Tips

Tips

Windows systems and network management

• Perform bulk Active Directory changes with ADModify

  ADModify.NET is a great Active Directory tool that gives admins the ability to mass manipulate just about every property within user, group, contact and public folder objects.  Continue Reading

• Is Delayed Expansion on?

  Is Delayed Expansion on?  Continue Reading

• PsPasswd: A free password-changing utility

  A free password-changing utility.  Continue Reading

• Avoiding single points of failure in Active Directory

  Learn important precautions you can use to protect Active Directory from a single point of failure.  Continue Reading

• What is RSoP for Windows Group Policy?

  Details and definition of RSoP (Resultant Set of Policy) for Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003, as well as info on the meanig of RSoP to Group Policy.  Continue Reading

• Group Policies' order of application

  When security policies are being applied at the Group level, the order in which they are applied can be tricky. This tip provides a way to remember the order.  Continue Reading

• Checklist: Effective software license management

  This checklist of tips and best practices can help you save money by efficiently managing your software licenses.  Continue Reading

• Hiding or revealing user names in the Windows XP logon screen

  How to hide or reveal user names at the Windows XP logon screen with a registry hack.  Continue Reading

• Start Windows Explorer with admin privileges in a non-admin account

  Start Windows Explorer with admin privileges while using a non-admin account.  Continue Reading

• Checklist: Tighten default settings to prevent unauthorized access

  Roberta Bragg explains the importance of turning off system defaults, beginning with unnecessary network connections, to keep your Windows systems secure.  Continue Reading

• Don't forget to audit the local SAM

  Leave the local Security Accounts Manager (SAM) untouched when auditing Active Directory and leave the door open to attackers. Find out what control points you need to consider.  Continue Reading

• Active Directory migration from Windows 2000 Server to Windows Server 2003

  How to make sure you have full access to the forest improvements of Windows Server 2003 after an Active Directory migration.  Continue Reading

• Enforcing SID filtering over external trusts in Active Directory

  SID filtering keeps your security identifiers from being passed to untrusted domains, this explains how to make sure it is turned on.  Continue Reading

• Keyboard switch to USB kills PS/2 support

  How to fix keyboard issues when switching to and from PS/2 and USB keyboards.  Continue Reading

• Best practices for OU design

  A short list of best practices for designing organizational units in Active Directory.  Continue Reading

• Taking a screen capture of an active window

  Taking a screen capture of an active window  Continue Reading

• Avoid using BLOBs to store image data in SQL Server databases

  Storing images in SQL Server with BLOBs can cause problems.  Continue Reading

• Turn off your SMTP, Telnet and HTTP banners

  Find out how to turn off your SMTP, Telnet and HTTP banners.  Continue Reading

• Active Directory tasks: To delegate or not to delegate?

  While some Active Directory tasks can be performed by non-admin personnel, there are some that should never, ever be delegated.  Continue Reading

• DNS aging and scavenging simplified

  Introduced in Windows 2000, Dynamic DNS brought a process with it called DNS scavenging where it would not be needed in a perfect world -- but who lives in a perfect world?  Continue Reading

• Restricting cached credentials in Windows

  This short tip explains how to improve overall security by restricting cached credentials in Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003.  Continue Reading

• Ping -t command

  Ping -t command  Continue Reading

• Improving the default domain controller Group Policy Objects

  When Windows Server 2003 is used to establish an Active Directory-based network, there are two default GPOs: the default domain GPO and the default domain controller GPO. This article recommends several ways to improve upon the default settings in ...  Continue Reading

• Auditing changes to the registry

  How to set up auditing so that changes made to the registry are tracked.  Continue Reading

• Further alternatives to using RUNAS

  A look at three helpful alternatives to the RUNAS utility.  Continue Reading

• The importance of physical security for domain controllers

  Your logical and technical security will be wasted if you do not physically secure your DC. This tip will put you on the right path.  Continue Reading

• System Restore from command prompt

  System Restore from command prompt  Continue Reading

• The command-line DISKPART utility in Windows

  Some of the do's and don't of the DISKPART utiltiy and a list of the commands used by the utility.  Continue Reading

• Establishing secure Active Directory boundaries - Part 1

  Part one on choosing the best boundaries for your Microsoft Active Directory implementation.  Continue Reading

• Designing Active Directory security through risk analysis

  A look at some of the security threats that Active Directory faces, and some of the ways to protect it.  Continue Reading

• Troubleshooting 'Conflicting Credentials' errors between Windows systems

  How to solve the problem of 'Conflicting Credentials' errors between Windows systems.  Continue Reading

• Basic DNS records for Active Directory DCs

  Be careful with the Active Directory Wizard, it may generate incorrect entries. This tip tells you what to look for to make sure your DNS records are correct.  Continue Reading

• Microsoft Adsizer tool works out your Active Directory domain

  Learn about the Active Directory Sizer tool, a Microsoft utility design to determine the hardware requirements for your AD domain.  Continue Reading

• Share your remote desktop session

  Stumped by a remote user issue? Get a second opinion from one of your IT colleagues by sharing your remote desktop session.  Continue Reading

• How to use non-Microsoft DNS for AD

  You don't have to use Microsoft's DNS to deploy an Active Directory domain. Expert James Michael Stewart explains how.  Continue Reading

• Why can't I create new Active Directory objects?

