Windows Command-Line Administration Instant Reference – John's Random Thoughts and Discussions

An Update on the RunAs Command

This is an update of a post that originally appeared on May 14, 2014.

Recently I wrote the Simulating Users with the RunAs Command post that describes how to use the RunAs command to perform tasks that the user’s account can’t normally perform. (The basics of using the RunAs command appear in Windows Command-Line Administration Instant Reference.) A number of you have written to tell me that there is a problem with using the RunAs command with built-in commands—those that appear as part of CMD.EXE. For example, when you try the following command:

RunAs /User:Administrator "md \Temp"

you are asked for the Administrator password as normal. After you supply the password, you get two error messages:

RUNAS ERROR: Unable to run - md \Temp
2: The system cannot find the file specified.

In fact, you find that built-in commands as a whole won’t work as anticipated. One way to overcome this problem is to place the commands in a batch file and then run the batch file as an administrator. This solution works fine when you plan to execute the command regularly. However, it’s not optimal when you plan to execute the command just once or twice. In this case, you must execute a copy of the command processor and use it to execute the command as shown here:

RunAs /User:Administrator "cmd /c \"md \Temp""

This command looks pretty convoluted, but it’s straightforward if you take it apart a little at a time. At the heart of everything is the md \Temp part of the command. In order to make this a separate command, you must enclose it in double quotes. Remember to escape the double quote that appears within the command string by using a backslash (as in \").

To execute the command processor, you simply type cmd. However, you want the command processor to start, execute the command, and then terminate, so you also add the /c command line switch. The command processor string is also enclosed within double quotes to make it appear as a single command to RunAs.

Make sure you use forward slashes and backslashes as needed. Using the wrong slash will make the command fail.

The RunAs command can now proceed as you normally use it. In this case, the command only includes the username. You can also include the password, when necessary. Let me know if you find this workaround helpful at [email protected].

Simulating Users with the RunAs Command

This is an update of a post that originally appeared on April 26, 2011.

One of the problems with writing applications, administering any network, or understanding system issues is to ensure that you see things from the user’s perspective. It doesn’t matter what your forte might be (programmer, administrator, DBA, manager, or the like), getting the user view of things is essential or your efforts are doomed to failure. Of course, this means seeing what the user sees. Anyone can run an application at the administrator level with good success, but the user level is another story because the user might not have access to resources or rights to perform tasks correctly.

Most knowledgeable users know that you can simulate an administrator by right clicking the application and choosing Run As Administrator from the context menu. In fact, if you Shift+Right Click the application, you’ll see an entry for Run As A Different User on the context menu that allows you to start the application as any user on the system. However, the GUI has limitations, including an inability to use this approach for batch testing of an application. In addition, this approach uses the RunAs command defaults, such as loading the user’s profile, which could cause the application to react differently than it does on the user’s system because it can’t find the resources it needs on your system.

A more practical approach is to use the RunAs command directly to get the job done. You can see some basic coverage of this command on page 480 of Windows Command-Line Administration Instant Reference. To gain a basic appreciation of how the user views things, simply type RunAs /User:UserName Command and press Enter (where UserName is the user’s fully qualified logon name including domain and Command is the command you wish to test). For example, if you want to see how Notepad works for user John, you’d type RunAs /User:John Notepad and press Enter. At this point, the RunAs command will ask for the user’s password. You’ll need to ask the user to enter it for you, but at that point, you can work with the application precisely as the user works with it.

Note that I highly recommend that you create test user accounts with the rights that real users have, rather than use a real user’s account for testing. Otherwise, if something goes wrong (and it usually does), you’ve damaged a real user’s account. Make sure you follow all of the usual policies to create this test user account and that you have as many test user accounts as needed to meet your organization’s needs.

Of course, many commands require that you provide command line arguments. In order to use command line arguments, you must enclose the entire command in double quotes. For example, if you want to open a file named Output.TXT located in the C:\MyDocs folder using Notepad and see it in precisely the same way that the user sees it, you’d type RunAs /User:John “Notepad C:\MyDocs\Output.TXT” and press Enter.

