Does a Computer Object SID do anything?

This one through me for a loop in class. While talking about what SYSPREP does to a client, one of the members of the class pointed me to a very interesting article. I have always been taught that the SID of the computer account is what Windows looks at for assigning security access. Well, take a minute to read this blog post from Mark Russinovich at Microsoft.

OK, let’s put this to the test. I took a VM from class and created an image of it. I then deployed this non syspreped image to another VM and started it up in the same environment as the original. The original was logged off and I had no trouble logging in. After taking snapshots of the new VM and the DC, I went ahead and renamed the VM to LON-CL3. In AD Users and Computers, the account associated with the original was renamed.

OK, I reapplied the snap shots and brought both identical VMs online. I was able to log in on both. On the original, I’m renamed the client and allowed it to reboot.

In the image below, you can see a client named LON-CL5. This is my renamed original. I was also able to successfully log in using the cloned that is still named LON-CL1. At this point, security is obviously looking at the SID.

Group Policy Updates

I was able to update group policy on the client that was renamed, but the clone with the original name could not update its policy.

This points to something other than the SID being used.

Resetting the computer account still allowed both clones to log in.

I’m out on this one as to what the computer account SID is used for. Keep an eye on Mark’s blog. It has so far generate 18 pages of comments.

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Sticky Key problem between Windows Server 2012 and LogMeIn

This week I instructed my first class using Windows Server 2012 accessed via LogMeIn and discovered a Sticky Key problem every time you press the Shift key. Here is my solution to resolve this. First off, in the Preferences of LogMeIn for the connection to the Windows Server, click General . Change the Keyboard and mouse priority to Host side user and click Apply at the bottom. On the Windows 2012 server, open the Control Panel – Ease of Access – Change how your keyboard works . Uncheck Turn on Sticky Keys . Click Set up Sticky Keys . Uncheck Turn on Sticky Keys when SHIFT is pressed five times . Click OK twice. If you are using Windows Server 2012 as a Hyper-V host, you will need to redo the Easy of Use settings on each guest operating system in order to avoid the Sticky Key Problem. Updated Information: March 20, 2013 If you continue to have problems, Uncheck Turn on Filter Keys .

With the AD Recycle Bin Turned on, What Happens when you Create a User Account with a Password that does not meet the Password Policy?

This was an interesting observation from one of my Windows Server 2012 classes. While working with the AD Recycle bin in a lab, one of my students discovered some interesting accounts that were created. When he created user accounts that did not meet password complexity requirements, an account is temporarily made and then deleted. When a new password is provided that meets the password requirements, then a new account is made. We discovered this in two places. First off in the Active Directory Administrative Center. This is what caused the initial confusion. Take a look. This is in the Deleted Objects OU. You can see multiple deleted accounts for Test2 and one for Test3. Test3 is a valid, functioning user account. Using the PowerShell command Get-ADObject –IncludeDeletedObjects –Filter * –Properties ObjectSID we can see that indeed, two accounts were created, with one of them deleted. Notice the RID portion of the SID is different. ...

Where did a User’s Account Get Locked Out?

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...

Jason Yoder, MCT

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