As you probably know, there are two breeds of PowerShell: Windows PowerShell ships with Windows operating systems and is based on the full .NET...
database-tools
Controlling Audio Volume and Mute Status
To adjust an audio volume and mute/unmute the speaker, PowerShell can use C# code and access API functions like this: Add-Type -TypeDefinition...
Checking for Bad (Insecure) Passwords (Part 2)
In the previous tip we explained how you can use web services to safely test passwords and find out whether they have been compromised before....
How to look for extra funding for database administration tools
It is difficult for database administrators to run their databases efficiently and effectively without proper funding. Whether you are asking for...
Checking for Bad (Insecure) Passwords (Part 1)
Complex passwords are not necessarily safe. For example, “P@ssw0rd” is a very complex password, however extremely insecure. That’s...
Specifying Bit Flags Smart
In the previous tip you have seen how you can enable all SSL security protocols in PowerShell to connect to web services and web sites:...
Manipulating Data for Visual Analytics – Aqua Data Studio – IDE
As we end our Improving the Daily Life of a Database Developer blog series, we outline how to manipulate data for visual analytics. Be sure to...
Using SSL/HTTPS from PowerShell
Depending on your PowerShell and .NET Framework version and update, the default security protocol for secure web connections may still be SSL3. You...
Splitting Texts by Fixed Width
Let’s assume you need to split a text using a fixed width. For example, if you needed the first 5 character of a text, plus the remainder, how...
Get Hashes from Texts
Before the advent of PowerShell 5 (and Get-FileHash), to calculate hashes for strings and files, you’d need to resort to pure .NET methods....
Creating Hashes from Text
A hash is a way to uniquely identify a text without exposing the actual text. Hashes are used to identify texts, find duplicate file content, and...
Why should database administrators learn PowerShell?
Microsoft’s PowerShell is a task-based command-line shell and scripting language. It is an automation platform and scripting language that...
Pretty Out-GridView Dialog Boxes
When you pipe objects to Out-GridView, the cmdlet shows the default properties, so when you use a grid view window as a selection dialog, you have...
Comparing Data Sets and Object Scripts – Aqua Data Studio IDE
Last week, we discussed Generating and Executing Object SQL Scripts, and you can view that post here. In week 5 of our Improving the Daily...
Redirecting PowerShell Output to GridView
When you output data in PowerShell, it gets silently piped to Out-Default and ends up as text in the console. By overriding Out-Default, you can...
Compare AD User
Did you ever want to compare the properties of ADUsers? Provided you have installed the RSAT tools, you can read individual AD users with...
May #SQLChat – Designing Data Warehouses
IDERA’s #SQLChat is back! Join IDERA (@Idera_Software) and host Leslie Andrews (@landrews5807) on Wednesday May 29 at 11AM CT for...
Exporting and Importing Code-Signing Certificates
In the previous tip we explained how you can create self-signed code-signing certificates in Windows 10 and Server 2016 (and better). Today,...
How to be a better accidental database administrator
Data is more important than ever to business success. As data demands continue to skyrocket, many database administrators are given responsibilities...
Creating Code-Signing Certificates
Windows 10 and Server 2016 (and better) ship with an enhanced New-SelfSignedCert cmdlet that finally can create code-signing certificates. With...
Using Catalog Files to Maintain Folder Integrity
If you’d like to make sure a folder content stays untouched, you can use catalog files. A catalog file lists all folder content plus creates...
Generating and Executing Object SQL Scripts – Aqua Data Studio IDE
In week 4 of our Improving the Daily Life of a Database Developer blog series, we discuss the common task of generating and executing object...
Finding PowerShell Named Pipes
Each PowerShell host running PowerShell 5 or better opens a “named pipe” that you can detect. The code below identifies these named...
Finding the Latest PowerShell 6 Download URL
PowerShell 6 is open-source and maintained in a public repository on GitHub. There are frequent releases. Here is a way how you can find out the...