Archive - October 2012

"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." - Confucius

Index

Timestamp in Loop
Simple Copy Script
Drag Pic To VBS Create HTA
Disable Sleep on Chromebook
HTA Progress bar
Cleanup LANDesk/Symantec IDs
Deploy IE Tab to Chrome Browser

Password Generator
Mouse Cursor Trailing Clock
Change Computer Description
Disable Back Button
Chrome Browser and Your Enterprise

Δ Tuesday, October 30th, 2012

Δ Timestamp in Loop

How to use time in a loop

[download resource files]

Have you ever noticed that your %time% or %date% do not update in a loop? That's because
variables are defined at run time. You need something that will update each time the loop is
processed, and this is how you do it.

Δ [email me]

Δ Sunday, October 28th, 2012

Δ Simple Copy Script

How to copy, check, and delete files

[download resource files]

I was asked to create a script that would copy files from a specific local folder to a network share,
check to see if the file made it to its destination, delete the source file if successful, and then
log successful and failed copies.

@Echo off
title Administrative File Copy
color 0a

REM MAKE SURE NOSTANDBY IS RUNNING
taskkill /f /im wscript.exe
start "" c:\windows\system32\nostandby.vbs

REM VERIFY DRIVE EXISTS
if not exist z:\ (
cls
Echo Could not find z:\ drive
pause
exit /b 0
)

REM VERIFY/MAKE DIRECTORY
if not exist z:\ShareName md z:\ShareName

REM GET FILE LIST
dir /b c:\Images\Copy>C:\Images\files.txt

REM EXECUTE ROUTINE ON FILE LIST
for /f "tokens=* delims= " %%g in (C:\Images\files.txt) do (

rem update date and time
FOR /F "TOKENS=*" %%B IN ('DATE/T') DO SET NowD=%%B
FOR /F "TOKENS=*" %%A IN ('TIME/T') DO SET NowT=%%A

cls
echo Copying file %%g...
rem copy file, log results
xcopy "C:\Images\Copy\%%g" "z:\ShareName" /c /y && %NowD% %NowT% %%g  Successful Copy!>>c:\images\log.txt || %NowD% %NowT% %%g Failed Copy!>>c:\images\log.txt

rem remove if copy was a success
if exist "z:\ShareName\%%g" del /q "C:\Images\Copy\%%g"

rem event log
c:\windows\system32\EVENTCREATE.exe /T INFORMATION /ID 777 /d "Software Packaging Engineer: File Copy %%g" 
)

cls
Echo Copy Complete!
ping.exe -n 4 127.0.0.1>nul
del /q C:\Images\files.txt

Exit /b 0

Δ [email me]

Δ Saturday, October 27th, 2012

Δ Drag Pic To VBS Create HTA

How to create a frame for your pictures

[download resource files]

Demo

Have you ever wanted a desktop script that you could just drag and drop a pic onto? And,
then it be displayed in a nice little popup frame? That's what this vbscript does. It creates
a temporary hta frame for your picture.

'  Drag a picture file (gif, jpg, bmp, including animated gifs) into this script or 
'  place the script (or a shortcut to it) in the SendTo folder 
'  Script will present the picture file in a minimal HTA window that lacks 
'  title or scroll bar making it appear more like a picture frame

on error resume next
Dim w, h, strDimensions, wsh, FSO, strType

Const filePropName = 0 
Const filePropType = 2

'Keep HTA open for x amount of seconds
intDur = 15  
           
strPictFile = WScript.Arguments(0) 
  
Set FSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")

'Add other picture types if you don't care about perfect resize dimensions
If FSO.FileExists(strPictFile) Then 
    Set objShell = CreateObject("Shell.Application") 
    strArgParent = FSO.GetParentFolderName(strPictFile) 
    strArgFileName = FSO.GetFileName(strPictFile) 
    Set objFolder = objShell.Namespace(strArgParent) 
  
    For Each strFileName In objFolder.Items 
        If objFolder.GetDetailsOf(strFileName, filePropName) = strArgFileName Then 
          strType = objFolder.GetDetailsOf(strFileName, filePropType) 
        End If 
    Next 
 
'Add other picture types if you don't care about perfect resize dimensions 
If Left(strType, 4) = "JPEG" OR Left(strType, 3) = "GIF" OR Left(strType, 6) = "Bitmap" Then 
'Continue
Else 
'Exit
WScript.Quit 
End If 
End if

'Return image dimensions
dim myImg, fs
Set fs= CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
set myImg = loadpicture(strPictFile)
W = round(myImg.width / 26.4583)
H = round(myImg.height / 26.4583)

'still working on this part for oversized pictures
'possible solution is to resize the picture and hta 
if H > 900 then 
w=w-100
h=h-100
end if

if H > 1000 then 
w=w-200
h=h-200
end if

if H > 1050 then 
w=w-250
h=h-250
end if

if H > 1100 then 
w=w-300
h=h-300
end if

if H > 1150 then 
w=w-350
h=h-350
end if

if H > 1200 then 
w=w-400
h=h-400
end if

if W > 1400 then 
w=w-100
h=h-100
end if

if W > 1500 then 
w=w-200
h=h-50
end if

if W > 1500 then 
w=w-250
h=h-75
end if

if W > 1600 then 
w=w-300
h=h-100
end if

if W > 1650 then 
w=w-350
h=h-150
end if

if W > 1700 then 
w=w-400
h=h-200
end if
 
  
'Create an HTA file with picture file as its background and timed close  
strHTAname = FSO.GetSpecialFolder(2) & "\Temp0.hta" 
Set txtHTA = FSO.CreateTextFile(strHTAname) 
  
