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Ceri JC
from Jefferson City (United States) on 2007-10-08 05:24 [#02129481]
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Hi Folks,
I want to make a recommendation about a hypothetical piece of software and was wondering if any of you were aware of an existing product (or free utility) that performs this sort of function.
I would like a network tool (presumably it'd have to run as a service with domain admin rights) that can basically go across a given network and find all files of a certain type on all machines on the network, e.g. all MP3s. Ideally, it'd be clever enough to look inside .zip and/or .rar files and find ones stored in there. It would provide the utility to delete these, or perhaps move them elsewhere (to a particular folder on a specific server). Does such a tool exist?
Elusive, you're the man, help me out! :D
Cheers,
Ceri
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sheffieldbleep
from Sheffield (United Kingdom) on 2007-10-08 05:36 [#02129482]
Points: 2466 Status: Lurker
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I doubt you would be able to browse all the files in all PCs on the network (unless they were thin clients or managed systems) due to the users file/folder permitions.
I have problems at work with people using the servers as personal photo and music storage.
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Drunken Mastah
from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2007-10-08 05:52 [#02129487]
Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Followup to sheffieldbleep: #02129482 | Show recordbag
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"I have problems at work with people using the servers as personal photo and music storage."
Why is that a problem?
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sheffieldbleep
from Sheffield (United Kingdom) on 2007-10-08 06:02 [#02129489]
Points: 2466 Status: Lurker
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well it's not personally a problem for me.
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Drunken Mastah
from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2007-10-08 06:15 [#02129490]
Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Followup to sheffieldbleep: #02129489 | Show recordbag
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Who is it a problem for, then, and why?
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sheffieldbleep
from Sheffield (United Kingdom) on 2007-10-08 06:26 [#02129491]
Points: 2466 Status: Lurker | Followup to Drunken Mastah: #02129490
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I would have thought it was fucking obvious
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bingob
on 2007-10-08 06:30 [#02129492]
Points: 675 Status: Lurker | Followup to Drunken Mastah: #02129490
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It is problem for work that sheffieldbleep and colleagues only dj'ing and watching pornpics at work instead of working perhaps?
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sheffieldbleep
from Sheffield (United Kingdom) on 2007-10-08 06:32 [#02129493]
Points: 2466 Status: Lurker | Followup to bingob: #02129492
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hahaha it's the truth
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Ceri JC
from Jefferson City (United States) on 2007-10-08 06:41 [#02129498]
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It's a problem you fuckers are hijacking my thread! :D
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Drunken Mastah
from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2007-10-08 07:31 [#02129508]
Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Followup to sheffieldbleep: #02129491 | Show recordbag
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While you may think so, I see no problem with it, so explain why it is a problem.
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Drunken Mastah
from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2007-10-08 07:36 [#02129509]
Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ceri JC: #02129498 | Show recordbag
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I'm wondering if what you're proposing to do would even be legal...
That said, are these programs something like what you need?
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Ceri JC
from Jefferson City (United States) on 2007-10-08 07:38 [#02129510]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to Drunken Mastah: #02129508 | Show recordbag
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Company spends £100K + on a SAN. 5 days later and after only uploading 100GB of company data, it is 90% full as the users have started uploading games, MP3s, Photos, videos, etc. Also, the users are doing no work (because of the wonderful in office P2P they now have) so productivity nosedives. See the problem now?
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Drunken Mastah
from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2007-10-08 07:42 [#02129511]
Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ceri JC: #02129510 | Show recordbag
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Is this conjecture, or a real situation?
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Ceri JC
from Jefferson City (United States) on 2007-10-08 07:47 [#02129512]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to Drunken Mastah: #02129511 | Show recordbag
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It's a slight exaggeration, but not by much. I have had clients where their admin has been lax (or their computer use policy not enforced, depending on your POV) and about 50% of the storage space was being used for non-work purposed. I don't know if you recall the user Jand, but he got into trouble in work after some dolt from here made public the details of the FTP Jand was uploading mp3 gigs etc. to. Being the internet, word spreads fast and before you know it, dozens of strangers are circulating the details of the site and using it as an equivalent of yousendit.
