Revelations of a Confused Mind : Management

How to Map a Printer with Powershell 1.0

shawnt — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:24:44 GMT

Well, I just finished presenting three shows in three cities in just two days in the great state of Ohio. The people here are amazingly smart and friendly, and they had many, great questions and comments. One of the questions came from the DANPA "loadfest" event in Dayton last night: "How do you map printers using Powershell 1.0?"

Well, I promised a post, and here it is - I did a bit of research and finally dug this helpful post from Guy Thomas on the computerperformance website. Please do not use the script below without first testing thoroughly in a non-production environment, and neither I nor Microsoft assumes any responsibility for any problems resulting from its use.

To Add or 'Map' a Network Printer

# PowerShell for Mapping a Printer
# Author: Guy Thomas
# Version 1.2 June 2008 tested on PowerShell v 1.0

$PrinterPath = "\\Server\PrintShare"
$net = new-Object -com WScript.Network
$net.AddWindowsPrinterConnection($PrinterPath)

For more information as well as common troubleshooting issues, please consult the original post. (See Example 4)

New Microsoft Security Intelligence Report (SIR) Released!

shawnt — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 07:04:15 GMT

The latest version of the Microsoft Security Intelligence Report is now publicly available:

www.microsoft.com/sir

The SIR is a helpful document designed to assist you in determining the current technology threat landscape, especially with regard to Microsoft software. In it you will find assessments of the current security threats, the trends on a per-threat basis, and data to help you identify where your security dollars might best be spent.

In SIR's approx. 145 pages, you will also find:

NEW - The threat ecosystem, narrative section
Security vulnerability disclosures, industry-wide and Microsoft specific
Vulnerability exploits, Microsoft specific
NEW - Browser-based exploits, Microsoft and third-party
Security and privacy breach reports
Malicious and potentially unwanted software trends
Focus on malware and signed code
NEW – specific malware and potentially unwanted software data for 15 locations worldwide (United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, China, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Norway, Russia, South Africa, and the Gulf Cooperation Council)

This document is invaluable for CSO's, Directors, and security auditors looking to assess the current security topology for the purposes of allocating budget spend over the coming year. And, actually, the short 15 pg. summary document, which is a truncated version of the larger document and can be found at the same site, is not a bad read for anyone in technology who is interested in understanding today's risks.

www.microsoft.com/sir

New "Wormable" Exploit Discovered Affecting Windows OS's...

shawnt — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 21:51:50 GMT

There was a new critical vulnerability announced today that could lead to remote code execution against Windows Operating Systems. (Specifically, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2008.) And, unless you are running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008*, this exploit even works for non-authenticated users - remotely!

In short, this means that this exploit could be turned into a new Internet Worm. In fact, consistent exploit code has already been discovered in limited, targeted attacks, which is precisely why this update is a "zero day" update. It needs to be patched now, folks. Don't delay. Again, the vulnerability can be exploited consistently, remotely, and without authentication. These three factors are not good in combination.

Needless to say, this kind of exploit is potentially very damaging, and the wise administrators among us will reduce their exposure immediately - either by applying the update, or, if updating is not an option due to a lengthy testing and deployment process, then by disabling the computer and server browser services temporarily. Check out this bulletin for more details on how to perform these actions.

For more information and to download the update (Select your OS version): http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS08-067.mspx

To get the Update directly from Microsoft Update (US Site): http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate/v6/default.aspx?ln=en-us

* If you are running Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008, the update severity is mitigated by the likelihood that the exploit will only work for authenticated users, even with UAC turned off. Plus, improvements like ASLR (Address Space Layout Randomization) further reduce the ease of exploit. It's nice to see the security investment we made in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 paying off in situations like this.

Learn about Hyper-V, SCVMM, and MDOP at a FREE Microsoft Roadshow Event

shawnt — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 23:43:02 GMT

Find out how Microsoft Windows Server 2008® with Hyper-V™, Microsoft System Center--including Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) 2008—and Microsoft Desktop and Application Virtualization can help you virtualize from the data center to the desktop.

Get a head start on your Microsoft® virtualization expertise—take home some FREE Evaluation software*, and get the ubiquitous free T-shirt.

Go register at a city near you at the getVIRTUALnow site or just click on your city of choice below.