In some cases, you need to test the application using the users credentials, but find that the user’s profile gets in the way. The user’s system probably isn’t set up the same as your system, so you need your profile so that the system can find things on your machine and not on the user’s machine. In this case, you add the /NoProfile command line switch to use your profile. It’s a good idea to try the command with the user’s profile first, just to get things as close as you can to what the user sees. The default is to load the user’s profile, so you don’t have to do anything special to obtain this effect.

An entire group of users might experience a problem with an application. In this case, you don’t necessarily want to test with a particular user’s account, but with a specific trust level. You can see the trust levels setup on your system by typing RunAs /ShowTrustLevels and pressing Enter. To run an application using a trust level, use the /TrustLevel command line switch. For example, to open Output.TXT as a basic user, you’d type RunAs /TrustLevel:0x20000 “Notepad C:\MyDocs\Output.TXT” and press Enter. The basic trust levels are:

0x40000 – System
0x30000 – Administrator
0x20000 – Basic User
0x10000 – Untrusted User

Many people are experiencing problems using the /ShowTrustLevels and /TrustLevel command line switches with newer versions of Windows. The consensus seems to be that Microsoft has changed things with the introduction of UAC and that you’ll need to work with the new Elevation Power Toys to get the job done. You may also want to review the article PowerToys running with administrator permissions because it provides some insights that may be helpful in this case as well. I’d be interested in hearing about people’s experiences. Contact me at [email protected].

Sending Comments on My Books

This is an update of a post that originally appeared on February 23, 2012.

I regularly receive a stack of e-mail about my books. Readers question everything and it makes me happy to see that they’re reviewing my books so closely. It means that I’m accomplishing my principle goal, helping you understand computers in every possible way so that you can be more productive and accomplish tasks with less effort. When I make something easier for someone and they tell me about it, the grin extends from one side of my face to another. It really makes my day.

Some readers are still asking me if it’s OK to send me comments. I definitely want to see any constructive comment that you have. Anything that helps me understand your needs better makes it possible for me to write better books. I really do want to hear from you. The main element that I need to obtain a usable comment is that it’s constructive. A comment that lacks details isn’t helpful because I’ve written so many books. Emotional comments without any substance are especially hard to deal with because they leave me wondering what you need from me. Here are some of the things you can do to create a constructive comment:

What is the title of the book you’re reading (be sure to include the edition number, which is usually right on the cover unless it’s a first edition)?
Are you using the downloadable source code if this is a programming book?
Did you install the recommended version of any required software using the instructions found in the book?
Which page contains the error (if you’re using Kindle or other electronic media, please provide a chapter number and section title as a minimum)?
What do you view as an error on that page?
How would you fix the error?
What sort of system are you running?
When did you encounter the problem?

The more information you provide, the easier it is for me to understand the issue and provide you with feedback. In many cases, I’ll upload the fix to my blog so that everyone can benefit from the response (so be sure you keep an eye on my blog for new entries). I work hard to ensure that my books are as error free as possible, but everyone makes mistakes. Also remember that sometimes mitigating factors, such as differences in software versions or anticipated hardware, make it appear that there is an error in the book when you’re really looking at a different in environment. Help me provide you with better books—send me comments!

There are a few things that I won’t do for you. I won’t help you pass an exam at school. Your learning experience is important to me, which means that I want you to continue your education by working through the instruction on your own. I also don’t provide free consulting. This means I won’t check the code that you created on your own for errors. In addition, if you don’t use the downloadable source, be sure to read Verifying Your Hand Typed Code for restrictions on the level of support that I provide. I’ll help you with any book-specific question, but I draw the line at that point. Let me know if you have any input or insights on my books at [email protected].

Book Reviews – Doing Your Part

This is an update of a post that originally appeared on October 4, 2013.

Readers contact me quite a lot about my books. On an average day, I receive around 65 reader e-mails about a wide range of book-related topics. Many of them are complimentary about my books and it’s hard to put down in words just how much I appreciate the positive feedback. Often, I’m humbled to think that people would take time to write.

