Features
NetSupport DNA provides a wealth of IT management tools to help companies monitor and manage their technology and network – all from one central point.
Quick and Easy Set up
Installed Locally
Device Discovery
Welcome Dashboard
Hardware Inventory
Software Inventory
Software Updates
Software Distribution
Software Application Metering
Internet Metering
Real-time Monitoring
Reporting/Digital Strategy
Efficiency View
Energy Monitoring
Print Monitoring
Endpoint Security
Alerts
Data Protection
Secure Vault
Acceptable Use Policies
User Management
Chat and message
Activity Monitoring
Locate User
Password/Logon Controls
Optional components
Remote Control
Mass Notification
Servicedesk and Ticketing
Training and Onboarding
Set up and discover
Up and running within 30 minutes!
There are three main components of NetSupport DNA:
- The server: this is used to add, store and manage information in the DNA database.
- The console: this is used by IT technicians to view information.
- The agent: this is installed on each device you want to monitor.
After you have installed the server module, the deployment tool will automatically discover and install the DNA agent on targeted devices across your company – and it supports up to 10,000 of them!
The DNA console (installed by the IT technician) then starts collecting and reporting on real-time data from the agents.
An additional gateway component is included as standard for linking multiple sites – plus, NetSupport DNA will also link with your company’s existing Active Directory (if present, including single sign-on) and includes the ability to profile department access and administrative features by console user.
Device auto-discovery
Once NetSupport DNA is installed and operational in your company, it will constantly monitor the network to identify and alert you to any new devices (and SNMP-enabled network devices such as switches and printers) that join, providing the option to automatically deploy an agent for future management.
Software update
You can choose how NetSupport DNA gets updated across your company: automatically updating via a smart update or by an external method, such as GPO or SSCM. This helps put your IT team in control of how and when you want updates to go live.
Track, monitor and manage
‘Welcome’ dashboard
The Welcome dashboard instantly gives you real-time statistics on IT activity, so you can see at a glance what is happening across the company. From how many PCs have been activated this week, to how many programs have been installed and how many system alerts have been issued – and more! You can also switch to the Efficiency View; a dashboard that highlights how your technology is being used and the areas where efficiency can be improved to create cost- and time-saving benefits.
Tree view
A convenient Tree view means you can quickly display data for a PC, user, device or discovered PC. By default, the Tree will reflect the structure of your work group/domain, but you can customise it to suit individual requirements, for example, grouping by geographical location or department.
Dynamic grouping: NetSupport DNA also features Dynamic Groups. You can define the parameters of a dynamic group and it is automatically added to the main hierarchy Tree. A dynamic group could, for example, be to identify which classroom PCs are upgradeable and this would be created automatically from those that match the required criteria, e.g. “all PCs with more than XX GB RAM, XX GB free disk space and XX processor type” and so on.
Bookmarks: You can create and place bookmarks within the PCs, users and devices Tree views to quickly navigate to the place you want to work with, which is really useful if you have a large or complex Tree structure.
Custom images: To help find users/items in the hierarchy Tree view easily, you can also apply custom images to departments, dynamic groups, PCs and users.
Hardware Inventory
NetSupport DNA provides one of the most comprehensive and detailed hardware inventory components available on the market today. It gathers a wealth of information from each device, from CPU and BIOS types, to network, video and storage data.
You can also generate inventory reports for a single PC, a selected department, just teacher’s or a specific classroom PC, or condition-based Dynamic Groups.
Another handy feature is that NetSupport DNA makes it easy for you to record the lease and maintenance contracts associated with your company devices or peripherals – including supplier details, contract expiry dates and costs – so all the information can be kept together.
You can configure it to run hardware inventory updates at different times throughout the day or at start-up and you can refresh the data instantly on demand. To make things even more flexible, you can use DNA’s standalone inventory component on non-networked or mobile devices and, in addition, high value peripherals can also be associated and recorded against a device; perfect for keeping track of company assets.
Software Inventory and Licensing
Better manage licence compliance and reduce software overspend by accurately reporting installed software and proactively identifying PCs with software that has no or low usage.