  From time to time, AD administrators may have trouble creating new objects. Fortunately, this is usually quite easy to fix.  Continue Reading

• Active Directory replication failing? Check the topology

  Learn why automatic replication can sometimes fail in Active Directory and what admins can do to troubleshoot the problem.  Continue Reading

• Stop a deleted object's reappearance in Active Directory

  What you delete from Active Directory doesn't always stay that way. This tip explains why those AD objects reappear, and what admins can do to stop it.  Continue Reading

• View your Kerberos tickets with free Microsoft tool

  Learn about a useful utility designed for Windows admins to help with viewing Kerberos tickets in Active Directory.  Continue Reading

• Easily manage multiple systems using MMC

  How to easily manage multiple systems using MMC.  Continue Reading

• System.ced is missing? Probably not

  If System.ced is missing, what probably is wrong, and how to fix it.  Continue Reading

• Fixing mismatched Active Directory accounts

  Learn to solve issues with mismatched Active Directory accounts and mailboxes after ADC replication  Continue Reading

• Some help with RunAs

  Let users run programs with different parameters without making them admins.  Continue Reading

• Preventative maintenance checklist

  A helpful checklist of preventative maintenace instructions.  Continue Reading

• The domain account lockout mystery

  Disconnected terminal server sessions can cause problems with account lockouts.  Continue Reading

• Changing the IP address on a domain controller

  Step-by-step instructions for changing the IP address on an AD domain controller, as well as a method to make sure it is resolving properly after the change.  Continue Reading

• Quick Tips: Exporting AD account information to a spreadsheet

  Learn how to export Active Directory account information like email addresses, last name, etc., into a spreadsheet.  Continue Reading

• Lock down HOSTS files

  Placing name/address pairs in HOSTS allows the system to default to the IP address for that network name at all times -- saving DNS lookup time and traffic to the DNS server.  Continue Reading

• Missing domain controller policies? Help!

  How to replace without reinstalling Windows.  Continue Reading

• Force domain changes in Microsoft Active Directory

  you make a change to your domain, you don't have to wait for AD's replication schedule to occur before having that change replicate to all of your other DCs.  Continue Reading

• Automatically restart services

  Have a service that fails routinely? Do you need time to research without being bothered to restart the service each time it fails? Make the service restart itself.  Continue Reading

• Print to printers in another domain

  This tip explains how to let a customer with a computer and user account in another domain print to your domain's printers.  Continue Reading

• Set up split-brain DNS in Active Directory

  How and why you should deploy two sets of DNS servers in Microsoft Active Directory environments.  Continue Reading

• Manage your print servers

  Advantages to doing so  Continue Reading

• Change Windows ARP resolution

  How it can help you increase network performance.  Continue Reading

• Sam Spade: Your network's detective agency

  David Strom takes a closer look at Sam Spade 1.14 from Steve Atkins.  Continue Reading

• Open-source vs. Microsoft: Who's switching to Linux?

  In part three of our Q&A series, two experts -- C. J. Rayhill and Peter Houston -- face off about why businesses are, should be, or may be switching from Windows to Linux.  Continue Reading

• Restart or shut down remotely with SHUTDOWN.EXE

  Shutdown.exe comes in handy when you need to troubleshoot a remote Windows 2000 computer.  Continue Reading

• Set processor affinity for a device driver

  Why you want to set the affinity for a device driver, and how to do it.  Continue Reading

• Active Directory and IntelliMirror

  Learn the basics of IntelliMirror, a Windows feature designed to enhance the management of user environments and profiles.  Continue Reading

• How to install the FTP server on Windows XP

  How to install the FTP server on Windows XP.  Continue Reading

• Understanding Kerberos in Microsoft Active Directory

  This short article breaks down the properties of Kerberos, Microsoft's primary authentication protection mechanism, with details on how it works in Active Directory.  Continue Reading

• The principles of Active Directory infrastructure design

  Learn what forests, domains and organizational units are and how they differ from one another when considered for Active Directory infrastructure design.  Continue Reading

• Disable media sensing

  When to do it, and how.  Continue Reading

• Understanding multi-master replication in Windows 2000 Active Directory

  Multi-master replication is a great function of Microsoft Active Directory. In this short article, learn what it is and why admins are happy to have it.  Continue Reading