There is another part to reader participation in books, however, and it doesn’t have anything to do with me—it has to do with other readers. When you read one of my books and find the information useful, it’s helpful to write a review about it so that others can know what to expect. I want to be sure that every reader who purchases one of my books is happy with that purchase and gets the most possible out of the book. The wording that the publisher’s marketing staff and I use to describe a book represents our viewpoint of that book and not necessarily the viewpoint of the reader. The only way that other readers will know how a book presents information from the reader perspective is for other readers to write reviews. A good review will tell:

What you liked about the book
How it met your needs
What it provides in the way of usable content
Whether you liked any intangibles, such as the author’s writing style
When you used the content to obtain a new job or learn a new skill
Who recommended the book to you

The review should also present any negatives (obviously, I want to know about the flaws, too, so that I can correct them in the next edition of the book and also discuss them on my blog):

Did the book provide enough detailed procedures needed to accomplish a task?
Are significant technical flaws and why do you feel they’re an issue?
Are there enough graphics to augment the text and make it clearer?
Is the source code useful?

Many reviewing venues, such as the one found on Amazon, also ask you to provide a rating for the book. You should rate the book based on your experience with other books and on how this particular book met your needs in learning a new topic. The kind of review to avoid writing is a rant or one that isn’t actually based on reading the whole book. As always, I’m here (at [email protected]) to answer any questions you have and many of your questions have appeared as blog posts when the situation warrants.

So, just where do you make these reviews? The publishers sometimes provide a venue for expressing your opinion and you can certainly go to the publisher site to create such a review. I personally prefer to upload my reviews to Amazon because it’s a location that many people frequent to find out more about books. You can go to the site, click Write a Customer Review (near the bottom of the page), and then provide your viewpoint about the book.

Thank you in advance for taking the time and effort required to write a review. I know it’s time consuming, but it’s an important task that only you can perform.

Using the Set Command to Your Advantage

This is an update of a post that originally appeared on February 24, 2014.

A short while ago, I created a post about the Windows path. A number of people wrote me about that post with questions. Yes, you can use the technique for setting the Path environment variable to set any other environment variable. The Windows Environment Variables dialog box works for any environment variable—including those used by language environments such as Java, JavaScript, and Python. Windows doesn’t actually care what sort of environment variable you create using the method that I discuss in that post. The environment variable will appear in every new command prompt window you create for either a single user or all users of a particular system, depending on how you create the environment variable.

A few of you took me to task for not mentioning the Set command. This particular command appears in Microsoft Windows Command Line Administration Instant Reference. It’s a useful command because you can temporarily configure a command prompt session to support a new set of settings. When the session is ended, the settings are gone. Only those settings you create as part of Environment Variables window have any permanence. There are other tricks you can use, but using Set for temporary environment variables and the Environment Variables window for permanent environment variables are the two most common approaches.

In order to see the current environment variables you simply type Set and press Enter at the command line. If you add a space and one or more letters, you see just the matching environment variables. For example, type Set U and press Enter to see all of the environment variables that begin with the letter U.

To set an environment variable, you add the name of the variable, an equals sign (=), and the variable value. For example, to set the value of MyVariable to Hello, you type Set MyVariable=Hello and press Enter. To verify that MyVariable does indeed equal Hello, you type Set MyVariable and press Enter. The command prompt will display the value of MyVariable. When you’re done using MyVariable, you can type Set MyVariable= and press Enter. Notice the addition of the equals sign. If you ask for the value of MyVariable again, the command prompt will tell you it doesn’t exist.

Newer versions of the command prompt provide some additional functionality. For example, you might set MyVariable within a batch file and not know what value it should contain when you create the batch file. In this case, you can prompt the user to provide a value using the /P command line switch. For example, if you type Set /P MyVariable=Type a value for my variable: and press Enter, you’ll see a prompt to enter the variable value.

It’s also possible to perform math with Set using the /A command line switch. There is a whole list of standard math notations you can use. Type Set /? and press Enter to see them all. If you write application code at all, you’ll recognize the standard symbols. For example, if you want to increment the value of a variable each time something happens, you can use the += operator. Type Set /A MyVariable+=1 and press Enter to see how this works. The first time you make the call, MyVariable will equal 1. However, on each succeeding call, the value will increment by 1 (for values of 2, 3, and so on).

