Usage information for Chrome & Firefox

[EHacking]

We are trying to find out when Chrome and Firefox were last used on a server but the Flexera agent doesn't return usage for these applications. Any ideas how to get usage turned on for them? I'm thinking a case, but maybe someone here has an idea. We are in the cloud, and just updated our agents to the latest version.

[ChrisG]

The only way I can think of to track usage of these executables would be to use "manual mapper" configuration settings. This will involve finding a way to configure appropriate registry entries on each client computer to identify the executable files to track usage for. Are you familiar with the "manual mapper" concept?

In case it helps, here is a table with some information about which processes can be metered for usage on Windows. I don't expect Firefox and Chrome would meet the requirements for any of the first 3 rows.

Process can be metered if its executable…	Notes
…was installed by a Windows Installer (MSI) package that was installed for all users
…is located under the installation directory identified for an application in the “local machine” 32-bit Add/Remove Programs registry settings	These registry settings appear under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\ Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall key.
…is located under the installation directory identified for an application in the “local machine” 64-bit Add/Remove Programs registry settings	This requires the FlexNet inventory agent version 14.2 (from release 2019 R2.2) or later. These registry settings appear under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\ Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall key.
…is explicitly configured for metering in the application usage component’s “manual mapper” configuration settings

[ChrisG]

For a more extensive review of usage metering capabilities and configuration, see the following blog that has just been posted: Application usage metering using the FlexNet inventory agent