During mass reainstallation/redeployment/migration of large number of PCs, always question about applications is raised.

How to deploy/deliver applications once all machines are resintalled?

If you have SCCM in the infrastructure, this might help a lot with automation. All you need is mapping between computer name and applications (to be more specific collection ids) and PowerShell console on SCCM server.

Then you just need to prepare input files for the script below and you can automate application deployment on mass scale.

(more…)

Just released small app for Windows platform. This app allows to decrypt type 7 password from Cisco devices as well as passwords from Cisco VPN profiles (PCF files).

Password which can be recovered using this app:

• wireless keys fro Cisco access points,
• RADIUS/TACACS shared secrets
• NTP authentication keys
• Enable passwords (NOT enable secrets, which are stored using MD5)
• enc_GroupPwd – VPN group password from PCF file
• enc_UserPassword – VPN user password from PCF file

Application also allows to store password and/or send tchem via email after decryption.

You can find app in Windows Store:

When you try to connect to SQL Server from PowerShell script and you get following message:

Unable to find type [Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.Server]

then you have to download and install following components:

• Microsoft System CLR Types for SQL Server 2008 R2
• Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Shared Management Objects
• Microsoft Windows PowerShell Extensions for SQL Server 2008 R2

From here.

Handy information during pre-deployment checks/validations.

When you get a message “Your organization’s policies are preventing us from completing this action for you. For more info, please contact your help desk.” it means that you might want to apply this fix to be able to open links in emails:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;310049

Same fix applies also to other Office applications (they all might be affected along with Outlook).