In my last post I talked about the Get-help cmdlet and how it gives you detailed information on how the cmdlets are used. Now I will talk about snap-ins.

A Windows PowerShell snap-in is a Microsoft .NET Framework assembly that contains Windows PowerShell providers and/or cmdlets. Windows PowerShell includes a set of basic snap-ins, but you can extend the power and value of Windows PowerShell by adding snap-ins that contain providers and cmdlets that you create or get from others.

When you add a snap-in, the cmdlets and providers that it contains are immediately available for use in the current session, but the change affects only the current session.

To add the snap-in to all future sessions, save it in your Windows PowerShell profile. You can also use the Export-Console cmdlet to save the snap-in names to a console file and then use it in future sessions. You can even save multiple console files, each with a different set of snap-ins.

Windows PowerShell includes a set of Windows PowerShell snap-ins that contain the built-in providers and cmdlets. You can get a list of snapins in the current Windows PowerShell session by using the Get-PSSnapin cmdlet.

Get-PSSnapin

If you wanted to get a list of the cmdlets in a snap-in you would use the Get-Command cmdlet with the PSSnapin parameter.

Get-Command -PSSnapin Microsoft.PowerShell.Security

The built-in snap-ins are registered in the system and added to the default session when you start Windows PowerShell. You can also add other registered snap-ins to the current Windows PowerShell session by using the Add-PSSnapin cmdlet.

After the command is completed, the providers and cmdlets in the snap-in are available in the session. However, they are available only in the current session unless you save them. To use a snap-in in future Windows PowerShell sessions, add the Add-PSSnapin command to your Windows PowerShell profile, or export the snap-in names to a console file.

Add-PSSnapin Microsoft.Windows.AD

In my next Post we will look talk about how to retain a snap-in in Windows PowerShell so that you don’t have to add it each time you need it.

Microsoft has new extensions for Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.0 that can improve the functionality of your website. There is a new version of the IIS Database Manager extension. The new version 2.0 includes the ability to manage SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008 databases inside the IIS 7 console. In addition, you can manage MySQL databases. Setting up the integration with MySQL functions the same as with SQL Server. You need to install MySQL and set up your website that uses a MySQL database. Something that may not be obvious is before you are able to add the MySQL database, you need to restart the IIS Manager console. After you restart the console, you will have the ability to add the MySQL database in the Database Manager section of the IIS Manager.

If you are used to the copy/paste functionality between Virtual Machines and the host machine in Virtual PC and Virtual Server, you may wonder how to do this in Hyper-V. Let me detail one way to set up Hyper-V file sharing.

• To set up sharing between the VM and the host machine, you will want to create an internal network in Hyper-V.
• On the host machine, create a shared folder.
• If you want to copy files from the VM to the shared folder, you will need to configure permissions on the shared folder. To do this:

1. Click on the Sharing tab in the properties dialog box of the shared folder.
2. Click Advanced Sharing.
3. Click Permissions.
4. Allow Everyone Change permissions.

• On the VM, you need to open Network and Sharing Center. In Advanced Sharing Settings, turn on file and printer sharing.
• Now, click Start, type \\<the name of your host machine>\<the name of the shared folder>, and then press ENTER.

You can now copy and paste files between the VM and host machine using this shared folder.

Windows 7 Action Center
Sounds exciting, doesn’t it. Without getting into who named this for Windows 7, the Action Center is where you can manage issues that affect the performance and security of you system. When you access the Action Center (Control Panel | System and Security | Action Center) you are first provided with a list of recent events that occurred on the computer. For example, my laptop listed two times when WinRAR had stopped working, an issue with my NVIDIA Graphics Driver, it told me that there are problems that have not yet been reported to Microsoft, and that I still have to configure my backup settings now that I’ve completed the upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 7. By clicking “Check for Solutions”, that notice goes away and the Operating System starts sending the error reports to Microsoft and checks for available solutions. During the upload process, the interface told me that more information would need to be sent to Microsoft which I allowed and it packaged up the required information.
Now at this point, you would expect it to tell me what it found. Instead the process completes silently in the background and then provides no additional information. This was my main complaint about the similar tool provided with Window Vista. You go through the reporting process, and then it doesn’t provide you with anything up front about what it found, even if it found nothing.
So now I’m not sure where to go. There is the option at the bottom of the window called Troubleshooting to find and fix problems, but this goes to the automated troubleshooting tools which I covered in an earlier post.
So that is the Maintenance section, the other half of the Action Center covers Security information. This gives you a single point of view for all the important security considerations for the system: Network firewall, Windows Update, Virus protection, Spyware and unwanted software protection, Internet security settings, User Account Control, and Network Access Protection. I do like this section because it lets you see the current status of each of these settings and then provides links to the relevant sections of the Control Panel.

