Embed Files into Powershell Scripts

by David | Sep 29, 2021 | Deployments, Information Technology, PowerShell

Do you have a zip file or an msi file that you need to embed into a powershell script for deployment. This is a quick and simple way to do this. The method is pretty sound and works most of the time. The larger the file, the more troubles the system has converting and converting back, so small files works wonders for this method.

The first thing we are going to do is convert a file into a base 64 string. This is done through the command Get-Content and the system convert method. Powershell 7 recently changed the command for this method and we will cover that first.

Powershell 7 Command

The get content changed the encoding flag to asbytestream flag.

$Content = Get-Content -Path $Path -AsByteStream -raw

This command will read the data as raw byte data which is needed for the System convert method. The Powershell 5 method users Encoding and then you select your type which is byte.

Powershell 5

$Content = Get-Content -Path $Path -Encoding Byte

These commands reads the data as raw information that will be used for the system.convert to base 64 string method.

$base64 = [system.convert]::ToBase64String($content)

Now the Base64 contains something that looks like this:

"//4wADEAMAAwADAAMAAwADAAZAAwADgAYwA5AGQAZABmADAAMQAxADUAZAAxADEAMQA4AGMANwBhADAAMABjADAANABmAGMAMgA5ADcAZQBiADAAMQAwADAAMAAwADAAMABlADYAYQAyADMAOAA4ADIAOQA3ADIAOQBiADIANABhAGEAMAA0ADcAMQBjADEANQBjADcAYwAwAGQANQA4AGYAMAAwADAAMAAwADAAMAAwADAAMgAwADAAMAAwADAAMAAwADAAMAAwADAAMwA2ADYAMAAwADAAMABjADAAMAAwADAAMAAwADAAMQAwADAAMAAwADAAMAAwAGIAMQA5ADcAOAA5AGQAYgBmADkAMAAxADYANgA2ADEANQBlADgAMwAzAGQAOQAxADMANgA0ADEAYwBmAGIANAAwADAAMAAwADAAMAAwADAAMAA0ADgAMAAwADAAMAAwAGEAMAAw==

We take that information and Pipe it into the clip.exe to bring it to our clipboard.

$Base64 | clip.exe

Converting it back

Now we need to convert the string back to a file. To do that we are going to use the System.Convert from base 64 string.

$Object = [System.Convert]::FromBase64String("The crazy text")

Now we have an object of random-looking data like before. We need to write those bytes to a file we do that with the System.IO.File write all bytes method. We will need the outfile location. and the object we created earlier to complete this task.

[system.io.file]::WriteAllBytes($OutFile,$object)

This will create the file you embedded into your powershell script.

Use Case

Encrypted Passwords

Let’s secure a password file and key file inside our embedded script. First, we are going to create the key for out password file.

$key = New-Object byte[] 16
[Security.Cryptography.RNGCryptoServiceProvider]::Create().GetBytes($Key)
$key | Out-File C:\temp\TestPassword.key

This is the content of our key file:

Now we have our key made it’s time to create the password file.

$Password = "lazyAppl351" | ConvertTo-SecureString -AsPlainText -Force 
$Password | ConvertFrom-SecureString -Key $Key | Out-File c:\temp\TestPassword.txt

This is what the Password file looks like on the inside:

76492d1116743f0423413b16050a5345MgB8ADkAMAA1AGYAaABaAC8ASAB3AG8AUQBQAGUAdwBKAHgAbwBJAFIAKwA5AHcAPQA9AHwAZQA2ADQAOQBiADMAMQA2AGEAYwBjADAANAA4AGUANQAxAGMAOAA2ADgAOABkADkAYgBmAGIANgBkAGUAMgAwADQAZQA3AGQAMgA2ADMAMQBiADQANQA4AGIAOAA1ADcAMABlADAAMQBhAGIAYgA4AGIAYQBhADEAOAA4ADMANAA=

Now we will embed these files into our script.

$KeyFile = Get-Content -Path C:\temp\TestPassword.key -Encoding Byte
$base64 = [system.convert]::ToBase64String($Keyfile)
$Base64 | clip.exe

This will convert the key file into a working string that we can convert later. This is what the information looks like:

NDENCjIwMg0KMTYNCjIyMw0KMTI5DQoxOA0KMTM4DQoxMTYNCjEwNg0KMTMyDQo5DQoyMTcNCjE4MA0KNDENCjIyNg0KMTA4DQo=

Now we will do the same thing for the password file.