Environment variables support expansion and you can see this work using the Echo command. For example, if you type Echo %MyVariable%, you see the value of MyVariable.

However, you might not want the entire value of MyVariable. Newer versions of the command prompt support substrings. The variable name is followed by a :~, the beginning position, a comma, and the ending position. For example, if you place Hello World in MyVariable, and then type Echo %MyVariable:~0,5% and press Enter, you see Hello as the output, not Hello World. Adding a negative sign causes the expansion to occur from the end of the string. For example, if you type Echo %MyVariable:~-5% and press Enter, you see World as the output.

The Set command is a valuable addition to both the administrator’s and programmer’s toolkit because it lets you set environment variables temporarily. The Set command figures prominently in batch file processing and also provides configuration options for specific needs. Let me know about your environment variable questions as they pertain to my books at [email protected].

Adding a Location to the Windows Path

This is an update of a post that originally appeared on February 17, 2014.

A number of my books tell the reader to perform tasks at the command line. What this means is that the reader must have access to applications stored on the hard drive. Windows doesn’t track the location of every application. Instead, it relies on the Path environment variable to provide the potential locations of applications. If the application the reader needs doesn’t appear on the path, Windows won’t be able to find it. Windows will simply display an error message. So, it’s important that any applications you need to access for my books appear on the path if you need to access them from the command line.

You can always see the current path by typing Path at the command line and pressing Enter. What you’ll see is a listing of locations, each of which is separated by a semicolon as shown here (your path will differ from mine).

Using the Path command displays the current path.

In this case, Windows will begin looking for an application in the current folder. If it doesn’t find the application there, then it will look in C:\Python33\, then in C:\Program Files (x86)\NVIDIA Corporation\PhysX\Common, and so on down the list. Each potential location is separated from other locations using a semicolon as shown in the figure.

There are a number of ways to add a location to the Windows path. If you only need to add a path temporarily, you can simply extend the path by setting it to the new value, plus the old value. For example, if you want to add C:\MyApp to the path, you’d type Path=C:\MyApp;%Path% and press Enter. Notice that you must add a semicolon after C:\MyApp. Using %Path% appends the existing path after C:\MyApp. Here is how the result looks on screen.

Adding a path is a relatively simple process using the Path= command

Of course, there are times when you want to make the addition to the path permanent because you plan to access the associated application regularly. In this case, you must perform the task within Windows itself. The following steps tell you how.

1. Right click This Computer (or Computer) and choose Properties from the context menu or select Settings (or System in the Control Panel). You see the a Settings (System) window similar to the one shown here open (precisely what you see depends on which version of Windows you have, the figure shows Windows 10).

2. Click Advanced System Settings. You see the Advanced tab of the System Properties dialog box shown here.

The Advanced tab provides access to your permanent path in Windows.

3. Click Environment Variables. You see the Environment Variables dialog box shown here. Notice that there are actually two sets of variables. The top set affects only the current user. So, if you plan to use the application, but don’t plan for others to use it, you’d make the Path environment variable change in the top field. The bottom set affects everyone who uses the computer. This is where you’d change the path if you want everyone to be able to use the application.

There are paths that affect only the current user and those that affect the system as a whole.

4. Locate the existing Path environment variable in the list of variables for either the personal or system environment variables and click Edit. If there is no existing Path environment variable, click New instead. You see a dialog box similar to the one shown here when working with Windows 10 (other versions of Windows will show a different dialog box, but the purpose is the same, to edit the path).

Each path location appears on a separate line to make it easy to edit.

When you open a new command prompt, you’ll see the new path in play. Changing the environment variable won’t change the path for any existing command prompt windows. Having the right path available when you want to perform the exercises in my books is important. Let me know if you have any questions about them at [email protected].

Security = Scrutiny

This is an update of a post that originally appeared on July 22,2015.