Certainly, being anal about people storing a dozen mp3s and a couple of pictures on their local machine is silly, but I have worked in places where multiple people have literally brought in their whole MP3 collections on several DVD-rs and uploaded them to the servers.
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sheffieldbleep
from Sheffield (United Kingdom) on 2007-10-08 07:48 [#02129513]
Points: 2466 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ceri JC: #02129510
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so the files in questions aren't on the users pc but on the SAN. Just highlight the SANs drive letter or folder and run a search *.mp3 *.jpg etc the hit delete
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Drunken Mastah
from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2007-10-08 07:58 [#02129516]
Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ceri JC: #02129512 | Show recordbag
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How slight? As far as I know, and as any search on the subject on google will also confirm, the effect of music on the workplace is a beneficial one, raising the worker's morale, tempo, efficiency, and even possibly improving his physical health. This effect is increased even more when the music is something the worker has selected himself.
A link.
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Drunken Mastah
from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2007-10-08 08:01 [#02129517]
Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ceri JC: #02129512 | Show recordbag
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Oh, and the fact that one or two may abuse the system every once in a while doesn't automatically mean it's a bad system.
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Ceri JC
from Jefferson City (United States) on 2007-10-08 10:20 [#02129568]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to sheffieldbleep: #02129513 | Show recordbag
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Oh no, I was just using a simple example to illustrate it to DM. In the problem in the original thread, the files would be spread across the SAN, disparate servers and on individual machines. I'd like a tool that could find them all.
DM: I'm not criticising music listening in work, not at all. The negative effect in this instance is the loss of storage space for the customer overall. The actual problem I am looking at and made the original request about concerns database dump files(which can be very big indeed). I only mentioned mp3s because I imagine that would be one of the most common uses of such a tool (in places with a no music policy) and that it might trigger someone's memory.
Trust me, I won't "misuse" this knowledge to stop people listening to music in work (not least because I do it myself)! :)
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dave_g
from United Kingdom on 2007-10-08 11:58 [#02129594]
Points: 3372 Status: Lurker
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You need every hackers best friend; a decent perl script. perl has loads of libraries to do funky stuff like dip into zips and uses regular expressions as a super powerful way of doing pattern searches and the like.
If your servers are running linux/bsd/unix set the cron job to run the script daily in the middle of the night (or other quiet time), I don't know about windows servers.
I wouldn't worry about what the people have on their personal machines really. Maybe I'm too liberal?
off topic: "He is at the discotheque" by Poly is currently rocking my speakers and is really fantastic.
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Drunken Mastah
from OPPERKLASSESVIN!!! (Norway) on 2007-10-08 12:10 [#02129599]
Points: 35867 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ceri JC: #02129568 | Show recordbag
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Hm... oh well. Didn't those programs I linked seem to be able to do the job, though?
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PORICK
from fucking IRELAND on 2007-10-08 15:34 [#02129661]
Points: 1911 Status: Lurker
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you'll need to be sharing these files and directories over the network, and then you'll be able to scan across them with a perl script, as dave_g says
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Ceri JC
from Jefferson City (United States) on 2007-10-09 03:36 [#02129783]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to Drunken Mastah: #02129599 | Show recordbag
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Sorry, I missed that somehow. Yes, that is exactly what I was looking for, ta very much.
As to the legality of it, it's actually to fulfill our legal obligations that I need to seek out and destroy database dump files floating around on our network which are no longer needed.
Ta Porick and Dave_g for your suggestions. I'm going to recommend using perl scripts on the unix servers (we only have a couple and it's only two of us who really touch them, so it looks like that might fall to me), something like lanspider on the windows network and a scheduled task on the SAN to delete all .dmp files and all .bak files over 1GB (as other programs use the .bak extension and I don't want it to knacker them.)
Dave, the worry is about people holding copies of our clients databases on their local machines and we have an obligation to remove these once they are no longer needed, not about someone having counterstrike/some mp3s on it.
Ta for all your help folks, most appreciated.
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