Samanathon.com

By now, just about everyone knows about the Twitter Command Line Client for Linux. Ever since I started using it, I fell in love and I’ve been looking for something similar for Windows. Well, I’ve finally found it: The Twitter CLI is a simple tool that lets you post updates to Twitter from the Windows Command Line or, my favorite, the Run dialog.

Download

The small file is located at Phalacee.com.

Installation

1. Extract the contents of the Twitter CLI.zip file into your Windows folder, which is located at:
   C:\Windows
2. Open the Twitter.bat file in Notepad (right-click, then choose Edit) and enter your Twitter user name and password in the appropriate fields:
   set username=YourTwitterUserName
set password=YourTwitterPassword
3. Save the file and close Notepad.

Update Twitter Via Command Line

Now you are able to Tweet via your Windows Command Line:

1. Hit the Windows Key+R
2. Type in the following:
   twitter ""
   Enter your status between the quotes.
3. Hit OK or the Enter on your keyboard.

That’s all there is to it! If you want your update to read: I’m eating over my keyboard and making a mess! You would enter:
twitter "I'm eating over my keyboard and making a mess!"

Notes

• The message must be less than 140 characters, which is Twitter’s limit.
• It’s not necessary to use quotation marks in your update but will be needed if you’re inputting a URL in your message:
  twitter "I just added a great picture to Flickr http://tinyurl.com/6r95ur"

Integration With Facebook

You can have this Twitter Window Command Line Client update your Facebook status by using the TwitterSync Facebook application (technically, the CLI client is still updating Twitter. The TwitterSync app just polls your Twitter feed and updates your status). I use it on my Facebook profile.

I prefer this application over Twitter’s Facebook app because it doesn’t add the prefix of: “is twittering:”, though you can add any prefix, if you wish. Also, because you can update Twitter via SMS, you can update your Facebook status via text message! Or, if you don’t want to, TwitterSync wont update if the tweet has a specific prefix (that you set). So, if you sent something like “from cellphone: I hate traffic!!”, then it wouldn’t update your Facebook status!

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I’ve written about my love of batch files many times and one of my favorite tricks is shutting down a computer via the command line. In this tutorial, I will show you how to shut down multiple computers, which already connected to your network, via a batch file. This particular batch file will feature a loop that calls our shut down routine as needed!

More Information

Batch files are executed line by line, from top to bottom. By using labels, we will make the program jump around a bit. This will allow us to set a variable, call central command, then reset the variable and call the central command again. By doing this, we are only creating one variable – regardless of how many computers we have - we will just reuse that single variable. Less is more people! This method creates smaller, cleaner code: We don’t need separate variables for each computer; we just reset that variable as we need! Also, it’s important to note that each computer will use the same shutdown routine.

Before we start, you will need to make sure that you know the name of each network computer and can access it. To find out the computer’s name, walk to each machine and hit the Windows Key+Pause/Break key and click on the Computer Name tab. Look for the value under “Full computer name:”. Once you know the name of each computer connected to the network (that you’d like to remotely shut down), the easiest way to see if you can access them is with the command prompt: Go to your machine (the one that will be running the command file, not the networked machines), hit the Windows Key+R, and type:
\\{computer name}
For example, if the networked computer’s name is “274D”, you would enter:
\\274D
If the computer’s shared directory is displayed, then you’re connected! If you get an error, then you need to check connectivity settings and those are beyond the scope of this article.

Creating The File

Open Notepad and save the file, on your Desktop, as “Network Shutdown.bat” (or “I love ham”, it’s your choice ). Make sure you set the “Save as type” drop down to “All files”.

