Category: Tips & Tricks
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PowerShell: Building a script to find all members of several given groups
Last week, I showed you how I find all the nested members of a specified group. When we get requests for such audits, however, they usually specify doing so for a number of groups. Now, we could of course do it, one group at a time, adding information to our output as we go, however…
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Building a script to find all members of a given group
Some time ago, I was asked to provide a list of everyone with access to a specific system. After communicating with the client, it transpired that they were particularly interested in knowing who were the members of a set of Active Directory groups. While this can be done manually, I wanted to try my hand…
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Five tips for giving better tech support
Having worked in tech support for fifteen years, I find I still enjoy my work. Yes, at times, I feel like a target at a live fire exercise, but at the end of the day, I still find fulfillment in knowing that I am able to help my users. Here are five tips to giving…
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Five tips for getting better tech support
One issue I meet from time to time, is the fact that many of my users do not understand how to approach tech support in a way that is conducive to receive good support in a timely manner. While this list is in no way exhaustive, following the tips and tricks will get you slack…
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Removing Google Chrome AutoFill suggestions
I could have sworn I wrote about this years ago. When I looked for it the other day, however, I couldn’t find it, so here goes. I love the fact that Google Chrome has combined the search and address bars into one cohesive unit. While it does, on occasion, mean that I search when I…
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How to run a PowerShell script
As has been the case so many times before, this week I’m bringing you the direct result of a customer request. The customer in question needed to know how to run a .ps1 script. As you may or may not know, double-clicking the script defaults to editing the script. At any rate, here’s how you…
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MS Office: Pin items
Many companies, my employer included, uses spreadsheets on a more or less consistent basis in order to track such things as vacation planning and KPI reporting. For me, as an employee, keeping track of these spreadsheets can, from time to time, be a bit annoying. Much to my surprise, at some point in the past…
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Find out what user has a file open
One of the questions that pop up every now and again, yet not often enough for me to consistently remember how to do it, is some variant on “What user is blocking my file access?” A user will typically call in, complaining that they are unable to open/edit/delete a given file on a file share,…
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Exporting AD group members’ display name
Five years ago, I showed you how to export a list of members of an Active Directory group, using a command line query. One issue I’ve run into using this query, is that I get their user name, not their actual name, which tends to make the resulting list hard to parse. As I had…
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Transferring content between Kindles
I recently picked up a new Kindle, and wanted to ensure that the new device had the same content as the one I replaced. As it turns out, this is rather easily accomplished. Here’s how: Go to Amazon.com Log into your account Open your account page Under “Digital content and devices”, choose Content and Devices…
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Turning on notifications for Facebook posts
I use Facebook for many things. One of those things is to take advantage of the internet hivemind, and get opinions and recommendations for any number of things, from what tech to get, to where to eat. One thing that annoys me a lot, is when someone posts something irrelevant, just so that they can…