INDUSTRY INSIGHTS YOUR PEERS ARE READING
In my list of recent security projects, I needed to ensure certain applications are present on systems by using SCCM application deployment. One of those applications was Dell Command | Configure. The issue with this application is the Dell Command | Update will update the application which in turn would register it as not installed to SCCM, thereby kicking off the installation again. That, in turn, would downgrade the application. MORE
The Windows 10 upgrades required us to move profile contents off of the machines to a file share and then move them back. This was because USMT could not be used due to the architecture changing from 32-bit to 64-bit. This script I wrote will copy all of the pertinent data from a user profile to a specified UNC path. I made two text files to include all exclusions for directories and files. The exclusion files need to reside in the same directory as this script. MORE
While rewriting a PowerShell automation script to move machines in Active Directory, I had been trying to pass the MachineObjectOU task sequence variable to the PowerShell script within the command line task sequence. It constantly failed. MORE
In Windows 10 1809, I needed to enable some RSAT features that are now included in the OS. I figured this would be a good time to go from using a script to using one-liners for the build process. Mike Robbins's blog was a good start to developing this one-liner. MORE
It was time for us to upgrade the Microsoft Orchestrator to the newest 1801 version. We were three versions behind as we have been using 2012. Luckily starting with 1801, upgrades are performed via windows updates. Microsoft provides a well-documented page on setting up Orchestrator located here. The problem with upgrading from Orchestrator 2012 and 2016 is the fact that you must uninstall the old version and reinstall the new version. MORE
When our build team builds new machines for users, we provide a convenience to the user of letting them know what their default printer is. I wrote this script that will parse through all user profiles in HKU to find the default printer of each profile. It will then write the results to the screen if the script is manually executed, while also writing to the DefaultPrinter.CSV file located at the default directory of each user profile. MORE
Recently, I have been working on Configuration Baselines for security purposes. While doing so, two of my baselines required remediation that takes longer than 1 minute. I do not recall where I read it, but I believe the timeout for a compliance check is 1 minute. MORE
Here is a video guide on how to remove bulk Facebook content from your Facebook profile. Some will just say to delete the profile and create a new one. That can be rather troublesome, especially if you have a lot of Facebook contacts and/or are well known in certain areas of expertise. MORE
I am working on the Windows 10 image, and part of this project is converting to UEFI. We do have several older systems that are still in production because systems that are used for temporary or loaner aren't as important to keep up-to-date. MORE
Recently, we had an issue of some machines not backing up the Bitlocker recovery password to active directory, even with the GPO in place. They ended up being offline while the bitlocker process took place. Plus, some of the systems in AD had multiple entries, which can be cumbersome. MORE
While building the new Windows 10 image with Office 2016 along with exchange 2016 on the backend, I got the following error message every time I tried to open up Outlook for the first time. MORE
If you have been wanting to wake your Dell systems up from sleep, hibernate, or shutdown states, this is how you do it. Starting out with this article from Dell, I got the list of things needed to set up the system for WOL. MORE
I have been coming to the Microsoft Ignite convention since it's inception in 2015. The first conference held in Chicago had a lot of fallacies. It was the first time Microsoft had combined the conferences into one. Since then, Microsoft has steadily improved. MORE
Back in November 2016, I posted the blog entry on reporting local administrators on machines. That script is deployed to machines via an SCCM package that reports the local administrators back to SCCM to be able to be queried into a report. MORE
While building out the Windows 10 reference image task sequence, it dawned on me that I should be making sure the latest Dell Application Component Updates are installed. MORE
While working on a series of one-liners for configuring the NIC on machines, I created this needed to makes changes to the power management settings of the NIC. MORE
While in the middle of the planning phase for the Windows 10 rollout, we wanted a report on the size of the My Documents and Desktops of all users. These will be the folders we have decided to back up. USMT is not possible in our environment due to the cross-architectures. MORE
If you have to track the login times for a specific user, this tool will generate a report for you that scans the event viewer logs for ID 4624. The tool parses each event and retrieves the user name, securityID, type of logon, computer name, and time stamp. It formats the output and writes it to a centralized CSV file in the event this tool is deployed to multiple machines at once. The tool has the ability to 'wait for its turn' to write to the file when it is deployed to multiple systems. MORE
