Administrative Tools Tile, Control Panel "God Mode" Tile, Windows Update Tile , Windows Explorer Search Tile for Windows 8.1 and Server 2012 R2

The following script will add new Metro styled tiles for Power Admin Users to the start menu.

               Custom Icons for Control Panel, Administrative Tools and Windows Update 

Icons copyright MDC, except for Windows Explorer Search icon and Windows logo!

Compatible with Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Server 2012, Server 2012 R2.


New tiles include;  

1. Windows Explorer Search - go directly to Windows Explorer and perform a search
2. Control Panel (Standard Icons)  - links to a list of all icons as in Windows 7/S2008, not category 
3. Control Panel (All Tasks) - list all tasks, a hidden feature  
4. Control Panel (All Settings) - referred to as "God Mode" in Win 7/S2008, a hidden feature
5. Administrative Tools - root link, not a sub-directory of Control Panel as in current Tile in Win 8+/S2012+
6. Windows Update - a better designed icon

Download and install Win8MetroAdminPowerTiles.zip, see license/instructions below.

License:

The script is free to use and sourced from Microsoft Gallery. The icons are free to use for personal use, but not commercially. Commercial/Small businesses requires a license to buy the rights to use the icons, which I created, except for Windows Explorer Search icon and Windows logo in Windows Update icon however the mash-up is considered copyrightable work. Don't get shocked, we are talking pennies here. License and Disclaimers listed in scripts.

             Contact metadataconsult@gmail.com for a commercial license.

Instructions: 

Download script Win8MetroAdminPowerTiles.zip

1. Unzip and copy contents to C:\Windows\System32 directory.
2. Right-click on doWin8AdminTiles-RunMe1st.ps1 and Run with Poweshell. This loads the Poweshell Editor (ISE) with administrator privileges.
3. In Poweshell Editor (ISE), press green arrow to run the script.
   
4. Complete.
   
   If you see the above light green messages in the console area of the PowerShell ISE, the you have successfully run the script. 
   
   If you see red, you may have re-run the Powershell IDE with administrator privileges.  Use Windows Search for PowerShell, right-click and run with Adminstratative privileges, see article here.

If you have issues further issues click this link for better pictures and instruction.

Shutdown, Restart, Log-off, Hibernate, Lock Workstation, Switch User Start Tiles for Windows 8.1 / Server 2012 R2 featuring new Metro Icons

Tags: Administrative Tools Tile, Control Panel "God Mode" Tile, Windows Update Tile, Windows Explorer Search Tile for Windows 8.1 and Server 2012 R2

Shutdown, Restart, Log-off, Hibernate, Lock Workstation, Switch User Start Tiles for Windows 8.1 / Server 2012 R2 featuring new Metro Icons

I created one script that creates Win 8/8.1 "Metro" tiles for popular "power" links with new icons to appear on the start menu. Update: New procedure for Windows 8.1 users see below.

Metro Style Icons with Lock Workstation, improved Switch User and Logoff Icons - Version 2

click to view larger image

Original cut of Metro Style Icons - Version 1 (removed)

click to view larger image

This PowerShell script installs a Lock Workstation, Switch User, Logoff, 
Restart, Hibernate and Shutdown tile with new Metro styled icons on the Start screen for Windows 8, 8.1, Server 2012, Server 2012 R2.

Download and install Win8PowerUtilsTileScript1.zip, see license/instructions below.

Tired of the old icons that have not been change since Windows XP, upgrade to modern Metro styled icons.

License:

The script is free to use and sourced from Microsoft Gallery. The icons are free to use for personal use, but not commercially. Commercial/Small businesses requires a license to buy the rights to use the icons, which I created. Don't get shocked, we are talking pennies here. License and Disclaimers listed in scripts.

             Contact metadataconsult@gmail.com for a commercial license.

Instructions: 

Download script Win8PowerUtilsTileScript1.zip
contains (doWin8Tiles-RunMe1st.ps1, ShutdownRestartLogoffSwithUserWindows8MDCTiles.ps1,Win8Tile-LogoffWorkstationCutKey256.ico, Win8Tile-Hibernate256.ico, Win8Tile-LockStation256.ico, Win8Tile-LogoffWorkstation256.ico, Win8Tile-Restart256.ico,Win8Tile-ShutDown256.ico, Win8Tile-SwitchUserChannel.ico,IconsCopyright-OriginalArt.txt)

1. Unzip and copy contents to c:\Windows\System32 directory.

2. Right-click on doWin8Tiles-RunMe1st.ps1 and Run with Poweshell. This loads the Poweshell Editor (ISE) with administrator privileges.

