In Windows Server 2003, you can use Scheduled Tasks in Control Panel to create, delete, configure, or display scheduled tasks. You can also use Schtasks.exe to schedule tasks manually.

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Overview of the Schtasks.exe Tool

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Schtasks schedules commands and programs to run periodically or at a specific time. Schtasks adds and removes tasks from the schedule, starts and stops tasks on demand, and displays and changes scheduled tasks.

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Syntax and Parameters

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The following is a list of the syntax and parameters that you can use with Schtasks.exe:

• Schtasks /Create

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  Creates a new scheduled task.

  • Syntax:
    schtasks /create/tn TaskName /tr TaskRun /sc schedule [/mo modifier] [/d day] [/m month[,month...] [/i IdleTime] [/st StartTime] [/sd StartDate] [/ed EndDate] [/du duration] [/s computer [/u [domain\]user /p password]] [/ru {[Domain\]User | “System”} [/rp Password]] /?
  • Parameters:
    • /tn TaskName Specifies a name for the task.
    • /tr TaskRun Specifies the program or command that the task runs. Type the fully qualified path and file name of an executable file, script file, or batch file. If you omit the path, Schtasks.exe assumes that the file is in the Systemroot\System32 folder.
    • /sc schedule Specifies the schedule type. Valid values are MINUTE, HOURLY, DAILY, WEEKLY, MONTHLY, ONCE, ONSTART, ONLOGON, ONIDLE.
    • /mo modifier Specifies how frequently the task runs in its schedule type. This parameter is required for a MONTHLY schedule. This parameter is valid, but optional, for a MINUTE, HOURLY, DAILY, or WEEKLY schedule. The default value is 1.
    • /d day Specifies a day of the week or a day of a month. Valid only with a WEEKLY or MONTHLY schedule.
    • /m month[,month...] Specifies a month of the year. Valid values are JAN – DEC and * (every month). The /m parameter is valid only with a MONTHLY schedule. It is required when the LASTDAY modifier is used. Otherwise, it is optional and the default value is * (every month).
    • /i IdleTime Specifies how many minutes the computer is idle before the task starts. Type a whole number from 1 to 999. This parameter is valid only with an ONIDLE schedule, and then it is required.
    • /st StartTime Specifies the time of day that the task starts in HH:MM:SS 24-hour format. The default value is the current local time when the command completes. The /st parameter is valid with MINUTE, HOURLY, DAILY, WEEKLY, MONTHLY, and ONCE schedules. It is required with a ONCE schedule.
    • /sd StartDate Specifies the date that the task starts in MM/DD/YYYY format. The default value is the current date. The /sd parameter is valid with all schedules, and is required for a ONCE schedule.
    • /ed EndDate Specifies the last date that the task is scheduled to run. This parameter is optional. It is not valid in a ONCE, ONSTART, ONLOGON, or ONIDLE schedule. By default, schedules have no ending date.
    • /du Duration Specifies a maximum length of time for a minute or hourly schedule in the HHHH:MM 24-hour format. After the specified time elapses, Schtasks does not start the task again until the start time happens again. By default, task schedules have no maximum duration. This parameter is optional and valid only with a MINUTE or HOURLY schedule.
    • /s Computer Specifies the name or IP address of a remote computer, with or without backslash characters. The default is the local computer.
    • /u [domain\]user Runs the command with the permissions of the specified user account. By default, the command runs with the permissions of the user who is logged on to the computer that is running Schtasks.
    • /p password Specifies the password of the user account that you specified in the /u parameter. This parameter is required when the /u parameter is used.
    • /ru {[Domain\]User | “System”} Runs the tasks with the permission of the specified user account. By default, the task runs with the permissions of the user who is logged on to the computer that is running Schtasks.
    • /rp Password Specifies the password of the user account that is specified in the /ru parameter. If you omit this parameter when you specify a user account, Schtasks.exe prompts you for the password and obscures the text you type. Tasks that run with permissions of the NT Authority\System account do not require a password and Schtasks.exe does not prompt for one.
    • /? Displays help at the command prompt.

