FAQ

Here you can find the most commonly asked questions regarding O&O Syspectr. Should you not find the answer to your particular question here, then please contact us. We are always happy to help!

User Account

MSP features are available to anyone with an O&O Syspectr account. After login you can click your name at the upper right in the program window and then click Managed Accounts. Once there you’ll be able to setup accounts for individual clients. You can then follow the procedure for installing O&O Syspectr on client computers and configuring the settings as you see fit.

If you forget your password, you can have a new (temporary) one sent to your email address. Enter your E-mail here and confirm the resetting of your password.

If you wish to change your password, proceed as follows:

  1. Login to your account.
  2. Click “My Account” .
  3. Click “Security Settings”
  4. Enter your new password and confirm it.

You must then login using the new password you created.

Should you wish to change the e-mail address assigned to your account, please send us a message from within your O&O Syspectr account. We will then contact you to go through the next steps.

Yes, you can allow another O&O Syspectr user to access your account provided that you are using. You have the option of giving another user read-only or writing permissions to your account.

Read-only permissions will allow another user to see your data but not change any settings. If you wish to allow this, give the user writing permissions. This can be very useful when an external IT consultant is called in to help resolve a problem.

These permissions can be canceled whenever you wish.

Two factor authentication protects your account against unauthorized access. In addition to your user name and password, a second factor is required in order to confirm your identity to the system. This will require your installing a so-called “Authenticator” app on your mobile phone that will be connected to your account. Whenever requested, you’ll be able to see this code in the app and then enter it.

These apps are available for all mobile telephones and implement the so-called “Time-Based One-Time Password Algorithm”, that was defined by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in RFC 6238.

Activating the two factor authentication

  1. Log in to your O&O-Syspectr account at app.syspectr.com.
  2. Go to “My Account” located under your profile name, top right in the navigation bar.
  3. Select “Two factor authentication” and then click on “Activate”.
  4. You will now receive a Transaction Authentication Number (TAN) sent to the email address connected to your account.
  5. Enter this TAN and then click on “Next”.
  6. You are then led to activation by way of a QR Code for use through your Authenticator App.
  7. You will then be asked enter the confirmation code from your App to complete the process.

Once you have completed the process you are presented with a one-off “Emergency code”. Please write this down and keep it safe! This can help you deactivate the two factor authentication should you lose your phone or have a problem with your Authenticator App.

Deactivating two factor authentication

You can deactivate two factor authentication in two ways:

Deactivate over your profile settings

  1. Log in to your O&O-Syspectr account at app.syspectr.com.
  2. Go to “My Account” located under your profile name, top right in the navigation bar.
  3. Select “Two factor authentication” and then click on “Dectivate”.
  4. You will now receive a Transaction Authentication Number (TAN) sent to the email address connected to your account.
  5. Enter this TAN and then click on “Next” to deactivate.

Deactivate with the Emergency Code

  1. Log in to your O&O-Syspectr account at app.syspectr.com.
  2. After you have entered your user name and password you will be prompted to enter a security code from your Authenticator App.
  3. Select “I can’t use my authentication app.”
  4. Now enter your one-off “Emergency code” to deactivate two factor authentication.

The two factor authentication is now deactivated. You can activate it again at any time by following the instructions above.

 

Getting Started

At the moment, O&O Syspectr can do the following:

  • Detect information about hardware, especially level of usage on hard drives, SSDs, and other disks
  • Monitor the condition of PCs (online/offline, the health status of hard disks, etc.)
  • Software inventory
  • Monitor processes and USB disks
  • Check and monitor Windows Security as well as Microsoft updates
  • Remote Desktop and Remote Console in browser

This requires the O&O Syspectr Client software being installed one time only on the computer. After this, the software is updated automatically. An easy to use web app allows you to use the software on any browser and device (even on smartphones or tablets).

We’re currently at work on integrating additional apps into O&O Syspectr. That’s why we’ll be very grateful for any feedback and suggestions you might have.

Installing O&O Syspectr is very easy:

  1. Download and installation of the Client app
  2. Add computer to O&O-Syspectr account
  3. Ready

Your O&O-Syspectr account can be created during installation or even beforehand. You’ll then be able to manage your computers in any web browser.

Client App

O&O Syspectr can be used on 64-bit Windows systems starting from Windows 8.1 and Windows 2012 Server (R2). Microsoft .NET 4.8 Framework, is required. This is available free of charge and can be installed automatically if not already in use. Administrative permissions are required for installation.