$KeyFile = Get-Content -Path C:\temp\TestPassword.txt -Encoding Byte
$base64 = [system.convert]::ToBase64String($Keyfile)
$Base64 | clip.exe

This is what this looks like:

NzY0OTJkMTExNjc0M2YwNDIzNDEzYjE2MDUwYTUzNDVNZ0I4QURrQU1BQTFBR1lBYUFCYUFDOEFTQUIzQUc4QVVRQlFBR1VBZHdCS0FIZ0Fid0JKQUZJQUt3QTVBSGNBUFFBOUFId0FaUUEyQURRQU9RQmlBRE1BTVFBMkFHRUFZd0JqQURBQU5BQTRBR1VBTlFBeEFHTUFPQUEyQURnQU9BQmtBRGtBWWdCbUFHSUFOZ0JrQUdVQU1nQXdBRFFBWlFBM0FHUUFNZ0EyQURNQU1RQmlBRFFBTlFBNEFHSUFPQUExQURjQU1BQmxBREFBTVFCaEFHSUFZZ0E0QUdJQVlRQmhBREVBT0FBNEFETUFOQUE9DQo=

Now we build the script with these two pieces of information. We recreate the files from the script and then pull them in like before. Here is the key code:

$keyBase64 = "NDENCjIwMg0KMTYNCjIyMw0KMTI5DQoxOA0KMTM4DQoxMTYNCjEwNg0KMTMyDQo5DQoyMTcNCjE4MA0KNDENCjIyNg0KMTA4DQo="
$Object = [System.Convert]::FromBase64String($keyBase64)
[system.io.file]::WriteAllBytes('C:\temp\TestPassword.key',$object)

and here is the Password code:

$PassBase64 = "NzY0OTJkMTExNjc0M2YwNDIzNDEzYjE2MDUwYTUzNDVNZ0I4QURrQU1BQTFBR1lBYUFCYUFDOEFTQUIzQUc4QVVRQlFBR1VBZHdCS0FIZ0Fid0JKQUZJQUt3QTVBSGNBUFFBOUFId0FaUUEyQURRQU9RQmlBRE1BTVFBMkFHRUFZd0JqQURBQU5BQTRBR1VBTlFBeEFHTUFPQUEyQURnQU9BQmtBRGtBWWdCbUFHSUFOZ0JrQUdVQU1nQXdBRFFBWlFBM0FHUUFNZ0EyQURNQU1RQmlBRFFBTlFBNEFHSUFPQUExQURjQU1BQmxBREFBTVFCaEFHSUFZZ0E0QUdJQVlRQmhBREVBT0FBNEFETUFOQUE9DQo="
$Object = [System.Convert]::FromBase64String($PassBase64)
[system.io.file]::WriteAllBytes('C:\temp\TestPassword.txt',$object)

Now we have both files needed to receive our password, let’s convert that password using the key from before. We get the content of the .key file with get-content. Then we use it when we convert to secure string the password file. Pushing all that information into a new credential object for later use in something like a nextcloud download. Then we remove the files as we don’t want that password getting out there.

$Username = "BobTheUser"
$key = Get-Content 'C:\temp\TestPassword.Key'
$MyCredential = New-Object -TypeName System.Management.Automation.PSCredential -ArgumentList $User, (Get-Content 'c:\temp\TestPassword.txt' | ConvertTo-SecureString -Key $key)
remove-item c:\temp\TestPassword.txt
remove-item c:\temp\TestPassword.key

MSI file

Let’s say we need to embed an MSI file. For example, we have a custom Open DNS MSI that will auto setup the Umbrella client on an end user’s computer. The first thing we want to do is convert that msi file to the base 64 string like above.

$content = Get-Content -Path C:\Temp\CustomOpenDNS.msi -Encoding Bye
[system.Convert]::ToBase64String($Content) | clip.exe

Here we are using the powershell 5 code to convert the msi into a string and pushing it out to our clipboard. Now we need to place that information into the script. This is what the script would look like:

$Base64 = "<!DOCTYPE html>
<html class="ng-csp" data-placeholder-focus="false" lang="en" data-locale="en" >
	<head
 data-requesttoken="FOVJ+IYmRBnrz25N3d6rrXH3F9sss+pR9/GiSvXPLdw=:WKB7t8wQK16MlyUPl7/Y3DvOWLZ99tpir4ebLsKtWLU=">
		<meta charset="utf-8">
		<title>
		Randomness		</title>
		<meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge">
		<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, minimum-scale=1.0">
				<meta name="apple-itunes-app" content="app-id=1125420102">
				<meta name="theme-color" content="#002133">
		<link rel="icon" href="/index.php/apps/theming/favicon?v=3">
		<link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/index.php/apps/theming/icon?v=3">
		<link rel="mask-icon" sizes="any" href="/core/img/favicon-mask.svg" color="#002133">
		<link rel="manifest" href="/index.php/apps/theming/manifest?v=3">
		<link rel="stylesheet" href="/index.php/css/core/133a-d2c6-server.css?v=be0b46565f705c7bf37449212dfad176-b07135cc-3">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/index.php/css/core/133a-d2c6-css-variables.css?v=be0b46565f705c7bf37449212dfad176-b07135cc-3">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/apps/files_rightclick/css/app.css?v=47cd76e4-3">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/index.php/css/text/070a-d2c6-icons.css?v=be0b46565f705c7bf37449212dfad176-b07135cc-3">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/core/css/guest.css?v=b07135cc-3">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/core/css/publicshareauth.css?v=b07135cc-3">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/core/css/guest.css?v=b07135cc-3">
		<script nonce="Rk9WSitJWW1SQm5yejI1TjNkNnJyWEgzRjlzc3MrcFI5L0dpU3ZYUExkdz06V0tCN3Q4d1FLMTZNbHlVUGw3L1kzRHZPV0xaOTl0cGlyNGViTHNLdFdMVT0=" defer src="/index.php/core/js/oc.js?v=b07135cc"></script>
<script nonce="Rk9WSitJWW1SQm5yejI1TjNkNnJyWEgzRjlzc3MrcFI5L0dpU3ZYUExkdz06V0tCN3Q4d1FLMTZNbHlVUGw3L1kzRHZPV0xaOTl0cGlyNGViTHNLdFdMVT0=" defer src="/core/js/dist/main.js?v=b07135cc-3"></script>
<script nonce="Rk9WSitJWW1SQm5yejI1TjNkNnJyWEgzRjlzc3MrcFI5L0dpU3ZYUExkdz06V0tCN3Q4d1FLMTZNbHlVUGw3L1kzRHZPV0xaOTl0cGlyNGViTHNLdFdMVT0=" defer src="/core/js/dist/files_fileinfo.js?v=b07135cc-3"></script>
<script nonce="Rk9WSitJWW1SQm5yejI1TjNkNnJyWEgzRjlzc3MrcFI5L0dpU3ZYUExkdz06V0tCN3Q4d1FLMTZNbHlVUGw3L1kzRHZPV0xaOTl0cGlyNGViTHNLdFdMVT0=" defer src="/core/js/dist/files_client.js?v=b07135cc-3"></script>
<script nonce="Rk9WSitJWW1SQm5yejI1TjNkNnJyWEgzRjlzc3MrcFI5L0dpU3ZYUExkdz06V0tCN3Q4d1FLMTZNbHlVUGw3L1kzRHZPV0xaOTl0cGlyNGViTHNLdFdMVT0=" defer src="/index.php/js/core/merged-template-prepend.js?v=b07135cc-3"></script>
<script nonce="Rk9WSitJWW1SQm5yejI1TjNkNnJyWEgzRjlzc3MrcFI5L0dpU3ZYUExkdz06V0tCN3Q4d1FLMTZNbHlVUGw3L1kzRHZPV0xaOTl0cGlyNGViTHNLdFdMVT0=" defer src="/core/js/backgroundjobs.js?v=b07135cc-3"></script>
<script nonce="Rk9WSitJWW1SQm5yejI1TjNkNnJyWEgzRjlzc3MrcFI5L0dpU3ZYUExkdz06V0tCN3Q4d1FLMTZNbHlVUGw3L1kzRHZPV0xaOTl0cGlyNGViTHNLdFdMVT0=" defer src="/apps/files_sharing/js/dist/main.js?v=b07135cc-3"></script>
<script nonce="Rk9WSitJWW1SQm5yejI1TjNkNnJyWEgzRjlzc3MrcFI5L0dpU3ZYUExkdz06V0tCN3Q4d1FLMTZNbHlVUGw3L1kzRHZPV0xaOTl0cGlyNGViTHNLdFdMVT0=" defer src="/apps/epubreader/js/plugin.js?v=b07135cc-3"></script>
<script nonce="Rk9WSitJWW1SQm5yejI1TjNkNnJyWEgzRjlzc3MrcFI5L0dpU3ZYUExkdz06V0tCN3Q4d1FLMTZNbHlVUGw3L1kzRHZPV0xaOTl0cGlyNGViTHNLdFdMVT0=" defer src="/apps/files_videoplayer/js/main.js?v=b07135cc-3"></script>
<script nonce="Rk9WSitJWW1SQm5yejI1TjNkNnJyWEgzRjlzc3MrcFI5L0dpU3ZYUExkdz06V0tCN3Q4d1FLMTZNbHlVUGw3L1kzRHZPV0xaOTl0cGlyNGViTHNLdFdMVT0=" defer src="/apps/files_rightclick/js/script.js?v=b07135cc-3"></script>
<script nonce="Rk9WSitJWW1SQm5yejI1TjNkNnJyWEgzRjlzc3MrcFI5L0dpU3ZYUExkdz06V0tCN3Q4d1FLMTZNbHlVUGw3L1kzRHZPV0xaOTl0cGlyNGViTHNLdFdMVT0=" defer src="/apps/files_rightclick/js/files.js?v=b07135cc-3"></script>