With txtHTA 
  .WriteLine "<HTML>" 
  .WriteLine "<TITLE> </TITLE>" 
  .WriteLine "<HTA:Application" 
  .WriteLine "Caption=" & Chr(34) & "yes" & Chr(34) 
  .WriteLine "Sysmenu=" & Chr(34) & "yes" & Chr(34) 
  .WriteLine "Borderstyle="&Chr(34)&"thin"&Chr(34) 
  .WriteLine "SELECTION="&Chr(34)&"no"&Chr(34) 
  
  
  .WriteLine "Scroll=" & Chr(34) & "no" & Chr(34) & ">" 
  .WriteLine "<SCRIPT Language=" & Chr(34) & "VBScript" & Chr(34) & ">" 
  .WriteLine "Function CenterWindow(w, h)"
  .WriteLine "On error resume next "
  .WriteLine "Window.Focus()"
  .WriteLine "x = (screen.width-w)/2"
  .WriteLine "y = (screen.height-h)/2"
  .WriteLine "window.moveTo x, y"
  .WriteLine "End Function"
  .WriteLine "Sub Window_OnLoad" 
  .WriteLine "On error resume next" 
  .WriteLine "window.resizeTo " & w+20 & "," & h+30
  .WriteLine "Return = CenterWindow(" & w & "," & h & ")"
  .WriteLine "idTimer = window.setTimeout(" & Chr(34) & "CloseShop" & Chr(34) & ", " & CStr(intDur * 1000) & ", " & Chr(34) & "VBScript" & Chr(34) & ")" 
  .WriteLine "End Sub" 
  .WriteLine "Sub CloseShop" 
  .WriteLine "window.clearTimeout(idTimer)" 
  .WriteLine "self.close()" 
  .WriteLine "End Sub" 
  .WriteLine "</SCRIPT>" 
  .WriteLine "<BODY background=" & Chr(34) & strPictFile & Chr(34) & ">" 
  .WriteLine "</BODY>" 
  .WriteLine "</HTML>" 
  .Close 
End With 
  
 
'  Launch the HTA file 
Set wsh = CreateObject("WScript.Shell") 
wsh.Run "mshta.exe " & Chr(34) & strHTAname & Chr(34) 
  
'  Delete the temp HTA file 
WScript.Sleep 6000 
FSO.DeleteFile strHTAname

Δ [email me]

Δ Thursday, October 25th, 2012

Δ Disable Sleep on Chromebook

How to stop laptop from going into sleep/standby mode

[download resource files]

There is one annoying feature that comes with the Google ChromeBook; by default, it goes
into standby mode shortly after not being used. This makes it very difficult to monitor a task
or keep an eye on email. These are the steps to take to disable the standby feature.

Δ [email me]

Δ Wednesday, October 24th 2012

Δ HTA Progress bar

How to create a simple 100% hta progress bar

[download resource files]

Demo

Ah, the quest of progress bars never end. This is yet another way to present a progess bar.

<html>
<head>
<title id="title">ProgressBar 2.1</title>
<HTA:APPLICATION ID="porgbar" APPLICATIONNAME="progbartest">
<script language="vbscript">

'---------------------------------
	'This is an example of progressbar
	'---------------------------------
Public x,y, MyTitle, iTimerID, KeepGoing

Sub Window_Onload
MyTitle = document.Title
id("ProgBarToDo").innerText = String(80, "_") & "|"  '----Fills the progressbar with gray. 
			'You can hardcode it in the body html, but it's more flexible like this
window.ResizeTo 720, 125       '----Resizing to a better size for a progressbar
x=0       '--- x will be the number of item done.
y=35     '--- y will be the number of item to do.
End Sub

Sub Go
'---FOR TEST ONLY---
Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set oof = fso.CreateTextFile("testpb.vbs", True)
oof.WriteLine "wscript.sleep WScript.Arguments(0)"  '---We'll run a sleep script so that 
			'we can see the progressbar going slowly
oof.Close
Set WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
'----END OF TEST ONLY----

Progress(1)
	Do Until x=y
	x=x+1
	WshShell.Run "testpb.vbs 250",1,True  '----FOR TEST ONLY
		If KeepGoing = False Or window.screenTop > 10000 Then '---"window.screenTop > 10000" prevents 
					'the loop for continuing when the window is closed
		Exit Do
		End If
	Loop
Progress(0)
End Sub

Sub Progress(v)
	Select Case v
	Case 0  '---Stoping the progressbar activity---
		window.clearInterval(iTimerID)  '----Cancel the order to launch the Sub at the 500 milliseconds interval 
		iTimerID =""             '----Tells the program that iTimerID is nothing. 
					'Usefull to know if the progressbar is in activity or not.
		id("BtnGo").disabled = False       '----Allow the user to restart
		id("BtnCancel").disabled = True    '-----No need to press this button anymore
		id("BtnExit").disabled = False     '----Allow the user to exit the program
		Progress(2)            '----Update the progressbar one last time
		MsgBox "Operation finished.",,MyTitle
			
	Case 1  '---Starting the progressbar---
		iTimerID = window.setInterval("Progress(2)", 500)    '----- Launching the Sub Progress 
				'every 500 milliseconds with the variable 2
		id("BtnGo").disabled = True        '----No need to press the Go button twice
		id("BtnCancel").disabled = False   '---Allow the user to stop the process
		id("BtnExit").disabled = True      '----Forbid the user to close the program before it's over
		KeepGoing = True
		Progress(2)         '---- Once started we can update it already

