Tips 4 Teks

DNS Scavenging using Powershell

2015-02-09T13:31:00.001-05:00

Solving a potential DNS Scavenging Mess!
I used to work for a company that had a very large AD-Integrated DNS zone with more than 100,000 A records in it. We, the Engineering team, decided to enable DNS Scavenging in the zone to delete the stale records. In other words, records that for one reason or another, would not update themselves and the Timestamp was already older than what we wanted. We had a very mixed environment with mostly 65% of the computers were Macs and over 100 Linux servers. Although those machines were bound to the domain and were always connected to the network, many would still fail to update the records in DNS. This behavior caused an issue where the automatic Windows DNS Scavenging deleted legit records of our Linux servers and it caused and great problem. (Thank God for backups!).

I decided to come up with a workaround... Instead of using the default DNS Scavenging provided in DNS manager, I decided to write a Powershell script that would get the stale records from the zone and match them with the computer object in AD. Then use, the OperatingSystem field value of that computer object to decide whether I would delete the A record or not. In the end, you can have the script send you an email with the report so you can have a Windows scheduled task do that for you every Saturday or so!

Below is the code:

<#
Written by Mr. Hiraldo - Tips4teks.blogspot.com.
This script is provided AS IS and I am not responsible for any damages caused. Removing DNS records could be a problem on your network. Contact your administrator and REALLY think this through before using it.
#>
Import-Module activedirectory
#Change value DeletingEnabled to $true if you want to delete the Stale DNS Records
$DeletingEnabled = $true
Function DeleteDNSRecord($Record)
{
$Owner = $Record.OwnerName
$IPAddress = $Record.IPAddress

Write-host "Deleting $Owner $IPAddress"
Get-WmiObject -Computer $ServerName -Namespace "root\MicrosoftDNS" -Class "MicrosoftDNS_AType" -Filter "IPAddress = '$IPAddress' AND OwnerName = '$Owner'" | Remove-WmiObject
if($?)
{
return "Yes"
}
else
{
return "No"
}
}

#The variable Pathdir is used for logging later. Configure to whatever folder you'd like.
$Pathdir = "C:\Scripts\DNSScavenging"
$reportObject = @()
$NotInAD = @()
$TotalAgingInterval = 14 #It will delete records older than what specified here.
$Date = get-date -format 'yyyy.MM.dd'
$ServerName = "DC1.tips4teks.net" #Choose your DNS server here.
$ContainerName = "tips4teks.net"
$DomainZone = "DomainDNSZones." + $ContainerName

$MinTimeStamp = [Int](New-TimeSpan `
-Start $(Get-Date("01/01/1601 00:00")) `
-End $((Get-Date).AddDays(-$TotalAgingInterval))).TotalHours
Write-Host "Gathering DNS A Records... Please wait" -ForegroundColor Yellow
Get-WMIObject -Computer $ServerName `
-Namespace "root\MicrosoftDNS" -Class "MicrosoftDNS_AType" `
-Filter `
"ContainerName='$ContainerName' AND TimeStamp<$MinTimeStamp AND TimeStamp<>0" `
| Select-Object OwnerName, `
@{n="TimeStamp";e={(Get-Date("01/01/1601")).AddHours($_.TimeStamp)}}, IPAddress, TTL | Export-csv -path "$Pathdir\AllStaleDNSRecords.csv"
Write-Host "Gathering DNS A Records completed!" -ForegroundColor Green
Write-Host "Searching DNS A Records in AD... Please wait" -ForegroundColor Yellow
$DNSRecords = Import-Csv -Path "$Pathdir\AllStaleDNSRecords.csv"
foreach ($Record in $DNSRecords)
{
if (($Record.OwnerName -ne $ContainerName)-and ($Record.OwnerName -ne $DomainZone))
{
$hostname = $Record.OwnerName
$IPAddress = $Record.IPAddress
$ADObject = Get-ADComputer -filter {(DNSHostName -like $hostname)} -Properties OperatingSystem, DistinguishedName
if($ADObject -ne $null)
{
if(($ADObject.OperatingSystem -ne $null) -and (($ADObject.Operatingsystem -like "*Windows XP*") -or ($ADObject.OperatingSystem -like "*Windows 7*") -or ($ADObject.OperatingSystem -like "*Windows 8*") -or ($ADObject.OperatingSystem -like "Mac OS X")))
{
$output = "" | Select DNSOwnerName, ADName,OperatingSystem, IPAddress, TTL, TimeStamp, Deleted, DistinguishedName
$output.DNSOwnerName = $hostname
$output.ADName = $ADObject.Name
$output.OperatingSystem = $ADObject.OperatingSystem
$output.IPAddress = $IPAddress
$output.TTL = $Record.TTL
$output.TimeStamp = $Record.TimeStamp
$output.DistinguishedName = $ADObject.DistinguishedName
if ($DeletingEnabled -eq $true)
{
$output.Deleted = DeleteDNSRecord($Record)
}
else
{
$output.Deleted = "Deleting Not Enabled"
}