<script nonce="Rk9WSitJWW1SQm5yejI1TjNkNnJyWEgzRjlzc3MrcFI5L0dpU3ZYUExkdz06V0tCN3Q4d1FLMTZNbHlVUGw3L1kzRHZPV0xaOTl0cGlyNGViTHNLdFdMVT0=" defer src="/apps/text/js/public.js?v=b07135cc-3"></script>
<script nonce="Rk9WSitJWW1SQm5yejI1TjNkNnJyWEgzRjlzc3MrcFI5L0dpU3ZYUExkdz06V0tCN3Q4d1FLMTZNbHlVUGw3L1kzRHZPV0xaOTl0cGlyNGViTHNLdFdMVT0=" defer src="/apps/theming/js/theming.js?v=b07135cc-3"></script>
<script nonce="Rk9WSitJWW1SQm5yejI1TjNkNnJyWEgzRjlzc3MrcFI5L0dpU3ZYUExkdz06V0tCN3Q4d1FLMTZNbHlVUGw3L1kzRHZPV0xaOTl0cGlyNGViTHNLdFdMVT0=" defer src="/core/js/publicshareauth.js?v=b07135cc-3"></script>
		<link rel="stylesheet" href="/index.php/css/icons/icons-vars.css?v=1629179429"/><link rel="stylesheet" media="(prefers-color-scheme: dark)" href="/index.php/apps/accessibility/css/user-a82fd95db10ff25dfad39f07372ebe37"/><link rel="stylesheet" href="/index.php/apps/theming/styles?v=3"/><meta name="robots" content="noindex, nofollow"/>	</head>
	<body id="body-login">
		<noscript>
	<div id="nojavascript">
		<div>
			This application requires JavaScript for correct operation. Please <a href="https://www.enable-javascript.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">enable JavaScript</a> and reload the page.		</div>
	</div>
</noscript>
					<input type="hidden" id="initial-state-text-workspace_available" value="dHJ1ZQ==">
					<input type="hidden" id="initial-state-core-config" value="eyJzZXNzaW9uX2xpZmV0aW1lIjoxNDQwLCJzZXNzaW9uX2tlZXBhbGl2ZSI6dHJ1ZSwiYXV0b19sb2dvdXQiOmZhbHNlLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjoiMjEuMC4xLjEiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uc3RyaW5nIjoiMjEuMC4xIiwiZW5hYmxlX2F2YXRhcnMiOnRydWUsImxvc3RfcGFzc3dvcmRfbGluayI6bnVsbCwibW9kUmV3cml0ZVdvcmtpbmciOmZhbHNlLCJzaGFyaW5nLm1heEF1dG9jb21wbGV0ZVJlc3VsdHMiOjI1LCJzaGFyaW5nLm1pblNlYXJjaFN0cmluZ0xlbmd0aCI6MCwiYmxhY2tsaXN0X2ZpbGVzX3JlZ2V4IjoiXFwuKHBhcnR8ZmlsZXBhcnQpJCJ9">
					<input type="hidden" id="initial-state-core-capabilities" value="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">
					<input type="hidden" id="initial-state-theming-data" value="eyJuYW1lIjoiUmFuZG9tbmVzcyIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOlwvXC9uZXh0Y2xvdWQuY29tIiwic2xvZ2FuIjoiQmVob2xkIFdvcmxkIG9mIHdldCBzb2NrcyIsImNvbG9yIjoiIzAwMjEzMyIsImltcHJpbnRVcmwiOiIiLCJwcml2YWN5VXJsIjoiIiwiaW52ZXJ0ZWQiOmZhbHNlLCJjYWNoZUJ1c3RlciI6IjMifQ==">
					<input type="hidden" id="initial-state-accessibility-data" value="eyJ0aGVtZSI6ZmFsc2UsImhpZ2hjb250cmFzdCI6ZmFsc2V9">
				<div class="wrapper">
			<div class="v-align">
									<header role="banner">
						<div id="header">
							<div class="logo">
								<h1 class="hidden-visually">
									Randomness								</h1>
															</div>
						</div>
					</header>
								<main>
					<form method="post">
	<fieldset class="warning">
					<div class="warning-info">This share is password-protected</div>
						<p>
			<label for="password" class="infield">Password</label>
			<input type="hidden" name="requesttoken" value="FOVJ+IYmRBnrz25N3d6rrXH3F9sss+pR9/GiSvXPLdw=:WKB7t8wQK16MlyUPl7/Y3DvOWLZ99tpir4ebLsKtWLU=" />
			<input type="password" name="password" id="password"
				placeholder="Password" value=""
				autocomplete="new-password" autocapitalize="off" autocorrect="off"
				autofocus />
			<input type="hidden" name="sharingToken" value="6fLnqot6Dqm6oTX" id="sharingToken">
			<input type="submit" id="password-submit" 
				class="svg icon-confirm input-button-inline" value="" disabled="disabled" />
		</p>
	</fieldset>
</form>
				</main>
			</div>
		</div>
		<footer role="contentinfo">
			<p class="info">
				<a href="https://nextcloud.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="entity-name">Randomness</a> – Behold World of wet socks			</p>
		</footer>
	</body>
</html>