Case 2  '---Updating the progressbar---
		document.Title = FormatPercent(x/y, 0) & MyTitle  '---Add a nice percentage indication of the progrss 
						'in the title bar, also visible in the desktop taskbar
		id("ProgBarText").innerText = x & "/" & y  '----Shows the number of itmed done 
						'and the number of items to do
		d = Round( x / (y/80)  ,0)   '------Formula: 80 is the width of the progressbar 
						'in number of characters
		id("ProgBarDone").innerText = String(d, "_")  '----Draws the progressing blue line indicating what is done
		If d<80 Then   '----The bar is not full yet
		id("ProgBarToDo").innerText = String(80-d, "_") & "|"  '----Draws the remaining grey part of the progressbar
		Else     '----If the progressbar is full, just do this...
		id("ProgBarToDo").innerText = "|"  '---No grey part left at all
		End If			
	End Select
End Sub

Function id(o)
Set id = document.getElementById(o)
End Function

Sub Help
MsgBox "This is an example of progressbar in HTA.",,MyTitle
End Sub

</script>
</head>
<body bgcolor="GreenYellow">

<input id="BtnGo"     type="button" value="Go"     onclick="Go">
<input id="BtnCancel" type="button" value="Cancel" onclick="KeepGoing=False" disabled="True">
<input id="BtnExit"   type="button" value="Exit"   onclick="window.close">
<input id="BtnHelp"   type="button" value="Help"   onclick="Help">
<br>

Done: <span id="ProgBarText">?</span><br>
<span id="ProgBarDone" style="background-color:blue"></span>
<span id="ProgBarToDo" style="background-color:silver"></span>

</body>
</html>

Δ [email me]

Δ Sunday, October 21st, 2012

Δ Cleanup LANDesk/Symantec IDs

How to fix landesk/symantec IDs

[download resource files]

This was created to do some cleanup after someone sysprepped a computer with static IDs.
Symantec and LANDesk go bonkers when there are multiple machines on your network using
the same IDs. This script was utilized on post installation setup to provide a workaround
(and to keep from having to build another image).

@rem Cleans up registry for Symantec IDs
@rem Cleans up registry for LANDesk IDs
@rem Cleans up registry for LANDesk Inventory
@rem Created by Eddie Jackson
@rem Date 11/5/2012

@Echo on
title Administrative Regedit by Eddie Jackson
color 0a
set UserN=%username%

if [%UserN%] EQU [] set UserN=landesk
if [%UserN%] EQU %computername% set UserN=landesk

rem event log
c:\windows\system32\EVENTCREATE.exe /T INFORMATION /ID 777 /d "Software Packaging Engineer: Registry Prep STARTED by %UserN%"

%windir%\system32\reg.exe add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Symantec\Symantec Endpoint Protection\SMC\SYLINK\SyLink" /v HardwareID /t REG_SZ /d "" /f
%windir%\system32\reg.exe add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Symantec\Symantec Endpoint Protection\SMC\SYLINK\SyLink" /v HostName /t REG_SZ /d "" /f

%windir%\system32\reg.exe delete "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Intel\LANDesk\Common Api" /v UniqueID /f
%windir%\system32\reg.exe delete "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\LANDesk\Common Api" /v UniqueID /f
%windir%\system32\reg.exe delete "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\LANDesk\Inventory\LogonHistory" /v Logons /f
%windir%\system32\reg.exe delete "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\LANDesk\Inventory\LogonHistory" /v Locations /f

rem event log
c:\windows\system32\EVENTCREATE.exe /T INFORMATION /ID 777 /d "Software Packaging Engineer: Registry Prep COMPLETED SUCCESSFULLY!"

rem reg stamp
c:\windows\system32\REG.exe ADD "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MySoftware\Reg_Prep\1.0.0.0" /v InstallDate /d "%date% %time%" /t REG_SZ /f

exit /b 0

Δ [email me]

Δ Thursday, October 11th, 2012

Δ Deploy IE Tab to Chrome Browser

How to deploy ie tab using the freeware edition

[download resource files]

This covers the nearly impossible task of deploying IE Tab to your enterprise machines.
It's not so much the IE Tab app itself, as it is the settings thereof. There is no way to populate
Auto URLs and other options you would like to send out to your fleet. Ah, but a little copying
and pasting the right files from a reference machine (this can be any machine that has the setup
options you want), and viloa, you now have the ability to mass deploy IE Tab options.

Steps
1 - Install IE Tab on a reference machine.
2 - Setup IE Tab exactly the way you want it, including URLs and other settings.
3 - Copy the files below to your script folder. Note, they are located in the user's chrome folder.
4 - Use/edit the script below to work in your environment
5 - Use deployment software like SCCM, LANDesk, Altiris, etc. to deploy and run the script

The files you want to capture are:

chrome-extension_hehijbfgiekmjfkfjpbkbammjbdenadd_0.localstorage and
chrome-extension_hehijbfgiekmjfkfjpbkbammjbdenadd_0.localstorage-journal.