3. In Poweshell Editor (ISE), press green arrow to run the script.

click to view larger image

4. Completed.

If you see, the above light green messages in the console area of the PowerShell ISE, the you have successfully run the script. 

If you see red, then that process step failed and you may have re-run the Powershell IDE with administrator privileges.  Use Windows Search for PowerShell, right-click and run with Adminstratative privileges, see article here.

Update for WINDOWS 8.1 Users

If the above script does not work, contained in the zip file is are 2 additional customized for Windows 8.1, which has additional execute permissions turn off for scripts, unlike windows server 2012 R2. 

1. From the start menu, right-click 
2. Select "Command Prompt (Admin)"
3. In the Command Prompt type-> powershell win81only-runme1st.ps1
   
   
4. Now you see the following results windows appear and close automatically. You see a bit of red text, that's okay since in this context its a warning.
   
   
5. Success, you should now see the following tiles on the start screen if you click the down arrow to reach Apps.
   
   

Tags: Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Switch User Metro Icon, Log-off Metro Icon, Restart Metro Icon, Hibernate Metro Icon, Shutdown Metro Icon, Server 2012, Server 2012 R2, Start Menu, Tiles, Windows 8.1 Start screen and lock screen, Windows 8.1 new look

A Primer on Metadata: Separating Fact from Fiction Ann Cavoukian, Ph.D. Information and Privacy Commissioner Ontario, Canada

On July 9th, Steven G. Bradbury, a key Justice Department lawyer behind the NSA’s call log program,

defended it by arguing that it did not amount to surveillance. “Surveillance,” he said, “means content

collection, not metadata collection.”According to whom? The word “surveillance” means “close watch

kept over someone or something.” A program centred on the sweeping seizure of communications

metadata would indeed fall under the definition of a surveillance program, capable of facilitating the

indiscriminate monitoring of individuals.

Koodoos - Kapersky is my 3rd biggest referrer to my blog!

This is coincidental, since I use Kaspersky extensively.

Everybody Knows You’re a Dog - Happy Halloween

Metadata lurks everywhere.
Re: http://boingboing.net/2013/10/17/everybody-knows-youre-a-do.html

Fixing Yahoo Media/Web Player to work as of Sept. 2013

Yahoo! Web/Media Player deceased June 30, 2013

If you’re a publisher and currently using Yahoo! WebPlayer on your site, after June 30 the Yahoo! WebPlayer won’t load. Your users will continue to be able to play media files using native browser support. You may wish to locate and remove the following line in your code:

A suggestion to replace the URL "http://mediaplayer.yahoo.com/js" with the URL 

"http://webplayer.yahooapis.com/player-beta.js" was working for 3 months,  but is no longer working. 

I have gotten this to work by hacking the code as seen in this article:

"For those going this route: it’s important to note that you need to poke through the player code and make sure that all of the elements are served locally. There still are some images and bits that come off Yahoo servers, and given that they’re not supporting this software anymore, it’s a safe bet those elements will go dark sooner or later. It’s a hell of a piece, as others have stated here, it’s the best web media player out there, ESPECIALLY for music, by a country mile."
 http://ericdin.com/rip-yahoo-web-media-player/

If you need this done on your site, email me (see contact page).

Chrome, IE store website passwords in plaintext and are easily revealed

As from the Verge, today "Chrome stores some sensitive data in plaintext, but Google says it's supposed to" http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/11/4828958/chrome-history-cache-security-flaw

"A flaw in Google's Chrome browser could find it storing personal details that users don't expect to be recorded. The security firm Identity Finder reports that Chrome will sometimes store data that's been entered into secure websites, and that it'll store that data in plaintext so that anyone can read it. The details are kept inside one of Chrome's cache files buried within the file system, but anyone could see it if they had access to a Chrome user's computer and knew where to look. It's unclear exactly when Chrome chooses to store what would seemingly be secure data, but Google tells us that it realizes this can happen and that Chrome generally doesn't protect against attackers who already have access to a user's computer.

That security model has gotten Google into hot water before: over the summer, Chrome was criticized for storing saved passwords in its preferences menu where anyone can easily view them."

Further exploration has revealed; the following results; 

Chrome

Difficulty to obtain passwords: Easy

Internet Explorer

Difficulty to obtain passwords: Easy/Medium/Hard (Depends on version)

Firefox

Difficulty to obtain passwords: Medium/Very Hard

Results fully explained here in the excellent post

http://www.theverge.com/2013/10/11/4828958/chrome-history-cache-security-flaw