There is a myth among administrators and developers that it’s possible to keep a machine free of viruses, adware, Trojans, and other forms of malware simply by disconnecting it from the Internet. I was reminded of this bias while writing Machine Learning Security Principles because some of the exploits I cover included air-gapped PCs. I’m showing my age (yet again), but machines were being infected with all sorts of malware long before the Internet became any sort of connectivity solution for any system. At one time it was floppy disks that were the culprit, but all sorts of other avenues of attack present themselves. To dismiss things like evil USB drives that take over systems, even systems not connected to the Internet, is akin to closing your eyes and hoping an opponent doesn’t choose to hit you while you’re not looking. After all, it wouldn’t be fair. To make matters worse, you can easily find instructions for creating an evil USB drive online. However, whoever said that life was fair or that anyone involved in security plays by the rules? If you want to keep your systems free of malware, then you need to be alert and scrutinize them continually.

Let’s look at this issue another way. If you refused to do anything about the burglar rummaging around on the first floor while you listened in your bedroom on the second floor, the police would think you’re pretty odd. The first thing they’ll ask you is why you don’t have an alarm system implemented into your home. Or if you do have one, wouldn’t it have been a good idea to set it in the first place, so more people would have been notified about this security breach. In addition to alarm systems, some homeowners also have an external security system installed around their homes. They would be able to provide a good image of the burglar. However, it’s still important to try and do something to actually stop the burglar. Whatever you do, you can’t just stand back and do nothing. More importantly, you’d have a really hard time getting any sort of sympathy or empathy from them. After all, if you just let a burglar take your things while you blithely refuse to acknowledge the burglar’s presence, whose fault is that? (Getting bonked on the back of the head while you are looking is another story.) That’s why you need to monitor your systems, even if they aren’t connected to the Internet. Someone wants to ruin your day and they’re not playing around. Hackers are dead serious about grabbing every bit of usable data on your system and using it to make your life truly terrible. Your misery makes them sublimely happy. Really, take my word for it.

The reason I’m discussing this issue is that I’m still seeing stories like, Chinese Hackers Target Air-Gapped Military Networks. So, what about all those networks that were hacked before the Internet became a connectivity solution? Hackers have been taking networks down for a considerable time period and it doesn’t take an Internet connection to do it. The story is an interesting one because the technique used demonstrates that hackers don’t have to be particularly good at their profession to break into many networks. It’s also alarming because some of the networks targeted were contractors for the US military.

There is no tool, software, connection method, or secret incantation that can protect your system from determined hackers. I’ve said this in every writing about security. Yes, you can use a number of tools to make it more difficult to get through and to dissuade someone who truly isn’t all that determined. Unfortunately, no matter how high you make the walls of your server fortress, the hacker can always go just a bit further to climb them. Sites like America’s Data Held Hostage (this site specializes in ransomware) tell me that most organizations could do more to scrutinize their networks. Every writing I read about informed security is that you can’t trust anyone or anything when you’re responsible for security, yet organizations continue to ignore that burglar on the first floor.

There is the question of whether it’s possible to detect and handle every threat. The answer is that it isn’t. Truly gifted hackers will blindside you and can cause terrifying damage to your systems every time. Monitoring can mitigate the damage and help you recover more quickly, but the fact is that it’s definitely possible to do better. Let me know your thoughts about security at [email protected].

Is Security Research Always Useful?

This is an update of a post that originally appeared on February 19, 2016.

Anyone involved in the computer industry likely spends some amount of time reading about the latest security issues in books such as Machine Learning Security Principles. Administrators and developers probably spend more time than many people, but no one can possibly read all the security research available today. There are so many researchers looking for so many bugs in so many places and in so many different ways that even if someone had the time and inclination to read every security article produced, it would be impossible. You’d need to be the speediest reader on the planet (and then some) to even think about scratching the surface. So, you must contemplate the usefulness of all that research—whether it’s actually useful or simply a method for some people to get their name on a piece of paper.

