How to run the Symantec Endpoint Protection Support Tool remotely
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How to run the Symantec Endpoint Protection Support Tool remotely

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Article ID: 180962

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Updated On:

Products

Endpoint Protection

Issue/Introduction

 

Resolution

To eliminate the need to remotely or physically access a client computer to collect the support tool logs and diagnostics that have been requested by Symantec Technical Support, it is possible to run the SEP Support Tool remotely using Microsoft's PsExec utility.

 

Run the support tool remotely and silently using psexec.

- Download the Symantec Endpoint Protection Support Tool.

- Download PsExec.

- Move both utilities to the same folder

- Open a command prompt and navigate to the folder where the tools are located.

- Use one of the following commands to run the support tool on a remote machine (These examples assume the locally logged-on user has administrative rights on the remote host (ie: domain administrator).

To execute the support tool to collect a standard full report :

    psexec \\REMOTEHOST -c "Sep_SupportTool.exe" -s -fg out C:\

To execute the support tool to run an additional Load Point check (for suspected virus issues)

    psexec \\REMOTEHOST -c "Sep_SupportTool.exe" -s -fg -lp out C:\

If not logged in with an account that has admin rights on the remote machine, the Support Tool will not run properly and will not contain the necessary information for Technical Support.

Alternatively, it is possible to use the psexec options to specify a username and password, for example:

    psexec \\REMOTEHOST -u USERNAME -p PASSWORD -c "Sep_SupportTool.exe" -s -fg out C:\

Please note however, that using this method is sending the password in clear text over the network.

To collect the Support tool output file, connect to the Windows admin share at \\REMOTEHOST\c$. The file name will be the remote hostname followed by the date and will have a .sdbz extension.

 

A detailed white paper entitled SEP Support Tool Remote Execution is now available from the Connect Forum.  Administrators are encouraged to read this article for in-depth instructions on how to collect diagnostics information from remote computers using the Symantec Endpoint Protection Support Tool.