PowerShell and Python Together


Book Description

Bring together the Python programming language and Microsoft’s PowerShell to address digital investigations and create state-of-the-art solutions for administrators, IT personnel, cyber response teams, and forensic investigators. You will learn how to join PowerShell's robust set of commands and access to the internals of both the MS Windows desktop and enterprise devices and Python's rich scripting environment allowing for the rapid development of new tools for investigation, automation, and deep analysis. PowerShell and Python Together takes a practical approach that provides an entry point and level playing field for a wide range of individuals, small companies, researchers, academics, students, and hobbyists to participate. What You’ll Learn Leverage the internals of PowerShell for: digital investigation, incident response, and forensics Leverage Python to exploit already existing PowerShell CmdLets and aliases to build new automation and analysis capabilities Create combined PowerShell and Python applications that provide: rapid response capabilities to cybersecurity events, assistance in the precipitous collection of critical evidence (from the desktop and enterprise), and the ability to analyze, reason about, and respond to events and evidence collected across the enterprise Who This Book Is For System administrators, IT personnel, incident response teams, forensic investigators, professors teaching in undergraduate and graduate programs in cybersecurity, students in cybersecurity and computer science programs, and software developers and engineers developing new cybersecurity defenses




Learn PowerShell Scripting in a Month of Lunches, Second Edition


Book Description

Automate complex tasks and processes with PowerShell scripts. This amazing book teaches you how to write, test, and organize high-quality, reusable scripts for Windows, Linux, and cloud-based systems. Learn PowerShell Scripting in a Month of Lunches, Second Edition takes you beyond command-line PowerShell and opens up the amazing world of scripting and automation. In just 27 bite-sized lessons, you’ll learn to write scripts that can eliminate repetitive manual tasks, create custom reusable tools, and build effective pipelines and workflows. In Learn PowerShell Scripting in a Month of Lunches, Second Edition you’ll learn: Setting up a reliable scripting environment Designing functions and scripts Effective pipeline usage Scripting and security Dealing with errors and bugs Source control with git Sharing and publishing scripts Professional-grade scripting practices The PowerShell language lets you write scripts to control nearly every aspect of Windows. Just master a few straightforward scripting skills, and you'll save yourself from hours of tedious tasks. This revised second edition is fully updated to PowerShell’s latest version, including hands-on examples that perfectly demonstrate modern PowerShell’s cross-platform applications. About the technology You can write PowerShell scripts to automate nearly any admin task on Windows, Linux, and macOS. This book shows you how! In just 27 short lessons you can complete on your lunch break, you’ll learn to create, organize, test, and share scripts and tools that will save you hours of time in your daily work. About the book Learn PowerShell Scripting in a Month of Lunches, Second Edition is a hands-on introduction to PowerShell automation and toolbuilding. Updated for the latest version of PowerShell, this thoroughly revised bestseller teaches you how to write efficient scripts, find and squash bugs, and organize your tools into libraries. Along the way, you’ll even pick up tips for securing and managing Linux and macOS systems. What's inside Setting up a reliable scripting environment Designing functions and scripts Effective pipeline usage Sharing and publishing scripts About the reader Beginning to intermediate knowledge of PowerShell required. About the author James Petty is CEO of PowerShell.org and The DevOps Collective and a Microsoft MVP. Don Jones and Jeffery Hicks are the authors of the first edition of Learn PowerShell Scripting in a Month of Lunches. Table of Contents PART 1 1 Before you begin 2 Setting up your scripting environment 3 WWPD: What would PowerShell do? 4 Review: Parameter binding and the PowerShell pipeline 5 Scripting language: A crash course 6 The many forms of scripting (and which to choose) 7 Scripts and security PART 2 8 Always design first 9 Avoiding bugs: Start with a command 10 Building a basic function and script module 11 Getting started with advanced functions 12 Objects: The best kind of output 13 Using all the streams 14 Simple help: Making a comment 15 Errors and how to deal with them 16 Filling out a manifest PART 3 17 Changing your brain when it comes to scripting 18 Professional-grade scripting 19 An introduction to source control with Git 20 Pestering your script 21 Signing your script 22 Publishing your script PART 4 23 Squashing bugs 24 Enhancing script output presentation 25 Wrapping up the .NET Framework 26 Storing data—not in Excel! 27 Never the end