Script
@echo on set CurDir=%CD% set _curruser=%%~nu taskkill.exe /f /im chrome.exe :::::::::::BEGIN OS CHECK:::::::::::: ver | find "XP" > nul if %ERRORLEVEL% == 0 goto :winxp ver | find "7600" > nul if %ERRORLEVEL% == 0 goto :win7 ver | find "7601" > nul if %ERRORLEVEL% == 0 goto :win7 goto :end ::::::::::::END OS CHECK::::::::::::: :winxp REM RETURN WINXP USER PROFILES - run routine minus exceptions rem extract ie tab source files "%CurDir%\source_files.exe" rem get user profiles for /D %%u in (C:\docume~1\*) do ( rem add exceptions here if "%_curruser%" NEQ "administrator" ( if "%_curruser%" NEQ "All Users" ( if "%_curruser%" NEQ "Default" ( if "%_curruser%" NEQ "LocalService" ( if "%_curruser%" NEQ "NetworkService" ( rem return current user rem for /f "TOKENS=1,2,*" %%a in ('tasklist /FI "IMAGENAME eq explorer.exe" /FO LIST /V') do if /i "%%a %%b"=="User Name:" set _currdomain_user=%%c rem for /f "TOKENS=1,2 DELIMS=\" %%a in ("%_currdomain_user%") do set _currdomain=%%a & set _curruser=%%b rem copy root files copy /y /v "%CurDir%\Extension Cookies" "C:\Documents and Settings\%_curruser%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\" copy /y /v "%CurDir%\Extension Cookies-journal" "C:\Documents and Settings\%_curruser%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\" copy /y /v "%CurDir%\First Run" "C:\Documents and Settings\%_curruser%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\" copy /y /v "%CurDir%\ietab2.5.24.11.crx" "C:\Documents and Settings\%_curruser%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\" copy /y /v "%CurDir%\Preferences" "C:\Documents and Settings\%_curruser%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\" rem make directory structure md "C:\Documents and Settings\%_curruser%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions" md "C:\Documents and Settings\%_curruser%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\hehijbfgiekmjfkfjpbkbammjbdenadd" md "C:\Documents and Settings\%_curruser%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\hehijbfgiekmjfkfjpbkbammjbdenadd\3.6.30.1_0" md "C:\Documents and Settings\%_curruser%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\hehijbfgiekmjfkfjpbkbammjbdenadd\3.6.30.1_0\_locales" md "C:\Documents and Settings\%_curruser%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\hehijbfgiekmjfkfjpbkbammjbdenadd\3.6.30.1_0\plugin" rem copy directory loose files copy /y /v "%CurDir%\Extensions\hehijbfgiekmjfkfjpbkbammjbdenadd\3.6.30.1_0\*.*" "C:\Documents and Settings\%_curruser%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\hehijbfgiekmjfkfjpbkbammjbdenadd\3.6.30.1_0\" rem copy plugin dll copy /y /v "%CurDir%\Extensions\hehijbfgiekmjfkfjpbkbammjbdenadd\3.6.30.1_0\plugin\blackfishietab.dll" "C:\Documents and Settings\%_curruser%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\hehijbfgiekmjfkfjpbkbammjbdenadd\3.6.30.1_0\plugin\" rem copy all other files xcopy "%CurDir%\Extensions\*.*" "C:\Documents and Settings\%_curruser%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\" /s /e /v /y /c /r rem populate Auto URLs - 2 files get copied over md "C:\Documents and Settings\%_curruser%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Local Storage" copy /y /v "%CurDir%\Local Storage\*.*" "C:\Documents and Settings\%_curruser%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Local Storage\" ) ) ) ) ) ) exit /b 0 :win7 REM RETURN WIN7 USER PROFILES - run routine minus exceptions rem extract ie tab source files "%CurDir%\source_files.exe" rem get user profiles for /D %%u in (C:\Users\*) do ( rem add exceptions here if %_curruser% NEQ Public ( if %_curruser% NEQ Default ( rem return current user rem for /f "TOKENS=1,2,*" %%a in ('tasklist /FI "IMAGENAME eq explorer.exe" /FO LIST /V') do if /i "%%a %%b"=="User Name:" set _currdomain_user=%%c rem for /f "TOKENS=1,2 DELIMS=\" %%a in ("%_currdomain_user%") do set _currdomain=%%a & set _curruser=%%b rem copy root files copy /y /v "%CurDir%\Extension Cookies" "C:\Users\%_curruser%\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\" copy /y /v "%CurDir%\Extension Cookies-journal" "C:\Users\%_curruser%\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\" copy /y /v "%CurDir%\First Run" "C:\Users\%_curruser%\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\" copy /y /v "%CurDir%\ietab2.5.24.11.crx" "C:\Users\%_curruser%\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\" copy /y /v "%CurDir%\Preferences" "C:\Users\%_curruser%\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\" rem make directory structure md "C:\Users\%_curruser%\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions" md "C:\Users\%_curruser%\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\hehijbfgiekmjfkfjpbkbammjbdenadd" md "C:\Users\%_curruser%\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\hehijbfgiekmjfkfjpbkbammjbdenadd\3.6.30.1_0" md "C:\Users\%_curruser%\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\hehijbfgiekmjfkfjpbkbammjbdenadd\3.6.30.1_0\_locales" md "C:\Users\%_curruser%\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\hehijbfgiekmjfkfjpbkbammjbdenadd\3.6.30.1_0\plugin" rem copy directory loose files copy /y /v "%CurDir%\Extensions\hehijbfgiekmjfkfjpbkbammjbdenadd\3.6.30.1_0\*.*" "C:\Users\%_curruser%\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\hehijbfgiekmjfkfjpbkbammjbdenadd\3.6.30.1_0\" rem copy plugin dll copy /y /v "%CurDir%\Extensions\hehijbfgiekmjfkfjpbkbammjbdenadd\3.6.30.1_0\plugin\blackfishietab.dll" "C:\Users\%_curruser%\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\hehijbfgiekmjfkfjpbkbammjbdenadd\3.6.30.1_0\plugin\" rem copy all other files xcopy "%CurDir%\Extensions\*.*" "C:\Users\%_curruser%\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions\" /s /e /v /y /c /r rem populate Auto URLs - 2 files get copied over md "C:\Users\%_curruser%\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Local Storage" copy /y /v "%CurDir%\Local Storage\*.*" "C:\Users\%_curruser%\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Local Storage\" ) ) ) exit /b 0 :end exit /b 0

Δ [email me]

Δ Wednesday, October 10th, 2012

Δ Password Generator

How to generate random passwords

[download resource files]

Demo

Ever need something to create passwords for end-users? Wait no longer, this will generate the
random passwords you need.