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• Schtasks /Change

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  Changes one or more of the following properties of a task:

  • The program that the task runs (/tr ).
  • The user account under which the task runs (/ru ).
  • The password for the user account (/rp ).
  • Syntax:schtasks /change /tn TaskName [/s computer [/u [domain\]user /p password]] [/tr TaskRun] [/ru [Domain\]User | “System”] [/rp Password]
  • Parameters:
    • /tn TaskName Identifies the task to be changed. Type the task name.
    • /s Computer Specifies the name or IP address of a remote computer with or without backslash characters. The default is the local computer.
    • /u [domain\]user Runs the command with the permissions of the specified user account. By default, the command runs with the permissions of the user who is logged on to the computer that is running Schtasks.
    • /p password Specifies the password of the user account that you specified in the /u parameter. This parameter is required when the /u parameter is used.
    • /tr TaskRun Changes the program that the task runs. Type the fully qualified path and file name of an executable file, script file, or batch file. If you omit the path, Schtasks.exe assumes that the file is in the Systemroot\System32 folder. The specified program replaces the original program that is run by the task.
    • /ru [Domain\]User | “System” Changes the user account for the task.
    • /rp Password Changes the account password for the task. Type the new password.
    • /? Displays help at the command prompt.

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• Schtasks /Run

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  Starts a scheduled task immediately. The run operation ignores the schedule, but uses the program file location, user account, and password that are saved in the task to run the task immediately.

  • Syntax:schtasks /run /tn TaskName [/s computer [/u [domain\]user /p password]] /?
  • Parameters:
    • /tn TaskName Identifies the task. This parameter is required.
    • /s Computer Specifies the name or IP address of a remote computer with or without backslash characters. The default is the local computer.
    • /u [domain\]user Runs the command with the permissions of the specified user account. By default, the command runs with the permissions of the user who it logged on to the computer that is running Schtasks.
    • /p password Specifies the password of the user account that you specified in the /u parameter. This parameter is required when the /u parameter is used.
    • /? Displays help at the command prompt.

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• Schtasks /End

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  Stops a program that was started by a task.

  • Syntax: schtasks /end /tn TaskName [/s computer [/u [domain\]user /p password]] /?
  • Parameters:
    • /tn TaskName Identifies the task that started the program. This parameter is required.
    • /s Computer Specifies the name or IP address of a remote computer with or without backslash characters. The default is the local computer.
    • /u [domain\]user Runs the command with the permissions of the specified user account. By default, the command runs with the permissions of the user who is logged on to the computer that is running Schtasks.
    • /p password Specifies the password of the user account that is specified in the /u parameter. This parameter is required when the /u parameter is used. /? Displays help.

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• Schtasks /Delete

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  Deletes a scheduled task.

  • Syntax:schtasks /delete /tn {TaskName | *} [/f ] [/s computer [/u [domain\]user/p password]] [/? ]
  • Parameters:
    • /tn {TaskName | *} Identifies the task being deleted. This parameter is required.
      • TaskName Deletes the named task.
      • * Deletes all the scheduled tasks on the computer.
    • /f Suppresses the confirmation message. The task is deleted without warning.
    • /s Computer Specifies the name or IP address of a remote computer with or without backslash characters. The default is the local computer.
    • /u [domain\]user Runs the command with the permissions of the specified user account. By default, the command runs with the permissions of the user who is logged on to the computer that is running Schtasks.
    • /p password Specifies the password of the user account that you specified in the /u parameter. This parameter is required when the /u parameter is used.
    • /? Displays help at the command prompt.

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• Schtasks /Query

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  Displays all the tasks that are scheduled to run on the computer, including those that are scheduled by other users:

  • Syntax:schtasks [/query] [/fo {TABLE | LIST | CSV}] [/nh ] [/v] [/s computer [/u [domain\]user/p password]]
  • Parameters:[/query] The operation name is optional. Typing schtasks without any parameters performs a query.
  • /fo {TABLE | LIST | CSV} Specifies the output format. TABLE is the default. /nh Omits column headings from the table display. This parameter is valid with the TABLE and CSV output formats.
  • /v Adds advanced properties of the tasks to the display. Queries using /v should be formatted as LIST or CSV.
  • /s Computer Specifies the name or IP address of a remote computer with or without backslash characters. The default is the local computer.
  • /u [domain\]user Runs the command with the permissions of the specified user account. By default, the command runs with the permissions of the user who is logged on to the computer that is running Schtasks.
  • /p password Specifies the password of the user account that is specified in the /u parameter. This parameter is required when the /u parameter is used.
  • /? Displays help at the command prompt.

