into the proxy. | 527 |
Known Issues
The following is a list of most issues, including those attributed to third-party products, known to exist at the time of release. To see the remaining issues and feature requests, visit https://support.quest.com/kb/312615.
Table 2: General known issues
| Known Issue | Issue ID |
|---|---|
| Initialize failed error message is received when launching the DA Reporting Tool. | 4347 |
| All available computers are not always being displayed when DA's default resource browser is being used. | 2804 |
| Issue installing the DA Reporting Tool msi to a non system drive. A "invalid drive" error is displayed. | 2609 |
| Issue displaying a PNG image as a custom logo. | 2462 |
Table 3: Group Policy Templates (User Management) known issues
| Known Issue | Issue ID |
|---|---|
| Unable to configure a Word 2010 policy to "Enabled" in Group Policy Templates. | 10342 |
| On Add/Remove ADMX files there is no ability to remove. | 10028 |
| Group policy template settings are getting lost when the Ctrl-alt-del.admx is added to an existing element. | 10840 |
Table 4: Message Box (User Management) known issues
| Known Issue | Issue ID |
|---|---|
| Message Box cycle date range not always saving the date properly. | 3883 |
Table 5: USB/Port Security (User Management) known issues
| Known Issue | Issue ID |
|---|---|
| USB exception not behaving properly if the USB device remains plugged in during a reboot. |
4492 10085 |
| Issue where the end-user can read, write and synchronize data using iTunes on all Apple devices when the USB/Port Security Storage is set to Deny. |
9786 |
| Issue where the end-user can access, read, write and manipulate data on Motorola tablet with Android OS when the USB/Port Security Storage is set to Deny. |
9798 9803 |
| Some MP3 players are not accessible when the USB Storage is set to Read Only. | 9695 |
| With USB storage set to Deny the usb storage device card reader Transcend is accessible on Windows 8.1x86 and 7x64, works (not accessible) on 8x64. | 10698 |
| When disable USB Security with administrative override there is no information being logged when coping files to/from the device. | 10869 |
| Incorrect classification of some USB CD/DVD writers as USB device as mass storage. | 10955 |
| Some Android smartphones and other mass storage devices are not reporting proper USB device classification information to Desktop Authority's USBPS( USB/Port Security) driver. This can cause access to still be allowed to these devices after a client has been configured to not allow access to mass storage devices. | 3293 |
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On some versions of Windows 10 (e.g. 1803), domain admins may see the following balloon from the USB/Port Security client: "The Read operation you are attempting on the device \Device\Harddisk0\DR0: was denied because of restrictions in effect on this computer." The message is benign and doesn't affect any functionality. |
3922 |
Table 6: DA Console known issues
| Known Issue | Issue ID |
|---|---|
| Feature Request - Provide "Find and Replace" for all elements in console. | 3397 |
| Issue where the column width in the Desktop Authority Manager is not behaving properly when using Internet Explorer 11. Workaround: Use Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome (version 44 or earlier) or Internet Explorer 11. | 10700 |
| Profile tree doesn't automatically update after 'Export and Delete'. | 10130 |
| Cannot see all records via the Desktop Authority log files viewer. | 10387 |
| Console: Font shifting after adding hyperlink in signature (IE). | 10715 |
| The disabling of the slBypass feature is no longer working. | 10928 |
| Remote Management tab: Favorites has no icon. | 10834 |
| Security Policy - UAC tab setting for UAC enable/disable no longer matches the OS settings. | 10059 |
| Security Policy - enable UAC not setting the UI to the default setting although SLtrace shows UAC=enabled. | 10060 |
| DA is very slow when loading for any user that only has read only access to the console. | 1544 |
| Importing a previously exported CBM (Computer Based Management) profile results in the all elements being imported with new UIDs (Unique IDs). This causes any re-imported element, configured with "run once" validation logic, to re-execute on all clients where it previously ran. | 3294 |
| DA console times out when trying to copy/paste one element from a very large (700+) list of existing elements. | 3091 |
| Manager refresh event causes you to jump to the top of a long list of elements | 3300 |
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Possible critical error message being displayed when trying to access the Manager Console while using a custom certificate configured with certain non-standard certificate properties. Workaround: Switch to using the product's default self-signed certificate. |
3548 |
Table 7: ExpertAssist known issues
| Known Issue | Issue ID |
|---|---|
| Automate the approval of the EA certificate centrally instead of having to accept it for each remote management connection. | 3645 |
| (Applicable only for Microsoft Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 with the “change wallpaper” function enabled) The slide show mode in wallpaper is deactivated after Remote Control management. |
101 4984 |
| "Shift" key doesn't work after pressing "CapsLock" key in Remote Control. | 10973 |
