Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do I have to be an iSeries or OS/400 expert to use the product?

A: No. One of the main benefits of the product is that it provides guidance to users who are new to iSeries security. The experts at PowerTech have selected a basic set of "canned" reports that they recommend to run on any system. A compliance guide provides interactive and dynamic help, and common iSeries security issues are mapped to industry standard frameworks like COBIT and ISO17799.

Q: What's the difference between ComplianceMonitor and SecurityAudit?

A: SecurityAudit is PowerTech's long established product in the market that provides comprehensive auditing of iSeries systems from a 5250 green screen interface. ComplianceMonitor, a newer product, provides a GUI interface on the PC and allows for much more customization of the reporting to meet a company's specific needs along with more choices of output format. ComplianceMonitor also includes scorecard reports that interpret and analyze results.

Q: Why do I need PowerLock ComplianceMonitor when OS/400 provides built-in features for setting up and monitoring security and provides the means for examining security-related data?

A: Much of the data presented by the Operating System is in a very cryptic format, requiring a program to present it in non-technical terms. This means that technical staff normally have to get involved in a lengthy process of collating and interpreting the information available from the operating system.

Q: How is PowerLock ComplianceMonitor used in a typical organization?

A: The purpose of PowerLock ComplianceMonitor is to review your current security settings and to compare them against policy. It also highlights changes to sensitive system areas so that you can respond before production work is disrupted. PowerLock ComplianceMonitor can be used by auditor, systems administrators, or network operations/security staff.

Q: How are reports delivered?

A: PowerLock ComplianceMonitor reports are available in PDF format for printing, or they can be exported to MS Excel or comma separated format.

Q: Do PowerLock ComplianceMonitor users need to have Security Officers rights?

A: The user profile for a PowerLock ComplianceMonitor user does not need to be assigned any special authority. One of the benefits of the product is that auditors can run reports without requiring powerful privileges. PowerLock ComplianceMonitor features a comprehensive security authorization scheme and uses adopted authority when required by the user. All users must be assigned explicit authority to use the product

Q: What areas of the iSeries does PowerLock ComplianceMonitor check?

A: The major iSeries functional areas that PowerLock ComplianceMonitor checks are: System Values, User Profiles, Object Security, and Network Auditing.

Q: Can you schedule PowerLock ComplianceMonitor to run automatically?

A: PowerLock ComplianceMonitor features a command interface that allows you to schedule assessments to run daily, weekly, or monthly. It is easy to integrate with existing scheduling capabilities like Robot/SCHEDULE™ or the OS/400 native job scheduler.

Q: Does PowerLock ComplianceMonitor have a feature to compare system values?

A: PowerLock ComplianceMonitor can compare system values from multiple systems in a side-by-side format. The same format can also be used to compare data that has been collected at different points in time on the same system.

Robot/SCHEDULE is a trademark of Help/Systems Ltd.