NetSupport DNA shows you a detailed summary of all programs and applications installed on each PC (including Windows 8 and 10 store apps), alongside the install date of hotfixes to highlight which devices have received updates. NetSupport DNA can display this information for a selected PC, a department or a custom group.
The software licence tool supports the ongoing management of all software licences for each of your departments: recording suppliers, purchase and invoice details, department or cost centre allocation and the tracking of maintenance contacts as well as storing PDF copies of any supporting documents.
Software Application Metering
With Application Metering, you can report on all applications used by a PC, logged-on user or server – detailing the time the application was started and finished, as well as the actual time it was active. Lists of approved and restricted applications, together with times when restrictions apply, can be created and enforced centrally.
Monitoring application use ensures your software licences are assigned to the right staff and aren’t renewed without evidence of application activity – helping your company to save money!
Internet Metering
From online collaboration and cloud-based solutions to social media and beyond, access to the internet is constant. To ensure the successful use of staff time, the effective use of company bandwidth and to support a safe environment, it is essential that companies don’t just have an internet safety policy in place, but also the right tools to enforce it.
With NetSupport DNA, you can manage your company’s internet use with lists of approved and restricted websites and/or sub-URLs that can be applied centrally and to specific groups (via Profiles) such as departments. You can also control internet access by time of day, perhaps only allowing access to approved social media sites during lunch hours.
You can see a detailed summary of all internet activity on each PC by a member of staff, including start and finish times for each website visited and the active time spent on a page (results can be reviewed by device or user).
Apps and games can also be blocked or restricted by their window’s title, helping your company to add a broader layer of security while keeping staff on task. For example an application with the word ‘game’ included in the title can immediately be blocked during work hours.
Alerts
NetSupport DNA features an extremely powerful Alerting suite. The system automatically notifies you when any number of changes occurs across the network. You can also create an unlimited number of your own custom alerts:
System alerts: These identify any changes within the data gathered by NetSupport DNA across the company, including alerts for things like new PCs added, changes in hardware, a new application installed/removed and so on.
PC alerts: These identify real-time changes or conditions that occur on a specific PC, such as: CPU utilisation exceeding XX% for XX minutes; free disk space falling below XX%; a key service stops (e.g. antivirus); print spooler alerts; security alerts (e.g. failed login attempts on a staff’s PC); and if keyboards or mice are unplugged.
Error alerts: When a system error occurs (GPFS etc), NetSupport DNA also triggers a system error alert to record the error message and you can configure these to capture a screenshot, screen recording and run an application. You can also do this with PC alerts, allowing you to choose what happens when any alert is triggered.
Alert notifications can be directed to specified email recipients and/or active console users (on a per alert basis, so the nature of the alert may dictate which operators are notified). In addition, any outstanding alerts are identified against matching PCs on the main hierarchy Tree view. Once alerts have been identified, operators can add any notes. A full history of all alerts is accessible from the History feature.
Software distribution
NetSupport DNA provides a multi-delivery option for software distribution.
A software distribution package is created by either applying parameters to a collection of files or folders or by using the DNA application packager – recording the user prompts, keystrokes and mouse clicks that are used during a test installation, and then automating these on a live deployment to bypass the need for operator intervention.
Once created, the application package can be automatically ‘pushed’ to the target PCs in the organisation for deployment or, alternatively, it can be ‘published’. Once published, a user can check to see which applications are available for their PC, based on their faculty, and ‘pull’ these down on demand.
NetSupport DNA also includes a Scheduling feature that allows packages to be deployed on a specific date and time – usually out of core work hours when network traffic is at its lowest.
With remote deployments, the need to minimise network traffic congestion becomes a priority. In this case, NetSupport DNA allows a client PC, ideally local to the target machines, to be nominated as a distribution point. When the software is deployed, rather than being sent to each remote PC directly, it is just sent to the designated PC which then acts as a relay and redistributes it to its local PCs.