'   The numbers 0 and 1 have been removed to avoid confusion with the letters O and L.
 '   password_length should be a number between 4 and 127, although a limit of 14 is recommended for
 '   Win9x clients.  Default is 7
 '   Complexity must be 1,2 or 3
 '   Uniqueness value of 0 will make each password character unique.  A value of 1 [default] will allow
 '       repeated characters.
 '   If you don't pass values at the command prompt, you will be prompted for each value.
 '
 ' **************************************************************************
 
On Error Resume Next
 strDebug=1      'set to 0 to turn on Debugging statements
 If strDebug=0 Then
 wscript.echo "Debugging is ON"
 End If
 
'Define the password seed strings
 strSimple="ab*c@def!gh2ij3kl4m#n5op$6qr7st8u%v9w^x&y(z)"
 strComplex="abc8defGHIJghijkl3mnoLMNpqr2st^&)uvwxyz9ABCDE4F7KO6PQRS*(TUVWXYZ!@#5$%_+-="
 strInsane="abcd_+e-=fghi2jklmQR9Sn5opMNqrs3tuvIJw4x*(;yzABCD),>EFGH7K@#$%^L8OPTUVW./?XYZ!&'[]}{\|~`:"
 
If wscript.arguments.count >0 then
   if InStr(1,Wscript.arguments(0),"?",vbTextCompare)<>"0" then
     ShowHelp(1)
         wscript.quit
   end if
 End If
 
strTitle="Random Password Generator"
 
If Wscript.arguments.count < 1 Then
   strLength=InputBox("How long do you want the password to be?",strTitle,"7")
     If strLength="" then
     Wscript.echo "No value entered or job cancelled."
     wscript.quit
     End If
 Else
   strLength=wscript.arguments(0)
 End If
 
If Wscript.arguments.count < 2 Then
   strSeed=InputBox("How complex do you want it to be?" & VBCRLF & "1 - simple" & VBCRLF & "2 - complex" & VBCRLF & "3 - insane" & VBCRLF & "4 - Help",strTitle,1)
 Select Case strSeed
   Case 1
     strSeed=strSimple
   Case 2
     strSeed=strComplex
   Case 3
     strSeed=strInsane
    Case 4
     ShowHelp(0)
      wscript.quit
   Case Else
    Wscript.echo "Invalid selection.  Please try again."
    Wscript.quit
 End Select
 
Else
 
strSeed=Wscript.Arguments(1)
 Select Case strSeed
   Case 1
     strSeed=strSimple
   Case 2
     strSeed=strComplex
   Case 3
     strSeed=strInsane
    Case 4
     ShowHelp(0)
      wscript.quit
   Case Else
    Wscript.echo "Invalid selection.  Please try again."
    Wscript.quit
 End Select
 
End If
 
If Wscript.Arguments.Count < 3 Then
   askUnique=InputBox("Do you want all unique characters?  Enter 0 for Yes and 1 for No",strTitle,"1")
 
Select Case askUnique
  Case 1
  strUnique=1
  Case 0
  strUnique=0
  Case Else
  wscript.echo "Invalid response or operation cancelled"
  wscript.quit
 End Select
 
Else
 
askUnique=Wscript.Arguments(2)
 Select Case askUnique
  Case 1
  strUnique=1
  Case 0
  strUnique=0
  Case Else
  wscript.echo "Invalid response or operation cancelled"
  wscript.quit
 End Select
 
End If
 
If strDebug=0 then
  wscript.echo "strUnique is set to " & strUnique
 End If
 
Wscript.Echo "Password is " & strPass(strLength,strSeed,strUnique,strDebug)
 
wscript.quit
 
'\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
 Function GenIt(MFactor)
 Randomize
 GenIt=INT(RND()*MFactor)+1
 end Function
 '\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
 
'\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
 Function StrPass(strLength,strSeed,strUnique,strDebug)
 'strLength is how long a password to generate
 'strSeed is the source string to characters to build the password from
 strPass=""
 
If strDebug=0 then
   wscript.echo "Building a " & strLength & " character password from:" & VBCRLF & strSeed & VBCRLF
 End If
 
MFactor=Len(strSeed)
 
For x=1 to strLength
  strNum=GenIt(MFactor)
  strNext=Mid(strSeed,strNum,1)
     If strUnique=0 then
         If strDebug=0 then
         wscript.echo "Checking if " & strNext & " has already been used"
         End If
     strPass=strPass & ChkNext(strNext,strPass,strSeed,strDebug)
      Else
     strPass=strPass&strNext
     End If
 Next
 
End Function
 '\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
 
'\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
 Function ChkNext(strNext,strPass,strSeed,strDebug)
 strTmp=strNext
 MFactor=Len(strSeed)
 
If InStr(1,strPass,strNext,1) <>0 Then
     If strDebug=0 then
     wscript.echo "Duplicate character"
     End If
  strNum=GenIt(MFactor)
     If strDebug=0 then
     wscript.echo "New number is " & strNum
     End If
  strNext=Mid(strSeed,strNum,1)
     If strDebug=0 then
     wscript.echo "New character to check is " & strNext
     End If
  strTmp=ChkNext(strNext,strPass,strSeed,strDebug)
 End if
     If strDebug=0 then
     wscript.echo "At end of function strTmp="&strTmp
     End If
 ChkNext=strTmp
     If strDebug=0 then
     wscript.echo "ending ChkNext function"
     End If
 