What amazes me since I first wrote this blog post is that I have done a considerable amount of additional reading, including research papers, and find that most exploits remain essentially the same. The techniques may differ, they may improve, but the essentials of the exploit remain the same. It turns out that humans are the weakest link in every security chain and that social engineering attacks remain a mainstay of hackers. The one thing that has changed in seven years is that the use of machine learning and deep learning techniques has automated life for the hacker, much as these technologies have automated life for everyone else. In addition, a lack of proactive privacy makes it even easier than before for a hacker to create a believable attack by using publicly available information about an intended target.

As part of researching security, you need to consider the viability of an attack, especially with regard to your organization, infrastructure, personnel, and applications. Some of the attacks require physical access to the system. In some cases, you must actually take the system apart to access components in order to perform the security trick. Many IoT attacks fall into this category. Unless you or your organization is in the habit of allowing perfect strangers physical access to your systems, which might include taking them apart, you must wonder whether the security issue is even worth worrying about. You need to ask why someone would take the time to document a security issue that’s nearly impossible to see, much less perform in a real world environment. More importantly, the moment you see that a security issue requires physical access to the device, you can probably stop reading.

You also find attacks that require special equipment to perform. The article, How encryption keys could be stolen by your lunch, discusses one such attack. In fact, the article contains a picture of the special equipment that you must build to perpetrate the attack. It places said equipment into a piece of pita bread, which adds a fanciful twist to something that is already quite odd and pretty much unworkable given that you must be within 50 cm (19.6 in) from the device you want to attack (assuming that the RF transmission conditions are perfect). Except for the interesting attack vector (using a piece of pita bread), you really have to question why anyone would ever perpetrate this attack given that social engineering and a wealth of other attacks require no special equipment, are highly successful, and work from a much longer distance.

It does pay to keep an eye on the latest and future targets of hacker attacks. Even though many IoT attacks are the stuff of James Bond today, hackers are paying attention to IoT, so it pays to secure your systems, which are likely wide open right now. As one of my experiments for Machine Learning Security Principles, I actually did hack my own smart thermostat (after which, I immediately improved security). The number of IoT attacks is increasing considerably, so ensuring that you maintain electrical, physical, and application security over your IoT devices is important, but not to the exclusion of other needs.

A few research pieces become more reasonable by discussing outlandish sorts of hacks that could potentially happen after an initial break-in. The hack discussed in Design flaw in Intel chips opens door to rootkits is one of these sorts of hacks. You can’t perpetrate the hack until after breaking into the system some other way, but the break-in has serious consequences once it occurs. Even so, most hackers won’t take the time because they already have everything needed—the hack is overkill. However, this particular kind of hack should sound alarms in the security professional’s head. The Windows 11 requirement for the TPM 2.0 chip is supposed to make this kind of attack significantly harder, perhaps impossible, to perform. Of course, someone has already found a way to bypass the TPM 2.0 chip requirement and it doesn’t help that Microsoft actually signed off on a piece of rootkit malware for installation on a Windows 11 system. So, security research, even when you know that the actual piece of research isn’t particularly helpful, can become a source of information for thought experiments of what a hacker might do.

The articles that help most provide a shot of reality into the decidedly conspiracy-oriented world of security. For example, Evil conspiracy? Nope, everyday cyber insecurity, discusses a series of events that everyone initially thought pointed to a major cyber attack. It turns out that the events occurred at the same time by coincidence. The article author thoughtfully points out some of the reasons that the conspiracy theories seemed a bit out of place at the outset anyway.

It also helps to know the true sources of potential security issues. For example, the articles, In the security world, the good guys aren’t always good and 5 reasons why newer hires are the company’s biggest data security risk, point out the sources you really do need to consider when creating a security plan. These are the sorts of articles that should attract your attention because they describe a security issue that you really should think about.

The point is that you encounter a lot of information out there that doesn’t help you make your system any more secure. It may be interesting if you have the time to read it, but the tactics truly aren’t practical and no hacker is going to use them. Critical thinking skills are your best asset when building your security knowledge. Let me know about your take on security research at [email protected].

