Quite amazing.  After I was away from my computer for a couple hours I came back to the below dialog window (Figure 1) asking me “How safe is your computer?”  Regardless of how safe my computer is or isn’t, I wouldn’t expect this from a company trying to get my security business back.  So I set about reverse engineering how it got there…

This script code uses a fast and efficient method for determining whether the current session (process) has admin rights.  The compact code is provided in VBS (9 lines) and CMD/BAT (3 lines).  It works with XP / Server 2003 through Windows 7 / Server 2008.  It works with UAC (reports admin rights only if session / process elevated).  It uses passive methods to determine rights – in other words, it does not try to change anything on the target system.

Our Bginfo template has been updated to version 1.5.  The template content is the same, but the installer now handles XP, checking for a copy of bginfo.exe next to script, checking for elevated admin on Vista and later (Version 6 and later).  You can use the installer script to see a simple Shell (.BAT, .CMD) scripting method to check if someone is an elevated admin...

I had two different scenarios in two days where some of the top malware scanners completely ignored very concerning changes to systems I was working on…

UAC has caused a lot of buzz ever since Vista was released. Sometimes even I wonder if the topic of UAC comprises a measurable amount of the total web and email conversations about technology for the last two years ;)

The main concern about UAC has always been those pesky prompts asking your permission to do innocuous activities like deleting kernel32.dll. Sometimes you get them when you don’t want them and sometimes you don’t get them when you should. It turns out there are many ways to cause or suppress UAC prompts – this post attempts to document them all…

If you are just getting started with using manifest files to configure UAC elevation prompts, it can be difficult to remember what the options are and what to do if there is already a manifest. The following is a complete sample template of an application manifest and is commented so that you can…

The other day I received an email about an error a user was experiencing, I wanted to see a screen shot and started to write an email detailing the steps required to capture and email me a screenshot when I suddenly realized “Wow, for how helpful screenshots are, this is sure an overly complex process”.  Some Googling turned up just what I was looking for and it is free and does not require installation …

Mark Russinovich has authored a Technet article on the changes to UAC for the Windows 7 release…

If you include a <trustinfo> section in a .manifest file for an EXE, virtualization is disabled for that EXE.  However, if you are not careful, you can end up creating a virtualized .manifest and it will be …

This is an interesting site which contains a DLL Catalog for every DLL that ships with Windows 7.  The catalog is built with the information from within the files – it does not contain commentary about what the files are for (other than the descriptions that can be extracted from the files).  It does…

Oh that sinking feeling after deleting a file that is your only good copy of a script.  However, the second sinking feeling of knowing there is no recycler copy because the deletion happened via another machine over the network is even worse!  I ended up using two products to attempt recovery – my paid for copy of Stellar Phoenix ($99) and the free and famous Recuva.  Guess which one out performed in multiple was…

Maybe you have come across some of the UAC VBScript snippets for figuring out whether the current user is an administrator and even whether they are elevated or not. I wanted a quick and lightweight solution to figure our whether a user was admin and whether they were elevated. Once I got started, it didn’t take much to add checks for all the other groups and special permissions. And it’s all done in 40 lines…

Looking for the latest news about Windows 7? Windows7news.com has you covered. All the latest, including news of leaked builds. Don't overlook the...

If your company decided to wait on Vista, you may not have had opportunity to get into the core technology that Microsoft introduced in version 6 of its kernel which powers Vista, Win7, Server 2008 and Server 2008R2.  Integrity Levels (ILs) are a new and significant feature of the new kernel.

The 5th edition of the defacto guide on Windows internals went to press in May.  The 1200 page volume covers through Windows Vista and Server 2008.

Although it is listed as the Microsoft Press free e-book, it is still downloadable (as of 5/28/09).  You may want to follow up on this one quickly – the free e-book offers don’t usually last past the end of the month they are published in.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DesktopEngineer.com Launches CSI-Windows.com – Windows Internals Training Focused on Application Management

PHILADELPHIA – May 26, 2009 -- DesktopEngineer.com, a leading provider of training for application management on Microsoft Windows, offers new technical training to aid in getting applications running under Windows 7 and application virtualization.

Troubleshooting and debugging is one of those life activities that we tap into relentlessly - yet never learn about in a structured manner. “Debugging” by David Agans sheds some light on the general principles that produce reliable results no matter what you have under your microscope.

I love dig deep into new functionality and find out how it works, but it also leads to unearthing implicit limitations - especially when you reconsider a technology in the framework of the current real environments it will need to work in, rather than the brave new world it seeks to define.

In preparing for a recent conference session I did some extensive testing of the big name feature in Windows Installer 5 which ships with Windows 7.  I have some concerns about this new functionality and I am sharing them in this post...

Chris Jackson has a great article on the reasons behind why Windows Installer 5 (Windows 7) custom actions are lied to by the shimming engine.  It also provides another great example that Microsoft is committed to the shimming infrastructure to the point where major segments of the OS rely on it for their own compatibility.  Shimming is not a bolt-on!

Why Custom Actions get a Windows Vista Version Lie on Windows 7

Disabling unnecessary Windows services can result in significant performance gains for production machines and virtual machines. This script helps you manage and share templates for services optmization - including only starting services when they are needed. Some services optimization templates are included and instructions are included for converting from other services optimization tools. Click "Read More" for much more information about the benefits, uses and implementation of the script.

A new course has been added to our offerings.  CSI-470 Application Virtualization Fundamentals will help you understand the common principles and mechanisms behind virtualizing applications.  You can also get your hands dirty with some of the teir 1 tools in this space.

Check it out CSI-470 Application Virtualization Fundamentals

The attached videos contains the working version of my demonstration for Windows 7 Per-User Applications (MSI 5).  I have also posted the test package that allows you to reproduce the demos as well as do several other tests of Windows Installer 4 and 5 in your production environment.  The download includes a 30 page lab manual to step you through several of the capabilities of the test package.  Click "Read More" to see the videos.

I spoke at the Microsoft Management Summit 2009 on the new features in Windows Installer since the 4.0 (Vista) release.  As part of this I used a test package to demonstrate the features.  The attached file includes the test package and a 30 page lab manual so that you can test these new features in your production environment.

The attached file contains a .bgi template for Sysinternals BGInfo and an installation shell script.  It places all the security and UAC details of a Windows 7 (or Vista) machine on the background bitmap.  I have seem many threads on the net about trying to get bginfo to run for all users and do it without admin rights.  Just run the installation script (bginfoinst.bat) in an elevated command prompt and bginfo will run for all users who login, whether or not they are admins or elevated.

Updated: 2009-12-02 to Version 1.5:
- Correctly handles XP
- Checks for copy of bginfo.exe next to script
- Checks for elevated admin on Vista and later (Version 6 and later)

RegScanner is a very cool little utility for finding things in the registry.  RegEdit's built-in search functionality is similar to notepad.  Type your search string and keep pounding F3 until you find something similar to what you're looking for.  Lots of wasted time.

Here's some things I love about RegScanner:

ACT 5.5 has been released.  Microsoft has made sure that the entire toolset is Windows 7 ready.  The help documents have been enhanced with more information on Shims - Microsoft has been making big improvements on the help documents for over a year.

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