$reportObject += $output

}

}
else
{
Write-Host "Record doesn't exist in AD and will be deleted." $hostname
$Erroutput = "" | Select DNSOwnerName, IPAddress, TTL, TimeStamp, Deleted
$Erroutput.DNSOwnerName = $Record.OwnerName
$Erroutput.IPAddress = $Record.IPAddress
$Erroutput.TTL = $Record.TTL
$Erroutput.TimeStamp = $Record.TimeStamp
if ($DeletingEnabled -eq $true)
{
$Erroutput.Deleted = DeleteDNSRecord($Record)
}
else
{
$Erroutput.Deleted = "Deleting Not Enabled"
}

$NotInAD += $Erroutput
}

}

}
Write-Host "Scavenging Maintenance Complete! Exporting to CSV.." -ForegroundColor Green
$reportObject | Export-csv -path "$Pathdir\DNSRecords-to-delete-with-ADinfo-$Date.csv"
$NotInAD | Export-csv -path "$Pathdir\DNSRecords-NotInAD-Deleted-$Date.csv"

$to = "MrHiraldo@tips4teks.net"
$Subject = "DNS Scavenging Report for $Date"
$Body = "Hello Team,`nThe following reports attached show the DNS records scanvenged from zone $ContainerName"
$Relay = "relay.tips4teks.net"
$From = "DNSScavenging@tips4teks.net"
$Attach = "$Pathdir\DNSRecords-to-delete-with-ADinfo-$Date.csv", "$Pathdir\DNSRecords-NotInAD-Deleted-$Date.csv"
#Send the Email and attachment
Send-MailMessage -to $to -Subject $Subject -Body $Body -SmtpServer $Relay -Attachments $Attach -From $From

Change Description to Multiple AD Accounts via Powershell Script

2013-06-25T12:55:00.000-04:00

Recently, I was in the need to change the description on multiple Active Directory accounts that I had exported from an OU to CSV. They were over 500 so doing it one by one would have been a time consuming task. That's when I decided to do a simple by working script to accomplish this task.

I'm using Powershell but you can other languages such as VBS. I prefer Powershell because it's more robust yet simpler to use and understand and it's the future of Windows Scripting.

Here's the script:

##############################################################
# Change-Description-To-Users.ps1 #
# Created by tips4teks.blogspot.com #
# This script changes the description of AD accounts to whatever is specified #
##############################################################

Import-module ActiveDirectory
#Declare the path to the CSV file where you have the accounts by Distinguished Name.
#The first row of the column should be named "DistinguishedName" without quotes.
$CSV='C:\users-to-edit.csv'

#Declare the new description that will be applied to all the accounts in the CSV file.
$Description='Account Disabled by tips4teks.blogspot.com'

#Read the CSV file and change the description to each user object based on the parameters specified.
import-csv -path $CSV | foreach-object { Set-ADUser -identity $_.DistinguishedName -Description $Description}

Deleting Domino Policies from Local Lotus Notes Client

2013-01-10T11:02:00.000-05:00

Some enterprises lock down Lotus Notes settings via Domino Policies and occasionally, while troubleshooting, you may find out that certain settings are grayed out. If you don't have Domino Administrator rights to edit the policies, it may become problematic and you may be forced to remove the policies from the local machine.

