AnyConnect 3.1.01 - Disable the client on startup

[John Getzke]

Hello,

This is my 2nd thread on the Cisco forums.  My last posting was a success so I thought I might try my luck with another issue we have with our new 3.1.0165 Anyconnect client on a Win7 laptop.

I've noticed how the new client is loaded and enabled by default when a user first logs into the machine.  Normally we expect the VPN to remain off until we manually initiate a connection.  Its not causing a problem necesarrily, but it is an eye sore to have an app running when its not needed.

Is there a way to configure the AnyConnect client so that it does not start up and load in the system tray by default?

John

[ivancarlos]

I disagree. On macOS this is not the standard AnyConnect behavior, it only happens on Windows. If it's a intended feature, it should apply over all OSes.

[bravotom99]

Count me in as part of the group that wants to be able to control startup behavior.  I understand that there are all these additional modules in AnyConnect 3.x however if the only thing you use the client for is VPN, then there's no reason to start at bootup.  Let the user decide when they want to launch it.  I'm sure, even in my scenario, the user is going to be clicking a desktop icon or go to the start menu to launch the application.  The system tray is probably the last place most normal users look to inititate a VPN connection

[patoberli]

I also require a true solution for this issue CSCtn12023. I supply the client to our students and they should not use it while they are on our campus, but now with this autostart "feature" it will always ask them for their logindata when booting the laptop. It's also no real solution to tell them how to remove a registry key!

[contact]

For anyone who is still having this issue, I have found a fix, at least for Windows. Click the Start Button, and navigate to Control Panel or Settings. In the search box, type "uninstall". From the Uninstall or Change a Program screen, find "Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client" and double click on it. Type your admin password if prompted and click "Yes". The issue with the software will then be fixed. It is such a basic feature that I'm surprised I hadn't found this fix sooner!

[Mikke Wahlgreen]

Not really a valid solution for users who uses the software in one site and not in others.

[patoberli]

This doesn't seem to happen anymore in more recent versions, besides that 3.1 is EoL (or soon is). I suggest to switch to 4.1 or newer.

Alternatively, if you use Windows 8 or newer, open Task Manager, go to the tab Startup and there you can disable AnyConnect from auto starting.

[angryattemployee]

Nonsense. Cisco AnyConnect 4.6.01103 still has this virus-like behavior embedded into it. As others have mentioned, the only true solution is to rename vpnui.exe to vpn.exe.

This is intended for Always-On and Trusted Network detection features. 

Except when the application utterly fails, like triggering system scans and creating a stupid popup when off the network. Seriously, there NEEDS to be an option to turn off AnyConnect. You had it in 4.2 - 4.3 and suddenly it's missing again in 4.5 - 4.6. Why did you remove it again? What, did you think we would forget about it? Good god mate.

Cisco AnyConnect is a VPN. It only needs to be running when a user actually needs it.

[NetworkUser98215]

Hello,

This is unacceptable. I noticed the behavior as well. There must be a simple reason for any user (admin or not) to remove it from the startup. Do not come to me with MSconfigs. I have seen Windows for 30 years. Any decent software/application today can be configured to be enabled or disabled. As you can see from the screenshot, this option is intentionally disabled. Again, unacceptable. Please allow users to choose what they want to control on their machine.

Kind regards