This Virtual Kontainers Signature Update (vk_signature_5.1.307001657.gz) is the same update to the Virtual Kontainer signature files as is included in the latest version of the Secure Browser  (v5.1.1657). This update includes minor fixes and enhancements and is being released to keep current with changes introduced by the latest release of the Secure Browser.

This new release of the Secure Browser now includes support for 64-bit editions of Windows, the latest released version of Firefox and several bug fixes. If you have deployed the Secure Browser already, this MSI is an update and may optionally be installed over the top of a previous installation.

Info: Secure Browser and Virtual Kontainers Signature Updates Now Available

The patch feed for the K1000-series provides Critical Security patches for operating systems and applications. To see all supported OS and applications please download and reference the following document: “Patching Support”.

Please download and open the attached document to review the status of any open patch requests. If a specific non-critcal patch is missing from the K1000-series Server and it is not on the attached list, please submit a new ticket to support@kace.com to request the missing patch.  Download the report here.

Dell KACE is pleased to announce that we will be providing local EMEA support to the region Monday, Aug 2nd.  The local support numbers will be the following:

Tickets can be emailed into the EMEA help desk by emailing emeasupport@kace.com or logging into support.kace.com and selecting 'EMEA Technical Support' from the center drop-down and pressing 'New Ticket'.

If you attended last year’s User Konference you may remember seeing some early prototypes of some free tools we were developing. These tools are ready to go and we wanted to share them with you first. We will be launching these tools publicly on July 20th and ask that you kindly don’t share these links with others until then.

Secure Browser

The Secure Browser uses our Virtual Kontainers technology to provide a safer web experience. When using the Secure Browser any changes or malicious files inadvertently downloaded from the Internet are contained within the Kontainer, keeping the underlying OS and computer secure from hostile changes. This specially provided Virtual Kontainer includes Firefox as well as Adobe Reader and Flash plug-ins and is delivered as an MSI setup. Further, it offers a reset button for the user and supports the white and black listing of websites and processes to provide granular control over its use. This same Secure Browser may be monitored and managed from version 5.1 of the K1000 Management Appliance under the Security tab.

http://www.kace.com/products/freetools/secure-browser/

Virtual Disk Utility

The Virtual Disk Utility provides a new means of managing files and data in a secure and portable manner. It does so by providing a mountable, encryptable, cross-platform file for the storage of data and documents. It is comparable to a USB drive in that is mounted as a drive letter in Windows Explorer and appears in the Devices list within the Mac Finder. Whether used to email files or share them on a network, or just for simple storage and backup, this cross platform solution to securing and managing files has many uses.

http://www.kace.com/products/freetools/virtual-disk-utility/

System Inventory Tool

Having a K1000 Management Appliance already, this may not be something you need for work, but you might find it helpful at home. The System Inventory Tool scans your computer and generates a detailed hardware and software inventory report that can be saved or printed for future reference. You know that getting a quick look at all of a computer's details in one clean report can be valuable, especially in the event it should become lost or damaged. No installation is required: just run the tool and see a familiar K1000-style report of the software and hardware found on the local system.

http://www.kace.com/products/freetools/system-inventory-tool/

AppDeploy Repackager

Some of you may be familiar with this tool as it was originally released nearly two years ago. The AppDeploy Repackager is a Windows Installer repackaging tool for converting legacy setups to the Windows Installer (MSI) format. Windows Installer setups offer many great administrative benefits including extensive command line support, self-healing, detailed logging and even roll back of changes in the event of an installation error.

http://www.kace.com/products/freetools/appdeploy-repackager/

Process Director for Windows

Process Director for Windows unlocks a world of previously hidden and inaccessible system activity. It provides an integrated suite of advanced tools for viewing and manipulating active processes, threads, services and users. Through Process Director for Windows, administrators may gain a complete view and control over their processes, applications, services, devices, users and the entire Windows system. We hope you’ll find this tool helpful as a troubleshooting tool for identifying problems with applications and even Windows itself.

http://www.kace.com/products/freetools/process-director/

While these free tools are not officially supported, we have set up discussion forums for feedback and comments here at AppDeploy. Please note that these forums are currently marked as private, but if you are registered on the site as a customer, you will have access today (and all will see these forums on the 20th of July). We will be offering a hands-on lab for the management of Secure Browsers at this year’s Dell KACE Konference November 8-10 in San Francisco. We hope you’ll find many of these tools useful, and that we’ll see you at the Konference!

Sincerely, 
Bob Kelly 
Senior Product Manager

The K1000 5.1 software is available for download from the Dell KACE web site. If you would like to update to 5.1 now you can login to read the installation instructions and download it from here.

Over the next few weeks we will gradually enable the update for existing K1000 servers to download overnight during their maintenance period. The update will then be available to apply through the server maintenance page on your K1000.

Engineering has also updated the 5.1 client bundle(5.1.31821) this week with a small number of bug fixes for the Windows agent. If your server already is at 5.1 you should get the updated client bundle from here.

Our training department presented some recent webinars on the new features in the 5.1 release that are available for viewing:

K1000 v5.1 Feature Focus Part 1 (Understanding Labels and Smart Labels in the New Release)

K1000 v5.1 Feature Focus Part 2 (Understanding Processes and Configuration Changes in the Help Desk)