With Windows 7 you can now use BitLocker Drive Encryption with your USB storage devices with BitLocker To Go. This enables you to keep your own data, or your company’s data safer in case the USB storage device is lost, stolen, or misused. Now if you misplace your USB drive you don’t have to worry so much about someone examining your data since it will be encrypted.

You can choose to use a passphrase or even a smartcard to unlock the drive and access its contents. No specific hardware is required to use a passphrase and it allows one to easily roam inside and outside domains and organizations. The passphrase complexity and length requirements are managed by Group Policy. Smart Cards leverage the existing PKI infrastructure and you can roam to any computer running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 RC2. Note that this requires specific hardware but uses much stronger keys than the passphrase.

You can require that BitLocker be used for both removable and unremovable data drives. When the policy is enforced for removable data drives, all removable drives will require BitLocker protection in order to have write access. As soon as a drive is plugged into a machine, a dialog is displayed to the user to either enable BitLocker on the device or they will only have read-only access. The user gets full access only after encryption is completed and  can alternatively enable BitLocker at a later time.

You can also decrypt if you decide that you don’t want it encrypted anymore or you encountered some kind of compatibility issue. It is a simple process to perform.

Have you upgraded your Windows Vista computers to Windows 7 yet? If not, go do that and then come back here to read about there the new or improved system tools.

In Windows 7, when you open the Control Panel, you’ll notice that something has changed thought you probably won’t be able to tell what those changes are. I needed the side-by-side comparison to realize that the Windows Vista System And Maintenance and Security groups have been combined to form the new Windows 7 System and Security group.

 However, by going back to the Windows Vista computer, the System and Maintenance group has 10 subgroups and the Security group has 8 subgroups. In Windows 7, the System and Security group has consolidated the items into a total of 8 subgroups. So does this consolidation make it easier or harder to find the tools that you need.

Sidenote: There is a trend to redesign and change things for the sake of redesigning and changing them. This has been notable in the newspaper industry, driving even more customers away as they are no longer familiar and comfortable with the new format and design (i.e. Chicago Tribune). Let’s see how the Windows 7 designs work out.

Here is the breakdown of the groups in the System and Security group:

Action Center – New in Windows 7 – This is a very cool place where you can get a centralized view of the status of your computer from both a security and performance perspective.  The Action Center lists the status of security items such as the Network firewall, Windows Update, Virus Protection, Spyware protection, Internet security settings, and user account control. The Maintenance section will list the most recently events on the computer such as device or program errors.

Window Firewall – Part of the Vista Security group – This group allows you to manage the Windows Firewall on the system. You can reset the settings on the firewall to its default settings or review the settings for both Public and Private networks. The design for this interface is much better than Windows Vista in that it provides you with more information up front.

System – Part of the Vista System and Maintenance group– The System group basically brings you to the System information screen with the Windows edition information, system ratings and components, computer name with domain or workgroup settings, and the status of Windows Activation. You can also access Device Manager, Remote Settings, System Protection, and Advanced System Settings from this window. Nothing has changed here from Windows Vista.

 Windows Update – Part of the Vista Security group – Windows Update is pretty standard, install all the important ones because they are important to system security and install the optional ones so you don’t have to look at them.

Power Options – Part of the Vista System and Maintenance group –  You can manage the power consumption of your system in the Power Options window. Windows 7 still offers the three simple plans of Power Saver, Balanced, and High Performance, but the power options available in Windows 7 has been greatly expanded.

Backup and Restore – Part of the Vista System and Maintenance group –  Not much has changed here as far as the interface. In Windows Vista, something happened to the Windows backup on my computers that prevented them from running. Never resolved this problem, hope that it has been fixed for Windows 7.

BitLocker Drive Encryption  – Part of the Vista Security group – BitLocker encrypts the entire content of your hard drives or removable drives. Visually, nothing has changed here.

Administrative Tools – Part of the Vista System and Maintenance group – From Administrative Tools you can access more advanced tools for configuring and troubleshooting Windows. Many of these tools are familiar to users going back to Windows XP. They include Computer Management, Event Viewer, IIS Manager, System Configuration, and Services.

So the verdict on this redesign is that I like it, but expect to be annoyed when I have to go searching for the tools that I want to use. Comparing each of the items side by side, I generally prefer the Windows 7 look and feel of everything.