Listing Each Computer

Right-click your newly created batch file and click Edit (double-clicking it will launch the file). We need to list all of our computers in blocks. Each block be composed of three lines of code: We will set a variable with the network computer’s name, call the loop and then create a new label with that computer’s name:
set varcomputer=274D
goto loop
:274D
Let me explain what each line means:

1. set varcomputer=274D
   By using the “set” command, we are creating a variable called “varcomputer”, we then set the variable. In this case, with the value “274D”
2. goto loop
   We are telling the program to go to the label named “loop”, which we will create in a few steps.
3. :274D
   This label has the value of the computer in this block. The loop below will tell the program to go to this label, then the program will continue on the next line (line by line, remember?!).

Create a block for each computer that you’d like to shutdown:
set varcomputer=274D
goto loop
:274D

set varcomputer=322A
goto loop
:322A

set varcomputer=bobs_pc
goto loop
:bobs_pc
Notice that we are reusing the varcomputer variable. After you’ve listed each computer, write the “exit” command. This will tell the computer that we are all done and it may close the progam:
exit

Creating The Loop

The loop will consist of four parts: a label, some information for the user, the actual shutdown command and the return for the loop:
:loop
echo Shutting down %varcomputer%.
shutdown -s -m \\%varcomputer% -t 600 -c "The computer is shutting down. Please save your work."
goto %varcomputer%

Again, let’s break down each section:
1. :loop
   This is the entrance for the loop. The second line of each computer block is sent to this label.
2. echo Shutting down %varcomputer%.
   This is the information that is returned to the user who runs the program; it reads the current value of the “varcomputer”. This information will not be displayed on the networked machine.
3. shutdown -s -m \\%varcomputer% -t 600 -c "The computer is shutting down. Please save all of your work."
   This is the shutdown command. It contains a few a few parts. For detailed information on each switch, please read Windows Tip: Shutdown Your Computer With The Command Prompt
4. goto %varcomputer%
   This is the return for the loop. The program reads the current value of the “varcomputer” variable, returns to the final line of the current block and continues to the next block. By using the goto command, we are telling the program to return to a label – one that we’ve set with the “varcomputer” variable.

The Finished Product

Now that we are armed with this knowledge, we can put it all together – but before we do, let’s add a few finishing touches. At the beginning of your file, add this:
@Echo off
This will hide all commands from the user’s view and will only display comments (that are preceded by “echo”). Also, you’ll notice there are a few lines that are started with “rem”. These are internal comments that are not processed by the program. I’ve peppered the file with a couple for you to marinate on.

Your batch file should look like this:
@Echo off
cd\
Echo Saman=Program
REM ****************************
REM * Program Variables *
REM ****************************

set varcomputer=274D
goto loop
:274D

set varcomputer=322A
goto loop
:322A

set varcomputer=bobs_pc
goto loop
:bobs_pc

Exit

REM ****************************
REM * Program *
REM ****************************

:loop
echo Shutting down %varcomputer%.
shutdown -s -m \\%varcomputer% -t 600 -c “The computer is shutting down. Please save your work.”
goto %varcomputer%

Cancel The Shut Down

You can cancel a shut down that is in progess with the following line. This line cannot be run through the network! You have to walk to each machine and run the command either from the command prompt or the Run dialog, or Windows Key+R:
Shutdown -a

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Windows Hacks: Improve The Context Menu, Part 4

As a Windows XP power user, I have been really disappointed with Vista - but that’s a story for another time (personally I view it as what XP SP3 be and not a new OS, but I digress). I had really high hopes for XP Service Pack 3 (XP SP3). I was really hoping that Microsoft included some great additions just like they did with Service Pack 2. I really wanted Windows File System (WinFS) and Unix Integration, so when I stumbled onto Hack Attack : Get Windows XP SP3 Through Windows Update, I flipped out!

Download XP SP3

The first step is to edit a Registry key in your system. Karthik Kastury has made it easy, he created a command file that does the work for you.

Warning: You should always be careful when downloading a command or batch file from the web. Upon clicking my link below, Firefox users will be able to see the code before downloading it. Internet Explorer users will be prompted to open or save the file. After you save it to your desktop, right-click and select “Edit” to view the contents. Never trust anyone!

