MacAdministrator >> Reviews

Publication: EC&T
Date: September 2004
Product: MacAdministrator 3.1

If you want your Mac network to work more efficiently, then MacAdministrator is well worth looking at.

MacAdministrator is a client/server application that controls the access to Macintosh computers. It also gives you precise control. The good thing about this version is that you can administer the network from anywhere on the network. Bang up to date, the Configuration Manager, also supplied in an OS X version, allows remote administration and control of users and client machines running Mac OS 7.5.3 to 9.2.2 and Mac OS X.

A feature that will be welcomed is Software Regeneration, where the MacAdministrator Client will automatically restore a machine to its original state if altered inadvertently or maliciously by the user.
Other features include the ability to: Disable individual menu items in any application; prevent screenshots from being taken; prevent Appletalk from being turned off; specify if a user can log in; specify a number of print credits for the user; view date/time of the last password change; view number of invalid password attempts; create, delete and edit user groups; add a user to or remove them from, a user group; automatically logout users after a specified period of inactivity; expire passwords after a specified number of days; grant a specific number of print credits; control the number of copies to be printed; specify a list of printers that can be used; distribute items - single file/complex folder structure; distribute software - on demand/specific times; upgrade and downgrade software; check and heal damaged files; distribution by machine group; and create software distribution sets.

The user-friendly flexibility of MacAdministrator 3 is impressive and if you have the responsibility for a network you should check it out.

by Jack Kenny

Publication: MacUser (UK - August edition)
Date: July 26th 2002
Product: MacAdministrator 2.5

- Business Productivity Special

Network Administration
Even if you're only running a small business network of two or three machines, keeping them all set up uniformly with the same fonts, application versions and so on is a real pain. Think about investing in an administration utility like MacAdministrator that lets you install upgrades, set preferences and check for missing application support files. Although primarily intended for schools, MacAdministrator is finding a growing market in business operations and it's cheap. The current version (v. 2.5) doesn't supports OS X, but a new one is due very soon.

Publication: Macworld
Date: June, 2002
Product: MacAdministrator 2.5

MacAdministrator 2.5
Pros: Simple to use; highly secure; oodles of features
Cons: No OS X support until [Q3] 2002
Star Rating: **** / 8.8

MacPrefect 5.1
Pros: Student-proof; flexible security
Cons: No OS X support until [Q3] 2002
Star Rating: **** / 8.8

Hi Resolution, the publisher of MacAdministrator, is a relatively small outfit, but despite its modest size the company is producing software that's making life easier for educators and businesses around the globe. OS X versions of the programs reviewed here are just around the corner.

MacPrefect is security software designed for schools or businesses to prevent users causing problems. Not so much an issue for businesses, but school-kid hackers are a constant thorn in the side of network administrators.

MacPrefect is the only totally secure solution to keep meddling kids out of systems and put a stop to hacking, cracking, ripping and copying. It can do all this while allowing any legitimate use of a computer - and the user may not even know until they try something you don't want them to do.

In any environment where computers are shared, there's a possibility of one user mucking things up for the next one. This isn't necessarily a malicious thing - just a fact of life when sharing machines. People just like to customize settings and arrange folders to their own preferences.

MacPrefect can lock-out (or just limit) this kind of activity. Chooser devices like printers can be disabled completely, or set to allow limited copies to be printed. This is ideal for schools and universities where students need to be able to print, but need some constraints on the amount.

Folders can be locked individually, so you can give users access to their own files, while locking them out of system folders. You can also regulate which files can be copied, limiting the scope of the software-pirates.

Another anti-piracy feature is the ability to lock the CD drive. Access can be given to individual CDs, or you can block all audio or data CDs. You can even lock-down menu commands, leaving miscreants no way of restarting the machine or deleting files. It really is customizable to the nth degree - just about anything is possible.

If you're reading this and of a technical bent, you're probably thinking: "I bet I could crack it". My first thoughts were similar, but this software seems pretty watertight. Hi Resolution has found a way to disable the shift key at start-up. This is the most obvious way to get around the software, because it would normally disable extensions. Other sneaky ways to gain control over the computer have also been foiled. In case of emergency, MacPrefect grants access to a locked machine - once the rigorous security has been passed. I could tell you how, but I'd have to kill you.

Power Administration
If these features seem like something you need, but you'd like the ability to administer accounts remotely, there's another solution. MacAdministrator 2.5 incorporates all of MacPrefect, but also sports tons of features to help keep all machines on your network up-to-date.

MacAdministrator allows control over whole groups of computers with surprisingly little difficulty. Once the software is installed on the network, all machines can be administered remotely. This includes software updating; machine-naming; the ability to set preferences; even the ability to heal software. By healing software, I mean that MacAdministrator can check that software and components are complete. If the software doesn't match the server's software-set, it can reinstall the complete software and any support components. So even if the network gremlins dismantle your carefully crafted set-up, it's easily fixed before the next class of little buggers or angels arrives.

Of course, the MacPrefect part of the software should stop this from happening in the first place. When the students (assuming an educational set-up) arrive at the computers, they'll get a login screen (depending on how the system is set-up). Password or guest-access can be granted, with either individual or group settings for privileges. Users can access as much or as little of the machine's capabilities as you wish to allow them. Passwords can be issued, and printing privileges can be supplied from the administrator software.

The most ingenious thing about MacAdministrator is that, although it gets authentication from a server or shared volume on a network, it carries on working if you take it off the network. You can set it to completely lock-down the system if it's off the network, or only allow partial access. This is proving particularly popular in the US where kids are getting iBooks at school and can take them home. No other solution has this capability, including Apple's own software.