CONTENT

Session I: Sever Virtualization and Management

An inside look at Hyper-V and System Center Virtual Machine Manager from an architectural and a real world view. Complete with live demonstrations of real life scenarios, and even a look at SCVMM managing VMWare ESX.

Session II: How Microsoft IT builds Dynamic Data Centers

A look at the current and future Microsoft Data Center. See how Microsoft IT, one of the world’s largest IT organizations, uses Windows Server 2008 and Hyper-V to provide dynamic, scalable, and real-time adjustment to business needs.

Session III: Understanding Virtualization at the Desktop Level

The future of the Enterprise Desktop is very exciting, and Microsoft Virtualization technologies like Softgrid, Med-V, MDOP, VECD and Terminal Services are in the middle of it all. This session will provide an understanding of the direction of the industry, and highlight the capabilities of the technologies available, as well as look at what the future will bring.

DATES & CITIES

October 10, 2008 - Anaheim , CA - Hyatt Regency Orange County
October 13, 2008 - Santa Clara , CA - Hyatt Regency Santa Clara
October 15, 2008 - San Francisco , CA - San Francisco Marriott
October 21, 2008 - Minneapolis , MN - Hyatt Regency Minneapolis
October 24, 2008 - Dallas , TX - Dallas Sheraton
October 27, 2008 - Chicago , IL - InterContinental Chicago
October 31, 2008 - Boston , MA - Boston Sheraton
November 3, 2008 - New York , NY - Sheraton Hotel & Towers
November 10, 2008 - Washington , DC - Omni Shoreham Hotel
November 13, 2008 - Philadelphia , PA - Sheraton Center City
November 17, 2008 - Atlanta , GA - Marriott Atlanta Marquis

*Free Microsoft evaluation software for all event attendees! You’ll take home an evaluation kit with versions of the latest virtualization products. The Microsoft Virtualization Evaluation Kit is available only for attendees of 2008 Microsoft Virtualization Launch event.Registered attendees must be an IT Professional or IT Decision Maker and 18 years old by September 8, 2008 to attend this event. Limit one kit per person. All kits must be claimed at the event. This offer is non-transferable and expires on December 31, 2008 while supplies last. Offer is not redeemable for cash. Taxes, if any, are the sole responsibility of the recipient.

Powershell Sample Cmdlets - One-liners with a Punch!

shawnt — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 03:32:00 GMT

Managing and troubleshooting Windows Clients and Servers is what Powershell is all about. And, the quickest way to get started is by learning a few simple Powershell cmdlets. Powershell cmdlets are short one-line commands that are specifically designed to help IT Professionals with their day to day tasks. There are a only a handful of cmdlets in a default installation of Powershell 1.0 (more can be added by installing additional cmdlet providers). To find out which cmdlets ship in Powershell 1.0, simply type "get-command" into your Powershell command prompt. Then, you can use "get-help" to learn more about each individual cmdlet. There! Now you know your first two cmdlets! You're off and running.

If you have been to one of my TechNet Events lately, you've seen some cmdlets in action. Some examples of what Powershell cmdlets can do include:

List the hotfixes on the local or remote computer.
Browse the registry hive in a command prompt interface.
Find your BIOS version, CPU speed (as well as current clock speed), and physical memory information.
Find ALL of the scheduled tasks that run on Windows, including the ones that are hidden in the GUI.
Install a software package on a Remote Machine. (BTW, modify the cmdlet into a slightly more advanced Powershell script file, and you could automate software installation on 1000's of machines at once.)
Query free disk space from local or remote machines.
Query Network Adapter details from local or remote machines.
MUCH, MUCH more.

To start using the attached sample cmdlets:

Install Powershell 1.0
Download and extract PowershellSampleCmdlets.zip.
Copy and paste any of the non-commented lines (i.e. any line without a "#" in front of it) into your Powershell command prompt.
Watch the results!

Be careful! Some of the cmdlets may do things you do not want, like stop necessary services, so run them at your own risk. To mitigate the risk, the dangerous cmdlets have -confirm switches, so you will be prompted before any bad stuff happens, but that's all the warning you'll get.

SAVE 15% ON YOUR new TECHNET SUBSCRIPTION with code: TMSAM12

shawnt — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 03:43:00 GMT

Hey folks! Microsoft recently announced a new worldwide subscription code that gets you 15% off a new TechNet subscription. This code is your key to savings, so make sure you enter it when you place your order.