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How to Create a Scheduled Task

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To create a scheduled task:

1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
2. At the command prompt, type net start, and then press ENTER to display a list of currently running services. If Task Scheduler is not displayed in the list, type net start “task scheduler”, and then press ENTER.
3. At the command prompt, type schtasks /create /tn “Application_Name” /tr c:\apps\Application_Name /sc Value /st HH:MM:SS /ed MM/DD/YYYY, and then press ENTER. Note that you may have to change the parameters for your situation. For example, you might type schtasks /create /tn “My App” /tr c:\apps\myapp.exe /sc daily /st 08:00:00 /ed 12/31/2004 This example schedules the MyApp program to run once a day, every day, at 8:00 A.M. until December 31, 2004. Because it omits the /mo parameter, the default interval of 1 is used to run the command every day.

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How to Change a Scheduled Task

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To change a scheduled task:

1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
2. At the command prompt, typenet start, and then press ENTER to display a list of currently running services. If Task Scheduler is not displayed in the list, type net start “task scheduler”, and then press ENTER.
3. At the command prompt, typeschtasks /change /tn TaskName [/s computer [/u [domain\]user /p password]] [/tr TaskRun] [/ru [Domain\]User | “System”] [/rp Password] , and then press ENTER. Note that you may have to change the parameters for your situation. For example, to change the program that a task runs, type: schtasks /change /tn “Application_Name” /tr C:\File_Path\Application_Name.exe

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How to Run a Scheduled Task

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To manually run a scheduled task outside its schedule:

1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
2. At the command prompt, type net start, and then press ENTER to display a list of currently running services. If Task Scheduler is not displayed in the list, type net start “task scheduler”, and then press ENTER.
3. At the command prompt, type schtasks /run /tn TaskName [/s computer [/u [domain\]user /p password]] , and then press ENTER. Note that you may have to change the parameters for your situation. For example, to run a task on the local computer, type schtasks /run /tn “Task_Name” .

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How to End a Scheduled Task

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To end a scheduled task:

1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
2. At the command prompt, type net start, and then press ENTER to display a list of currently running services. If Task Scheduler is not displayed in the list, type net start “task scheduler”, and then press ENTER.
3. At the command prompt, type schtasks /end /tn TaskName [/s computer [/u [domain\]user /p password]] , and then press ENTER. For example, to end the instances of a program that was started by a scheduled task on a local computer, type schtasks /end /tn “Task_Name“.

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How to Delete a Scheduled Task

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To delete a scheduled task:

1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
2. At the command prompt, type net start, and then press ENTER to display a list of currently running services. If Task Scheduler is not displayed in the list, type net start “task scheduler”, and then press ENTER.
3. At the command prompt, type schtasks /delete /tn {TaskName | *} [/f] [/s computer [/u [domain\]user /p password]], and then press ENTER. For example, to delete all tasks scheduled for the local computer, type schtasks /delete /tn * /f.

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How to Perform a Query of Scheduled Tasks

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To perform a query of scheduled tasks:

1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
2. At the command prompt, type net start, and then press ENTER to display a list of currently running services. If Task Scheduler is not displayed in the list, type net start “task scheduler”, and then press ENTER.
3. At the command prompt, type schtasks /query , and then press ENTER. Output from this example displays a table of tasks that have been scheduled to run.

For more information about how to use Schtasks.exe, search for Schtasks.exe in Windo

ws Server 2003 Help.

.SQM files are created by a number of Microsoft applications, most commonly Windows Live Messenger (previously known as MSN).