This makes Hi Resolution Systems something of a gem in the education market for Apple. A quick look at the company's Web site shows satisfied users from all over the globe, all speaking very highly of the support as well as of the products.

It's worth noting that although OS X isn't currently supported, a version will be out before the school year starts.

Macworld's buying advice
Nothing can touch this software when it comes to administering school networks. The same features are beginning to appeal to businesses too. Even Apple has turned to Hi Resolution to support implementation of Mac equipment in schools, despite having competing - but less sophisticated - solutions. If you run a computer lab or school network, you may already use this software. Upgrading will be a no-brainer. If you aren't already using it, then it may prove to be a Godsend - the answer to all your IT administration needs.

David Fanning
Deputy Editor
Macworld UK

Publication: Educational Computing & Technology
Date: September 2001
Product: MacAdministrator 2.0

This MacOS software tool provides total network management, under administrator control, for large and small networks independent of server type. Based on MacPrefect, MacAdministrator 2 is client driven, communicating via the TCP/IP and/or Appletalk protocols thus allowing interactivity with your existing network infrastructure. In a nutshell it opens up Macs to interoperability. Indeed, authentication and volume mounting can be on Apple, Windows NT4, Windows 2000 Server, Novell, Unix, or any AFP/IP compliant server. It has a very NT feel about it and is more stable too. Its client control database is much like ADS on Windows 2000 Pro. It maintains both Machine Group Profiles and User Group Profiles: all of the options, which are logically related on a machine basis are stored in a profile, for example, should the machine display a login dialogue. All of the options that are logically related on a user basis are stored in a profile, for example, the desktop protection settings that should be used for a particular user group. By requiring users to log on to machines before they can be used, MacAdministrator 2 is able to provide a fine degree of control, monitoring, audit information and services, based, where appropriate, on the actual user of the machine.

MacAdministrator has been widely used within education establishments providing network protection and control of the MacOS worldwide since 1995. This latest release provides a host of additional features including a Configuration Manager for remote administration of the network and users settings and support for the TCP/IP protocol. For further information you are recommended to go to www.hi-resolution.com.

If you need speed across the network (and who doesn't?!), the ability to protect the desktop without compromising the user's experience and to minimise machine maintenance and downtime, then look no further than MacAdministrator 2.

Chris Drage
EC&T

Click here to see the review on the >Educational Computing & Technology webiste.

Publication: Macworld
Date: February 2001
Product: MacAdministrator 2.0

Publisher: Hi-Resolution Systems www.hi-resolution.com
Pros: Complete control over most aspects of the Mac; control over printing with print credits; TCP/IP compatibility.
Cons: Could be improved by adding some MP3 specific controls.
Min specs: System 7.5.3; an AFP or AFP/IP compliant server (for instance, any Mac or file server capable of hosting a Mac volume); Open Transport; AppleShare 3.7.2.
Price: MacAdministrator Configuration Manager £295, 1-9 Client licence £52.50 per machine, gradually dropping to £21.95 per machine for over 1,000 licences. (All prices exclude VAT.)
Star Rating: /8.8

It isn't only educational settings that are suitable for MacAdministrator; business users can use it as a tool to stamp out both software piracy and extra curricular activities. The level of security is entirely customizable, and varies from giving users free range to a complete lock down of all activities. You can specify what applications can and can't run, where you can save files, and when people can use the system.

This all sounds impossibly complicated to set up, but it turned out to be relatively simple. Each user, or groups of users, are assigned different privileges. When they start up a machine and log in, these privileges are checked against files held on a file server. If for any reason the fileserver isn't available, then a default set of privileges is held locally. Assuming the user successfully connects to the server in the normal way, the set-up of the machine takes only seconds. Then the user is free to use any of the facilities MacAdministrator has been told to allow. It's possible to disable software loaded on a machine without deleting it. Only users with the correct privileges would be able to use the software. The same goes for Control Panels, they can be individually locked, though disabled Control Panels are made invisible.

Copying files is a little more difficult to restrict, but MacAdministrator can restrict individual file types being copied. So an essay written in Word can be copied, but the Word application can't be. There's also control over folders, so the users can be allowed access to their own folders and the desktop folder, but restricted from the system folder.

Access to external devices, such as printers, can be restricted. New to version 2.0 is the ability to give users print credits. This means users can print, but must limit their pages to a certain number. You can also limit the number of copies of a print. For example, a limit of three copies should be fine for most legitimate uses, but printing party invitations would be impractical. Different credit usage can be applied to different printers. This means a mono printer can be set to use a single credit, and a color printer could be set to use two or three credits per page, to reflect the extra cost.

Another new feature of version 2.0 is the ability to use TCP/IP. This both speeds network activity, and makes MacAdministrator better for use in cross-platform environments. Some educational establishments are even trying to phase out AppleTalk altogether so TCP/IP compatibility is becoming essential.

MacAdministrator is also capable of controlling, restricting or logging most aspects of Mac use. It isn't so much a complex program, as a big program. The number of options are legion, and an administrator has the choice of getting right down to the nitty-gritty, or controlling options in groups. This application can save administrators hours of work.

Macworld's buying advice.
MacAdministrator is currently the best and only option for IT people to keep tabs on school or university computers. However, it has just as many uses in the business world. It's the only reliable solution for keeping computer users on the straight and narrow. It's part of an IT manager's job to do everything possible to prevent software piracy, and this is an excellent tool to assist that aim. Any company that is serious about software policy needs this software.

David Fanning
Click here to see the review on the MacWorld UK webiste

For further information, or to request an evaluation copy of the software, please complete the request form.