PowerShell for Sysadmins


Book Description

Learn to use PowerShell, Microsoft's scripting language, to automate real-world tasks that IT professionals and system administrators deal with every day. Save Time. Automate. PowerShell® is both a scripting language and an administrative shell that lets you control and automate nearly every aspect of IT. In PowerShell for Sysadmins, five-time Microsoft® MVP "Adam the Automator" Bertram shows you how to use PowerShell to manage and automate your desktop and server environments so that you can head out for an early lunch. You'll learn how to: Combine commands, control flow, handle errors, write scripts, run scripts remotely, and test scripts with the PowerShell testing framework, Pester Parse structured data like XML and JSON, work with common domains (like Active Directory, Azure, and Amazon Web Services), and create a real-world server inventory script Design and build a PowerShell module to demonstrate PowerShell isn't just about ad-hoc scripts Use PowerShell to create a hands-off, completely automated Windows deployment Build an entire Active Directory forest from nothing but a Hyper-V host and a few ISO files Create endless Web and SQL servers with just a few lines of code! Real-world examples throughout help bridge the gap between theory and actual system, and the author's anecdotes keep things lively. Stop with the expensive software and fancy consultants. Learn how to manage your own environment with PowerShell for Sysadmins and make everyone happy. Covers Windows PowerShell v5.1




PowerShell in Depth


Book Description

Summary PowerShell in Depth, Second Edition is the go-to reference for administrators working with Windows PowerShell. Every major technique, technology, and tactic is carefully explained and demonstrated, providing a hands-on guide to almost everything an admin would do in the shell. Written by three experienced authors and PowerShell MVPs, this is the PowerShell book you'll keep next to your monitor—not on your bookshelf! Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications. About the Book A Windows admin using PowerShell every day may not have the time to search the net every time he or she hits a snag. Wouldn't it be great to have a team of seasoned PowerShell experts ready to answer even the toughest questions? That's what you get with this book. PowerShell in Depth, Second Edition is the go-to reference for administrators working with Windows PowerShell. Every major technique, technology, and tactic is carefully explained and demonstrated, providing a hands-on guide to almost everything an admin would do in the shell. Written by PowerShell MVPs Don Jones, Jeffrey Hicks, and Richard Siddaway, each valuable technique was developed and thoroughly tested, so you'll be able to consistently write production-quality, maintainable scripts while saving hours of time and effort. This book assumes you know the basics of PowerShell. What's Inside Automating tasks Packaging and deploying scripts Introduction to Desired State Configuration PowerShell security Covers PowerShell version 3 and later About the Authors Don Jones, Jeffery Hicks, and Richard Siddaway are Microsoft MVPs, trainers, and administrators. Collectively, they've authored nearly three dozen books on PowerShell and Windows administration. Table of Contents PART 1 POWERSHELL FUNDAMENTALS Introduction PowerShell hosts Using the PowerShell help system The basics of PowerShell syntax Working with PSSnapins and modules Operators Working with objects The PowerShell pipeline Formatting PART 2 POWERSHELL MANAGEMENT PowerShell Remoting Background jobs and scheduling Working with credentials Regular expressions Working with HTML and XML data PSDrives and PSProviders Variables, arrays, hash tables, and script blocks PowerShell security Advanced PowerShell syntax PART 3 POWERSHELL SCRIPTING AND AUTOMATION PowerShell's scripting language Basic scripts and functions Creating objects for output Scope PowerShell workflows Advanced syntax for scripts and functions Script modules and manifest modules Custom formatting views Custom type extensions Data language and internationalization Writing help Error handling techniques Debugging tools and techniques Functions that work like cmdlets Tips and tricks for creating reports PART 4 ADVANCED POWERSHELL Working with the Component Object Model (COM) Working with .NET Framework objects Accessing databases Proxy functions Building a GUI WMI and CIM Working with the web Desired State Configuration




Python Forensics


Book Description

Python Forensics provides many never-before-published proven forensic modules, libraries, and solutions that can be used right out of the box. In addition, detailed instruction and documentation provided with the code samples will allow even novice Python programmers to add their own unique twists or use the models presented to build new solutions. Rapid development of new cybercrime investigation tools is an essential ingredient in virtually every case and environment. Whether you are performing post-mortem investigation, executing live triage, extracting evidence from mobile devices or cloud services, or you are collecting and processing evidence from a network, Python forensic implementations can fill in the gaps. Drawing upon years of practical experience and using numerous examples and illustrative code samples, author Chet Hosmer discusses how to: - Develop new forensic solutions independent of large vendor software release schedules - Participate in an open-source workbench that facilitates direct involvement in the design and implementation of new methods that augment or replace existing tools - Advance your career by creating new solutions along with the construction of cutting-edge automation solutions to solve old problems - Provides hands-on tools, code samples, and detailed instruction and documentation that can be put to use immediately - Discusses how to create a Python forensics workbench - Covers effective forensic searching and indexing using Python - Shows how to use Python to examine mobile device operating systems: iOS, Android, and Windows 8 - Presents complete coverage of how to use Python scripts for network investigation




Windows PowerShell in Action


Book Description

A guide to using Windows PowerShell to script Windows administrative tasks and control Windows from the command line.




