Here is a list of all the control panel shortcuts that every windows administrator should be using in his day to day activity. These applets can also be accessed the primitive way (Start-Settings-Control Panel), but I personally find it useful to call these cpl files directly(from run prompt) saving time and unnecessary clicks. These are really helpful when you work on a remote server sessions Continue reading
As a system administrator we always get requests to compare the patches installed between two servers.In the past I had a script that would list all the installed patches on a server/desktop (I probably downloaded from the hey scripting guy site). The script worked perfectly fine for me, except for the fact that I had to pipe the output into a text or format the output in a csv file. Moreover I had to explain the steps to execute the script to everyone who wanted to use it. What if I had to just click a button in excel and the script would list the data in the same sheet ? Makes life so easy !! Lets quickly jump on the script now. Continue reading
By Default in Windows Active Directory environment, the Default Domain Policy is used to establish the account policy settings for all user accounts in the domain, You will find this under Computer Configuration/Policies/Windows Settings/Security Settings. I have already explained the Kerberos GPO policy in my previous article. Lets go through the Password and Account lockout policy in details. Continue reading
I just assembled (since I did not write it from scratch) a small but useful script which can be used directly from excel. You really don’t need to run anything on command prompt or create an input/output file.The script doesn’t even need admin privileges to run. The result from the script would be stored real time in the same excel sheet. Just paste the list of computer names/IP Addresses /Urls in the sheet and hit the execute button.
Excel is a very powerful tool when it comes to gathering, organizing, processing and even presenting data. It can also help system administrators in a variety of ways. I’ve made a small attempt to show as to how can we use excel macros in utilizing various vbscripts. Although there are various ways of setting up your excel sheet to run macros, the steps below are procedures that I usually follow while creating my scripts. This can be used as a standard template for all your excel vba system admin scripts. Continue reading
In order to preserve the stability of window OS, Microsoft came up with an idea of protecting critical kernel structures from being modified outside of the context of approved modifications (example windows patching). The intention here was to prevent both malicious software and third party vendors from modifying certain critical operating system structures. Continue reading
NAP (Network Access Protocol) is a new security feature that comes with Windows Server 2008 server technology, wherein an administrator can limit network access to client computers based on various health checks like Service Pack Levels, Antivirus definition, updated patches and other security options.The Access be limited by denying VPN access, by allowing DHCP lease to compliant systems only or by using techniques like VLAN or IPSEC
NAP can be implemented or enforced in the below mentioned ways. Continue reading
The purpose of NIC teaming is to combine two or more network adapters and create a single logical adapter to provide fault tolerance or bandwidth aggregation. Adapters that are member of the team each maintain their own separate physical existence and each connect to separate network cables. In earlier versions of windows nic teaming was available only through third party software solutions such as broadcom, HP, Intel etc. and require specific adapter hardware. With Server 2012 you can team any two network adapters irrespective of their manufacturer. Continue reading
Wintel Geeks 