End Function
 '\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
 
'\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
 Sub ShowHelp(Detail)
 
msg=VBCRLF & "RANDPASS.VBS HELP --" & VBCRLF & " This script will generate a random password of X length.  It will build the password from seed strings of increasing complexity." & VBCRLF & "1 - simple:" & VBCRLF & "    " & strSimple & VBCRLF & "2 - complex:" & VBCRLF & "    " & strComplex & VBCRLF & "3 - insane:" & VBCRLF & "    " & strInsane & VBCRLF & VBCRLF & "The numbers 0 and 1 have been removed to avoid confusion with the letters O and L." & VBCRLF
 
If Detail=0 then
 wscript.echo msg
  else
  msg=msg & VBCRLF & " Password_length should be a number between 4 and 127, although a limit of 14 is " & VBCRLF & "recommended for Win9x clients.  Default is 7." & VBCRLF & " Complexity must be 1,2 or 3." & VBCLRF & " A uniqueness value of 0 will make each password character" & VBCRLF & "unique.  A value of 1 [default] will allow repeated characters." & VBCRLF & " If you don't pass values at the command prompt, you will be prompted for each value." & VBCRLF & VBCRLF & "Usage:  cscript //nologo RandPass.vbs [password_length]|[?] [complexity] [uniqueness]" & VBCRLF & "cscript randpass.vbs ? will display this help message." & VBCRLF
  wscript.echo msg
 end if
 
wscript.quit
 
End Sub

Δ [email me]

Δ Sunday, October 7th, 2012

Δ Mouse Cursor Trailing Clock

How to have a clock follow your cursor

[download resource files]

Demo

If you're hung up on time like I am, this is perfect for you. Add this to a webpage or your
HTA apps, and watch the time follow your cursor.

</head>
<body>

colors = new Array('000000','000000','000000');  //Clock face colors.
sCol = '000000';  //seconds colour.
mCol = '000000';  //minutes colour.
hCol = 'red';  //hours colour.
//Alter nothing below!
H = '....';
H = H.split('');
H = H.reverse();
M = '.....';
M = M.split('');
M = M.reverse();
S = '.....';
S = S.split('');
S = S.reverse();
dots = 12;
var Ypos = 0,Xpos = 0,Ybase = 0,Xbase = 0;
var ay = 0, ax = 0, Ay = 0, Ax = 0, by = 0, bx = 0, By = 0, Bx = 0, cy 
= 0, cx = 0, Cy = 0, Cx = 0, dy = 0, dx = 0, Dy = 0, Dx = 0;
count = 0;
count_a = 0;
move = 1;
ie4=document.all
ns = (document.layers)?1:0;

viz = (document.layers)?'hide':'hidden';
if (ns) {
for (i = 0; i < dots; i++)
document.write('<layer name=nface'+i+' top=0 left=0 bgcolor=#000000 clip="0,0,3,3"></layer>');
for (i = 0; i < S.length; i++)
document.write('<layer name=nx'+i+' top=0 left=0 width=36 height=36><font face=Verdana size=4 color='+sCol+'><center>'+S[i]+'</center></font></layer>');
for (i = 0; i < M.length; i++)
document.write('<layer name=ny'+i+' top=0 left=0 width=36 height=36><font face=Verdana size=4 color='+mCol+'><center>'+M[i]+'</center></font></layer>');
for (i = 0; i < H.length; i++)
document.write('<layer name=nz'+i+' top=0 left=0 width=36 height=36><font face=Verdana size=4 color='+hCol+'><center>'+H[i]+'</center></font></layer>');
}
else if (ie4){
document.write('<div id="W" style="position:absolute;top:0px;left:0px"><div style="position:relative">');
for (i = 0; i < dots; i++) {
document.write('<div id="face" style="position:absolute;top:0px;left:0px;width:2px;height:3px;font-size:7px;background:#000000"></div>');
}
document.write('</div></div>');
document.write('<div id="X" style="position:absolute;top:0px;left:0px"><div style="position:relative">');
for (i = 0; i < S.length; i++) {
document.write('<div id="x" style="position:absolute;width:36px;height:36px;font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;color:'+sCol+';text-align:center;padding-top:10px">'+S[i]+'</div>');
}
document.write('</div></div>')
document.write('<div id="Y" style="position:absolute;top:0px;left:0px"><div style="position:relative">');
for (i = 0; i < M.length; i++) {
document.write('<div id="y" style="position:absolute;width:36px;height:36px;font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;color:'+mCol+';text-align:center;padding-top:10px">'+M[i]+'</div>');
}
document.write('</div></div>')
document.write('<div id="Z" style="position:absolute;top:0px;left:0px"><div style="position:relative">');
for (i = 0; i < H.length; i++) {
document.write('<div id="z" style="position:absolute;width:36px;height:36px;font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;color:'+hCol+';text-align:center;padding-top:10px">'+H[i]+'</div>');
}
document.write('</div></div>');
}
if (ns) {
window.captureEvents(Event.MOUSEMOVE);
function nsMouse(evnt) {
Ypos = evnt.pageY + 100;
Xpos = evnt.pageX + 100;
}
window.onMouseMove = nsMouse;
}
else if (ie4){
function ieMouse() {
Ypos = event.y + 100;
Xpos = event.x + 100;
}
document.onmousemove = ieMouse;
}
function clock() {
time = new Date ();
secs = time.getSeconds();
sec = -1.57 + Math.PI * secs / 30;
mins = time.getMinutes();
min = -1.57 + Math.PI * mins / 30;
hr = time.getHours();
hrs = -1.575 + Math.PI * hr / 6 + Math.PI * parseInt(time.getMinutes()) 
/ 360;
Ybase = 15;
Xbase = 15;

