posts-powershell

One feedback we got on a previous tip directed us to "Carbon", a free PowerShell module crammed with useful PowerShell functions. One is...

PowerShell can easily create CSV files using Export-Csv, and if Microsoft Excel is installed on your system, PowerShell can then have Excel convert...

Provided you have Administrator privileges, you can use a simple WMI class to check whether someone is accessing your resources via the network:...

Are you tired of Windows unexpectedly rebooting, just because some newly installed updates required a reboot? Like most things, you can control the...

You may know that each string object has a method called Trim() that trims away whitespace both from the beginning and end of a string: $text =...

Here is a quick script illustrating how a PowerShell script can send back a numeric status code to the caller: $exitcode = 123 $p = Start-Process...

Occasionally, there are misunderstandings how "exit" works. Take this example: function abc { 'Start' exit 100 'Done' }...

Do you know off-hand what "break", "continue", "return", and "exit" do? These are powerful language...

Here is a quick and easy way to find NTFS permissions that are potentially dangerous. The script tests all folders in $pathsToCheck and reports any...

Would you like to know where a public IP address is located? Provided you have Internet access, you can query one of the public information...

Here is a quick way to get all IP addresses assigned to your computer: #requires -Version 1 $ipaddress = [System.Net.DNS]::GetHostByName($null)...

To check credentials (username plus password) against your current domain, you can use this approach: #requires -Version 1 $username =...

Whenever you use UNC paths in PowerShell, your script may break. Since a UNC path has no drive letter, PowerShell looks at the current directory...

With splatting, you can call cmdlets and programmatically control the parameters you submit. To do this, add the parameters and values to a hash...

RSS feeds can be read by using an XML object, however XML objects do not support proxies. Here is an example that uses Invoke-WebRequest to retrieve...

Get-ItemProperty can easily read registry values, but you do not get back any information about the registry value type. Get-ItemProperty -Path...

PowerShell can query websites that deliver XML content, and here is an example on how to query a movie database. Simply adjust the name of the TV...

To quickly compare folder content and find out files that exist only in one of two folders, try this example: $list1 = Get-ChildItem...

If you must put a credential object in your script, here is a way how you can convert a secure string into encrypted text: $password = Read-Host...

To quickly get a list of all drive letters in use, try this: #requires -Version 1 [Environment]::GetLogicalDrives() The result is a list of all...

PowerShell 3.0 and later In a previous tip we explained how you can use the Windows product ID stored in the Windows Registry to encrypt some text...

PowerShell 3.0 and later To store secret information, you can use a SecureString object and save it to disk. PowerShell automatically takes the user...

Microsoft Exchange 2013 To find the number of mailboxes, simply use the Exchange cmdlets and have Measure-Object count the results: Get-Mailbox...

PowerShell 2.0 and later When you create PowerShell functions with parameters, make sure you tell PowerShell what kind of values the parameter...

All Versions Cmdlets can declare how severe their impact is. Typically, cmdlets that make changes to the system that cannot be undone will have an...

PowerShell 3.0 ISE and later When you want to select the information returned by a cmdlet, you typically use Select-Object: Get-Process |...

All Versions There are free Active Directory cmdlets from Microsoft (part of the RSAT tools) and Dell (Quest). They take the complexity out of...

All PowerShell versions Some variables are protected and cannot be changed. To identify these, take a look at this line: Get-Variable | Where-Object...

All PowerShell versions To make PowerShell scripts more robust, you can code a lot of requirements right into your script variables. When you do...

All PowerShell versions Variables in PowerShell are volatile. You can overwrite and delete them – unless you create constants. Constants can...