Skip to main content

How to clear the print queue when the user logs off (Workgroup Version)

By

A common problem with using a client that multiple users log into is that a sensitive document could be stuck in the local print queue. With law suit heavy lawyers running around, you do not want to put your organization at risk. The below procedure will help to mitigate this issue. (Note: The following procedure is performed and tested on Windows 7) This procedure will set up your clients to clear their print queues when a user logs off. This prevents the printer from coming online and printing sensitive information when another user logs on.

On your Windows 7 client, click image , type Notepad and press Enter.

Copy and past the following code:

net stop spooler
del %systemroot%\system32\spool\printers\*.shd
del %systemroot%\system32\spool\printers\*.spl
net start spooler

Click File \ Save As

In the Save as Type: dropdown box, select All FIles.

In the File name: box, type C:\DeletePrinJobs.cmd.

In a production environment, you may want to put this somewhere other then the C: drive. The above batch file will clear out any stuck printouts in the print queue on the local client when it the batch file is ran. To test this, I created two fictitious printers. One is the default printer, the other is not.

image

I sent test pages to both. Right now we have documents pending in both queues. When the batch file was ran, both queues emptied. To get this to happen each time a user logs off, you need to place it in a log off script.

Save this script to a location on the hard drive that all users have access to.

Next, we need to configure the local policy on the client to run this script as a log off script.

Click image , type MMC and press Enter.

Click File \ Add Remove Snap-in…

Select Group Policy Object, click Add

Click Finish  and then click OK

Expand User Configuration \ Windows Settings

Click Scripts (Logon/Logoff)

image

Click Double click Logoff

Click Add

Click Browse

Browse to the location where you stored the script.

Click the script that you created and then click Open

Click OK

Close the policy.

From here you will have to apply the GPO according to your company policies.

Once the GPO is applied, each time you users log off the client, any printouts in the local print queue will be deleted.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to list all the AD LDS instances on a server

By
AD LDS allows you to provide directory services to applications that are free of the confines of Active Directory.  To list all the AD LDS instances on a server, follow this procedure: Log into the server in question Open a command prompt. Type dsdbutil and press Enter Type List Instances and press Enter . You will receive a list of the instance name, both the LDAP and SSL port numbers, the location of the database, and its status.
Post a Comment
Read more

How to run GPResult on a remote client with PowerShell

By
In the past, to run the GPResult command, you would need to either physically visit this client, have the user do it, or use and RDP connection.  In all cases, this will disrupt the user.  First, you need PowerShell remoting enabled on the target machine.  You can do this via Group Policy . Open PowerShell and type this command. Invoke-Command –ScriptBlock {GPResult /r} –ComputerName <ComputerName> Replace <ComputerName> with the name of the target.  Remember, the target needs to be online and accessible to you.
Post a Comment
Read more

Where did a User’s Account Get Locked Out?

By
Updated: May 15, 2015 When this article was originally published, two extra carriage returns were add causing the code to malfunction.  The code below is correct.   My client for this week’s PowerShell class had a really interesting question. They needed to know where an account is being locked out at. OK, interesting. Apparently users hop around clients and forget to log off, leading to eventual lock out of their accounts. The accounts can be unlocked, but are then relocked after Active Directory replication. This problem is solved in two parts. The first one is to modify the event auditing on the network. The second part is resolved with PowerShell. The first part involves creating a group policy that will encompass your Domain Controllers. In this GPO, make these changes. Expand Computer Configuration \ Policies \ Windows Settings \ Security Settings \ Advanced Audit Policy Configuration \ Audit Policies \ Account Management Double click User Account Management C...
18 comments
Read more