Mapping the DNSRecord attribute

Microsoft DNS is able to store records in Active Directory when running on a Domain Controller. The information is stored in a Binary Large Object (BLOB) called DNSRecord. No official maps for that attribute appear to have been published. The information below is a result of reverse engineering the contents of the attribute.
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Windows 2003 DNS and the Global Query Block List

The Global Query Block List is a feature of the DNS Service in Windows 2008 discussed on TechNet.

However, although it is advertised of as a feature of Windows 2008 DNS it is present in Windows 2003 from DNS version 5.2.3790.4460 and above, released with KB 961063.
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Filed under:Microsoft DNS

Returning share security with PowerShell

The cmdlet Get-ACL is very capable when it comes to NTFS permissions, but it cannot read share permissions. This function makes an effort to provide a simple way to return share security (and other information) from a share.
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Reading NTFS and Share security with VbScript

NTFS (File System) and Share security can be enumerated using the Win32_LogicalFileSecuritySetting and Win32_LogicalShareSecuritySetting WMI classes. This post demonstrates how to use each class to read the security descriptors.
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Filed under:VbScript

Get-MailboxStatistics for Exchange 2003

Using PowerShell to create a version of the Get-MailboxStatistics that works for Exchange 2003.
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The public website and the Active Directory domain

It is fairly easy to find Active Directory domains named after a public domain name. The most common question in this scenario is how to get to the public website when using internal DNS. This article discusses some, or most, or all, of the options available.
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Administering Microsoft DNS in PowerShell

DNS administration in PowerShell, including tasks like creating zones and adding Host (A) records, can be performed using the WMI interface. Full documentation for the interface is available from Microsoft in the DNS WMI Provider Reference.
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Setting desktop wallpaper

Group Policy will, by default, only set the desktop wallpaper using Active Desktop. It is also possible to set the wallpaper using the logon script, or using a custom Group Policy template.
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Returning the OU for an object in AD

Occasionally it can be useful to know how to retrieve the parent, or OU holding an object, from Active Directory.
Perhaps the easiest way to do this is using the Parent property.
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Exchange 2000: Returning mailbox sizes

This script uses MAPI and Active Directory queries to return as much information as possible about mailbox size limits from Exchange.

This script is only intended for use with Exchange 2000. Exchange 2003 can use WMI, Exchange 2007 has a PowerShell cmdlet, Get-MailboxStatistics, which can much more easily return this information.
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