1. Download the XP Service Pack 3 Registry Hack.
2. Save it to your desktop as a command file (.cmd extension) and double-click it to run the file.
3. Run Windows Update.

What’s Going On

What you are doing is adding a Registry Key that the Windows Update site reads. This key tells Windows Update that your machine is a beta tester and allows it to download SP3 before the official release, which is slated for release sometime in 2008. The version of SP3 (as of this writing) is Release Candidate 1.

Select the update and click “Install Updates”. The download should begin!

When the download is done, the Software Update Installation Wizard should launch.

Agree to the license agreement.

Installation should begin!

When installation completes, you will need to restart your machine.

When the machine boots, you can check your system properties by hitting the Windows Key+Pause/Break

SP3 Review

I must say that I am completely disappointed. First off, when Service Pack 2 was released there were a lot of improvements to the operating system: Wireless Zero was massively overhauled and the Windows Security Center was new and shiny - and that’s just two of them - and, in addition, it included all of the security patches. I was really hoping that Microsoft would include some new features into SP3 and I haven’t found a single new program. I’ve looked everywhere that I can think of and haven’t seen anything new. Microsoft has been very tight lipped about what will be included in SP3 and it is entirely possible (though not likely) that the there are different versions of SP3 on the Windows Update server and this is just the “security version” - hopefully there are new features on the official release….

Honestly though, I doubt it. With the poor adoption rate of Windows Vista, I really doubt that Microsoft would include any “wiz-bang” features into XP as that would just keep people from upgrade to Vista. Hopefully, Vista SP1 will as much as an improvement as XP SP2 was.

Bonus

You might have noticed that I have a “Black” theme. You can read about it and download the Microsoft Royale Noir Theme for yourself!

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The AngryNetworker and I Were Having a Conversation About Linux Yesterday on Facebook and I Wanted to Share My Thoughts on the Subject

It’s been a while since I’ve wrote anything. A long while! For this I apologize. (Not really, I owe nothing to you!) I’ve picked up scuba diving and have quickly headed down the road towards Instructor, where I will soon be able to share my passion with new and upcoming students. In the short time I’ve been involved in the sport; my local dive shop has sold me on several trips and tons of gear. And who else but Richie Kohler would come along and sell me on a $12,000 rebreather (No joke, he lives pretty close to me).

Recently however, I began building a site for my dive team and running it on a freshly installed and configured Windows 2003 SP2 box. Getting through SP2s ‘ALL OFF’ security mentality was one thing, something that I am still working at, but I ran into another problem. Because security is so tight, I ended up having to make some screwy permission sets to allow my PHP scripts to directly modify objects such as photos and videos using ImageMagik/FFMpeg respectively.

Running native Linux binaries on a Windows machine is inherently difficult, throw in IIS 6.0 and SP2 and now you have a headache on your head. So after reading dozens of guides/manuals/your sisters bra sizes, I managed to get all my scripts working. Yay! Note from Saman: Not my sister, she’s off this month.

Let me interject here, I don’t care what you have to say about me using Windows 2003 and IIS 6.0. Yes, I know that I could use Linux + Apache and various other services out there, but the fact is, there is always a good reason to KNOW and be able to OPERATE that system that so many people despise so much. I mean really, are you, under principle, going to quit a job or refuse to do the work simply because you don’t approve of the foundation architecture running on the servers? NO! At the end of the day, you have to suck it up and do it. So I did…

(Oh and yes, every step of setting up MySQL and PHP angered me, so I feel you)

But, anyways, the story must continue.

After a long hard days work throwing up ‘vast windows to the sauce of life modifiers’ (if you can figure that one out I will name my first born after you), I decided to run a security scan on my server remotely (I was in Orlando, server was in my basement at Philly). 20 minutes later, I got some pleasing results, things weren’t actually as bad as a I thought… Minus the files I had to give permission to for the image handlers. In a stroke of genius and self directed masochism I decided to teach myself an important lesson about remembering to lock holes and proceeded to format my server, I spent hours slaving remotely using one of my open holes. You see, the scripts ran via a command prompt, and in order to allow users to run that command prompt, well let us say I had to put my server in a low cut shirt and mini skirt and place it on the corner.

