Sometimes a complex problem can have a simple solution. This is much the case with the FullArmor GPAnywhere product. The product essentially works by installing an extension into the Microsoft Windows 2003 Global Policy Management Client (GPMC). While the GPMC can only work with domain-connected workstations, the GPAnywhere products has two modes — a client mode that works with domain-attached workstations, and a standalone mode where the policy configuration is made through an executable place on the client system. It was especially convenient to have the ability to include the GPAnywhere policy executable in a Symantec Ghost image file. This allows the user to make several copies of common configurations. There are several pre-built templates for common desktop uses, and the kiosk template seemed especially handy to have. The client will check for updates to the global policy at regular intervals, which include a daily check, when a user logon is completed, or when a standalone client policy is moved from an inactive state to active.
The installation of GPAnywhere was a little bit tricky. The product is based on two components, a console and a client. The console is the GPMC extension, and the client is the utility that is run on the domain-connected workstations. The console took a bit of work to get installed properly. We had to download and install the GPMC. This is an obvious necessity, but for some reason the program is not installed by default on Windows Server 2003.
Documentation for this product is in the form of two PDF files. The user guide is well constructed with detailed explanations and screen shots. FullArmor provides phone support during business hours and online support through their website.
The pricing was at the low end for the range of products covered in this Group Test. We award GPAnywhere our Best Buy for its ease of use and for the features this product provides, which offer exceptional value for the money.
GPAnywhere, Version 2.5 has been rated Best Buy by SC Magazine.