There are no special hardware requirements so O&O Syspectr can be installed on any system running the Windows versions mentioned above.

O&O Syspectr also supports virtual machines such as Microsoft Hyper-V, vmware, Microsoft VPC and Oracle VirtualBox.

Web App

You can access https://app.syspectr.com/ with any browser on any device (PC, smartphone, Tablet) that has access to the internet. To login, use your Email address and the password you created.

Apps

Apps combine types of information or features. O&O Syspectr already contains a number of apps that provide information about the computer’s status quickly and easily. These apps also allow for partial control of the various components. Typical apps are Software, Hard Disk Drives, Remote Desktop, etc.

According to the license, there are different apps available. There are also premium apps available that provide additional or advanced features in exchange for a modest fee. These moduapps les can be ordered as needed.

Apps can also be deactivated if you wish so that the associated system information is no longer requested or the appropriate function is made unavailable.

To activate or deactivate an app simply select the appropriate computer, click on the settings symbol (a cog wheel positioned top right over Computer Information). The settings page displays all available apps which can be turned on or off using the slide control.

Security

Yes. data transmission between the O&O-Syspectr Client and our servers is done using SSL encryption so that there’s no possibility of unauthorized access to any data. We also use additional methods to protect communication.

All data from O&O Syspectr is saved in our Data Center. Our servers are located in Germany. As a German company, we are subject to German laws governing privacy and these are among the strictest in the world. Further information about data security can be found under Data Security and in our Privacy Policy.

O&O Syspectr saves system information in order to display the current status of a computer and provide a diagnosis for possible problems. It does not save any personal files, documents, or graphic data. When using the Remote Desktop, image data will be transferred to our server encrypted and saved only for the duration of transmission. There is never any permanent storage of image data.

As a German company, O&O Software has complete respect for the privacy of its users. We are subject to German laws governing privacy and these are among the strictest in the world. Please read more about this in our Privacy Policy as well as in our Terms and Conditions. We will be happy to help with any additional questions you may have!

Sign Up

Registration for O&O Syspectr requires only a valid Email address. Once you provide it, you’ll be sent a confirmation and must then create a password. You’ll then be able to download the O&O-Syspectr-Clients installation and add as many computers as you’d like to your account.

Register here. Registration is free of charge and without any obligations.

Settings

Sign in to your O&O Syspectr account and click top right on your account name. Select from the list “Notifications” and this takes you to your individual notification settings.

Extract from notifications selection

Extract from notifications selection

You can select per app whether to be notified of problems only or also warnings and information. Simply click on the appropriate check box next to the various app to either activate the notification or to turn it off. Not every app has all types of events (Information, Warnings, Problems) so the selection can on occasion be limited.

All notifications are also logged and saved so you can check them there as well as in your notification e-mails.

O&O Syspectr can be uninstalled via the Windows Control Panel just like any other Windows program. The computer will, however, remain in the your O&O Syspectr account chronology just in case you wish at some point to access the historical data of that (no longer connected) computer. You are, of course, also free to simply delete the computer entirely from your account using the product menu if this is an option you don’t wish to have.

In a Company

Our customers have a very easy way to roll out O&O Syspectr on all company computers. To do this we provide a personalized MSI file in your account that can then be installed on all systems using group policies.

You can find a complete description of how this works on the page “How to deploy O&O Syspectr using Group Policies”.

PowerShell

To use a PowerShell script on multiple computers simultaneously, please do the following:

  1. Select a computer in your account that enabled the PowerShell app. Click the PowerShell app there and switch to the Script Library (above right button).
  2. In the Library, select the script you want to use on the computer. This will bring you into editing mode.
  3. Below right you’ll see a button  “Add computer”. Click it.
  4. In the following menu, you can select the computer you want by choosing individual ones (holding the Ctrl key) or entire sections (holding the Shift key).
  5. Select in the Execution listbox “Manual execution – run now” and click “Add”

The script will then be added to all the computers and run immediately. You can also set up a schedule for running the script if so desired. To do this select another option in the Execution listbox.

Actually, PowerShell works in O&O Syspectr just as if you were working directly on the computer. In addition, O&O Syspectr offers the evaluation of the outcome of the PowerShell script and scheduling, as you may know from Linux crontab . This makes it possible to execute PowerShell scripts at specific times, without having to use the Windows Task Scheduler.

