Windows 10 Technical Preview demos

I have uploaded short videos on YouTube about:

• Installing Windows 10 Technical Preview on Hyper V : http://youtu.be/7HXhor5vM_U .
  This video covers:
• download location of the Windows 10
•  Hyper V VM provisioning and installation of the Windows 10
• Windows 10 Technical Preview Features : http://youtu.be/hlL06fy2vU0 .
  This video covers:
• Introduction of the "new" Start Menu (Resize, Drag and drop, Add Recycle bin to start menu, Change the size of the tiles, Turn live tile (on|off), Switch between Start Menu and Start Screen)
• Operating System version
• Introduction of the new experimental tab on command prompt properties, from where the opacity of the window can be changed (for example), new features for selecting text, CTRL+C, CTRL+V .
• PowerShell version
• Internet Explorer version
• Virtual desktops (create, delete, switch)
• "New" applications run in window mode

I've added some annotations during video playback, so recommended view of the videos is from desktop.
 

Windows Technical Preview

Last week Microsoft made publicly available for download technical preview version of the next generation of client, server and system center products. Official names for the server and system center are not revealed, and they are available as Windows Server Technical Preview and System Center Technical Preview, while for the client Windows 10 will be the name of the operating system.

Here are the official Microsoft download links:

Windows 10:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/preview-iso

Windows Server Technical Preview:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-server-vnext-technical-preview

System Center Technical Preview:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-system-center-vnext-technical-preview

 

Finding the currently logged on user using powershell and WMI

This is quick one for reference, here is an example how to find out currently logged on user on remote computer or local computer (administrative permission is required for querying remote computer) using PowerShell single liner:

Get-WmiObject win32_ComputerSystem -ComputerName Remote computer name or IP address | Select username

 

For finding out the currently logged on user, WMI and Win32_ComputerSystem class is used. Win32_ComputerSystem class has username property which contains the currently logged on user. For more information about Win32_ComputerSystem class please check the MSDN article http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa394102(v=vs.85).aspx .

My first thought was to find out the currently logged on user, but what about the users that are logged on and are switching between their profiles ? That's when the things get complicated. Anyway, here is PowerShell script which will list logged on users on remote or local machine, even if they are switching between profiles on same pc (for comp variable add the ip address or computer name of the machine, also administrative permission are required) :

$comp="computername or ip address"
Get-WmiObject win32_logonsession -ComputerName $comp -Filter "Logontype = '2' or Logontype='11' or logontype='10'" |

foreach {Get-WmiObject win32_loggedonuser -ComputerName $comp -filter "Dependent = '\\\\.\\root\\cimv2:Win32_LogonSession.LogonId=`"$($_.logonid)`"'" | select Antecedent } |

foreach { ($_.antecedent.split('"'))[1] + "\" + ($_.antecedent.split('"'))[3] } | select -unique

WMI is utilized and Win32_LogonSession and Win32_LoggedOnUser classes are used. From Win32_LogonSession I'm filtering for following logontype: Interactive, RemoteInteractive and CachedInteractive, and passing the logonid to Win32_LoggedOnUser class. From Win32_LoggedOnUser class Antecedent property is manipulated to create easy to read output.

For more info about Win32_LogonSession and Win32_LoggedOnUser classes, please check MSDN library : http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa394172(v=vs.85).aspx and http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa394189(v=vs.85).aspx .

 

Error obtaining generating internal key store for PROV_RSA_FULL

In this case, a friend of mine was complaining that from some reason he was unable to sign documents on web site which requires to proof his identity with certificates stored on token. The client operating system was Windows 8. Instead of a popup for token pin, there was an error message (WinCAPICryptoProvider() - Error obtaining generating internal key store for PROV_RSA_FULL):

I was suspecting that something was wrong with user's certificate. Certmgr.msc and personal folder was showing his certificates, and all of them were having the private key. Since all of the certificates were stored on a token, I have deleted all the certificates from the personal certificates store. After reinserting the usb token, certificate propagation service has successfully copied certificates from the token into user's certificate personal store. I was hoping that the problem has been successfully solved, but the same message from internet explorer has popped out, and he was unable to sign the documents.
Next, I have checked the activex component. The web site for signing documents was using ActiveX component, and that component was installed and was not disabled in internet explorer. The web site was located in trusted site zone.
Now, before creating new user profile, and migrating all the documents and settings from the old to the new profile, I have decided to check the crypto folder. The location of this folder is in following path C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Crypto\RSA\User's SID. First, I have backed up User's SID folder, and after that deleted the folder from C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Crypto\RSA location.
And finally, when he accessed the web site to sign the documents there was a popup to enter the PIN from the token, and he was able to sign the documents. The case was successfully closed.
 

TMG with HTTPS Inspection enabled fails with 0x8009000a

In this case, if you're still using TMG 2010 as proxy server with HTTPS Inspection option enabled, users may experience blank page when accessing https web sites with CNG certificates (for example: coursera, booking, sendspace, dropbox, twitter ...) . The reason for this behavior is that default self signed certificate (or the certificate issued by CA) which is used by the TMG for HTTPS inspection feature is not compatible with suite B certificates. For more info about the CNG certificates please check http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc730763(v=ws.10).aspx .

You can check TMG logs to see if you're experiencing this behavior by creating filter (for example: looking for http status code 0x8009000a in last hour ) :

To avoid this behavior change the certificate used by TMG HTTPS Inspection with CNG certificate (self signed or issued by CA). This certificate must be trusted by clients. For more info about this behavior and a script for creating self signed CNG certificate please check: http://blogs.technet.com/b/isablog/archive/2014/05/28/tmg-https-inspection-is-failing-if-the-target-web-site-is-using-a-cng-certificate.aspx .