Recently, I was reviewing the bitlocker recovery password backups. We still use active directory to store them, and yes, we are planning on moving to MBAM. That is a ways off as we're in the process of the Windows 10, Exchange 2016, and Office 2016 migrations. MORE
Ever since the Spectre and Meltdown issues arose, we have been waiting on patching, at least reliable patching. Microsoft has taken it on itself to patch systems for the vulnerability. MORE
This application is straightforward to deploy. The PowerShell script below will kill all processes associated with Microsoft Office. Ping requires closing Outlook, but I have seen in the past where other Office apps can also interfere by keeping a component of Outlook open, so to be on the safe side, I included closing the entire suite, along with closing Ping if it is already installed. I designed the script to first kill the necessary processes. MORE
When I installed the new MDT 6.3.8450.1000 to build the deployment package for Windows 10 1709, I ran into issues with the operating system deployment. In the process of building out the new task sequence, I also decided to convert over to UEFI. MORE
If you have tried adding a GPO to create a shortcut to the root network share, contoso for instance, then you have probably seen that it is not working. The solution is to not use Shell Object and not File System Object. MORE
Here is a PowerShell one-line installer for Mozilla Firefox. This allows you to download the latest version of Mozilla Firefox during the build process without having to maintain the package each time. The URI used in this is for the 64-bit version of Firefox. If you need a different version, you will need to locate the download URI and copy and paste it in the one-liner thereby changing the value of $URI. I have been using this one-liner to install Firefox in the build for almost a year. MORE
While working on a new compliance policy, I ran into a lot of hurdles that needed to be resolved. One of those hurdles was executing an SCCM package via PowerShell. Using the WMIExplorer, I was able to locate a method that allows you to execute an SCCM package as shown below. MORE
Recently, I upgraded to the new MDT 6.3.8450.1000. It was a fresh install of the new MDT product in which I created an entirely new MDT share for our Windows 10 build. MORE
While planning and configuring the Windows 10 upgrades, we had to also include the transition to UEFI from BIOS. I wanted to make sure that when the build team builds new models that they are configured for UEFI when applicable, otherwise the build fails within seconds after it starts. MORE
Dell Command | Configure can be of great use in the WinPE environment. It allows you to configure and/or query the BIOS before an operating system is laid down. This is easy to do. The first thing is to determine the architecture of the WinPE environment. MORE
Recently, Dell released the BIOS updates covering systems starting with the Intel Family 6 Model 42 and later processors. This is the first part of the patching process. The second part is to apply all windows updates, which I also included all optional updates. That was my personal preference. MORE
With the recent 1809, RSAT is now integrated into Windows, which is a major plus for the admin side. In my environment, I have the active directory PowerShell module enabled on all machines for two reasons. The first is I use it to move the machine in AD during the build process. MORE
One of the issues we have had is some users ending up being in the administrators group. There are circumstances to which we have to sometimes put a user in that group to install an application which is both user and computer-based. It can be easy to forget to take the user back out of that group. MORE
We have started the Windows 10 upgrades and part of this process is installing applications for users that are not included in the standard build. One option is to use the SCCM Resource Explorer for a list of apps installed. The problem with that is it is a blanket report. It shows everything and all we were wanting is a report of the additional apps installed after a build. MORE
Mick's IT Blog
APRIL 15, 2019
If you have been wanting to wake your Dell systems up from sleep, hibernate, or shutdown states, this is how you do it. Starting out with this article from Dell, I got the list of things needed to set up the system for WOL.
Mick's IT Blog
JANUARY 23, 2019
While working on a series of one-liners for configuring the NIC on machines, I created this needed to makes changes to the power management settings of the NIC.
Mick's IT Blog
MARCH 7, 2019
With the recent 1809, RSAT is now integrated into Windows, which is a major plus for the admin side. In my environment, I have the active directory PowerShell module enabled on all machines for two reasons. The first is I use it to move the machine in AD during the build process.
Mick's IT Blog
APRIL 1, 2019
While working on a new compliance policy, I ran into a lot of hurdles that needed to be resolved. One of those hurdles was executing an SCCM package via PowerShell. Using the WMIExplorer, I was able to locate a method that allows you to execute an SCCM package as shown below.
Speaker: Roy Osherove, Technology and Leadership Consultant
Why is implementing new frameworks, from SCRUM to self-organized teams, so much harder than understanding them? Roy Osherove has the solution. Tune in and learn to recognize what state your team is in, to support them accordingly, and to help them adopt the best practices given where they are today.
