This procedure guides you through the process of using desired configuration management in Configuration Manager 2007 to create a general configuration item with an object setting to determine whether the file Skpswi.dat is found on client computers.

Purpose of the Configuration Item

The hidden file Skpswi.dat is used by Configuration Manager administrators to avoid the overhead of running software inventory on large disk drives. When it is placed in the root of each folder that must be excluded from Configuration Manager 2007 software inventory, software inventory will not report any inventory data for that drive.

Although this can be a useful feature, it is also possible that it could be used to conceal files that a user does not want to appear in the Configuration Manager 2007 software inventory. Although software inventory is not able to report the presence of this file, desired configuration management can detect it, which allows you to monitor for unauthorized use of this file.

Procedure

To author a general configuration item to check for the presence of the file Skpswi.dat:

  1. In the Configuration Manager console, navigate to System Center Configuration Manager / Site Database / Computer Management / Desired Configuration Management.

  2. Expand the Desired Configuration Management node, right-click Configuration Items, click New, and then click General Configuration Item.

  3. On the Identification page of the Create General Configuration Item Wizard, specify the following:

    • Name: Specify a unique and descriptive name for the configuration item, such as Skpswi.dat file check.

    • Description: Specify a description for the configuration item, such as This configuration item determines whether client computers have unauthorized instances of the file Skpswi.dat.

    • Click Next.

  4. On the Objects page of the Create General Configuration Item Wizard, click New, and then click File or Folder.

  5. In the New File or Folder Properties dialog box, specify the following in the General tab:

    • Type: From the drop-down list, select File.

    • Path: Specify the path C:\.

    • File or folder name: Specify the file name Skpswi.*.

    • Name pattern search depth: From the drop-down list, select Specified path and all subfolders.

    • Description: Specify a description for the file or folder object, such as This file or folder object is used to search for occurrences of the file Skpswi.dat on client computers.

    • Is this file or folder from a 64-bit application? Select No.

  6. Click the Validation tab, and then specify the following:

    • Select the option Report a non-compliance event when this instance count fails.

    • Instance count operator: Select Less than or equal to.

    • Values: Specify the value 2.

    • Severity: From the drop-down list, select Warning.

    Note
    The Configuration Manager 2007 client installation folder contains a copy of the Skpswi.dat file. This configuration item therefore, reports non-compliance if more than one occurrence of the file Skpswi.dat is found on a client computer.
    • Click OK to close the New File or Folder Properties dialog box.

    Note
    You can repeat steps 4 through 6 to create additional objects to assess compliance for the Skpswi.dat file on other drives such as D:\

  7. Click Next.

  8. On the Settings page of the Create General Configuration Item Wizard, click Next.

  9. On the Applicability page of the Create General Configuration Item Wizard, specify the following:

    • Under Windows Platforms, select All Windows Platforms.

    • Click Next.

  10. On the Summary page of the Create General Configuration Item Wizard, review the settings for the configuration item you have created, and then click Next.

  11. View the Progress page of the Create General Configuration Item Wizard. When this is complete, view the summary of actions taken on the Wizard Complete page.

  12. Click Close.

Next Steps

Now you have now created this general configuration item, it can be added to a configuration baseline using the following configuration baseline rule:

  • These application and general configuration items are required and must be properly configured

Assign this configuration baseline to computers that should not have this file installed, and investigate the computers that report non-compliance.

See Also