Ah what a night that was. Don’t worry, I was quickly able to remotely restore the server using a ghost image and all was well. But there is a lesson here kids. Remember, the best way to lock down a server or any piece of computing equipment is to know how to break it. At least get an idea of the tools out there, learn what kind of attacks there are, and find ways to prevent it. Sure you can read the guide to securing your Windows 2003 server, but at the end of the day, there are about, say, 100,000,000,000,000^23 other ways to get in. So check yourself and don’t spread any diseases around the neighborhood! And if you are using Windows, don’t forget to get it spayed or neutered.

PS. This goes for any Windows box, including your Windows XP box. During school I frequently went to campus housing and ran port scans followed by accessing administrative shares and finding pictures of you girlfriend in less then moral depictions. And by the way, this doesn’t just go for Windows, the same scanning tools be used on Mac and Linux as well. And NO, Linux and Mac are not ‘more secure’ and less susceptible to viruses and malicious code. If you think this slap yourself and go join the creationist movement.

Let me break this down. On one hand, over 80% of the worlds computing power run on Windows. On the other, there is a community of people who thrive of security holes, breaking locks, and doing what others can not. So if someone decides on creating a virus in order to make a name for themselves, are they going to choose the miniscule percentage of people to attack, or are then going to go for the larger?

Now, it’s off to go dive in a 40 degree stone quarry!

-AngryNetworker
Pirate 2^nd class
Directing of Plundering Operations
Lead PilageARRRRR

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I love the Command Prompt. As a power user, it’s the fastest way to access just about everything you need to do on your Windows system and the Control Panel is a perfect example of this! Most of the Control Panel applets are actually files with a .CPL extension, and those that are, would be located in the %systemroot%\system32 folder.

You can access these applets by hitting the Windows Key+R and typing Control and the app that you want. Example:
control hdwwiz.cpl

The List

I wrote the list in alphabetical order for your viewing pleasure (you could call this list the third in the Saman’s Big Ole List Of Windows… series). Just remember that some of these might not work on your machine - things like the Bluetooth manager won’t work if you don’t have Bluetooth installed!

Just remember that you need to type control and then the applet’s name!

Accessibility Options
access.cpl

Add/Remove Programs
appwiz.cpl

Add Hardware Wizard
hdwwiz.cpl

Administrative Tools
admintools

Automatic Updates
wuaucpl.cpl

Bluetooth Properties
bthprops.cpl

Control Panel
panel

Desktop Properties
desktop

Desktop Appearances Properties
color

Display Properties
desk.cpl

Fastfind Properties
findfast.cpl

Firewall Properties
firewall.cpl

Fonts Folder
fonts

Game Controllers
joy.cpl

Infrared Properties
infrared

Internet Options
inetcpl.cpl

iSCSI Initiator
iscsicpl.cpl

Java Control Panel
jpicpl32.cpl

Keyboard Properties
main.cpl keyboard

Licensing Mode
liccpa.cpl

Mouse Properties
main.cpl

Network Connections
ncpa.cpl

Network Setup Wizard
netsetup.cpl

ODBC Properties
odbccp32.cpl

Power Options
powercfg.cpl

Printers Folder
printers

Regional and Language Options
intl.cpl

Scanners and Camera Properties
sticpl.cpl

Schedule Tasks
schedtasks

Sound and Audio Devices
mmsys.cpl

Stored Passwords
keymgr.cpl

System Properties
sysdm.cpl

Telephone and Modem Properties
telephon.cpl

Time and Date Settings
timedate.cpl

User Accounts
nusrmgr.cpl

User Accounts Advances
userpasswords2

User Passwords
userpasswords

Windows Security Center
wscui.cpl

Wireless Link
irprops.cpl

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