Discount Code: TMSAM12

Order your subscription now!

So, why would I want to subscribe???

TechNet Plus subscriptions are the best way for IT Professionals to test Microsoft software. Period. Why?

Because with a TechNet Plus subscription you get product keys that are good ad infinitum - a.k.a. forever. So, you can install and test your machines without ever having to reinstall. You'll never worry about losing your investment in that testing environment from an infuriating "The evaluation period has expired" pop up message. You can log on in 2048 and it'll still work. That's assuming, of course, that your hardware lasts that long. :)

Oh, and if you opt to go with a TechNet PLUS Single User Subscription, you'll also get the support database (Think "Q" articles) sent to you on DVD every month. So, you could troubleshoot that pesky Exchange Server bug from the first class seat on your flight to Orlando over an ice cold Jack and Coke, which is a bit better than doing it from your office chair if you ask me. :)

If you want to learn more about TechNet Subscriptions, try this: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/bb892759.aspx

To order a TechNet subscription, go here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/bb892754.aspx

Remember to use code: TMSAM12

Sometimes Security through Simplicity Isn't So Simple

shawnt — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 11:14:00 GMT

Dr. Thomas Shinder makes some excellent points about how difficult it can be to enact good security. Even something as seemingly straightforward as installing Windows Server 2008 Core to reduce your attack surface can harbor hidden perils. What hidden perils? Well, misconfigurations are inherently more common when managing a server strictly though the command-line interface (CLI). But, the good doctor says it far more eloquently than me. Check out this post as well as several other high quality posts on Dr Shinder's Windows Security blog.

http://blogs.windowsecurity.com/shinder/2008/01/29/server-core-management-a-potential-security-issue/

How to Use the Powershell 1.0: A Beginner's Guide

shawnt — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 04:13:00 GMT

If you're already convinced that the Powershell is right for you, skip ahead to the section: "Getting Started with the Windows Powershell". However, if you still need some convincing, read on. So, in case you haven't had a chance to use the Windows Powershell yet, I'm here to tell you - It is a nice powerful tool for automating repetitive tasks in Windows. If you find yourself doing many of the same tasks day after day via the GUI and it's starting to wear you down, you will almost certainly benefit from spending a few minutes learning the Windows Powershell, or at least stealing the scripts from the repository (See Step 5 below)! You don't have to get deep to start saving yourself a lot of clicksteps - just spend a few minutes going through my walkthrough and download one of the sample scripts. I think you'll find you'll be able to give yourself back several hours a week. Check out steps below on how to get started with the Windows Powershell...

Did you know?

The Windows Powershell 1.0 can....

perform what-if analysis (to help you decide if you really do want to run a certain command or script)
perform "do while" and "do until" loops
accept runtime input via the command line. So, for example, you could create a tool to give you information about a specific Windows Service, and it would ask you which Windows Service you were interested in via the command line interface.
autoComplete using the Tab key (so you don't have to remember every noun-verb command - just tab 'til you find the right one.)

The Windows Powershell 1.0 uses...

It's own scripting language. That's right, it's not VB Script, C# or any of the others. It's new. If you want to know why, read the documentation linked to in step 3 below.
the .NET object model, so all output from the Powershell is treated as an object which can be manipulated and piped into other methods
or, actually, is used by the Exchange Management Console. The Exchange functionality in the EMC is just an add-in to the Windows Powershell. It adds Exchange related tasks, like move-mailbox, to the Powershell.

In addition, if you'd like to learn more, please check out the webcast I just delivered on the Windows Powershell 1.0. It should be available in streaming format here in the next few days. It's called "TechNet Webcast: Prepare Yourself for Windows Server 2008 (Part 7 of 8): Windows PowerShell and Manageability Improvements."