"
$Object = [System.Convert]::FromBase64String($Base64)
[system.io.file]::WriteAllBytes("C:\temp\test.msi",$object)
msiexec /i C:\temp\test.msi /qn /norestart

As you can see by the size of the base64 string, that seems like a large file. Surprisingly that’s only 11kb in size. The larger the file the more code will be present and the chances of buffer overload increases.

Scripts

What kind of person would I be without giving you a function or two to make life easier on you. Here are two functions. The first converts the item to base64 string and copies it to your clipboard. The second converts a base64 string to an object.

function convertto-base64 {
    [cmdletbinding()]
    param (
        [string]$Path
    )
    process {
        if ($PSVersionTable.PSVersion.Major -ge 7) {
            $Content = Get-Content -Path $Path -AsByteStream -raw
        } else {
            $Content = Get-Content -Path $Path -Encoding Byte
        }
        $base64 = [system.convert]::ToBase64String($content)
        $Base64 | clip.exe
    }
}

Here is the convert back to the object script. You will need the string and an out path.

function Convertfrom-base64 {
    [cmdletbinding()]
    param (
        [string]$Base64String,
        [string]$OutFile
    )
    process {
        $Object = [System.Convert]::FromBase64String($Base64String)
        [system.io.file]::WriteAllBytes($OutFile,$object)
    }
}

Log Public IP Changes

by David | Sep 22, 2021 | Information Technology, PowerShell

This little script logs public IP address changes. The original design was to email out. I’ll make sure to point out when and where to put that code. So the idea is simple. It checks to see if it’s public IP address has changed using an invoke-webrequest. If it has changed, it checks to see if a log has been made. If it has been made, it updates the log, if it hasn’t been made, it creates the log. Then when the IP address changes back, it backs up the logs and stops. Lets take a look at the script.

The Script

Param (
    [string]$IPAddress = "Your IP Address"
)  
$IP = (invoke-webrequest -Uri "http://ifconfig.me/ip" -UseBasicParsing).content
If (!(Test-Path C:\temp)) { New-Item -Path "c:\temp" -ItemType Directory }
if (!($IP -like "$IPAddress")) {
    if (!(Test-Path c:\temp\IPTrigger.log )) {

#Email Code Goes Here

        $Datetime = (Get-Date).ToString("yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm")
        "Datetime,IP" > c:\temp\IPTrigger.log
        "$datetime,$IP" >> c:\temp\IPTrigger.log 
    }
    else {
        $Datetime = (Get-Date).ToString("yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm")
        "$datetime,$IP" >> c:\temp\IPTrigger.log 
    }
}
else {
    if (Test-Path c:\temp\IPTrigger.log) {
        $Datetime = (Get-Date).ToString("yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm")
        Copy-Item -Path c:\temp\IPTrigger.log -Destination "c:\temp\IPTrigger_$($datetime).log.bak"
        Remove-Item -Path  c:\temp\IPTrigger.log

#Email Code goes here with attachment of the log bak. 

    }
}

The Breakdown

We grab the IP address from the Paramters. This way you can have the script called Public-IPChecker -IPAddress Something from your task scheduler. After we get what the IP Address should be we get what It is with the Invoke-webrequest command.

$IP = (invoke-webrequest -Uri "http://ifconfig.me/ip" -UseBasicParsing).content

There are a hand full of sites that grabs the IP address for you. I personally like Ifconfig.me because it places the IP address as the content. Thus no sorting through the HTML to get the IP address.

Next we ask if it’s the IP address. Then we ask if the log has been made.

if (!($IP -like "$IPAddress")) {
    if (!(Test-Path c:\temp\IPTrigger.log )) {}
}

If it doesn’t exist, we create it by getting the DateTime into a file friendly format. and Piping that information into the log file along with the current IP address.

$Datetime = (Get-Date).ToString("yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm")
"Datetime,IP" > c:\temp\IPTrigger.log
"$datetime,$IP" >> c:\temp\IPTrigger.log

If it does exist, we just update the log file using the same code but this time we remove the “Datetime,IP” part.

$Datetime = (Get-Date).ToString("yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm")
"$datetime,$IP" >> c:\temp\IPTrigger.log

If the IP addresses do match then we test to see if the log file is there. If it is there we create a bak of the log file and remove the old one. This is when you can send an email saying it’s back up. If it doesn’t exist, we do nothing.

if (Test-Path c:\temp\IPTrigger.log) {
        $Datetime = (Get-Date).ToString("yyyy-MM-dd_HH-mm")
        Copy-Item -Path c:\temp\IPTrigger.log -Destination "c:\temp\IPTrigger_$($datetime).log.bak"
        Remove-Item -Path  c:\temp\IPTrigger.log
}

That’s the full script in a nutshell.

Quser to PSObject

by David | Sep 15, 2021 | Information Technology, PowerShell

I have been using Quser for years and I was wondering how to parse the data out to Powershell. The best way to do this is to convert the output into a csv and then convert it from the csv to a psobject. Let us get started. First we output the quser to a variable.

$Users = Quser /server:"$($env:COMPUTERNAME)" 2> $null

In this example, we are going to grab the local computer’s logged-in information. Here is what the output looks like:

PS C:\Users\david> Quser /server:"$($env:COMPUTERNAME)" 2> $null
 USERNAME              SESSIONNAME        ID  STATE   IDLE TIME  LOGON TIME
 david                 console            11  Active       1:05  9/5/2021 9:29 PM
 susan                                    12  Disc         1:05  9/6/2021 11:14 AM

Next, we replace the first (^) > with nothing. It doesn’t look like much but it adds the spacing needed.

