Windows - Software - Install Agent Ransack (64-Bit)

What the Agent Ransack deployment Worklet does

This Automox Worklet™ deploys Agent Ransack, the free desktop file search utility from Mythicsoft, to Windows workstations and servers. Agent Ransack searches local drives, mapped shares, and archive files using Boolean operators, regular expressions, content matching, and date-range filters that the built-in Windows Search bar does not expose.

The Worklet runs as an evaluation script that inspects the Windows registry uninstall keys, paired with a remediation script that downloads and installs the latest 64-bit MSI when Agent Ransack is missing. On 64-bit endpoints it walks both HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall and the WOW6432 mirror at HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall so a previous 32-bit install is not duplicated.

Detection matches on the DisplayName value Agent Ransack, which leaves room for Mythicsoft to bump the build number without invalidating the policy. When detection fails, remediation pulls AgentRansack_x64.msi from the Automox cache API, stages it under C:\ProgramData\amagent\AgentRansackInstall, and hands it to msiexec.exe with /i, /qn, ACCEPT_EULA=TRUE, ALLUSERS=1, and a verbose log written to C:\ProgramData\amagent\AgentRansack_install.log.

Why deploy Agent Ransack across the Windows fleet

Help desk and engineering staff use Agent Ransack to dig through log directories, configuration trees, source repositories, and user profile folders when the native Windows Search index is missing files or returns stale results. Standardizing on one search utility shortens troubleshooting time and removes the need for end users to source the installer themselves. Mythicsoft ships Agent Ransack as freeware, so the only cost is the operational time to install it.

Schedule this Worklet against the Windows workstation and file-server groups and the Automox agent applies the same Agent Ransack MSI to a new build, a recovered laptop, and a long-running file server in one pass. The registry-driven evaluation skips endpoints that already carry the application, so the rollout converges without an RDP session per host.

How the Agent Ransack install runs

1. Evaluation phase: The Worklet queries the Windows registry uninstall keys to look for any DisplayName value matching Agent Ransack. On 64-bit endpoints it walks HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall and HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall. On 32-bit endpoints it walks only the native uninstall hive. A match exits 0 and reports the endpoint compliant. No match exits 1 and queues remediation. The detection is build-agnostic, so a 2023.x install satisfies the same check as the latest release.

2. Remediation phase: The Worklet creates the staging directory C:\ProgramData\amagent\AgentRansackInstall, downloads AgentRansack_x64.msi from the Automox cache API (cmd=downloadLatestVersion, name=AgentRansack, os=Windows, arch=64) using System.Net.WebClient, and launches Start-Process msiexec.exe with the argument list /i "$scriptDir\AgentRansack_x64.msi" /l*v C:\ProgramData\amagent\AgentRansack_install.log /qn /norestart ACCEPT_EULA=TRUE ALLUSERS=1. A 300-second Wait-Process watchdog calls Stop-Process if msiexec stalls, and the wrapper treats exit code 0 as success and 3010 as success with a pending reboot. When the install returns, the staging directory and the cached MSI are removed so the next evaluation pass starts from a clean state.

Agent Ransack deployment requirements

• Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Server 2016 or later, 32-bit or 64-bit (the 64-bit MSI is selected automatically on 64-bit endpoints)

• PowerShell 5.1 or later available on the endpoint

• Outbound HTTPS reachability to the Automox cache API for the MSI download

• Administrative rights for the Automox agent context, which the default install already provides, plus write access to C:\ProgramData\amagent

• Roughly 10 to 20 MB of free space on the system drive for staging the MSI

• No third-party MSI is blocked by AppLocker, WDAC, or the local software restriction policy for the AgentRansack package signature

Expected endpoint state after Agent Ransack install

After a successful remediation, Agent Ransack appears in Settings > Apps and in Control Panel > Programs and Features, with a corresponding uninstall entry under HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall. The application installs to C:\Program Files\Mythicsoft\Agent Ransack and registers a Start menu shortcut. End users can launch it without elevation, while admins running it as SYSTEM through psexec can index folders the interactive user cannot reach.

Validate the install by running Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Where-Object DisplayName -like "Agent Ransack*" | Select DisplayName, DisplayVersion, InstallDate. For audit evidence, capture the same query output alongside the Automox policy run identifier. If a deployment fails, open C:\ProgramData\amagent\AgentRansack_install.log and look at the closing lines of the MSI log for the Return Value 3 marker, which is the standard MSI signal for a failed action; the lines above it identify the failing component. A run that exits 3010 is a success, not a failure: the install completed but a reboot is queued, and the next evaluation pass reports the endpoint compliant once the reboot clears.