Installed Windows Updates Report by Date

To generate a report that lists the installed Windows Updates by date, use the below VBS script in conjunction with a text file (i.e. computers.txt) that references which Windows computers/servers you would like a report from.

First, create a file with .vbs extension using below code:

strComputerList = WScript.Arguments.Item(0)

Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set f = fso.OpenTextFile(strComputerList, 1, True)
Set objTextFile = fso.OpenTextFile("OUTPUT.csv", 2, True)
objTextFile.WriteLine("Computer Name,Date,Update Title")

Do While f.AtEndOfLine <> True
 strComputer = f.ReadLine
 Set objSession = CreateObject("Microsoft.Update.Session", strComputer)
 Set objSearcher = objSession.CreateUpdateSearcher()
 intHistoryCount = objSearcher.GetTotalHistoryCount

 Set colHistory = objSearcher.QueryHistory(0, intHistoryCount)
 For Each objHistory in colHistory
  objTextFile.WriteLine(strComputer & "," & objHistory.Date & "," & Replace(objHistory.Title, ",", ""))
 Next
Loop

WScript.Echo "Done!"

Then make a text file with your list of Windows computers/servers, each on a new line, that you would like the report to gather info from.

Finally, run the command. Command prompt usage example: wsus-detect.vbs computers.txt

After running the script it will generate the OUTPUT.csv file which can be viewed and manipulated as a spreadsheet.

(via Realtime Windows Server)

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The Online Privacy Anomaly

“For most of human history, people have lived in small tribes where everything they did was known by everyone they knew,” Dr. Malone said. “In some sense we’re becoming a global village. Privacy may turn out to have become an anomaly.”

(Quote from New York Times article, You’re Leaving a Digital Trail. What About Privacy?)

Turns out folks that online privacy may turn out to be (or is) viewed as an anomaly. Reading the NY Times article reminds me of a podcast on the topic featuring Eben Moglen speaking on “Freedom Businesses Protect Privacy” at the O’Reilly Media MySQL Conference in 2007. You can listen to the original podcast, published by IT Conversations, here. (Alternatively you can download the original podcast in MP3 format here)

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Gartner Beat Me To It, But I Concur

Having recently been pondering the topics of technology in business strategy for the next year, 2009, I have been mentally compiling a watch and want list of technologies that will have impact, drive significant purchases, and define companies that “get” IT.  These while mulling in my mind, have been processing in the mind of other industry insiders and Gartner analysts just published their thoughts here.  They examined these trends during their ITxpo, held in Orlando.

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FreeNAS: Simple DIY Network Attached Storage

Are you looking for a simple network accessible storage system? Would you like to use existing equipment such as an older desktop or even a laptop? I recommend FreeNAS. A NAS (Network Attached Storage) allows you to have the flexibility of storage at your fingertips across a network. You can access the network accessible shares from any operating system, so this is a cross platform storage solution. As well, you can create a rudimentary FTP server and secure it through the FreeNAS software.

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