How to generate a Remote Desktop Manager (RDMan) group XML for your infrastructure with PowerShell

I thought that RDMan, aka Remote Desktop Connection Manager, fitted perfectly in “A BLAST FROM THE PAST” category of software used back in the day by every System Engineer working on Windows Systems. I was wrong. Believe it or not, it is still strong today!

When you need to manage multiple servers/workstation remotely via RDP(Remote Desktop Protocol) it’s for most professionals the obvious choice. The GUI of the application is straightforward and in most cases or scenarios it’s fit for purpose. Continue reading “How to generate a Remote Desktop Manager (RDMan) group XML for your infrastructure with PowerShell”

How To Create a Local Admin Account with Powershell

how-to-create-a-local-admin-account-with-powershell

If not well designed or managed, User and Administrator privilege separation for users/system administrators on a Windows OS can be painful for both sides. Indeed, Windows OS doesn’t have a simple and neat management like a SUDO on Linux OS, but settings need to be tailored with GPO or at least with different users.

Regular user accounts (e.g. Domain Users) should not be a member of the local administrators group for a security point of view.

Using separate users: a standard one and an admin member of the local administrators group is at least a good way to mitigate the risk of potential/malicious/accidental damage to the system. It doesn’t matter if most of the today’s threats can deal with the regular user context.

Nothing new if you’re familiar with the least privilege access, if is something you’ve never think about it… Well, I can use a simple effective analogy for allowing user with local admin rights on their workstation.. it’s like to let them run with the scissors all the time… is it worthy or simply asking for trouble?

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PowerShell: Test-CurrentUserIsLocalAdmin

Is it very useful to run simple checks to validate the user environment, especially when checking if the context while user is working is aligned with out expectations or requirements. But is not always easy to get a simple information such as if the current user is a local admin or not.
It’s very easy to check it from the user interface, but I found that can be important to gather that information with powershell without running as an administrator.

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