With the help of the PowerShell scripting app, you are no longer bound to the restrictions of popular IT monitoring solutions. It is finally possible to customize and extend your wishes according to your IT monitoring!

The PowerShell is available in different versions. To find out which version is installed on your system, you can investigate using O&O Syspectr in the Dashboard. Basically:

  • Version 1.0 is obsolete and should no longer be used
  • Version 2.0 is pre-installed by default in Windows 7. It can be downloaded and installed free of charge for Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Vista.
  • Version 3.0 is standard since Windows 8. It is also available for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1.
  • Version 4.0 is the current version and can be installed as component of Windows Management Framework 4.0.

The different versions have partly different syntax and functions so that adjustments to the scripts for each version may be necessary.

PowerShell scripts can be fully managed in O&O Syspectr via the web application. You can create, edit, activate and deactivate, and delete scripts. In other words, you can create, edit and see the results of a script for one of your computers from virtually anywhere in the world. Scripts that you have created once can also be applied to any other computer.

Each script provides a result value (so-called. exit code) at the end. This value influences the status of your computer and is interpreted as follows:

  • exit 0 (or no exit code was delivered): Status OK (green)
  • exit 1: Status warning (yellow)
  • exit 2 or greater: Status problem (red)

At the same time, the latest issue line of your script is up to 2,048 characters long and stored and recorded in the history of your computer. Of course, you can subscribe to an alert that sends you the exit code and that issue via mail; that way, you can see immediately, if an automated script signals a warning or an issue.

Executing scripts is possible as follows:

  • Manually – manual execution using O&O Syspectr
  • Automatically during system start – the script runs at each system start up
  • Automatically at certain times – the times can be specified using crontab-Syntax

Syntax of scheduling

If the user-defined execution is enabled, the scripts can be run automatically. The line consists of the following 5 fields:

[Minutes] [Hours] [Days] [Months] [Weekdays]

Definition of fields

FieldValid valuesNotes
Minutes0...59 | * for each minute
Hours0...23 | * for each hour
Days1...31 | * for each dayIf days and weekdays are used together, they are not evaluated together but individually (see exception on examples)
Months1...12 | * for each month
Weekdays0...7 | * for each weekday0 or 7 stand for Sunday

Examples for scheduling with O&O Syspectr

[Minutes][Hours][Days][Months][Weekdays]Explanation
100***Each day ten minutes to midnight.
100**3Each Wednesday ten minutes to midnight.
0****Every day on each full hour
*/154-16**6,7Every 15 minutes between 4 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
*****Every minute (minimal setting option)
*141-1051On May 1 to 10 and on each Monday in May at 2 p.m.; This is an exception, when days and weekdays are used together

O&O Defrag

O&O Syspectr supports O&O Defrag from version 18 up to the latest version.

Yes, O&O Defrag must be installed in order to be used with O&O Syspectr. Installation will be carried out automatically by O&O Syspectr whenever a local version is not already installed. If there’s an older version of the product in place that O&O Syspectr does not support, you’ll receive a notice and will either have to remove the older version or upgrade to the current one. The integrated Remote Desktop in O&O Syspectr can be used for doing this, providing you have this app available.

Using O&O Syspectr for free

Yes, it’s really free. You are under no obligation and can of course stop using it at any time. With the optional fee-based Premium apps and Premium and Enterprise Edition, you can further expand the functionality of O&O Syspectr.

Yes, it may be used by private users as well as by companies and organizations.

The Free version allows up to 10 endpoints to be managed. With the premium and Enterprise Editions, the number is unlimited. We do, with respect to our Fair Use Policy, request that you contact us if you plan to use O&O Syspectr on more than 10,000 endpoints. This way we can make sure and reserve the necessary amount of server capacity.

G DATA

Simply register with O&O Syspectr and add your first computer(s).
In the display area of the computer, select the “G DATA Antivirus Business” module and purchase the required licenses from the O&O online shop (important: to obtain the optional G DATA endpoint protection solution in O&O Syspectr, an active O&O Syspectr subscription is required in Premium or Enterprise tiers required).
After activating your G DATA license(s), G DATA will be installed and you can then make the settings as you wish.

No, only packs available over O&O Syspectr.

The first initial order must be for at least 10 licenses. After that smaller packs can be purchased.

G DATA Antivirus Business is licensed per user. If you have two completely separate accounts, then you need two licenses. However, if you manage your customer account under your own Enterprise Edition instead, you only need one license.