How to remove Domino Policies from a Lotus Notes client.
It is important to know that the policies on a local Lotus Notes Client installation are saved on the names.nsf database so if you happened to recreate the names.nsf you most likely removed the policies with it.

If you want to remove the policies manually:

Open the main address book on the machine that you want to remove the policy from. Normally this is names.nsf.
While holding the keys CTRL + Shift, click on the "Menu View - Go To..." Note: Holding CTRL + Shift will show you hidden views.

Scroll down and choose the view $Policies and click OK.

Select the policies you may want to remove (In my case, I deleted them all) and click on "Delete Person" or simply the key "Delete" on your keyboard. You may get a prompt after that which you can click Yes.

After that, your locked down settings will be open until the Notes client gets the policy updates from the Domino Server.

Notes error: Special database object cannot be located when archiving locally

2013-01-10T09:50:00.000-05:00

Years ago, one of my users got the error: "Notes error: Special database object cannot be located" when trying to archive locally from her Lotus Notes. After I tried refreshing design template, views, emptying the trash with no success.

According to my old personal troubleshooting archive, I had read an article in the IBM forum, (the link is broken now) that said:
"In this case, the issue occurred when the Advance archiving setting "Log all archiving activity into the log database" was selected and the archive log template, ARCHLG50.NTF, was either corrupted or missing. The issue was resolved by unchecking the option, "Log all archiving activity into the log database" and by adding or replacing the ARCHLG50.NTF file on the workstation."

After reading this, it made a lot of sense to me. However, the Lotus Notes Archive log template was on my users machine and I needed to keep a log in the machine so disabling the archiving activity on the machine wouldn't be a solution. Thankfully, I found out the solution shortly! The Archive Log NSF file was corrupted and I just needed to recreate it.

How to recreate the archive log DB.

Open the advanced archive settings. (Open the Mail - Go to the "Actions" menu - Archive - Settings - Advanced.)

Change the name of the archive database to something else and save the settings. Ex. archive\l_NewDBName
Archive your mail database again. (Click on the Actions Menu - Archive - Archive Now)

Some companies lockdown those settings via Domino Policies and the options are grayed out. However, if you're not a Domino Admin who can edit the policies, you may need to remove the policies from the local client in order to resolve this issue. Take a look at my article on how to remove Domino Policies from a local Lotus Notes client.

iTunes Store doesn't load on Windows XP or Windows 7

2012-12-25T19:22:00.000-05:00

Some time ago, one of the users I support had an issue with the iTunes store. It wouldn't load at all and she would get a white screen and a spinning wheel trying to load the store. After having uninstalled and reinstalled iTunes with no luck, the IT muse enlightened me and I thought of resetting the Winsocks on Windows and Bingo! I got the issue resolved.

How to do a winsock reset

Open command prompt in elevated mode. (On Windows 7 and Above, click on the start menu type in CMD, right click on it and click on Run as administrator. On XP, click on Start - Run and type in CMD and hit OK ).

On the command prompt, type netsh winsock reset and hit enter.

After that restart the machine and try iTunes once again.

iTunes does not open on Windows 7

2012-12-22T14:19:00.000-05:00

Recently, I was helping a user whose computer wouldn't launch iTunes. This user had Windows 7 64 bits and I had already uninstalled iTunes and reinstalled the newest version of iTunes from the Apple site and yet the issue persisted. I had noticed that iTunesHelper.exe was running and that the process itunes.exe would also quickly launch and close itself so that told me there were some incompatibility issues with some other app or a service was not running.

Believe it or not the solution was uninstalling Quicktime! It looks like that computer had an old version of QuickTime that was no longer compatible with iTunes. After I uninstalled QuickTime, iTunes worked perfectly!

Could not load Citrix online plug-In (Google Chrome for Mac)

2012-12-20T16:01:00.001-05:00

This error normally occurs launching Citrix applications from Google Chrome for Mac after reinstalling the new Citrix Receiver.

The fix is very simple!

Just navigate to the OS Volume (in the image below is Macintosh HD) then /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/
Delete the plugin "CitrixICAClientPlugin.plugin".
Relaunch the app from Chrome and you should be fine!