Death of Windows XP? (Part 5)

Windows XP, the operating system that simply refuses to die. The title of this post should tell you that there have been four other posts (actually a lot more than that) on the death of Windows XP. The last post was on 30 May 2014, Death of Windows XP? (Part 4). I promised then that it would be my last post, but that’s before I knew that Windows XP would still command between 10 percent and 15 percent market share—placing it above the Mac’s OS X. In fact, according to some sources, Windows XP has greater market share than Windows 8.1 as well. So it doesn’t surprise me that a few of you are still looking for Windows XP support from me. Unfortunately, I no longer have a Windows XP setup to support you, so I’m not answering Windows XP questions any longer.

Apparently, offering Windows XP support is big business. According to a recent ComputerWorld article, the US Navy is willing to pony up $30.8 million for Microsoft’s continued support of Windows XP. Perhaps I ought to reconsider and offer paid support after all. There are many other organizations that rely on Windows XP and some may shock you. For example, the next time you stop in front of an ATM, consider the fact that 95 percent of them still run Windows XP. In both cases, the vendors are paying Microsoft to continue providing updates to ensure the aging operating system remains secure. However, I’m almost certain that even with security updates, hackers have figured out ways to get past the Windows XP defenses a long time ago. For example, even with fixes in place, it’s quite easy to find headlines such as, “Hackers stole from 100 banks and rigged ATMs to spew cash.”

What worries me more than anything else is that there are a lot of home users out there who haven’t patched their Windows XP installation in a really long time now. Their systems must be hotbeds of viruses, adware, and Trojans. It wouldn’t surprise me to find that every one of them is a zombie spewing out all sorts of garbage. It’s time to put this aging operating system out of its misery. If you have a copy of Windows XP, please don’t contact me about it—get rid of it and get something newer. Let me know your thoughts on ancient operating systems at [email protected].

A Windows Security Alert, Courtesy of Samsung

I’ve gotten used to a whole lot of silly vendor tricks over the years. Just about every vendor I’ve worked with has done something completely idiotic, just to cause the other guy woe. The user always ends up hurt. Readers of Administering Windows Server 2008 Server Core, Microsoft Windows Command Line Administration Instant Reference, and Windows 8 for Dummies Quick Reference need to be aware that according to a ComputerWorld article, Samsung has turned off Windows Update. The worrisome part of all this is that there is apparently an executable to turn the support off, but not another executable to turn support back on. Sites, such as engadget, are recommending you perform a clean install of Windows on your computer to get rid of the problem.

The whole issue seems to revolve around Samsung being worried that Microsoft’s updates will interfere with Samsung’s updates of its software. The result could be that the system won’t work. Phrases, such as “could be” and “might not”, always bother me. Samsung must not have tested the problem fully or they would have had a more positive and straightforward comment to make when asked about the problem. The point is that the user loses. Advice such as telling users they must reinstall Windows from scratch to get rid of the problem sounds just dandy until you figure out that most users can’t perform this task, so they’ll be out extra money getting someone else to do the job or we’ll all face the issues that happen when updates don’t occur. It’s not as if the Internet really requires yet more zombies (computers under hacker control)—we have no lack of them now.

A similar problem occurred not long ago when Lenovo thought it would be a good idea to pre-install the Superfish adware on the computers it put out. Most computer vendors add bloatware to their systems, which really does make it a good idea to perform a clean install when you buy a new system, but purposely adding adware seems a bit deranged to me. Lenovo later apologized and fixed the problem, but the point is that they made the mistake in the first place.

Some of my readers have asked why so many of my books include installation instructions or at least pointers to the installation instructions. The answer is that vendors keep doing things that make me shake my head and wonder just what they were thinking about. When you buy a new system from someone, perform a clean install of the operating system to get rid of the bloatware or have someone else do it for you. If you choose to keep the pre-installed operating system in place, make sure you research any oddities of the installation (such as turning off Windows Update). Otherwise, you might end up with a situation where Windows Update simply doesn’t do the job because someone told it not to. Let me know your thoughts on pre-installed software, bloatware, and vendors who seem completely clueless at [email protected].

Story Update!

According to a ComputerWorld article, Samsung will end the practice of disabling Windows Update. Of course, one has to wonder why they did it in the first place. If you have one of the systems that disabled Windows Update, a patch will restore the system to perform the required updates.