Getting started with the Windows Powershell:

DOWNLOAD: Download Powershell 1.0. (It's about a 5.0MB download)
INSTALL: Double-click the downloaded .msu to install the Powershell. There are different .msu's for Windows XP SP2, Windows Server 2003 SP1, and Windows Vista. Make sure you get the right one for your OS. (Windows Server 2008 has the Powershell built in.) The Powershell only runs on Windows, so if you need to run it on another OS, you'll need to build a Virtual Machine and install the Powershell into it.
READ: Read the Powershell 1.0 Documentation. The documentation is automatically installed along with Powershell and is very helpful, especially at first. If you've never worked with Powershell before, you'll want to read these. The first thing you should read is "GettingStarted.rtf", which is a nice, easy to follow, 32-page overview. Then, you can graduate to the 116-page "UserGuide.rtf". Finally, if you get past all of that, see the "Other helpful links" at the bottom of this post. If you want to read the documentation without downloading the Powershell, you can find it here: Download the Powershell 1.0 Documentation Pack.
PLAY!: Open a Powershell Command Window and try a few simple, interactive commands (e.g. "write-host This is a test." or "get-childitem <AnyFolderPath>"). It's really quite easy to get used to. I've typed a couple below that you might want to try.
HOW TO RUN SCRIPTS - THE EASY WAY: Now, take your Powershell experience to the next level by running scripts! And, if you ask me, the best way to run scripts is to start with someone else's scripts, and build from there. So, go get some sample scripts from the Microsoft Powershell sample script repository online. Of course, you can write your own scripts from scratch, but the sample scripts are so powerful and easy that I recommend you start there. Don't try to recreate the wheel when you don't have to.

------> Microsoft's Sample Powershell Scripts Repository <------

Alright, Shawn, but how do I run those blasted scripts? I keep getting error messages. Well, here's how...

First, change the executionpolicy setting. The default executionpolicy setting is restricted, and it will prevent all scripts from running, allowing you to run the Powershell only interactively. (If you want to know why we do this, check out the "go" link below just before step 2.) If you want to run scripts, even the ones you create, you'll need to change that setting. Here's how you do that:
- If security is NOT an issue and you want to run all scripts unsigned. (Not recommended):
- If security IS an issue and you want to run signed scripts (signed locally or remotely):
  - PS C:\Users\Administrator> set-executionpolicy remotesigned
  - Check out this TechNet article that talks all about how to properly sign your code and explains the executionpolicy settings in more detail - even gives you the commands you should use: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=106498&clcid=0x409
Then, just copy and paste the sample scripts directly from the Microsoft repository website into Notepad. Save the file with any name and a .ps1 extension (you'll need to get rid of the .txt extention as shown in the screenshot below.)
Run the script from the Powershell prompt. For example:

PS c:\Users\Administrator> c:\scripts\ListDesktopSettings.ps1 ****You must type the full path for the script to run****

Now that you've got one script under your belt, you can try some other examples of sample scripts from the website. Here is a list of the available sample scripts.

Active Directory - Sample scripts for managing Active Directory and Active Directory objects.
Applications - Sample scripts for managing software and applications on servers and client computers.
Desktop Management - Sample scripts for managing such things as desktop settings, computer startup and shutdown, and System Restore.
Hardware - Sample scripts for managing and monitoring computer hardware.
Logs - Sample scripts for managing event logs and plain-text log files.
Networking - Sample scripts for managing and monitoring network configurations and network applications.
Operating System - Sample scripts for managing and monitoring the Windows operating system.
Other Directory Services - Sample scripts for managing directory services other than Active Directory.
Printing - Sample scripts for managing printers, print jobs, print servers, and other parts of the Windows printing infrastructure.
Scripting Techniques - Sample scripts demonstrating a wide variety of scripting tips, tricks, and techniques useful to script writers.
Searching Active Directory - Sample scripts for searching Active Directory.
Service Packs and Hot Fixes - Sample scripts for retrieving information about service packs and hot fixes installed on a computer.
Storage - Sample scripts for managing files, folders, file systems, and storage devices.
Terminal Server - Sample scripts for managing Windows Terminal Server.

Well, that's it - by now you should be off and running with the Windows Powershell 1.0. I tried to go through all the basics here just to get everything working, as well as some of the gotchas you might run into. Still, it's a big world once you start to go deep into the Powershell, so here are some more helpful links that will get you to that next echelon. If you have any thoughts or questions, please feel free to post a comment.

Other helpful links:

The Windows Powershell Blog Team Site

The Windows Powershell Script Center

Windows Powershell Help on TechNet - Check it out!

Windows Powershell Owner's Manual - Highly recommend - there is a TON of information very easily accessible from here and it starts you off on the bunny slope.

Thanks!