Independent · for Windows admins
Clear the recurring chores off the admin desk.
Reviews and how-tos for the people who run a domain, a few file and app servers and an RDS farm. Every tool is filed with three answers: which chore it removes, what rights it needs, and what it leaves in the audit trail. We host nothing and we are not the vendor of anything here.
RDS drawerRecurring choreDisconnected sessions piling up on the session hostsBuilt-in first
quser /server:rdsh01Reviewed hereLizardSystems Terminal Services Manager · Windows Admin CenterAD drawerRecurring choreComputer accounts nobody has used since the last refreshBuilt-in firstSearch-ADAccount -AccountInactive -ComputersOnlyReviewed hereRemote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) · ManageEngine ADManager PlusTriage drawerRecurring choreA hung process on a workstation, user still workingBuilt-in firsttasklist /S ws-114 /FI "STATUS eq NOT RESPONDING"Reviewed hereLizardSystems Remote Process Explorer · Sysinternals SuiteIndependent. We are not Microsoft, LizardSystems, ManageEngine, Netwrix or any other maker. The trademarks belong to them; the opinions belong to us.
No files here. Nothing on TopNet247 can be run or installed. Product links go to each vendor’s own page.
Your systems only. Every how-to assumes machines and domains you administer, with your organisation’s authorization.
Drawers
Three drawers, filed by the question on the ticket
Each drawer opens a comparison table, a short “how to choose” checklist and the questions admins ask most.
RDSRDS & Session ManagementWho is on which session host, and who connected when?
- LizardSystems Terminal Services Manager
- LizardSystems Remote Desktop Audit
- Windows Admin Center
- Sysinternals Suite
- Netwrix Auditor
- LizardSystems Remote Process Explorer
- Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT)
- ManageEngine ADManager Plus
- Netwrix Auditor
- Windows Admin Center
- Sysinternals Suite
- LizardSystems Remote Desktop Audit
- Sysinternals Suite
- LizardSystems Remote Process Explorer
- Windows Admin Center
- Angry IP Scanner
- Wireshark
- Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT)
How-tos
Step-by-step, with the built-in commands first
Each how-to starts with what Windows already gives you, then shows where a tool saves time.
- Find and clean up stale computer accounts in Active DirectoryA reversible disable, move and delete routine for stale AD computer objects with RSAT PowerShell, including the timestamp caveats and BitLocker trap.
- See who is logged on to your RDS hosts and reset stuck sessionsList sessions across RD Session Hosts with quser and PowerShell, warn users, then safely log off or reset stuck sessions, with the rights each step needs.
- Find and end a hung process on a domain workstation you administerIdentify and end a frozen process on a remote domain PC with tasklist, CIM, taskkill or PsKill, plus the rights, ports and pitfalls of each route.
- Pull RDP logon history from event logs (IDs 4624, 21, 24, 25)Which Windows event logs record RDP logons, disconnects and reconnects, and PowerShell to pull a clean history from the hosts you administer.
Card index
Every tool, A to Z
The 10 tools we review, with the drawer each one is filed in, its licence and the rights it expects.
| Tool | Drawer | Licence | Rights it needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angry IP ScannerAnton Keks | Triage | GPLv2 | Runs as a normal user; no rights on the targets |
| LizardSystems Remote Desktop AuditLizardSystems | RDS | Commercial | Permission to read the event logs on each target (admin or Event Log Readers) |
| LizardSystems Remote Process ExplorerLizardSystems | Triage | Personal free / paid | Local administrator on the target computer; WMI/RPC allowed through its firewall |
| LizardSystems Terminal Services ManagerLizardSystems | RDS | Personal free / paid | Administrative rights on the RDS hosts, with RPC reachable through their firewalls |
| ManageEngine ADManager PlusManageEngine (Zoho Corp.) | AD | Commercial | A service account with the AD rights for the tasks you automate; technicians get scoped roles |
| Netwrix AuditorNetwrix | AD | Commercial | A data-collection account with read access to logs and configuration; audit policy set on DCs |
| Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT)Microsoft | AD | With Windows licence | Grants nothing itself — you get exactly what your AD account is delegated |
| Sysinternals SuiteMicrosoft | Triage | Freeware | Most tools want an elevated prompt; PsExec needs admin rights on the remote host |
| Windows Admin CenterMicrosoft | Triage | With Windows licence | Gateway access plus admin rights on each managed server via WinRM / PowerShell remoting |
| WiresharkWireshark Foundation | Triage | GPLv2 | Capture privileges on the machine you capture from (Npcap on Windows) |
Side by side
When two tools cover the same chore
ADManager Plus vs Netwrix Auditor: managing AD versus auditing itManageEngine ADManager Plus makes AD changes easier; Netwrix Auditor records who changed what. How purpose, licensing and fit differ for a small IT team.Remote Process Explorer vs Sysinternals for remote process triageA GUI console for processes on many domain PCs against Microsoft's free Sysinternals command-line and local tools: transport, rights, cost and depth.Terminal Services Manager vs Windows Admin Center for RDS adminsA farm-wide RDS session console against Microsoft's free browser-based server manager: what each covers, what it needs on the network, and which fits your job.
Method
Three questions, asked of every tool
- Chore
- Which recurring admin task does it remove or shorten — and is the built-in way already good enough?
- Rights
- What access does it need on servers, sessions or the directory, and can that be delegated instead of granted wholesale?
- Trail
- What does it leave behind — its own log, Windows events, a temporary service, or nothing an auditor could find?
Reviews are built from vendor documentation, licensing and release notes, public trials, and what admins report after living with a tool. Read the methodology · Who runs TopNet247