IT teams can also view a handy report that shows whether there were any errors during the install or if the applications were installed successfully. This feature helps you ensure that all staff/departments have all the applications they need and quickly highlights whether any users are missing apps or have not installed any apps that are available to them which could help boost their productivity levels. Plus, the ‘Search facility’ added into Software Packages makes it easier to find what you are looking for!
Efficiency View
This is a unique dashboard that helps your company to see at a glance if technology is being used efficiently – helping to reduce any wastage. It highlights key areas of efficiency data, such as:
- How many PCs were left on out of office hours
- The number of unused PCs
- PCs with the lowest spec and disk space
- Most/least used USBs and apps – and more!
Armed with this information, your company can see exactly how its technology is being used and the areas where efficiency can be improved to create cost and time-saving benefits. Plus, compiling this data into one simple-to-read dashboard makes it easy to see the whole picture.
What’s more, the information can be saved and exported as a report, with data displayed for customised dates – making it easy to evidence improvements.
Energy Monitoring and Power Management
Energy saving is a big area of focus for companies and NetSupport DNA helps in two ways:
Energy Monitoring: First of all, NetSupport DNA checks the powered-on state of all computers. Its local monitoring component and keeps an accurate record of each time a computer is powered on, off or hibernates. Once it knows the times of day each computer was operational, it uses a “power consumption per device” calculation to work out the baseline energy use for all computers. This gives you a simple and concise high-level summary of potential energy wastage by office computers that are left powered on out of work hours.
Power Management: With this information to hand, you can now set Power Management policies. Computers in selected offices and departments can be set to automatically power off at a specified time at the end of each day and then power back on – all at once, or in stages – the next morning. In addition, you can apply “inactivity policies”: setting rules for systems to sleep, log out or power down if they have been inactive over a period of time.
Print Monitoring
NetSupport DNA gives you a full overview of printing activities and indicative costs across your company.
Individual printers across the workplace are automatically identified and, from the central console view, costs for printing (black and white, colour and so on) can be assigned either globally or against each different printer. Where required, you can also exclude printers from the view.
Endpoint Security
NetSupport DNA gives you a simple and effective solution to manage USB memory stick use that helps maintain the security of your network.
Memory stick use can be controlled across the entire company or just for specific departments or staff. You can allow full access, block all access, allow read-only access or prevent applications being run from an unknown memory stick. Alternatively, you can “authorise” individual memory sticks in NetSupport DNA – for the current day, a week or indefinitely – and their use across the company can also be limited to only those authorised. To further enhance company online security, NetSupport DNA includes approval requests for USB devices not encrypted with BitLocker.
A program administrator can connect a memory stick to their local PC and then authorise its use within the DNA console for either a given department or a specific member of staff. Staff who connect an unauthorised memory stick to their PC can also request remote authorisation where appropriate. Not only does NetSupport DNA identify both removable (memory stick) and portable (mobile phone, tablet, camera) storage devices, it also provides similar usage controls over CD and DVD devices (including USB and virtual). It also detects whether volumes on hard drives/USB drives are encrypted (BitLocker).
Reporting
NetSupport DNA provides both on-screen and print-optimised reporting for individual devices, users, departments and dynamic groups.
These on-screen reports/views provide supporting bar and pie charts and “live” drill down capabilities on all key summary data. Print-optimised reports are designed for management reporting and can automatically be scheduled for creation and output to a specified file location. All reports include the option for you to print or export to PDF, DOC and XLS.
NetSupport also supports custom views for all data – and the Query Tool provides you with an easy interface for defining custom views. It uses a simple drag and drop field picker, supported with conditions and sum-based features.
Digital Strategy
It’s a huge task, but conducting a tech audit for your business will reveal IT activity – from where devices are located and how often they are used, to which devices are to be upgraded, updated, repurposed, or retired – as well as the solutions, processes and protocols that do or don’t work – setting you on a clear path to planning your new working environments. With NetSupport DNA, all this information is at your fingertips!
Mobile app
Provided as a supporting tool for NetSupport DNA, you can down the mobile app free from the Google Play and Apple app stores. The app allows technicians, when away from their desk, to search for and view a detailed hardware and software inventory, a history of all hardware changes, plus any software installations or removals for any PC. It also highlights any new PC alerts that have triggered across the network.