How to track the physical location of an email sender

2012-12-14T17:32:00.002-05:00

Have you ever wanted to know what medium (web browser, email client or client on mobile device) was used to send an email? If it was sent through a mobile device, what network was it sent from? Where was the email sent from geographically speaking? Well, nowadays, you don't need to be a hacker or guru in order to know most of this information. You just need to use some tools that can be found on your own computer or online.

The first thing you need to know is that an email consist of three different parts: The envelope, the header and the body message. In this article, we will concentrate in the most important of the email, the header which will allow us to get an answer to our questions. The header of a message contains the routing information of a message, time stamps and some others such as TO and FROM headers.

Steps to analyze an email header

Get the email header of the email you want to verify. Google has clear instructions on how to do so.
Copy the whole header of the message and paste into a header analyzer tool and analyze it. It will look like this:
Use an IP Tracker tool in order to trace the location of more and less the email was sent from. In the example above, the IP was 68.196.33.39. Be aware that this location is not 100% accurate. If the device was sent via mobile device, the message transfer agent at the cellphone provider will stamp the IP address or DNS name of the server that received the email. Normally the DNS name will have the provider name and if it's the IP you can do an nslookup against it.

Citrix Receiver Configuration Manager: No Value could be found for (AllowHotkey) that satisfies all lockdown requirements. The lockdown requirements in force may be conflicting.

2012-12-14T12:09:00.001-05:00

Recently, with all the updates that Citrix has been releasing for their Citrix Receiver, there has been an increased number of errors. One of the most common ones is: Citrix Receiver Configuration Manager: No Value could be found for (AllowHotkey) that satisfies all lockdown requirements. The lockdown requirements in force may be conflicting. (See image below).

This error occurs when you launch a Citrix application from the web interface and your settings are not allowing the connection from the client version you have.

Don't even try to uninstall and reinstall the Citrix Receiver as it may not fix the issue. As the error says, there's a setting locking down your Receiver and the best way to solve this issue is by disabling the lockdown.

On Windows XP/Vista/7 32 Bits

Open the Registry Editor (click on the Start Menu - Run - type in regedit.exe and hit OK).
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Citrix\ICA Client\Engine\Lockdown Profiles\All Regions.
Change the DWORD value for EnableLockdown from 1 to 0.
Close Registry Editor and try to launch the application again.

On Windows XP/Vista/7 64 Bits

Open the Registry Editor (click on the Start Menu - Run - type in regedit.exe and hit OK).
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Citrix\ICA Client\Engine\Lockdown Profiles\All Regions
Change the DWORD value for EnableLockdown from 1 to 0.
Close Registry Editor and try to launch the application again.

How to setup Active Directory Domain Services on Windows Server 2008

2011-05-04T13:26:00.003-04:00

Over the years, Microsoft has developed great-solid OSes platforms for Enterprises such as Windows Server 2003 that had been used in lots of network environments all over the world. A few years ago, the great technology titan released Microsoft Windows Server 2008 that possesses a wide variety of features that former versions of the OS didn't have.

In this opportunity, Tips4Teks will show you How to setup a Active Directory Domain Services on Windows Server 2008.

In the example given on the images, I'm using Windows Server 2008 Datacenter running on a VirtualBox virtual machine. Follow the steps below to complete the setup.

When you login to Windows Server 2008, you will get "Initial configuration Tools" Window. Click on Add roles

Click on Next

Select the role Active Directory Domain Services and click on next

Click on Next

Click on Next

Click on Close to close the wizard.

Click on Start - Run - and type dcpromo as seen on the image below and hit enter.

Click on Next

Click on Next

Choose the option Create a new domain in a new forest if you haven't created any forest before or don't want to add the domain to any existing forest.

Here, choose what's going to be your domain name.

This step is very important because if you choose a high functional level, then any domains part of the forest will have to on that level or higher.

This step is also very important because if you choose a high functional level, then any domain controllers part of the domain will have to on that level or higher. In this example, I've chosen Windows Server 2003

Click on Next

You need a DNS server in order to setup your domain. In this example, Tips4Teks has decided to use the same server as a DNS server and also domain controller. To setup the DNS server, is highly recommended that you use static IP address for your DNS server.

The following steps show you how to setup the static IP address.