$Users = $Users -Replace '^>',''

Here is the output.

 USERNAME              SESSIONNAME        ID  STATE   IDLE TIME  LOGON TIME
 david                 console            11  Active       1:08  9/5/2021 9:29 PM
 susan                                    12  Disc         1:08  9/6/2021 11:14 AM

Now we will replace the tabs with commas.

$Users = $Users -Replace '\s{2,}',','

USERNAME,SESSIONNAME,ID,STATE,IDLE TIME,LOGON TIME
 david,console,11,Active,1:08,9/5/2021 9:29 PM
 susan,12,Disc,1:08,9/6/2021 11:14 AM

From here we want to go through each line and remove the last item if it has too many spaces. This happens when you run this command on a server. You will need to go through each line by line with a foreach loop.

$users = foreach ($User in $Users) {
    if ($User.Split(',').count -eq 5) {
        Write-Output ($User -replace '(^[^,]+)','$1,')
    } else {
        Write-Output $User
    }
}

Splitting the user by the comma, we need only 4 not 5. So we remove the first of the last object. If it is 4, we do nothing special and just reintroduce the original $user.

USERNAME,SESSIONNAME,ID,STATE,IDLE TIME,LOGON TIME
 david,console,11,Active,1:08,9/5/2021 9:29 PM
 susan,,12,Disc,1:08,9/6/2021 11:14 AM

Now we take that $user csv and convert it to a psobject using convertfrom-csv.

$users = $users | ConvertFrom-Csv

USERNAME    : david
SESSIONNAME : console
ID          : 11
STATE       : Active
IDLE TIME   : 1:08
LOGON TIME  : 9/5/2021 9:29 PM

USERNAME    : susan
SESSIONNAME :
ID          : 12
STATE       : Disc
IDLE TIME   : .
LOGON TIME  : 9/6/2021 11:14 AM

Next, we need to do some house cleaning. Sometimes the Idle time will show up as a dot. We don’t want that. We want it to show up as null. We do this by finding all the dot Idle times and setting that idle time to null with a foreach-object.

$users | where-object { $_."IDLE TIME" -like "." } | ForEach-Object { $_."IDLE TIME" = $null }

USERNAME    : david
SESSIONNAME : console
ID          : 11
STATE       : Active
IDLE TIME   : 1:08
LOGON TIME  : 9/5/2021 9:29 PM

USERNAME    : susan
SESSIONNAME :
ID          : 12
STATE       : Disc
IDLE TIME   :
LOGON TIME  : 9/6/2021 11:14 AM

Finally, we output the information by just putting the $users. That’s it yall. Lets put it together.

The Script

$Users = Quser /server:"$($env:COMPUTERNAME)" 2> $null
$Users = $Users -Replace '^>',''
$Users = $Users -Replace '\s{2,}',','
$users = foreach ($User in $Users) {
    if ($User.Split(',').count -eq 5) {
        Write-Output ($User -replace '(^[^,]+)','$1,')
    } else {
        Write-Output $User
    }
} 
$users = $users | ConvertFrom-Csv
$users | where-object { $_."IDLE TIME" -like "." } | ForEach-Object { $_."IDLE TIME" = $null }
$Users

Another Way

Another way to do this is to grab a process from the machine that everyone logged in would be using. Something like explorer. We do this with the get-ciminstance and the wmi object win32_process.

Get-ciminstance -ClassName win32_process -filter 'name ="explorer.exe"'

ProcessId Name         HandleCount WorkingSetSize VirtualSize
--------- ----         ----------- -------------- -----------
10576     explorer.exe 2805        142168064      2204137693184
18900     explorer.exe 2404        185618432      2204239441920

Then we pipe this information into Invoke-CimMethod and use the GetOwner method to grab the owner information.

Get-ciminstance -ClassName win32_process -filter 'name ="explorer.exe"' | Invoke-CimMethod -MethodName GetOwner


Domain          ReturnValue User  PSComputerName
------          ----------- ----  --------------
DESKTOP-XXXX0LB           0 david
                          2

From here we grab the user information using a .user.

(Get-ciminstance -ClassName win32_process -filter 'name ="explorer.exe"' | Invoke-CimMethod -MethodName GetOwner).user

Send-SHDMailMessage

by David | Sep 9, 2021 | Information Technology, PowerShell, Resources

Recently the send-mailmessage was put to rest with good reason. It failed to do its job by securing the emails. It sent items via plain text and not SSL encrypted. Great for internal nothing fancy, but bad if you wanted to send data outside the world. So, I built an alternative that I use the mail message system inside windows. Let’s Send Mail With Powershell.

