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Nexthink Library

Application Management

Remotely manage installation and un-installation of applications on devices using Microsoft Software Installer (MSI) or custom software installers. Gather the last application crash detail as well.

Content

Remote actions - 3

Required Modules

Nexthink Act

Platforms

Windows

Compatibility

V6.14 and later

1.0.1.0 - Updated "Install Application" Remote Action documentation
1.0.0.0 - Initial release

Description

The Application Management pack helps you maintain healthy application life-cycle. Install and uninstall MSI based application as well as custom software often delivered as .exe files. Retrieve details from the Windows Event log about the last application crash.

Install application

2.0.1.0 - Documentation link updated
2.0.0.0 - Allow custom installers and sources from URLs
1.0.0.1 - Updated documentation and indentation
1.0.0.0 - Initial release

Script Description

ADVANCED SCRIPTInstalls applications using either Microsoft Software Installer (MSI) or custom installers. The remote action includes protection layer to provide secure installation method. That includes verification of the binary hash and signature thumbprint comparison.

Execution context and suggested scheduling

Run the script as 'local system'. The script should be executed manually.

A timeout of 720 seconds is recommended.

Parameters

Label	Description
Maximum Delay In Seconds	Maximum random delay set to avoid network overload. Provide number of seconds lower than 600
Installer Source	Provide URL or UNC path to retrieve the installer file. Example values: http(s)://domain/folder/installer.exe, \serverSharedFolderwinrar-x64-571.exe
Installer Hash	Provide expected file hash using SHA256 algorithm to verify delivered installer file. E.g. FD820BF82EDBAA4BE20FD3B644A05754D95D71DE60FE79AB983C3318E0697540
Installer Signature Thumbprint	Signature thumbprint to compare with the one obtained from the installer. E.g. CA0CE78818E27A35FA76F8857A1A163EF3679729
Install Parameters	If targeting a non-MSI-based application, provide optional arguments for the installer. Common parameter prefix and letters are allowed, such as /quiet, /noreboot, /s, etc. Provide "" otherwise

Outputs

None.

Restrictions

Limited to installers with valid signature and whose hash equals the given one as parameter, otherwise, due to security reasons, the installation process cannot be performed.

Further Information

The installer path could be either an UNC path with read access or an URL. The MSI error codes are documented here.
If the application is already installed, then it might be re-installed. Some user settings or application data could be lost.
If targeting a non-MSI-based application, it is frequently necessary to specify additional parameters for a silent install. In such case, please visit official documentation from the application vendor.
Be aware of whether silent install parameters are omitted, the install process may be waiting forever for user action while the remote action terminated before completion. In such case, you need to kill the process before executing the remote action again.
To understand how to configure a network share, to work properly with Nexthink Act, please visit this page.
To get the signature thumbprint from a file, type this command on a Windows 10 PowerShell session and copy the SignerCertificate value":" Get-AuthenticodeSignature -FilePath <PATH_TO_THE_FILE>.
To get the installer hash, type this command on a Windows 10 PowerShell session":" Get-FileHash -Path <PATH_TO_THE_FILE> -Algorithm SHA256.

Test Scenarios

TestInstallerWithoutSignature
Test Case	Trying to install MSI (7 zip) from URL and UNC paths which doesn't have signature
Environment	VM Windows 10 x64 EN, VM Windows 10 x86 EN, VM Windows 7 x64 FR, VM Windows 7 x64 DE
Results	Failure - Installers signature is mandatory

TestInstallersWithWrongHashes
Test Case	Trying to install MSI (7 zip, Tortoise Git) and custom installers (WinRAR) from URL and UNC paths whose hashes don't match with the one given as input parameter
Environment	VM Windows 10 x64 EN, VM Windows 10 x86 EN, VM Windows 7 x64 FR, VM Windows 7 x64 DE
Results	Failure - Installers hashes must match with the one given as input parameter

TestInstallersForx64Architecture
Test Case	Trying to install MSI (7 zip) and custom installers (WinRAR) from URL and UNC paths only for x64 architectures
Environment	VM Windows 10 x64 EN, VM Windows 10 x86 EN, VM Windows 7 x64 FR, VM Windows 7 x64 DE
Results	Failure on the x86 machine and success on the x64 ones

TestMsiInstallersWithRandomParameters
Test Case	Trying to install MSI installers (7 zip, Tortoise Git) from URL and UNC paths
Environment	VM Windows 10 x64 EN, VM Windows 10 x86 EN, VM Windows 7 x64 FR, VM Windows 7 x64 DE
Results	Success - Parameters are ignored when the given installer is MSI

TestWinRARInstallationWithoutParameters
Test Case	Trying to install custom installer (WinRAR) from URL and UNC paths without any install parameter
Environment	VM Windows 10 x64 EN, VM Windows 10 x86 EN, VM Windows 7 x64 FR, VM Windows 7 x64 DE
Results	Failure - As the silent install was omitted, the RA finishes with timeout. In fact, it is necessary to kill the installer manually. Be aware of the install parameters before proceeding

TestWinRARInstallationWithParameters
Test Case	Trying to install custom installer (WinRAR) from URL and UNC paths with silent install '/s'
Environment	VM Windows 10 x64 EN, VM Windows 10 x86 EN, VM Windows 7 x64 FR, VM Windows 7 x64 DE
Results	Success - Installation performed without prompting the user

Uninstall application

2.0.0.0 - Added compatibility for non-MSI based applications
1.0.0.0 - Initial release

Script Description

ADVANCED SCRIPTUninstalls applications using Microsoft Software Installer or custom uninstaller, depending on the application.

Execution context and suggested scheduling

Run the script as 'local system'. The script should be executed manually.

A timeout of 300 seconds is recommended.

Parameters

Label	Description
Application Name	Full application name to be uninstalled
Uninstall Parameters	If targeting a non-MSI-based application, provide optional arguments for the uninstaller. Common parameter prefix and letters are allowed, such as /quiet, /noreboot, /s, etc

Outputs

None.

Further Information

As first parameter for this script, type in the full name of the application as it is displayed on Programs and Features menu in Control Panel.
If targeting a non-MSI-based application, it is frequently necessary to specify additional parameters for a silent uninstall. In such case, please visit official documentation from the application vendor.
Custom uninstallation was developed and tested using 7-Zip latest binaries.

Get Application Crash Details

1.0.0.0 - Initial release

Script Description

Provides the error information obtained from Get-WinEvent for the application name provided via parameter.

Execution context and suggested scheduling

Run the script as 'local system'. The script should be executed manually.

A timeout of 120 seconds is recommended.

Parameters

Label	Description
Application Name	Name of the application. It has to be the exact executable name

Outputs

Label	Type	Description
Error Date	DateTime	Date when the error was recorded
App Name	String	Name of the application with its version
Fault App Path	String	Path to the fault app
Module Name	String	Name of the module that was also affected
Fault Module Path	String	Path to the fault module
Exception	String	The exception code obtained

Test Scenarios

Wrong name inputted
Test Case	We executed the code in Windows 7/10 machines with a wrong application name.
Environment	Windows 7 & 10 VMs with various languages
Results	The code failed and displayed an error so it was fixed and managed.

Win7Error
Test Case	We executed the code in Windows 7 machines with a correct application name.
Environment	Windows 7 VMs with various languages
Results	The code showed the language dependency and was fixed to allow different languages.

FullTest
Test Case	We executed the code in Windows 7/10 machines with a correct application name.
Environment	Windows 7 & 10 VMs with various languages
Results	The code succeeded and displayed all the information as it should.