According to Microsoft, SQM files (standing for Software Quality Metrics) are used as part of their “Microsoft Customer Experience Program” and help improve their products by anonymously monitoring usage habits and reporting software errors/bugs.

To stop these files being created, you will need to disable the option in Windows Live Messenger. You can do this through the options menu:

1. Click HELP.
2. Select ‘Customer Experience Improvement Program’.
3. Tick on ‘I don’t want to participate right now’ box.
4. Click OK.

Please take note, that .SQM files are NOT viruses and do not contain spyware/malware and do not contain any personal information.

SQM files have a naming convention such as “sqmnoopt00.sqm”. They are normally found in the root folder of your hard-drive (C:) and more recently, the “Documents and settings/Application Data/Microsoft/MSN Messenger/” folder.

Dot What!? visitors have found that deleting SQM files is safe. Although probably true, we advise you to backup the files first.

################### Simple Story ###################

By default, you participate in a data-gathering program. Open Live Messenger, click on Help, then on Customer Experience Improvement Program, then de-check the radio button which says you want to participate. Try that. It will almost certainly work, and it’s not dangerous.

####################################################

Internet Explorer is used by the vast majority of the world’s computer user

Users of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer are being urged by experts to switch to a rival until a serious security flaw has been fixed.

The flaw in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer could allow criminals to take control of people’s computers and steal their passwords, internet experts say.

Microsoft urged people to be vigilant while it investigated and prepared an emergency patch to resolve it.

Internet Explorer is used by the vast majority of the world’s computer users.

It’s a shame Microsoft have not been able to fix this more quickly Darien Graham-Smith PC Pro magazine Q&A: Stay safe online

“Microsoft is continuing its investigation of public reports of attacks against a new vulnerability in Internet Explorer,” said the firm in a security advisory alert about the flaw.

Microsoft says it has detected attacks against IE 7.0 but said the “underlying vulnerability” was present in all versions of the browser.

Other browsers, such as Firefox, Opera, Chrome, Safari, are not vulnerable to the flaw Microsoft has identified.

Browser bait

“In this case, hackers found the hole before Microsoft did,” said Rick Ferguson, senior security advisor at Trend Micro. “This is never a good thing.”

As many as 10,000 websites have been compromised since the vulnerability was discovered, he said.

“What we’ve seen from the exploit so far is it stealing game passwords, but it’s inevitable that it will be adapted by criminals,” he said. “It’s just a question of modifying the payload the trojan installs.”

MICROSOFT SECURITY ADVICE Change IE security settings to high (Look under Tools/Internet Options) Switch to a Windows user account with limited rights to change a PC’s settings With IE7 or 8 on Vista turn on Protected Mode Ensure your PC is updated Keep anti-virus and anti-spyware software up to date

Said Mr Ferguson: “If users can find an alternative browser, then that’s good mitigation against the threat.”

But Microsoft counselled against taking such action.

“I cannot recommend people switch due to this one flaw,” said John Curran, head of Microsoft UK’s Windows group.

He added: “We’re trying to get this resolved as soon as possible.

“At present, this exploit only seems to affect 0.02% of internet sites,” said Mr Curran. “In terms of vulnerability, it only seems to be affecting IE7 users at the moment, but could well encompass other versions in time.”

Richard Cox, chief information officer of anti-spam body The Spamhaus Project and an expert on privacy and cyber security, echoed Trend Micro’s warning.

“It won’t be long before someone reverse engineers this exploit for more fraudulent purposes. Trend Mico’s advice [of switching to an alternative web browser] is very sensible,” he said.

This could be the moment when the minnows in the browser wars finally score a significant victory Rory Cellan-Jones BBC technology editor Read the dot.life blog in full

PC Pro magazine’s security editor, Darien Graham-Smith, said that there was a virtual arms race going on, with hackers always on the look out for new vulnerabilities.

“The message needs to get out that this malicious code can be planted on any web site, so simple careful browsing isn’t enough.”

“It’s a shame Microsoft have not been able to fix this more quickly, but letting people know about this flaw was the right thing to do. If you keep flaws like this quiet, people are put at risk without knowing it.”