The mobile app also includes a QR code scanner to help instantly identify any PC, either from an on-screen QR code displayed by DNA, or from a label fixed to the device. NetSupport DNA also provides a QR code label creation facility, including displaying custom details.
User/device activity
Real-time Monitoring
Gain a real-time summary of all your PCs using Explorer mode. You can view the selected PCs in three formats – Icon, Details or Thumbnail view – and refresh these at time intervals of your choice, e.g. instantly, every five or ten seconds and so on (also available via the Users Tree view). You can also use the notification filter across all three display modes to highlight the PCs with any active notifications within the chosen time period.
Thumbnail view: The chosen PC screens (including multiple monitors) are visible and give you an overview of current activity. Simply change the thumbnail size to suit your needs. For selected departments (e.g. finance), you can even set privacy modes so the thumbnail is blurred.
Icon view: Displaying the selected PCs as icons is another useful option for viewing large numbers of PCs at a glance, highlighting OS platforms, and any with active notifications.
Details view: Drilling down further, the Details view displays all of the selected PC’s details in a list with any active notifications highlighted, allowing for easy identification of PCs that may need immediate attention. This view also provides a visual summary of all active policies applied to each PC and performance data such as real-time network traffic, CPU and memory. In addition, by right-clicking on any PC, an operator can launch on-the-fly PC-specific features such as power on/off, chat, launch NetSupport Manager, send messages and more.
Spotlight
Using Explorer mode, you can use the Spotlight feature to see more details about a selected PC (e.g. any applications, services, websites and processes in use), in a single glance. Services can be stopped and restarted remotely as required. It also provides another way to quickly add applications/websites to blocked lists instead of navigating through to the web or application components and adding them separately.
Activity Monitoring
NetSupport DNA provides a single time-based summary of all activity by a specific user, PC or department. Presented in a chronological view, it shows you what time the logon session began and ended, as well as exactly what applications were used and when, and internet usage – over a set time period. This time-saving feature means that IT technicians now don’t have to look at each area separately and can instead see the full picture of activity, at a glance in one location.
User Management
NetSupport DNA provides a range of features to locate and manage your users within a networked environment. In addition to key user data (name, telephone etc), it also provides your company with the ability to customise the data that is gathered and collated from each device, including tracking of user acceptance forms. NetSupport DNA also records any changes to custom user details and retains them for reference, including the following fields: Staff Number, Location, Asset Tag and Owner, not to mention a real-time system status view for all devices.
Enforce Acceptable Use Policies
NetSupport DNA provides a flexible module to support the delivery and tracking of AUPs across your company. You can apply policies either to users or specific devices (e.g. PCs in Reception) for display each time any user logs on, or to users for one-time display and acknowledgement. The Acceptable Use Policy feature can support multiple policies (e.g. separate staff templates), which you can format for clear presentation. Full tracking and exception reporting is also provided.
To help return to a ‘new normal,’ a new AUP is available to use (Health and Social Distancing) to help promote any new guidance and safety information across the company.
Profiles
To provide maximum flexibility and help save time, NetSupport DNA allows you to create multiple profiles for different groups of devices or users (i.e. department level), each with its specific component settings. This means dedicated settings (such as internet access, print metering and much more) can be applied to specific departments, e.g. allowing the Marketing team to have access to social media during working hours.
Multi-select
From the Tree view, you can select the staff you need and then view the component data for them, e.g. looking at the items such as application usage statistics, or the memory status of the devices – a more flexible and efficient way to carry out specific tasks on multiple staff devices.
To drill down even more, from Explorer mode, you can select a group of staff based on more detailed criteria (e.g. a combination of departments, or a group/individual staff) to perform actions such as chat or messaging – saving you time and delivering extra convenience!
Chat and Messaging
NetSupport DNA includes real-time chat with any number of connected staff devices, simultaneously, via a scrolling text window. The Chat feature (available from the Tree view) is useful for quickly checking in with staff members if they are experiencing an issue.
