Atelier Web Remote Commander - What's New (Revision History)

Release 6.2

Improvements:

• A Connections Log is optionally produced on the local machine, this was a common request from helpdesk personnel. It is accessible through a button on the desktop tab.

Fixes:

• Some right-click popup menus had out of context items.
• A few color fixes.

Release 6.1

Improvements:

• The user can select from 2 user interfaces, Windows classic or Traditional. Windows Classic is now the default.
• The Update Files item of the File System tab popup menu launches a dialog with a Remember Last Folder checkbox.

Fixes:

• Web updater.
• SysInfo/General/Operating System identified all Windows Vista releases as Ultimate.

Release 6.00

Improvements:

• Now, connections can be made to Windows Vista Business, Ultimate and Enterprise editions as well as to the upcoming new server codenamed "Longhorn Server".
• The software has full support for remote session switching and logoff/logon maintaining the connection always alive (no need to disconnect). This functionality is relevant for Vista, Longhorn Server as well as for XP Fast User Switching (FUS).
• By selecting the new View-Only mode, local mouse movements and keystrokes are not passed to the remote computer. This is useful for passive monitoring.
• During a connection, you can disable the wallpaper and aero composition (Vista) on the remote computer. This enhances speed and reduces CPU cycles. The previous state is restored while
  disconnecting.
• The Configure menu is now within a tab of the main Window, this improves usability and saves mouse clicks.
• XP Pro FUS compatibility can be disabled from the Configure menu. If If Fast User Switching Services are disabled or stopped you can still connect by unchecking the box. The same happens with Windows Server 2003, but here the default condition is disabled - not concerned with sessions.
• The software automatically detects remote shutdown and disconnects the connection.
• On remote Windows XP, Server 2003 and later, the software detects
  the process of hibernation or stand-by and disconnects the connection.
• Common error messages on the Progress Report box relating to inhability to connect are now more detailed. We continue to advise people to read our FAQ either from the Help file or online at http://www.atelierweb.com/rcomm/faq.htm. The FAQ is not extensive but covers almost every conceivable difficulty. A Vista specific FAQ is also available,
• Many grids can now be sorted by column by clicking on the column header. These include the Processes, Services, Shares, Ports Finder, Connections and Listening Ports, File System, Local and Global Groups.
• The Processes grid reports also on Session ID, User and Domain.
• The Progress Report box displays the time of the event.
• The Sysinfo tab grids can properly report the new Operating Systems and CPUs.
• AWRCAC (AWRC Access Control) is now much more powerful, able to monitor or block connections even before any user is logged on at the console.
• We have included in the distribution a software named AWRCKEY. This software will remove a Registry Key used by pre-AWRC 6.0 purchased releases of AWRC. If you do not plan to use pre-AWRC 6.0 releases again you can remove the key with AWRCKEY.
• And many more details.

Release 5.59

Fixes:

• Reduced the size of awrexec.exe, the remote service started on remote system, allowing a faster connection to the remote machine.
• Various access violations, most of them while waiting for a connection to be established after pressing the Connect button.
• Trying to change the default hotkeys for Ctrl-Alt-Del and Full Screen might not be possible.

Release 5.55

Fixes:

• Compatibility issues with x64 64-bit Windows releases:
  - SysInfo/Processes not showing 64-bit processes.
  - Ports Finder feature not providing results.
  - Uploading and Downloading files under the File System tab failed.
• Memory not correctly reported under SysInfo/General for systems with more than 2GB of RAM.
• SMBIOS information for BIOS under SysInfo/General not reported
  under Windows Server 2003 SP 1 and x64 64-bit Windows releases.
• SysInfo/Physical Memory Viewer not providing results under Windows Server 2003 SP 1 and x64 64-bit Windows releases. Addresses in the range 0x000C0000 - 0x000FFFFF can be retrieve on these systems.

Release 5.52

Fixes:

• AWRC password could not be removed (bug in release 5.51).

Release 5.51

Fixes:

• Sending clipboard contents to the remote machine could fail.
• Double-clicking on a file under the File System tab did not
  download it.