The Script

function Send-SHDMailMessage {
    <#
    .SYNOPSIS
        Sends an email using custom SMTP settings.
    .DESCRIPTION
        Sends an email using custom SMTP settings.
    .PARAMETER From
        As string. Name of the Email address from which it will come from. 
        Example: "David Bolding <admin@example.com>"
    .PARAMETER To
        As string. The email address too. 
        Example: "Admin@example.com"
    .PARAMETER SMTPUsername
        As string. The Username for the SMTP service you will be using. 
    .PARAMETER SMTPPassword
        As string. The Password in plain text for the smtp service you will be using. 
    .PARAMETER SMTPServer
        As string. The server name of the SMTP service you will be using. 
    .PARAMETER SMTPPort
        As string. The Server Port for the smtp serivce you will be using. 
    .PARAMETER Subject
        As string. The subject line of the email. 
    .PARAMETER Body
        As string. The body of the email as a string. Body takes default over BodyAsHtml
    .PARAMETER BodyAsHTML
        As string. The body of the email in html format. 
    .PARAMETER PlainText
        Sends the email in plain text and not ssl. 
    .PARAMETER Attachment
        As array of strings. A list of full file names for attachments. Example: "c:\temp\log.log"
    .PARAMETER CC
        Email address for a carbon copy to this email.
    .PARAMETER BCC
        Email address for a blind carbon copy of this email. 
    .PARAMETER Priority
        A validate set for High, Normal, Low. By default it will send emails out with Normal.
    .EXAMPLE
        $Message = @{
            from = "HR <HumanResources@Example.com>"
            To = "Somebody@Example.com"
            SMTPUsername = "SMTP2GoUsername"
            SMTPPassword = "SMTP2GoPassword"
            SMTPServer = "mail.smtp2go.com"
            SMTPPort = "2525"
            Subject = "Test"
            Attachment = "C:\temp\JobOffer1.pdf","C:\temp\JobOffer2.pdf"
            BodyAsHtml = @"
            <html>
            <body>
                <center><h1>Congradulation</h1></center>
                <hr>
                <p>Attached is the job offers we discussed on the phone.</p>
                <br>
                Thank you,<br><br>
                Human Resources
            </body>
            </html>
        "@
        }
        Send-SHDMail @Message
        
        Sends an email using the required information with two attachments. 
    .EXAMPLE
        $Message = @{
            from = "HR <HumanResources@Example.com>"
            To = "Somebody@Example.com"
            SMTPUsername = "SMTP2GoUsername"
            SMTPPassword = "SMTP2GoPassword"
            SMTPServer = "mail.smtp2go.com"
            SMTPPort = "2525"
            Subject = "Test"
            BodyAsHtml = @"
            <html>
            <body>
                <center><h1>Sorry, Not Sorry</h1></center>
                <hr>
                <p>Sorry you didn't get the job. Maybe next time show up with clothing on.</p>
                <br>
                Thank you,<br><br>
                Human Resources
            </body>
            </html>
        "@
        }
        Send-SHDMail @Message

        This will send out an email without any attachments. 
    .EXAMPLE
        $Message = @{
            from = "HR <HumanResources@Example.com>"
            To = "Somebody@Example.com"
            SMTPUsername = "SMTP2GoUsername"
            SMTPPassword = "SMTP2GoPassword"
            SMTPServer = "mail.smtp2go.com"
            SMTPPort = "2525"
            Subject = "Test"
            Body = "Your Hired"
        }
        Send-SHDMail @Message

        Sends out a message using just a simple text in the body. 
    .EXAMPLE
        $Message = @{
            from = "HR <HumanResources@Example.com>"
            To = "Somebody@Example.com"
            SMTPUsername = "SMTP2GoUsername"
            SMTPPassword = "SMTP2GoPassword"
            SMTPServer = "mail.smtp2go.com"
            SMTPPort = "2525"
            Subject = "Test"
            Attachment = "C:\temp\JobOffer1.pdf","C:\temp\JobOffer2.pdf"
        }
        Send-SHDMail @Message

        This will send out an email that is blank with attached items. 
    .EXAMPLE
        $Message = @{
            from = "Notify <Notify@Example.com>"
            To = "Somebody@Example.com"
            SMTPUsername = "SMTP2GoUsername"
            SMTPPassword = "SMTP2GoPassword"
            SMTPServer = "mail.smtp2go.com"
            SMTPPort = "2525"
            Subject = "$SomethingWrong"
            PlainText = $true
        }
        Send-SHDMail @Message