Mick's IT Blog
MARCH 4, 2019
One of the issues we have had is some users ending up being in the administrators group. There are circumstances to which we have to sometimes put a user in that group to install an application which is both user and computer-based. It can be easy to forget to take the user back out of that group.
Mick's IT Blog
JANUARY 9, 2019
In Windows 10 1809, I needed to enable some RSAT features that are now included in the OS. I figured this would be a good time to go from using a script to using one-liners for the build process. Mike Robbins's blog was a good start to developing this one-liner.
Mick's IT Blog
MARCH 27, 2019
Recently, I have been working on Configuration Baselines for security purposes. While doing so, two of my baselines required remediation that takes longer than 1 minute. I do not recall where I read it, but I believe the timeout for a compliance check is 1 minute.
Mick's IT Blog
OCTOBER 17, 2018
While planning and configuring the Windows 10 upgrades, we had to also include the transition to UEFI from BIOS. I wanted to make sure that when the build team builds new models that they are configured for UEFI when applicable, otherwise the build fails within seconds after it starts.
Mick's IT Blog
OCTOBER 5, 2018
We have started the Windows 10 upgrades and part of this process is installing applications for users that are not included in the standard build. One option is to use the SCCM Resource Explorer for a list of apps installed. The problem with that is it is a blanket report. It shows everything and all we were wanting is a report of the additional apps installed after a build.
Speaker: Robert Starmer, Cloud Advisor, Founding Partner at Kumulus Technologies
Moving to micro-services, or even working with distributed applications in a traditional environment, brings with it a host of interactions that are often difficult to understand. This session will provide an overview of service mesh, a review of the Istio service mesh itself, and dive into best practices and integration models for integrating the traceability model into a distributed application.
Mick's IT Blog
APRIL 11, 2019
In my list of recent security projects, I needed to ensure certain applications are present on systems by using SCCM application deployment. One of those applications was Dell Command | Configure. The issue with this application is the Dell Command | Update will update the application which in turn would register it as not installed to SCCM, thereby kicking off the installation again. That, in turn, would downgrade the application.
Mick's IT Blog
FEBRUARY 1, 2019
Here is a PowerShell one-line installer for Mozilla Firefox. This allows you to download the latest version of Mozilla Firefox during the build process without having to maintain the package each time. The URI used in this is for the 64-bit version of Firefox. If you need a different version, you will need to locate the download URI and copy and paste it in the one-liner thereby changing the value of $URI. I have been using this one-liner to install Firefox in the build for almost a year.
Mick's IT Blog
FEBRUARY 15, 2019
Recently, we ran into the issue of users replacing their keyboard and mouse with Bluetooth devices. What happened was they would lose connectivity and the error below would appear in the event viewer logs.
Mick's IT Blog
AUGUST 14, 2018
While in the middle of the planning phase for the Windows 10 rollout, we wanted a report on the size of the My Documents and Desktops of all users. These will be the folders we have decided to back up. USMT is not possible in our environment due to the cross-architectures.
Mick's IT Blog
JULY 27, 2018
Recently, I was reviewing the bitlocker recovery password backups. We still use active directory to store them, and yes, we are planning on moving to MBAM. That is a ways off as we're in the process of the Windows 10, Exchange 2016, and Office 2016 migrations.
Mick's IT Blog
SEPTEMBER 7, 2018
The Windows 10 upgrades required us to move profile contents off of the machines to a file share and then move them back. This was because USMT could not be used due to the architecture changing from 32-bit to 64-bit. This script I wrote will copy all of the pertinent data from a user profile to a specified UNC path. I made two text files to include all exclusions for directories and files. The exclusion files need to reside in the same directory as this script.
Mick's IT Blog
JULY 19, 2018
While rewriting a PowerShell automation script to move machines in Active Directory, I had been trying to pass the MachineObjectOU task sequence variable to the PowerShell script within the command line task sequence. It constantly failed.
Mick's IT Blog
AUGUST 8, 2018
Dell Command | Configure can be of great use in the WinPE environment. It allows you to configure and/or query the BIOS before an operating system is laid down. This is easy to do. The first thing is to determine the architecture of the WinPE environment.
