Contributing to the Prism Software Identification Database

Contributing to the Prism Software Identification Database (PSID)

Applies to Prism Suite 7 and above, Asset Manager Component

Summary
This KB article describes how to enhance the Prism Software Identification Database (PSID) by sending information about unrecognized applications to New Boundary Technologies for possible inclusion in future releases of the PSID.

The Prism Software Identification Database

The PSID is used by Prism Asset Manager to identify applications (License Units) that are installed on the computers you manage with Prism Suite. The PSID contains over 12,000 identified applications, with more being added every month. If you know of applications and/or versions or applications that Prism Asset Manager does not yet recognize, you can easily contribute information to be added to a future update of the PSID by using the Emscanner utility. Note: Only commercially available applications will be added, and solely at our discretion.

Emscanner collects file information about unidentified applications. It is simple to run and can scan an entire computer in five to ten minutes. The utility does not add applications to a customer database. It simply supplies the necessary information to New Boundary Technologies for possible inclusion in the next release of the PSID.

Obtaining Emscanner
Download Emscanner.zip from the Article Attachments section below. Emscanner.zip contains the Emscanner executable (emscanner.exe) and a Word document with instructions for using Emscanner. Read the instructions before running the utility. 

Using  Emscanner

Before using Emscanner, install the latest version of the Prism Software Identification Database (PSID). For details on that process, see the Related Articles section at the end of this article. Next, run an inventory scan on some or all of your computers through the Prism Console. Check the “Installed Applications Summary” report to see if the desired applications are already identified by the PSID.  If there are apps that are not identified that you would like to be included in the PSID, use the Emscanner utility to gather information about the app.

Sending the Files to New Boundary Technologies

After you have finished scanning, send a .zip file of the results to New Boundary technical support at support@newboundary.com.