Notice that we have made an ipconfig on the server and then assigned the same IP that DHCP had assigned as static IP address but you could assign a different one if required.

Click on Next

Click on Next

Put in a highly secured password and then Click on Next

Click on Finish and restart your server.

Once you restarted, log onto the server and Open Active Directory Users and Computers as shown in the image below.

Here we have our domain setup!

Any questions or comments are happily accepted.

How to remove software using VBS Script

2011-04-29T10:44:00.002-04:00

Isn't it a pain when you need to uninstall unwanted software from your computer but it does not let you? Or what about the IT folks that need to uninstall an app from many of the client machines they have on their enterprise? Would they do it manually on each computer?

There are several ways to accomplish this task without having to spend hours uninstalling the app machine per machine.

This time I'll show you how to uninstall software, (Winzip on a Windows OS computer) using VBS script. All VBS code found on this site needs to be copied and pasted on a notepad file and saved with the extension .vbs

'Created by Tips4teks.blogspot.com
'each line next to the quote won't be ran when you execute the script since it's just a comment.
'In this
strComputer = "."
Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:" _
& "{impersonationLevel=impersonate}!\\" & strComputer & "\root\cimv2")

Set colSoftware = objWMIService.ExecQuery _
("Select * from Win32_Product Where Name = 'Winzip'")

For Each objSoftware in colSoftware
objSoftware.Uninstall()
Next

This script should work though you don't see the program listed under Add/Remove programs since it depends WMI and the Windows Registry.

Notes error: Document has been deleted

2011-04-28T11:10:00.002-04:00

Oh well! Another issue that our beloved email client Lotus Notes might surprise you with! This is one is very popular in places where local replicas are used. Below the resolution that has worked for me in most of the cases.

Notes error: Document has been deleted (When archiving using a criteria)

Description:

Lotus Notes is trying to archive a document that has been deleted.

Solution:

1. Normally, recreating the views will fix the problem. (CRTL + SHIFT + F9)

2. If option 1 does not work, disable the Soft Deletions on the database properties

a. Open the mail and go to File – Properties.

b. Choose Database from the dropdown box

c. Select the tab Advanced (The last one)

d. Uncheck the option Allow Soft Deletions

e. Archive email.

f. Check back the option Allow Soft Deletions

Cannot find external name SIGNENCRYPTPOLICY

2011-04-27T21:56:00.000-04:00

Unfortunately, many of the issues and solutions that you're going to find here will be related to Lotus Notes since this application crashes a lot and there's not much troubleshooting information out there. The next is not that popular but comes up in occasions...

Cannot find external name SIGNENCRYPTPOLICY

Description:

This error appears when a user opens a folder on a mailbox.

Solution:

Replace the design template.

Right click on the database from the workspace.
Go to he menu Application - Replace Design.

It's important that you Replace the design and NOT just refresh it as they invoke different actions.

Change the font size on Lotus Notes Basic and Standard versions Mac and PC

2011-04-27T21:39:00.000-04:00

Have you ever wondered how you change the font size on Lotus Notes? Then here's the answer!

On Lotus Notes 8.5 Standard (for both PC and Mac versions):

1- Go to File -> Preferences (on the Mac, Lotus Notes, preferences)

2- Then click on "Fonts" and change the font size from the dropdown box.

Changing the font size on Notes 8.5 Basic or earlier Notes versions (for both PCs and Macs)

In this case, it requires to specify the parameters on Notes configuration files. On the PC the file name is Notes.ini and it's located on the Notes installation folder (mostly found at C:\Notes\notes.ini). On a Mac computer the configuration file name is Notes preferences and it's located on/User/Library/Preferences/Notes preferences.

To do the changes, close the Notes client and open the above mentioned file with any text editor.

Add the following line at the end of any line.

Display_font_adjustment=n

Where "n" is a integer number.

Ex: Display_font_adjustment=4

Finally, save the configuration file and reopen the Notes client.

How to map network printers via VBS script

2011-04-27T21:34:00.001-04:00

There are several task on the IT world that may be quite simple to execute but, imagine you provide service for a large organization and where there 50 different printers across the building and your IT director wants you to configure those printers per floor to specific users... How do you do this? Would you go one by one and set each user's computer manually or will you create a script to ease your life?