if (ns) {
document.layers["nx"+0].visibility = viz;
document.layers["ny"+0].visibility = viz;
document.layers["nz"+0].visibility = viz;
for (i = 0; i < S.length; i++) {
document.layers["nx"+i].top = ay - 12 + (i * Ybase) * Math.sin(sec);
document.layers["nx"+i].left = ax - 12 + (i * Xbase) * Math.cos(sec);
}
for (i = 0; i < M.length; i++) {
document.layers["ny"+i].top = by - 12 + (i * Ybase) * Math.sin(min);
document.layers["ny"+i].left = bx - 12 + (i * Xbase) * Math.cos(min);
}
for (i = 0; i < H.length; i++) {
document.layers["nz"+i].top = cy - 12 + (i * Ybase) * Math.sin(hrs);
document.layers["nz"+i].left = cx - 12 + (i * Xbase) * Math.cos(hrs);
}
for (i = 0; i < dots; ++i) {
document.layers["nface"+i].top = dy - 2 + (70 * 
Math.sin(-0.49+dots+i/1.9));
document.layers["nface"+i].left = dx + 4 + (70 * 
Math.cos(-0.49+dots+i/1.9));
   }
}
else if (ie4) {
var scrll = document.body.scrollTop;
W.style.pixelTop = scrll;
X.style.pixelTop = scrll;
Y.style.pixelTop = scrll;
Z.style.pixelTop = scrll;
x[0].style.visibility=viz;
y[0].style.visibility = viz;
z[0].style.visibility = viz;
for (i = 0; i < S.length; i++) {
x[i].style.pixelTop = ay - 12 + (i * Ybase) * Math.sin(sec);
x[i].style.pixelLeft = ax - 12 + (i * Xbase) * Math.cos(sec);
}
for (i = 0; i < M.length; i++) {
y[i].style.pixelTop = by - 12 + (i * Ybase) * Math.sin(min);
y[i].style.pixelLeft = bx - 12 + (i * Xbase) * Math.cos(min);
}
for (i = 0; i < H.length; i++) {
z[i].style.pixelTop = cy - 12 + (i * Ybase) * Math.sin(hrs);
z[i].style.pixelLeft = cx - 12 + (i * Xbase) * Math.cos(hrs);
}
for (i = 0; i < dots; ++i) {
face[i].style.pixelTop = dy + 6 + (70 * Math.sin(-0.49 + dots + i / 
1.9));
face[i].style.pixelLeft = dx + 4 + (70 * Math.cos(-0.49 + dots + i / 
1.9));
      }
   }
}
function MouseFollow() {
ay = Math.round(Ay += ((Ypos) - Ay) * 4 / 15);
ax = Math.round(Ax += ((Xpos) - Ax) * 4 / 15);
by = Math.round(By += (ay - By) * 4 / 15);
bx = Math.round(Bx += (ax - Bx) * 4 / 15);
cy = Math.round(Cy += (by - Cy) * 4 / 15);
cx = Math.round(Cx += (bx - Cx) * 4 / 15);
dy = Math.round(Dy += (cy - Dy) * 4 / 15);
dx = Math.round(Dx += (cx - Dx) * 4 / 15);
clock();
setTimeout('MouseFollow()',30);
}

function StartAll() {
MouseFollow();
}
if (document.layers || document.all) window.onload = StartAll;
//  End -->
</script>

</body>
</html>

Δ [email me]

Δ Friday, October 5th, 2012

Δ Change Computer Description

How to modify computer description

[download resource files]

This is a simple vbscript to change the computer's description. It instantiates the object needed to update
the registry key with the new description.

Δ [email me]

Δ Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012

Δ Disable Back Button

How to disable the back button in IE

[download resource files]

I don't recommend using this without thinking first (can be annoying as a person becomes
trapped in a webpage). A good use for this is for business sites where you pay for a product,
and the web designer absolutely doesn't want you hitting back due to merchant account
processing; this could result in the buyer being double-billed.

Δ [email me]

Δ Monday, October 1st, 2012

Δ Chrome Browser and Your Enterprise

How to deploy chrome to your enterprise

Common Problems and Solutions

Installation

What method should we use to install and auto-update?

There are two ways to handle installation and version management:

1. Install the MSI and leave auto-updates on.

Implications to consider:
•	The installations will auto-update themselves, so the MSI you use to deploy will eventually not work for repairs and over-installs. You'll need to get the latest MSI.
•	Updates are performed silently, and occur often.
•	Your users will always be up-to-date with the latest stable version.
2. Install the MSI and turn auto-updates off.

Implications to consider:
•	You must keep the MSI you use to deploy archived for repairs or over-installs, as we do not publish old MSIs.
•	Not auto-updating will mean users are running old, and potentially vulnerable, versions of the browser.
•	You can push a new MSI install over the old MSI install when you're ready.

I'm trying to install behind a firewall, and the install is timing out and failing.

The problem is that by default, Google Update is attempting to check for an update on install and fails at the firewall. 
When passed a special parameter, the installation will not do this check, and should install regardless of outside connectivity.

The special parameter is "NOGOOGLEUPDATEPING=1", and is used like this:

msiexec /i GoogleChromeStandaloneEnterprise.msi NOGOOGLEUPDATEPING=1 /l*v log.txt

When I attempt to push a new MSI, the install fails with an error that says: "Google Chrome or Google Chrome Frame cannot be updated on account of inconsistent Google Update Group Policy settings. Use the Group Policy Editor to set the update policy override for the Google Chrome Binaries application and try again."