Python for Unix and Linux System Administration


Book Description

Python is an ideal language for solving problems, especially in Linux and Unix networks. With this pragmatic book, administrators can review various tasks that often occur in the management of these systems, and learn how Python can provide a more efficient and less painful way to handle them. Each chapter in Python for Unix and Linux System Administration presents a particular administrative issue, such as concurrency or data backup, and presents Python solutions through hands-on examples. Once you finish this book, you'll be able to develop your own set of command-line utilities with Python to tackle a wide range of problems. Discover how this language can help you: Read text files and extract information Run tasks concurrently using the threading and forking options Get information from one process to another using network facilities Create clickable GUIs to handle large and complex utilities Monitor large clusters of machines by interacting with SNMP programmatically Master the IPython Interactive Python shell to replace or augment Bash, Korn, or Z-Shell Integrate Cloud Computing into your infrastructure, and learn to write a Google App Engine Application Solve unique data backup challenges with customized scripts Interact with MySQL, SQLite, Oracle, Postgres, Django ORM, and SQLAlchemy With this book, you'll learn how to package and deploy your Python applications and libraries, and write code that runs equally well on multiple Unix platforms. You'll also learn about several Python-related technologies that will make your life much easier.




Practical Automation with PowerShell


Book Description

Take PowerShell beyond simple scripts and build time-saving automations for your team, your users, and the world. In Practical Automation with PowerShell you will learn how to: Build PowerShell functions to automate common and complex tasks Create smart automations that are adaptable to new challenges Structure your code for sharing and reusability Store and secure your automations Execute automations with Azure Automation, Jenkins, Task Scheduler, and Cron Share your automations with your team and non-technical colleagues Store and retrieve data, credentials, and variables Use source control solutions to maintain and test code changes Provide front-end UI solutions for PowerShell automations Practical Automation in PowerShell reveals how you can use PowerShell to build automation solutions for a huge number of common admin and DevOps tasks. Author Matthew Dowst uses his decades of experience to lay out a real blueprint for setting up an enterprise scripting environment with PowerShell. The book goes beyond the basics to show you how to handle the unforeseen complexities that can keep automations from becoming reusable and resilient. From the console to the cloud, you'll learn how to manage your code, avoid common pitfalls, and create sharable automations that are adaptable to different use cases. About the Technology The PowerShell scripting language is a force multiplier, giving you programmatic control over your whole data center. With this powerful tool, you can create reusable automations that radically improve consistency and productivity on your Ops team. This book shows you how to design, write, organize, and deploy scripts to automate operations on systems of all sizes, from local servers to enterprise clusters in the cloud. About the Book Practical Automation with PowerShell: Effective scripting from the console to the cloud shows you how to build PowerShell automations for local and cloud systems. In it, you’ll find tips for identifying automatable tasks, techniques for structuring and managing scripts, and lots of well-explained example code. You’ll even learn how to adapt existing scripts to new use cases and empower non-technical users through easy-to-understand SharePoint frontends. What’s Inside Structure PowerShell code for sharing and reusability Store and secure your automations Execute automation with Azure Automation, Jenkins, Task Scheduler, and Cron Store and retrieve data, credentials, and variables Use source control solutions to maintain and test code changes About the Reader For sysadmin and IT professionals who manage backend systems. About the Author Matthew Dowst has over 15 years of experience in IT management and consulting. Table of contents PART 1 1 PowerShell automation 2 Get started automating PART 2 3 Scheduling automation scripts 4 Handling sensitive data 5 PowerShell remote execution 6 Making adaptable automations 7 Working with SQL 8 Cloud-based automation 9 Working outside of PowerShell 10 Automation coding best practices PART 3 11 End-user scripts and forms 12 Sharing scripts among a team 13 Testing your scripts 14 Maintaining your code