Scripting does not just makes it easier to implement but also to make changes that without the script would take lots of hours and manpower...

The following lines contain the script that could accomplish this:

'Created by Tips4teks.blogspot.com
'each line next to the quote won't be ran when you execute the script since it's just a comment.
'The command wscript.echo is used to generate a dialog box with the message of quotes
WScript.Echo "This script maps network printers"

'here you declare your variables
Option Explicit
Dim objNetwork, objPrinter, strUNCPrinter0, strUNCPrinter1, strUNCPrinter2, strUNCPrinter3, strUNCPrinter4, strUNCPrinter5

'These variables contain the server name UNC path of the network printer.
strUNCPrinter0 = "\\server-name\BusinessColor2"
strUNCPrinter1 = "\\server-name\CreativeColor2"
strUNCPrinter2 = "\\server-name\SapPrint2"
strUNCPrinter3 = "\\server-name\BusinessColor1"
strUNCPrinter4 = "\\server-name\CreativeColor1"
strUNCPrinter5 = "\\server-name\SapPrint1"

Set objNetwork = CreateObject("WScript.Network")

'Each one of these lines will map the printer
objNetwork.AddWindowsPrinterConnection strUNCPrinter0
objNetwork.AddWindowsPrinterConnection strUNCPrinter1
objNetwork.AddWindowsPrinterConnection strUNCPrinter2
objNetwork.AddWindowsPrinterConnection strUNCPrinter3
objNetwork.AddWindowsPrinterConnection strUNCPrinter4
objNetwork.AddWindowsPrinterConnection strUNCPrinter5

'The next lines will set a printer as default.
Set objPrinter = CreateObject("WScript.Network")
objPrinter.SetDefaultPrinter strUNCPrinter0

WScript.Echo "Printers were successfully mapped."
WScript.Quit

Now you got the code but, what do you do with it? Simply copy it as is and paste it on your preferred text editor and save it with extension type "vbs" (ex. map-printers.vbs). Open the script once saved and kaboon shazaam, you got it!

How to tether (use as modem) your Blackberry via bluetooth on a Mac

2011-04-27T21:07:00.001-04:00

Oh no! I have my nice Mac computer but don't have internet! Ah, hang on, I got a Blackberry too... What would Mcgiver do in this case? He would use the Blackberry as a modem to connect to the internet from his Mac. Well, though it sounds like a fictitious type of thing, this is possible. In the instructions below, Tips4Teks will show you how to accomplish this task.

A) Configure Bluetooth on Blackberry

1) Open “Manage Connections”

2) Click the checkbox next to “Bluetooth” to turn it on

3) Scroll down to “Bluetooth Options” and click to enter

4) Hit the Blackberry button (left of scroll ball) and choose “Options”

5) Make sure Discoverable is set to “Yes” and save changes

B) Pair Blackberry with Mac

1) Open System Preferences → Bluetooth

2) Check “On”, “Discoverable”, and “Show Bluetooth status in menu bar”

3) Click “Set Up New Device…” and click Continue on the next screen

4) Bullet “Mobile Phone” and click Continue

5)   Choose your device from the list and click Continue

6)   At this point, you will need to either confirm a code or type it into the Blackberry; follow the onscreen instructions

7)   When asked to accept the incoming connection on BB screen, check “Don’t ask this again” and click Continue

8)   Check “Access the Internet…” and click Continue

9) Fill in the settings for the device’s mobile carrier (see Appendix) and check “Show Modem status in menu bar”, then click Continue

Click Quit.

C) Configure Network Preferences & Connect

1)   Open System Preferences → Network

2)   Select Bluetooth

3)   Type #777 in the “Telephone Number” field, then click Apply

4) Click “Connect” in the Modem dropdown in the menu bar

5) Open a web browser and test the connection.

Appendix

A) Sprint
Phone Vendor: Sprint
Phone Model: PCS Vision
Telephone Number: #777
Username: none
Password: none

B) AT&T (**must have LaptopConnect feature added to account**)

Phone Vendor: Option
Phone Model: GSM
Telephone Number: #777
Username: WAP@CINGULARGPRS.COM
Password: CINGULAR1
APN: wap.cingular