Release 5.5

Improvements:

• Now, it is possible to prevent remote users from using the mouse or keyboard during a connection. Useful, when remote users must not be allowed to interfere with the work in progress.
• Mouse wheel support has been added. It acts on the remote computer when the mouse is inside the remote desktop viewer. It acts on the viewer itself, scrolling it, when the mouse is outside the desktop viewer; pressing the Ctrl key while moving the wheel scrolls the viewer horizontally.
• Under the File System tab you can download and upload complete directory trees in addition to files, previously only files were allowed. You can opt for downloading and uploading in compressed format, as previously, (better across the Internet) or in uncompressed format (faster within local networks).
• Now, most Windows and internal error messages are reported verbosely.
• The right-click popup menu of the Sysinfo has options to save or print all the boxes at the same time.
• When checked under Options, the User Name and Password used to connect are saved in the Registry and will autofill the respective boxes when the program launches. We do not recommend selecting this Option when other people not supposed to know your password may have access to the local computer. If selected, the User Name and Password boxes change color and a warning is shown when the program closes.
• It is possible to launch AWRC from the command line and make a connection. The syntax is:
  Path\awrc.exe /r=<Remote Host> /u=<User> /p=<Password>
  for example:
  "C:\Program Files\Remote Commander\awrc.exe" /r=192.168.1.100 /u=Administrator /p=Mypassword
• An Adminstrator can set a Password under Options to prevent other users from launching AWRC.
• Under Options, you may set a Compression Level for the remote desktop images. Within a fast LAN it may be faster to use Light compression, while across the internet you may try the Strong compression. The default is Normal, which is a tentative compromise between both.

Fixes:

• eTrust AV and ZoneAlarm 5.5 (based on the same VET engine), may optionally use on-access AV scanning. This is done not only for files but, oddly, for inbound network pipes at creation time. The effect is not transparent and caused connection problems on the computer where AWRC and the scanner is installed. If the scanner was installed only on the remote computer there was no problems.
• On the NT winlogon desktop the cursor tended to jump to the top left corner.
• After a connection and logon on the remote winlogon screen a console window flashed briefly on the default desktop.
• When downloading files using the popup menu of the File System page, some temporary files were left behind on the remote system. The same happened on the local system when uploading files.

Release 5.01

Fixes:

• Immediately after logging to a Windows 2000 Server, a console window could start popping up over the desktop producing an infinite flash effect. This problem has not been reported for other Windows releases.
• In some cases, normally after logging in, the keyboard or mouse could not be used if no window on the desktop had the input focus. This problem was only see in Windows 2000 machines.
• The updating functions were not working reliably and we decided not to provide files for direct updating from 5.0 to 5.01 from within AWRC. Users must download 5.01 from the site (as usual).

Release 5.0

Improvements:

• Full-screen is now supported, i.e, when selected, the image of the remote desktop completely covers the screen area of the local computer. Also, the user can select from the Options to maintain the remote screen resolution aspect ratio. In this case, if the local and remote aspect ratios are different no stretching is made (rather an area of the local screen is left black to compensate for the different ratios).
• Screen resolution changes on the remote system are automatically reflected on the local system. This is valid both in normal view and full-screen modes.
• The remote service started on the remote system is now configurable from the Options. Configuration allows changing the binary name, which defaults to awrexec.exe, the service name and the service display name. The icon of the binary file has been removed as well. This is a security subject and contributes to the activity becoming even less noticeable, when this is a requirement. Of course, the latest AWRCAC release is still able to detect and stop regular AWRC builds.
• AWRC supports manual (the default) and automatic updates. When an update exists, and the user accepts to proceed with it, the new software is installed directly from the web with no need to run any setup or install program.
• AWRCAC has been updated in order to deal with cases where the service name and binary name have been changed.

Fixes:

• When connecting to a Windows XP remote, usually the first keystroke was not transmitted.
• "Initialization at stage..." errors where not adequately fixed in release 4.7. This was more evident when you disconnected then started a new connection to the same system within less than one minute.
• The exception at 0x00403038, which appeared occasionally during the disconnect stage, has been fixed.
• Corrected remote Operating System identification of Windows 2003 Enterprise, Standard and Web variants and Windows NT4 SP6 vs SP6a.