PowerShell Deep Dives


Book Description

Summary Here's your chance to learn from the best in the business. PowerShell Deep Dives is a trove of essential techniques, practical guidance, and the expert insights you earn only through years of experience. Editors Jeffery Hicks, Richard Siddaway, Oisin Grehan, and Aleksandar Nikolic hand-picked the 28 chapters in the book's four parts: Administration, Scripting, Development, and Platforms. About the Technology PowerShell has permanently changed Windows administration. This powerful scripting and automation tool allows you to control virtually every aspect of Windows and most Microsoft servers like IIS and SQL Server. Here's your chance to learn from the best in the business. About this Book PowerShell Deep Dives is a trove of essential techniques and practical guidance. It is rich with insights from experts who won them through years of experience. The book's 28 chapters, grouped in four parts (Administration, Scripting, Development, and Platforms), were hand-picked by four section editors: Jeffery Hicks, Richard Siddaway, Oisin Grehan, and Aleksandar Nikolic. Whether you're just getting started with PowerShell or you already use it daily, you'll find yourself returning to this book over and over. What's Inside Managing systems through a keyhole The Ten Commandments of PowerShell scripting Scalable scripting for large datasets Adding automatic remoting Provisioning web servers and websites automatically to IIS 8 And 23 more fantastic chapters Purchase of the print book includes a free eBook in PDF, Kindle, and ePub formats from Manning Publications. About the AuthorsEditors Jeffery Hicks, Richard Siddaway, Oisin Grehan, and Aleksandar Nikolic are joined by PowerShell experts Chris Bellee, Bartek Bielawski, Robert C. Cain, Jim Christopher, Adam Driscoll, Josh Gavant, Jason Helmick, Don Jones, Ashley McGlone, Jonathan Medd, Ben Miller, James O'Neill, Arnaud Petitjean, Vadims Podans, Karl Prosser, Boe Prox, Matthew Reynolds, Mike Robbins, Donabel Santos, Will Steele, Trevor Sullivan, and Jeff Wouters. Table of Contents PART 1 POWERSHELL ADMINISTRATION Diagnosing and troubleshooting PowerShell remoting CIM sessions 22 Collecting and analyzing performance counter data TCP port communications with PowerShell Managing systems through a keyhole Using PowerShell to audit user logon events Managing and administering a certification authoritydatabase with PowerShell Using PowerShell to reduce Active Directory token bloat PART 2 POWERSHELL SCRIPTING The 10 PowerShell scripting commandments Avoiding the pipeline A template for handling and reporting errors Tips and tricks for creating complex or advancedHTML reports with PowerShell Using and "abusing" dynamic parameters PowerShell type formatting Scalable scripting for large data sets: pipelineand database techniques Building your own WMI-based cmdlets Turning command-line tools into PowerShell tools PART 3 POWERSHELL FOR DEVELOPERS Using Source Control Software with PowerShell Inline .NET code PowerShell and XML: better together Adding automatic remoting to advanced functionsand cmdlets Taming software builds (and other complicated processes)with psake PART 4 POWERSHELL PLATFORMS PowerShell and the SQL Server provider Creating flexible subscriptions in SSRS Inventory database table statistics using PowerShellSQL Server Management Objects WSUS and PowerShell Provisioning IIS web servers and sites with PowerShell Active Directory Group Management application




Begin to Code with Python


Book Description

Become a Python programmer–and have fun doing it! Start writing software that solves real problems, even if you have absolutely no programming experience! This friendly, easy, full-color book puts you in total control of your own learning, empowering you to build unique and useful programs. Microsoft has completely reinvented the beginning programmer’s tutorial, reflecting deep research into how today’s beginners learn, and why other books fall short. Begin to Code with Python is packed with innovations, from its “Snaps” prebuilt operations to its “Make Something Happen” projects. Whether you’re a total beginner or you’ve tried before, this guide will put the power, excitement, and fun of programming where it belongs: in your hands! Easy, friendly, and you’re in control! Learn how to... Get, install, and use powerful free tools to create modern Python programs Learn key concepts from 170 sample programs, and use them to jumpstart your own Discover exactly what happens when a program runs Approach program development with a professional perspective Learn the core elements of the Python language Build more complex software with classes, methods, and objects Organize programs so they’re easy to build and improve Capture and respond to user input Store and manipulate many types of real-world data Define custom data types to solve specific problems Create interactive games that are fun to play Build modern web and cloud-based applications Use pre-built libraries to quickly create powerful software Get code samples, including complete apps, at: https://aka.ms/BegintoCodePython/downloads About This Book For absolute beginners who’ve never written a line of code For anyone who’s been frustrated with other beginning programming books or courses For people who’ve started out with other languages and now want to learn Python Works with Windows PC, Apple Mac, Linux PC, or Raspberry Pi Includes mapping of MTA exam objectives that are covered in this book, as well as an appendix with further explanation of some of the topics on the exam