Be a PS Commander

Are you a PS commander? eMazzanti can help. Windows PowerShell is often overlooked and under-utilized, but it is one of the most powerful and useful tools at your fingertips. Windows PowerShell comes standard in every version of Windows and has replaced Command Prompt as the main command line utility. The lack of a graphical interface may be intimidating, but by the end of this post you’ll have a plethora of knowledge to boost your confidence and guide you to becoming a PS professional.

The nightmare of a “domain trust relationship lost” error is something every tech dreads. No one can log in due to the error, even as you’re getting non-stop emails and calls. The typical resolution is to unjoin, and then rejoin the machine to the domain. But this approach will consume valuable working hours, and it requires several reboots.

Here’s where PowerShell saves the day. Log into the device with local admin privileges and run PS as administrator. Run the command $credential = Get-Credential and enter domain admin credentials in the pop-up window using the format domain\username. Next, run the command Reset-ComputerMachinePassword -Server PDCnamehere -Credential $credential. The only part that needs to be changed is “PDCnamehere” with the primary domain controller’s name. After that, log out and log back in with your standard domain credentials. Issue resolved.

Fifteen minutes of knowledgeable, precise PS work can save you hours of troubleshooting and user downtime. But not every scenario is so straightforward. What if you need to connect to a remote machine? Use the command Enter-PSSession MachineName, or if there is a domain truest issue use Enter-PSSession MachineIPaddress. Then use the previously discussed commands.

Are users reporting application connection errors? A quick restart of the related services can fix the problem. Use the command $S = Get-Service -Name Schedule then Set-Service -InputObject $S -Status Stopped followed by Set-Service -InputObject $S -Status running to restart the service. PowerShell can be leveraged to resolve both minor and critical errors faster than typical graphical interface tools.

We all keep our machines fully patched with the latest updates as soon as they’re available, but occasionally an update can cause a system or application error after the install. It may be difficult to identify the exact KB causing an issue, since updates are bundled and installed through service packs. Use the command wmic qfe list brief /format:table to see a list of the installed KBs including the install date. Start with the most recent and use the command Wusa /uninstall /kb:<HotfixIDnumber> to uninstall the specific KB. <HotfixIDnumber> should be replaced with the number that comes after KB. The terms “ID number” and “KB number” are interchangeable when describing update numbers. After the uninstall, reboot the machine and check if the issue is resolved. If the issue persists, repeat the process. This process is more time consuming than other PS tasks, but is helpful when troubleshooting boot up issues.

Scalability

Cloudflare is designed to grow with you. As your site gets bigger, you need better security and speed. Cloudflare has built its system to expand alongside your website, so your site’s protection and performance can keep pace with its well-earned growth.

Enhanced Protection

Cloudflare lets you pick from many high-level security tools that are key to guarding your website against online threats. We know how DDoS attacks can shut down your website, by flooding it with traffic. Cloudflare’s DDoS protection helps stop these attacks by soaking up and spreading the harmful traffic — keeping your site open and safe for you and your visitors. Cloudflare also has a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to spot and block threats before they hit your web app. WAF keeps your website safe from risks like zero-days, cross-site scripting (XSS), SQL injection, and other threats. One more reason to think about using Cloudflare for your website is to boost performance.

Caching

All of us have accessed a slow-loading website, and we know that it will scare away users and negatively impact your search engine rankings. There are numerous ways in which Cloudflare improves the performance of your website. One of them is Content Caching, which reduces the load on your origin server by caching static content, increasing the speed at which pages are delivered on your website.

Another accelerator is global Content Delivery Network (CDN). Cloudflare’s global servers cache your website content, reducing latency and ensuring that viewers have faster load times wherever they are located.

Adopting Cloudflare will protect your website against Cyber Threats, and will also improve its performance, delivering a seamless and secure user experience. Contact eMazzanti now, to find out more about how our trained professionals can help you implement these necessary solutions, so that your website stays faster, safer, and more reliable.