“Every browser is susceptible to vulnerabilities from time to time. It’s fine to say ‘don’t use Internet Explorer’ for now, but other browsers may well find themselves in a similar situation,” he added.

Source

Many of us have probably dabbled in setting up our own domain and forest for development purposes. For me – a domain is a must – I have my development environment that is heavily used to model development projects for clents – and I have my family – me, my wife, and 7 children with their own computers.

So, we have a fairly detailed setup on the home front – but the following applies to ANY environment in which your primary domain controller gives up the ghost – and you do not have an image backup of the PDC.

Foremost – clarity: In an Active Directory forest, where you have several domain controllers, but one primary domain controller (PDC) – you may think that you must RESTORE or recover this PDC to salvage the domain. In other words, if the PDC fails – is all lost? Nope, not at all. Unless you do not have backup domain controllers. If you do not – then reading the rest of this is moot – but if you do, then read on.

When you promote additional servers on your domain, and make them member DC’s in the same forest, then your domain details are available to you – and you simply need to transfer the Operation Master role to another DC – but before doing that – there are the FSMO’s – yea, something hardly anyone knows about: FSMO = Flexible Single Master Operation – something your PDC or master of operations – manages. If a PDC – and Global Catalog for that matter – goes offline, a backup DC will generally pickup and juggle traffic for the PDC. But what happens if the PDC crashes altogether, and you need to basically assign a member backup DC the PDC role?

FSMO must be transferred to a backup DC before that DC can assume the Master of Operations role. This is done at the command-line level, and you must be careful before you make this call – ONLY do this if you are sure you cannot recover the original PDC because once you do this – you cannot later recover the PDC and bring it online. It cannot be added back into the forest at all.

So, the FSMO roles and how we transfer these. In a word, you cannot simply transfer the FSMO roles because the PDC is off line and not available to authorize the transfer. However, you ‘can’ SEIZE the FSMO roles from the original PDC – even with the machine offl line.

Caution: Using the Ntdsutil utility incorrectly may result in partial or complete loss of Active Directory functionality.

Open a CMD prompt on the backup DC you want to perform this on. At the command-line prompt, type Ntdsutil and press enter .

Microsoft Windows [Version 5.2.3790]
(C) Copyright 1985-2003 Microsoft Corp.

C:\WINDOWS>ntdsutil
ntdsutil:

At this prompt, type roles and press :

ntdsutil: roles
fsmo maintenance:

Now type connections and press :

fsmo maintenance: connections
server connections:

Now type connect to server SERVERNAME where is the name of the backup DC you are working on, and press :

server connections: connect to server hamddc02

Connected to hamdc02 using credentials of locally logged on user.
server connections:

At the server connections prompt type q and press enter :

server connections: q
fsmo maintenance:

Now we are going to SEIZE the FSMO roles we want. NOTE: Out of the 5 FSMO roles, we are NOT going to seize the Infrastructure Master. We do not want to put the Infrastructure Master (IM) role on the same domain controller as the Global Catalog server. If the Infrastructure Master runs on a GC server it will stop updating object information because it does not contain any references to objects that it does not hold. This is because a GC server holds a partial replica of every object in the forest. For now, we’ll seize the following:

Seize domain naming master
Seize PDC
Seize RID master
Seize schema master

We do this by typing the line shown above. For example, to seize the domain naming master, type seize domain naming master and press

You will receive a Windows dialog prompting to confirm this move – click and then you’ll see the attempt to safely transfer the FSMO role, a failure message, and then it will seize the role, assigning it to the backup DC you specified when you connected to the server above.

Once you have completed this for the 4 roles, type Quit to exit the utility, then Exit to return to Windows.

From the Start menu, select Run and enter dsa.msc and press enter.

On the domain that is displayed, right click and select Operations Masters. You should now see that this backup domain controller (HAMDC02 in this case) is not the Operations master.

From here you simply re-create the failed domain controller, and promote it – joining it to this existing forest.

Hopefully others will find this useful.

Source:
geekswithblogs.net/mhamilton/archive/2007/04/15/111674.aspx