Mick's IT Blog
JULY 17, 2018
It has been four years since I published the last version of the PowerShell script to move systems from one OU to another during a build process. In that version, it required making a task sequence for each OU, which if there are a lot of OUs, that would be a very daunting process.
Mick's IT Blog
MAY 21, 2018
Recently, I upgraded to the new MDT 6.3.8450.1000. It was a fresh install of the new MDT product in which I created an entirely new MDT share for our Windows 10 build.
Mick's IT Blog
MARCH 16, 2018
Ever since the Spectre and Meltdown issues arose, we have been waiting on patching, at least reliable patching. Microsoft has taken it on itself to patch systems for the vulnerability.
Mick's IT Blog
FEBRUARY 4, 2019
When our build team builds new machines for users, we provide a convenience to the user of letting them know what their default printer is. I wrote this script that will parse through all user profiles in HKU to find the default printer of each profile. It will then write the results to the screen if the script is manually executed, while also writing to the DefaultPrinter.CSV file located at the default directory of each user profile.
Mick's IT Blog
NOVEMBER 28, 2017
I have been coming to the Microsoft Ignite convention since it's inception in 2015. The first conference held in Chicago had a lot of fallacies. It was the first time Microsoft had combined the conferences into one. Since then, Microsoft has steadily improved.
Mick's IT Blog
OCTOBER 24, 2018
If you have to track the login times for a specific user, this tool will generate a report for you that scans the event viewer logs for ID 4624. The tool parses each event and retrieves the user name, securityID, type of logon, computer name, and time stamp. It formats the output and writes it to a centralized CSV file in the event this tool is deployed to multiple machines at once. The tool has the ability to 'wait for its turn' to write to the file when it is deployed to multiple systems.
Mick's IT Blog
MAY 4, 2018
When I installed the new MDT 6.3.8450.1000 to build the deployment package for Windows 10 1709, I ran into issues with the operating system deployment. In the process of building out the new task sequence, I also decided to convert over to UEFI.
Mick's IT Blog
JUNE 14, 2018
Here is a video guide on how to remove bulk Facebook content from your Facebook profile. Some will just say to delete the profile and create a new one. That can be rather troublesome, especially if you have a lot of Facebook contacts and/or are well known in certain areas of expertise.
Mick's IT Blog
FEBRUARY 1, 2019
This application is straightforward to deploy. The PowerShell script below will kill all processes associated with Microsoft Office. Ping requires closing Outlook, but I have seen in the past where other Office apps can also interfere by keeping a component of Outlook open, so to be on the safe side, I included closing the entire suite, along with closing Ping if it is already installed. I designed the script to first kill the necessary processes.
Mick's IT Blog
JUNE 28, 2018
If you have tried adding a GPO to create a shortcut to the root network share, contoso for instance, then you have probably seen that it is not working. The solution is to not use Shell Object and not File System Object.
Mick's IT Blog
JUNE 14, 2018
While building the new Windows 10 image with Office 2016 along with exchange 2016 on the backend, I got the following error message every time I tried to open up Outlook for the first time.
Mick's IT Blog
MARCH 23, 2018
Recently, Dell released the BIOS updates covering systems starting with the Intel Family 6 Model 42 and later processors. This is the first part of the patching process. The second part is to apply all windows updates, which I also included all optional updates. That was my personal preference.
Mick's IT Blog
NOVEMBER 1, 2018
It was time for us to upgrade the Microsoft Orchestrator to the newest 1801 version. We were three versions behind as we have been using 2012. Luckily starting with 1801, upgrades are performed via windows updates. Microsoft provides a well-documented page on setting up Orchestrator located here. The problem with upgrading from Orchestrator 2012 and 2016 is the fact that you must uninstall the old version and reinstall the new version.
Mick's IT Blog
MAY 7, 2018
I am working on the Windows 10 image, and part of this project is converting to UEFI. We do have several older systems that are still in production because systems that are used for temporary or loaner aren't as important to keep up-to-date.
Mick's IT Blog
APRIL 3, 2018
While building out the Windows 10 reference image task sequence, it dawned on me that I should be making sure the latest Dell Application Component Updates are installed.
Mick's IT Blog
MAY 19, 2017
Back in November 2016, I posted the blog entry on reporting local administrators on machines. That script is deployed to machines via an SCCM package that reports the local administrators back to SCCM to be able to be queried into a report.
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