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There used to be an auto logoff screensaver (winExit.scr) in the Windows 2000/2003 resource kit, although it doesn’t appear to play too well with Windows 7/Vista. I needed the functionality that this provided for the systems in our meeting rooms, as people have a habit of leaving the systems logged on in there then leaving the room!

As I couldn’t find anything (for free!) that did this, I thought it was time for a bit of D.I.Y! So here we have my AutoLogoff Screensaver for Windows 7/Vista. Dead simple, drop in your C:\Windows\System32 folder, then probably use group policy to force it onto certain machines, or the local policy with gpedit.msc! Dims the screen like a UAC prompt in order to try and get the users attention a bit more, there’s no configurable options at the moment, just 60 seconds warning until logoff. If I get alot of requests I might add some additional funtionality, but it’s serving my requirements now, so I’m happy ;)

Download – AutoLogoff_v1.2.zip (144KB)

Ever get tired of having seperate windows for Active Directory, DHCP, Group Policy etc etc???

Sick of trawling through Administrative Tools & browsing to your Company website/intranet???

This post details how to create your own custom Admin Toolbar complete with snap-ins that will manage a wide array of your day to day IT administrative duties. You can even embed frequently visitied URL’s such as your Spam filter.

Step 1:

Go to Start>Run>mmc.exe

This opens a blank Windows management console that is ready to be customized

Step 2:

Click File>Add/Remove Snap-in

You can now add items to view on your toolbar I tend to add my frequently accessed stuff rather that everything from Admin Tools as this defeats the point.

Step 3:

Click File>Save As MyAdminPack.msc

I tend to add the file into my Startup folder so it launches first thing in the morning and leave it open throughout the day then there is no need to go trawling through menus each time you want to use Active Directory or check your Spam filter

You will find that this tool saves a lot of time through the day – why not email your Admin Pack to the rest of your IT department so you can all use it?!

Enjoy

In previous versions of Windows, we could install the Windows Server 2003 administration/management tools in order to perform administration tasks on remote servers from your workstation. With Vista these tools kind of install, but don’t fully work. Luckily with Vista SP1 Remote server administration tools (RSAT) is now available as a MS download.

RSAT – 32-Bit version (KB941314)
RSAT – 64-Bit version (KB941314)

Once installed, you won’t see anything new on your system… All the installer does is add some new entries in the windows features list. To fully enable them goto ‘Control panel’ > ‘Programs and features’ > ‘Turn windows features on or off’… You should hopefully see an entry in here that you can tick to install them.

I don’t understand why the isntaller doesn’t just automatically turn the feature on if you’re installing it anyway, but it doesn’t bother me that much – it’s not like i’m rolling this out to hundreds of users!

I had a problem today with one of our FTP servers… We have a client that has an automated process set up that uploads data to our server, which is then processed by us.

I had to recreate the account used for this, but then realised I didn’t know the original password, and getting the client to find it wouldn’t be an easy option!

After a bit of digging for a packet sniffer, I came accross Smartsniff and was instantly impressed!

It’s one of those tools that you can pick up and start using right away, without having to spend ages installing dependancies or figuring it out, and it’s just a single exe, so very portable. I also really like the fact that it assembles certain TCP communications into a readable conversation (See above) – very easy to recover a saved FTP password that you don’t know!

Get it from nirsoft.net, along with a whole stack of other neat tools!