• Reducing bandwidth usage by creating Active Directory sites

  Reducing bandwidth usage by creating Active Directory sites  Continue Reading

• Diffie-Hellman key exchange

  An explanation of this key exchange method.  Continue Reading

• Keep local profiles when joining an AD domain

  When you have a highly customized Win2k local profile there is indeed a way to preserve it after joining a domain.  Continue Reading

• Remove persistent applications from the 'Add/Remove Programs' list

  Programs may remain on your 'Add/Remove Programs' list after they've been uninstalled. Learn how to remove them permanently.  Continue Reading

• Solve 'Page Cannot Be Displayed' errors

  How to fix the ubiquitous Page Cannot Be Displayed error.  Continue Reading

• Control Active Desktop via Group Policy Objects

  Explanation of applicable controls, and how admins can use Group Policy to control the ability of desktops to display live information from the Internet.  Continue Reading

• Use GPOs to manage error reporting in Windows

  Using Group Policy Objects, Windows administrators can keep system errors in-house.  Continue Reading

• Manage disk quotas in Windows with Group Policy Objects

  Keeping an eye on the amount of disk space users can use is an important part of network management. Learn how to do so using Group Policy Objects with Windows 2000.  Continue Reading

• Fix protected storage

  Why you may need to do this, and how.  Continue Reading

• Delegating Authority in Active Directory

  IT pro Douglas Paddock shares pros and cons of delegating authority in AD in preparation for the webcast on the same topic.  Continue Reading

• Control Windows Messenger with Group Policy Objects

  Administrators can set certain controls to stop Windows Messenger from ever starting -- or only on startup.  Continue Reading

• Using Group Policy Objects to manage script execution

  Learn how Group Policy can be used to specify execution parameters for scripts running on your Windows system.  Continue Reading

• Making sense of browser elections, part one

  The first installment of a two-part series on browser elections.  Continue Reading

• Setup a Performance Monitor log using a binary circular log file

  This tip allows you to configure Performance Monitor so that it will start at each boot and write to a circular log file.  Continue Reading

• Add a Notepad option to your right-click menu

  Following this tip will allow you to use Notepad to open a file simply by right-clicking on the icon.  Continue Reading

• IIS memory leak? Use IISRESET

  IISRESET is a command-line tool in Windows 2000 that stops, unloads, reloads, and restarts the IIS process.  Continue Reading

• Using Group Policy Objects to control user logon

  Learn how to use GPOs to control the login process for Windows XP and Windows 2000 clients in an Active Directory domain.  Continue Reading

• Set programs to run at startup

  Registry hacks to set programs to run at startup.  Continue Reading

• Use the RUNAS Command for administrative tasks

  The RUNAS command can be used to allow non-admins to do administrative tasks.  Continue Reading

• Recover a deleted Active Directory OU

  How a user recovered an important OU in a mixed mode environment that had lots of sub-OUs and users.  Continue Reading

• Command line options for Regedit.exe

  This user-submitted tip provides a collection of Regedit command line options gathered from a variety of sources.  Continue Reading

• Managing user profiles via Group Policy Objects

  There are three parameters in the GPO for an Active Directory container that make user profiles easier to handle.  Continue Reading

• Administer AD users and computers in another forest or domain

  Administer AD Users and Computers in another Forest or Domain with this tip.  Continue Reading

• Using Active Directory security principles

  Details on what security principles are and what they do in Microsoft Active Directory.  Continue Reading

• Active Directory migration: Upgrade vs. restructure

  Learn the key considerations every administrator should make before migrating Microsoft Active Directory.  Continue Reading

• Dos & don'ts: How to convince management to approve your project

  Windows administrators can be dull as dirt when explaining their projects to management. Here's how to hone your pitch.  Continue Reading

• Open a URL from a batch file

  Ways to do open URLs from a batch file.  Continue Reading

• The Microsoft Loopback Adapter

  Test network settings and protocol without the network.  Continue Reading

• How to change the default 'Save As' folder

  Use this tip to change your "Save As" location to whatever directory you want, including a network share or mapped drive.  Continue Reading

• Prevent unauthorized software installs

  How to prevent unauthorized software installs and why you should want to.  Continue Reading

• Simple registry edit improves TCP/IP performance

  Here's a tip to enhance your TCP/IP's performance.  Continue Reading

• Change and configure pagefile.sys remotely

  When you're out of virtual memory, and you find yourself offsite, it helps to know how to adjust "pagefile.sys" remotely.  Continue Reading

• Wireless LAN Security 101

  This tip demonstrates keys to securing your WANs.  Continue Reading

• Boost performance through the Task Manager

  Use Task Manager to increase performance by eliminating CPU-consuming processes.  Continue Reading

• File and Print Sharing: An Active Directory gotcha

  Disabling File and Print Sharing (FPS) for security may cause problems down the road wth your Active Directory.  Continue Reading