Between Chrome 12 and 13, the group policy settings to control auto-updates changed. Rather than have auto-updates start unexpectedly, this error was added so that you know to set the new auto-update group policies.

Find out more information here: 
http://www.google.com/support/a/bin/answer.py?answer=1385049&topic=1064263

Can I store my users' Chrome profiles on a Roaming Profile? Or sync it to a network drive?

Chrome user profiles are not backwards-compatible. If you try to use mismatched profiles and Chrome versions, you may experience crashes or data loss. This mismatch can often occur if a Chrome profile is synced to a roaming profile or network drive across multiple machines that have different versions of Chrome. We strongly encourage admins & users to consider using Google Chrome Sync, which persists user settings across machines, instead of using roaming profiles for the time being.

That said, there are policies for controlling the location of the user profile and the cache:
http://dev.chromium.org/administrators/policy-list-3#UserDataDir
http://dev.chromium.org/administrators/policy-list-3#DiskCacheDir

I'm trying to install the MSI over an existing MSI install, but I keep getting the error "more recent version exists".

If you left auto-updates on, it's possible that the version of the MSI you're trying to install is already outdated. If you already have the dev channel or beta channel installed, the MSI cannot overwrite that since they'll be on newer versions too.

Verify that you are attempting to install a later version of the MSI by downloading the latest version here.

To see what the latest stable version of Chrome is for Windows, click here.

I'm trying to repair an installation, but the repair is failing.

If you left auto-updates on, it is likely that your installs auto-updated to a later version. This is causing the repair to fail because you're already on a later version than the MSI.

You can download the latest stable MSI here, and use this MSI for the repair instead.

When applying the MSI over a previous install, I get the error "There is a problem with this Windows Installer package. A program required for this install to complete could not be run. Contact your support personal or package vendor"

If you are running with the /f flag to run it as a "minor" update, you will need to use the /i flag to run it as a "major" update instead.

Do you have old versions of the MSI available?

No. The latest stable version is always available at the link above.

If you are looking to repair an existing MSI install, and you left auto-updates on, you can repair with the latest stable MSI.

How often do you update the MSI?

We update the MSI on every stable release. We'll release a new "major" version to the stable channel about every six weeks, although there are often several updates to the stable channel between major updates that typically contain crash and security fixes.

If, for some reason, the version of the MSI at the link above is old, please let us know by filing a bug so we can fix it!

What happens if the user already has 'consumer Chrome' installed and I try to push out 'Enterprise Chrome'? Will they end up with two Chromes?

There is only ever one Chrome on the machine. When the MSI notices that consumer Chrome is already there, it will remove it and update the user's shortcuts. 
The next time the user attempts to launch Chrome, it will launch the 'Enterprise Chrome' instead.

This should look seamless to the user, but sometimes behaves inconsistently. You may want to consider uninstalling 'consumer Chrome' before pushing out the MSI.

I want to remove 'consumer Chrome' from target machines entirely before pushing out 'Enterprise Chrome'. What command can I use to uninstall?

You can append several registry keys together with an additional parameter, and execute them.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Google\Update\ClientState\{8A69D345-D564-463c-AFF1-A69D9E530F96}\UninstallString + HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Google\Update\ClientState\{8A69D345-D564-463c-AFF1-A69D9E530F96}\UninstallArguments + ' --force-uninstall'

The command will end up looking something like

'[Path to user's data directory]\setup.exe --uninstall --force-uninstall'

If I uninstall 'consumer Chrome', will that wipe out the user's data?

No. Users' data is kept separate from the Chrome installation.

However, if the user was using a more recent version of Chrome, their profile data may not work in an older version of Chrome and they'll see a warning when they try to run it. You may want to verify that you're pushing out the latest stable channel version of Chrome.

Auto-Update

I see a new version was just released, by my installs don't seem to be auto-updating.

We typically throttle updates the first few days after an update to watch stability rates and make sure we're pushing out a good update. Not all users will get the update immediately, so you may see some machines auto-update and others not in this timeframe.

If you require the most up-to-date version immediately, you may want to download the latest MSI and push it out manually.

Group Policy

What policy settings do I need to use to integrate with my Windows NTLM login?

Using the AuthServerWhitelist policy, set the value of the policy to the list of the Domain Controllers' FQDN and the proxy server. Also, using the AuthSchemes policy, specify all four of basic, digest, ntlm, and negotiate.

I'm trying to force-install an extension that is internal to our network (not on the Chrome Web Store), but it's not being force-installed.

First, verify that the policy you are applying is being properly picked up by the browser. Navigate to "about:policy" and look for a policy named "ExtensionInstallForcelist" -- your setting should be there. If it is not, it is possible that your policy is under the wrong registry key.

Second, verify that the extension you built installs manually -- install the extension CRX and verify it installs correctly (you may see some security warnings when installing manually that you will not see when force-installing).

Third, verify that other extensions from the Chrome Web Store install properly. There is an example in the documentation.

Lastly, if all of that does not work, it is likely that the URL you specified as part of the policy setting does not point to a valid auto-update XML file. The URL specified in the policy must point to the auto-update XML file, not the CRX.

I'm trying to set the default search provider, but it's not working.

The policy uses a different format for the search provider URL from the format you see when you open the options dialog. Using the 'options dialog format' will actually cause the policy to not be respected.

Instead of using "%s" in the search URL to denote the search keywords, you must use "{searchTerms}" instead. Using Google's search URL as an example:

Wrong: http://www.google.com/?q=%s

Right: http://www.google.com/?q={searchTerms}

Δ [email me]

About

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   Systems Engineer

   Living and Loving Life

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