| Multiple security related popups while establishing a remote management session. | 1223 |
| Intermittent error ("Error while installing DesktopAuthority Mirror Driver..") being displayed in the ExpertAssist log file when installing/upgrading the ExpertAssist client on a Windows 7 machine. | 3465 |
| The ExpertAssist client still tries connecting to the LAN gateway even when the ONRM (Off-Network Remote Management Feature) has been disabled. | 3304 |
| Error when clicking EA v5 registry. | 3326 |
| Upgrade of ExpertAssist failed due to the incomplete removal of a previous version. | 4051 |
Table 8: Local Account Management known issues
| Known Issue | Issue ID |
|---|---|
| Possible conflict with setting local administration password in both a General and Local Account Management element. | 9673 |
| Local User Account: Days since last used field remains blank after adding users. | 9722 |
Table 9: Server Manager known issues
| Known Issue | Issue ID |
|---|---|
| Server Manager: Endless 'Querying' for DA Admin service if DCOM is disabled on remote host. | 10338 |
| Server Manager User/Computer Replication Status column text do not match for "red status". | 9908 |
| Powered off server is querying and calculating most of the time in Server Manager. | 10833 |
| SMWinService.log grows continually. Error code: 1305 GetAdminServiceInfo error ScriptLogic.DAConsole.Common.ExceptionHandling.DAErrorException: ErrServiceDataRegistryAbsent. | 10916 |
Table 10: Web Browser known issues
| Known Issue | Issue ID |
|---|---|
| Web Browser Proxy Exceptions do not apply correctly when *. is not added before the domain & suffix. | 10362 |
| "Prevent users from making changes to proxy settings" option in Windows internet Settings does not get applied to Internet options LAN settings, if applying settings to Firefox only. | 10193 |
| IE10/IE11 issue with the web browser element when changing the home page from having multiple tabs to one. | 10854 |
| For Web Browser, some controls and settings are not locked in Firefox – Connection page, when using the option to prevent users from changing any settings on connection page in the web browser object. | 551 |
| Firefox built in add-ons exceptions are not removed, when the option "Delete any exceptions from client that are not defined here" is enabled. | 546 |
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Password exceptions for Firefox can no longer be set on the client using the DA Manager Console, due to the way how Firefox is handling this process now. |
545 |
| No ability to manage Chrome in the web browser object . | 320 |
Table 11: Desktops known issues
| Known Issue | Issue ID |
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| When auto-hide is enabled for the taskbar and Desktop Authority runs it causes the Start Button to disappear. | 10914 |
Table 12: Exchange/Outlook known issues
| Known Issue | Issue ID |
|---|---|
| After upgrading from MS Office 2010 to 2013, there are multiple .ost files in the client machine's C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook folder | 10810 |
| The ability to fully embed an image within an email signature is currently not supported by Desktop Authority | 1676 |
| The "From" field shown in the Outlook properties on a client machine (after the email account has been configured using Desktop Authority) displays sender is "Microsoft Exchange" instead of the user's email. However, emails are still sent correctly and all recipients see the correct display name of the sender. | 3476 |
| Adding Safe Senders, Recipients or blocked senders using the Microsoft Outlook Settings feature doesn't work with Outlook 2016. | 3167 |
Table 13: Installation known issues
| Known Issue | Issue ID |
|---|---|
| Installer gets exception if an installation path is extremely long. | 10273 |
| Installer database screen sometimes doesn't see the existing SQL instance. | 10604 |
| IIS error during install. | 10634 |
| A configured custom certificate is sometimes changed to a self-sign certificate during upgrade. | 3705 |
Table 14: Validation Logic known issues
| Known Issue | Issue ID |
|---|---|
| Feature Request - Add missing WMI Win32_SystemEnclosure Chasis types to Validation Logic (for example, Type 31=Convertible instead of Desktop). | 4060 |
| The time picker in CBM validation logic has a display issue at some resolutions. | 10899 |
| CBM (Computer Based Management) elements set to execute at Shutdown/Startup do not get applied when a machine is configured to use "Fast Startup". This is because a true shutdown or startup event does not occur during a "fast shutdown" or "fast startup". | 3270 |
Table 15: Inactivity profile object known issues
| Known Issue | Issue ID |
|---|---|
| Editing an existing Inactivity element that has the action set to "Restart" displays the wrong boundary info for the duration field (actual value is unchanged). This is a display issue and does not affect functionality. | 3319 |
Table 16: Third-party known issues
| Known Issue | Issue ID |
|---|---|
| A logon delay for five minutes is reported, causing the computer to freeze five minutes at startup. For complete details about this issue, visit https://support.quest.com/kace-desktop-authority/kb/306455/logon-delay-for-five-minutes-computer-freezes-5-minutes-at-startup. | 4484 |
| Shortcut “User Start Menu (Pin)” option is not working for Windows 10. | 438 |