From the Tree view, you can also send a message to an individual, department or the company as a whole. The message can be displayed on the recipient’s device for a specified period of time and an icon can be displayed with it to show how important the message is.
Locate a user
NetSupport DNA allows anyone with a DNA agent installed on their machine (if the feature is enabled) to locate another logged-on user and then send them a message. This may be useful for staff members who do not have the NetSupport DNA Console installed but need to find and contact other users in the company.
Log-on control
In addition to preventing staff logging in on multiple devices, when required, a user can now be authorised to log onto up to five PCs at once. This is a useful feature for roaming staff who may have several devices.
And if users are simultaneously logged into multiple PCs, NetSupport DNA will alert you. Following these alerts, you can review and decide whether to log the user out and follow up with them to ensure the login credentials are not being misused.
Password reset
So you can support users quickly and easily, NetSupport DNA monitors Active Directory accounts and warns you if any user accounts are locked or have expired passwords, giving you the chance to quickly unlock or reset them as required.
Security
Installed locally
With NetSupport DNA, all of your asset data remains completely under your control within your organisation. Unlike other products, NetSupport DNA supplies everything you need in a single download. The server and database components are installed locally, ensuring all of your corporate and staff data remains safely within your secure network.
Vault
NetSupport DNA contains a secure Vault component, so you can store serial numbers, passwords or any other confidential IT data securely and with confidence. You can restrict access to the vault to specific console users and any activity can be recorded against the central DNA audit trail.
DNA Console administrator’s password
As an extra layer of support for your IT team, the master console password can now be easily reset internally, allowing the IT team members to continue their daily tasks without disruption.
Data protection
One of the main concerns for companies is building up a picture of their data, i.e. how it is collected, used, shared and stored. This task can be extremely time-consuming so, in the first instance, companies should talk to other staff members to check whether they are aware of what data they have and where it is.
However, NetSupport DNA can help you to swiftly discover the information your company has, protect personal data and help to prevent data breaches – in half the time!
Optional components
Remote Control (optional)
NetSupport DNA provides the option to integrate NetSupport Manager, recognised as the best in class for secure, high performance multi-platform remote control.
Accessed from the DNA console on your desktop, tablet or smartphone, NetSupport Manager provides seamless and secure access to workstations and servers across your company, both locally when in the office, and remotely when on the move.
NetSupport Manager features true multi-platform remote control: monitor and view dozens of devices in a single view; transfer of files or updates to one or multiple devices in one go; remotely view and edit the Registry; manage services and processes; conduct an audio chat; share screens or even show your screen to others; access interactive training tools; geolocation, and much more.
ServiceDesk and Ticketing (optional)
Easily integrated into your existing IT infrastructure, NetSupport ServiceDesk delivers the processes needed to help you effortlessly track, organise, manage and answer the toughest support challenges. Its fully customisable and intuitive browser-based interface supports both desktop and mobile platforms and delivers robust workflow processes. It also supplies a wealth of management reports as well as providing a customer-friendly self-service portal – all the tools needed to help technicians deliver support effectively.
Mass Notification and Alerting (optional)
Using NetSupport Notify, organizations can communicate effectively with staff using one-way alerts and notifications – sending them to desktop users across the company, those working remotely on work devices, and even to large information panels in halls and foyers. Alerts automatically take screen focus, meaning they can’t be hidden, ignored or saved for later. The notifications can even be targeted to select groups and scheduled for maximum impact.
Training and Onboarding (optional)
Professional development through corporate education and training is something most companies invest in for their employees. And, if you are running the sessions internally, it’s good to have a flexible tool on hand to deliver them with.
Despite its title, NetSupport School isn’t just for schools; it’s a flexible, fully-featured instruction and collaboration solution that is suitable for learners of all ages in all kinds of environments. It provides a wide range of possibilities for collaborative instruction, assessment and group working – as well as allowing tutors to guide and present directly to trainees’ devices. For greater engagement with the session, NetSupport School also offers tools to allow trainees to interact, question and assess any information presented. It also provides each student with a journal of session content for them to refer to afterwards – for maximum retention.