Archive for May, 2009
FREE: ADModify.NET – Modify multiple user accounts in Active Directory
By Michael Pietroforte | No Comments | Permalink
ADModify.NET is a free Open Source tool from Microsoft (CodPlex) that allows you to modify multiple Active Directory objects’ attributes. You probably know that the Active Directory User and Computers (ADUC) interface has limited bulk modification capabilities. You can open the properties of multiple user accounts, however, you can change only a few attributes this way. With ADModify.NET you can edit all Active Directory user properties, and even Exchange attributes.
Security primer – Windows 7 tips – Microrsoft’s decision engine Bing
By Michael Pietroforte | 2 Comments | Permalink- Security Considerations for Small- and Medium-Sized Businesses (SMBs)
(PDF) A short security primer. - Windows 7 Resources and Training Sessions

- 21 Windows 7 Tips and Tricks

- Microsoft’s new “decision engine” bing looks nice, but I doubt that there are only four kinds of decisions or searches.

- Ballmer’s internal email on ‘Bing’

How to save additional Active Directory attributes and the user password in tombstone objects
By Michael Pietroforte | No Comments | PermalinkKnowing that deleted Active Directory objects are not erased immediately, but only after 60 (Windows 2000/2003) or 180 days (Windows 2003 SP1/2008), can save your day if you accidentally delete user, computer or container objects. I have reviewed two free tools that allow you to restore deleted AD objects (Quest Object Restore for Active Directory and ADRestore.NET). These tools can recover objects that are marked for deletion, so-called “tombstone” objects. The technical term for this process is tombstone reanimation. Who knows?; if you accidentally delete your boss’ account, then this term might take on a literal meaning.
A downside of tombstone reanimation is that by default, important attributes are stripped from AD objects when they are deleted. For example, user objects’ last and first name attributes are not saved in tombstone objects. Perhaps even more problematic is that the password is blank after you restore a deleted user object, which means that you won’t be able to keep it a secret that you have accidentally deleted users accounts.
WSUS 3.0 SP2 RC – IIS 7.5 Manager – Windows 7 ready in July – Touch Pack for Windows 7
By Michael Pietroforte | No Comments | Permalink- WSUS 3.0 SP2 RC Program now available on Microsoft Connect!

- Internet Information Services (IIS) 7 Manager
It seems this version supports R2’s IIS 7.5. - Windows 7 might be ready on July 10. The German site Winfuture has this information from a reliable source at Microsoft.

- Microsoft adds some multi-touch glitz to Windows 7
Ed Bott shares his experiences with multi-touch.
FREE: ADRestore.NET – the GUI version of ADRestore
By Michael Pietroforte | No Comments | Permalink
ADRestore.NET is yet another free utility that allows you to restore accidentally deleted Active Directory objects. Its name is related to Microsoft’s command line tool ADRestore. Like Quest’s Object Restore for Active Directory, it relies on the fact that deleted AD objects are not removed instantly from the AD database but marked with the tombstone marker.
Hence, what I have written in my review of Quest’s utility also applies here. However, ADRestore.NET has additional features that can prove useful in some situations. It allows you to search for deleted AD objects, view the attributes of a deleted object, and use alternative credentials to access the tombstone objects.
FREE: ESXi Configurator Utility – Backup and update VMware ESXi
By 4sysops reader | No Comments | PermalinkSubmitted by Haim Chibotero – Website: ITServices
The ESXi Configurator is a utility to help manage stand along ESXi hosts. This utility is a GUI interface to VMware RCLI application. The ESXi Configurator uses the VMware RCLI scripts to execute all its function and features. The utility is a GUI application that uses the RCLI perl scripts to perform its tasks. This is a very simple front end interface to the RCLI (command line only) scripts.
This initial release includes the ability to backup, restore and update your ESXi host (epically handy for people that are not using VirtualCenters Update Mangers).
VMware RCLI is required to be installed on your machine in order to use the ESXi Configurator Utility.
I have been using this tool for some time now , and it’s working great , I would really recommend it !
ESXi Configurator Utility
Windows 7 news – Hyper-V R2 features – Sophos Klingon Anti-Virus
By Michael Pietroforte | No Comments | Permalink- 10 cool tools in Windows 7

- Deploying Windows 7 – Part 1: Windows AIK 2.0 Enhancements

- Microsoft readies new maximum specs for Windows 7 netbooks

- Windows 7 Beta will expire soon, please upgrade!

