Setup an NTP Server on Windows 10

At first, enable the Windows Time services from Services console. Open Services console using by typing services.msc at run window (Windows Key + R). Click in Standard Services and look for Windows Time service. Once you find the service, click on it and set the Start Up type as Automatic and click on Start to start the service.

2. Next, we will enable the NTP-server by manipulating Window registry file for Service W32Time. Open Window registry via the run option (Windows + R) and then entering regedit and navigate to the below location.

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpServer

Once you reach above location, click on Enabled entry and change the value data from 0 to 1 as shown below.

3. Checked the NTP configuration from command line using command w32tm /query /configuration. Below output will indicate that NTP-server is not enabled yet.

4. Next, restart Windows Time service which was enabled in step 1 or update the W32tm from command line using command w32tm /config /update. This will enable the Window10 machine as an NTP Server.

You now have your NTP server running and can now point all your nodes on your network to the IP address of the machine.

References
https://support.hanwhavision.com/hc/en-us/articles/26570683589529-How-to-Setup-an-NTP-Server-on-Windows-10

Disabling UAC in Windows 11 using the registry

  1. Press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog.
  2. Type regedit and press Enter.
  3. Navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
  1. In the right-hand pane, find the value named EnableLUA.
  2. Double-click on EnableLUA.
  3. Change the Value data from 1 to 0.
  4. Click OK to save the changes.
  5. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

Hide a User from the Windows Login Screen

Getting the exact username

  1. Press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog.
  2. Type netplwiz and press Enter.
  3. The User Accounts window will list all user accounts on your Windows machine. The usernames are displayed in the “User name” column.

Using the Registry Editor

  1. Open the Registry Editor:

    • Press the Windows key + R.
    • Type “regedit” and press Enter.
  2. Navigate to the Winlogon Key:

    • Go to this path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
  3. Create SpecialAccounts and UserList Keys:

    • Right-click on “Winlogon” and select New -> Key. Name it SpecialAccounts.
    • Right-click on “SpecialAccounts” and select New -> Key. Name it UserList.
  4. Create a DWORD Value:

    • Right-click within the “UserList” key.
    • Select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value.
    • Name the DWORD the exact username of the account you want to hide.
    • Double-click the new DWORD and set its value data to 0.
  5. Restart: Close the Registry Editor and restart your computer.

Deploy applications in Run as Administrator mode in Windows using Visual Studio and Inno Setup

Add the following line in your [Setup] section. This is the primary way to indicate that your installer requires administrative rights.

[Setup]
...
PrivilegesRequired=admin
...

Consider embedding an appropriate manifest into your application’s executable to have it automatically request elevation when executed outside the installer. This can provide a more seamless experience for the user.

1. Create the Manifest File:

  • Right-click on your project in the Solution Explorer and select Add -> New Item….
  • Choose Application Manifest File (it might be under the General category).
  • The default name is typically app.manifest. Keep this name or adjust it if necessary.

2. Modify the Manifest:

  • Open the newly created app.manifest file. The default content will be similar to this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<assembly xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1" manifestVersion="1.0" xmlns:asmv3="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v3">
  <assemblyIdentity version="1.0.0.0" name="MyApplication.app"/>
  <trustInfo xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v3">
    <security>
      <requestedPrivileges xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:asm.v1">
        </requestedPrivileges>
    </security>
  </trustInfo>
</assembly>
  • Inside the <requestedPrivileges> element, add the following line:
<requestedExecutionLevel  level="requireAdministrator" uiAccess="false" />

3. Embed the Manifest:

The manifest is now created, but you need to tell Visual Studio to embed it into your executable:

  • Right-click on your project and select Properties.
  • Go to the Application tab.
  • Under Manifest, select Embed manifest with default settings.

Build the Project:

Rebuild your project. The generated executable will now have the UAC manifest embedded, causing your application to request administrative privileges when run.

Install Redis on Windows using WSL

Turn on Windows Subsystem for Linux

Open PowerShell as Administrator and run this command to enable Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL):

Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux

Launch Microsoft Windows Store and then search for Ubuntu, or your preferred distribution of Linux, and download the latest version.

Install Redis server

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:redislabs/redis
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get install redis-server

Restart the Redis server

sudo service redis-server restart

Verify if your Redis server is running

 $ redis-cli
 127.0.0.1:6379> set user:1 "Jane"
 127.0.0.1:6379> get user:1
"Jane"

Stop the Redis Server

sudo service redis-server stop

References
https://developer.redis.com/create/windows/
https://redis.io/docs/install/install-redis/install-redis-on-windows/

Disable wermgr.exe on Windows

Using Services

  1. Press Win + R to open the Run dialog.
  2. Type services.msc and press Enter.
  3. Scroll down and locate the Windows Error Reporting Service.
  4. Right-click on it and choose Properties.
  5. In the Startup type dropdown, select Disabled.
  6. Click Apply and then OK.

Using Registry Editor

  1. Press Win + R to open the Run dialog.
  2. Type regedit and press Enter.
  3. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Error Reporting.
  4. Create a new DWORD value named Disabled and set its value to 1.

 

Shutdown or Restart Windows Automatically

In Windows, you can use the shutdown command to shutdown or restart your computer automatically. This can be useful for a variety of purposes, such as:

  • Scheduling a shutdown or restart at a specific time.
  • Shutting down or restarting your computer after a long period of inactivity.
  • Shutting down or restarting your computer after a software update has been installed.

To shutdown or restart your computer automatically, you can use the following commands:

Shutdown:

shutdown /s /f

This command will shutdown your computer immediately. The /s switch tells Windows to shutdown, and the /f switch tells Windows to force all running applications to close.

Restart:

shutdown /r /f

This command will restart your computer immediately. The /r switch tells Windows to restart, and the /f switch tells Windows to force all running applications to close.

You can also use the /t switch to specify a delay before the shutdown or restart occurs. For example, the following command will shutdown your computer in 15 minutes:

shutdown /s /t 900

The /t switch takes a number of seconds as its argument. So, in this example, the shutdown will occur after 900 seconds, which is equal to 15 minutes.

To use the shutdown command, you need to open a command prompt with administrator privileges. You can do this by pressing Windows+R and typing cmd. Then, press Ctrl+Shift+Enter to open the command prompt as administrator.

Once you have opened the command prompt, you can type the shutdown command and press Enter. Your computer will then shutdown or restart automatically, depending on the command you used.

Here are some additional examples of how to use the shutdown command:

  • To shutdown your computer at 10:00 PM tonight, you would use the following command:
shutdown /s /t 14400
  • To restart your computer after 30 minutes of inactivity, you would use the following command:
shutdown /r /t 1800 /f
  • To shutdown your computer after a software update has been installed, you would use the following command:
shutdown /s /t 0 /c "Software update has been installed"

The /c switch allows you to specify a message that will be displayed before the shutdown or restart occurs.