- New in Hyper-V Windows Server 2008 R2 Part 2 – MAC Spoofing

- Hyper-V R2 Import/Export – Part 1 – The Case for New Import/Export Functionality

- Hyper-V R2 Import/Export – Part 2 – The New Import/Export APIs

- Sophos releases Klingon Anti-Virus (seriously)

FREE: Quest Object Restore for Active Directory – Undelete AD objects
By Michael Pietroforte | No Comments | Permalink
Some days ago, I reviewed NetWrix AD Object Restore Wizard, a tool that allows you to undelete Active Directory objects that have accidentally been deleted. Quest Object Restore for Active Directory has the same purpose but works quite differently, as it doesn’t rely on snapshots of the Active Directory database.
The tool makes use of the fact that deleted Active Directory objects are not immediately erased, but instead marked with a so-called “tombstone marker.” The lifetime of tombstone-marked objects depends on which Active Directory version is being used, with a 60 day lifetime for Windows 2000/2003 and 180 days for Windows 2003 SP1/2008. Deleted objects can’t be instantly removed from the Active Directory database, because the information that the object has been marked for future deletion has to be replicated to all domain controllers in the forest.
FREE: SoftPerfect Network Scanner – network scanning for Windows
By Michael Pietroforte | 1 Comment | Permalink
There are so many free network scanners out there and I am sure you already have one in your toolbox. However, I think SoftPerfect Network Scanner is worth a look, if you are a Windows administrator. The tool has some features that most other free scanners lack. For example, you can retrieve information about available network shares or OS information, and send WMI queries (if you know WQL). Usually, only network inventory tools have such features.
It is convenient to have such Windows-related functionality in a network scanner. If you are scanning your network for open ports, it is useful if you can see what shares are available for a specific account. You can also access the shares from within the tool. By the way, to scan a port range, you have to separate the port boundaries with a hyphen: 1-1024. SoftPerfect Network Scanner’s interface isn’t clear about that. Aside from that, the tool is easy-to-use.
Vista and Win2k8 SP2 – Office 2010 – Office 2000 – VMware vSphere – Free Microsoft ebooks – Minasi on UAC – Conficker infects 50,000 PCs per day- Botnet news – IT pros in bed
By Michael Pietroforte | No Comments | Permalink- Get ready for Vista and Win2k8 SP2!

- Microsoft Office 2010 Technical Preview screenshots

- Microsoft Office 2000 falls off the support list on July 14

- VMware pulls trigger on vSphere ‘cloud OS’

- Free Microsoft Press ebooks: Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services Resource Kit-The Practical Guide to Defect Prevention

- Mark Minasi on UAC and R2 Win7 interview at TechEd09
Funny but not really convincing (in my view). - Kaspersky impressed by botnet slickness
Interesting article about the latest activities in the botnet scene. - Conficker still infecting 50,000 PCs per day – Everybody got hit – Even Microsoft still has infections

- IT pros are the best lovers
We always knew it. Now we have proof.
Deskcretary – The Desktop Secretary
By Michael Pietroforte | No Comments | Permalink
Is your desktop always cluttered with tons of shortcuts, files, and folders? If so, the free tool Deskcretary might be helpful. Every time I clean my desktop, I resolve to not mess it up again with unimportant junk files, but, somehow, I am unable to keep the resolution. Once the first “temporary files” have started accumulating on my desktop, my resistance to littering my desktop starts to wear off, since I know I have to clean it again anyway. After that it is only a matter of days until my desktop is, once again, completely covered.



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