        This will send out an unsecured email in plain text. 
    .EXAMPLE
        $Message = @{
            from = "Notifiy <Notify@example.com>"
            To = "IT@example.com"
            SMTPUsername = "SMTPUser"
            SMTPPassword = "SMTPPassword"
            SMTPServer = "mail.example.com"
            SMTPPort = "2525"
            Subject = "Server Down"
            CC = "ITManagers@Example.com"
            BCC = "CFO@Example.com"
            PlainText = $True
            Priority = "High" 
            BodyAsHTML = @"
            <html>
                <body>
                    <center><h1>SERVER DOWN!</h1></center>
                </body>
            </html>
        "@
        }
        Send-SHDMailMessage @Message
    .OUTPUTS
        no Output. 
    .NOTES
        Author: David Bolding
        Date: 09/8/2021
    .LINK
    #>
    [cmdletbinding()]
    param (
        [parameter(Mandatory = $true)][String]$From,
        [parameter(Mandatory = $true)][String]$To,
        [parameter(Mandatory = $true)][String]$SMTPUsername,
        [parameter(Mandatory = $true)][String]$SMTPPassword,
        [parameter(Mandatory = $true)][String]$SMTPServer,
        [parameter(Mandatory = $true)][String]$SMTPPort,
        [parameter(Mandatory = $true)][String]$Subject,
        [Switch]$PlainText,
        [string]$Body,
        [String]$BodyAsHTML,
        [String[]]$Attachment,
        [string]$CC,
        [string]$BCC,
        [Validateset("High","Low","Normal")][String]$Priority
    )
    # Server Info
    $SmtpServer = $SmtpServer
    $SmtpPort = $SmtpPort

    # Creates the message object
    $Message = New-Object System.Net.Mail.MailMessage $From, $To

    If ($PSBoundParameters.ContainsKey("CC")) {
        $Message.CC.Add($CC)
    }
    If ($PSBoundParameters.ContainsKey("BCC")) {
        $Message.Bcc.Add($BCC)
    }
    If ($PSBoundParameters.ContainsKey("Priority")) {
        $Message.Priority = $Priority
    } else {
        $Message.Priority = "Normal"
    }
    # Builds the message parts
    
    $Message.Subject = $Subject
    
    if ($PSBoundParameters.ContainsKey("Body")) {
        $Message.IsBodyHTML = $false
        $Message.Body = $Body
    }
    elseif ($PSBoundParameters.ContainsKey("BodyAsHTML")) {
        $Message.IsBodyHTML = $true
        $Message.Body = $BodyAsHTML
    }
    else {
        $Message.IsBodyHTML = $false
        $Message.Body = ""
    }
    
    if ($PSBoundParameters.ContainsKey('Attachment')) {
        foreach ($attach in $Attachment) {
            $message.Attachments.Add("$Attach")
        }
    }
    
    # Construct the SMTP client object, credentials, and send
    $Smtp = New-Object Net.Mail.SmtpClient($SmtpServer, $SmtpPort)
    if ($PlainText) { 
        $Smtp.EnableSsl = $true 
    }
    else { 
        $Smtp.EnableSsl = $true 
    }
    $Smtp.Credentials = New-Object System.Net.NetworkCredential($SMTPUsername, $SMTPPassword)
    $Smtp.Send($Message)

    #Closes the message object and the smtp object. 
    $message.Dispose()
    $Smtp.Dispose()
}

Examples

        $Message = @{
            from = "HR <HumanResources@Example.com>"
            To = "Somebody@Example.com"
            SMTPUsername = "SMTP2GoUsername"
            SMTPPassword = "SMTP2GoPassword"
            SMTPServer = "mail.smtp2go.com"
            SMTPPort = "2525"
            Subject = "Job Offers"
            Attachment = "C:\temp\JobOffer1.pdf","C:\temp\JobOffer2.pdf"
            BodyAsHtml = @"
            <html>
            <body>
                <center><h1>Congradulation</h1></center>
                <hr>
                <p>Attached is the job offers we discussed on the phone.</p>
                <br>
                Thank you,<br><br>
                Human Resources
            </body>
            </html>
        "@
        }
        Send-SHDMail @Message

In this example, I am using the SMTP2go service to send a job offer letter to a new employee. It contains the attachment flag with two offers. Each attachment is separated with a comma as this is a list of strings. The Body is an HTML using the BodyAsHTML flag. The BodyAsHTML has some custom formatting to make it look somewhat nice.

$Message = @{
    from = "HR <HumanResources@Example.com>"
    To = "Somebody@Example.com"
    SMTPUsername = "SMTP2GoUsername"
    SMTPPassword = "SMTP2GoPassword"
    SMTPServer = "mail.smtp2go.com"
    SMTPPort = "2525"
    Subject = "Thank you"
    BodyAsHtml = @"
            <html>
            <body>
                <center><h1>Sorry, Not Sorry</h1></center>
                <hr>
                <p>Sorry you didn't get the job. Maybe next time show up with clothing on.</p>
                <br>
                Thank you,<br><br>
                Human Resources
            </body>
            </html>
        "@
}
Send-SHDMail @Message

In this example, we are once again using the SMTP2Go to send a rejection letter. No attachments are present on this email. The bodyashtml string is set with a nice custom HTML page.

$Message = @{
    from = "Notify <Notify@Example.com>"
    To = "Somebody@Example.com"
    SMTPUsername = "SMTP2GoUsername"
    SMTPPassword = "SMTP2GoPassword"
    SMTPServer = "mail.smtp2go.com"
    SMTPPort = "2525"
    Subject = "Server Down"
    Body = "XYZ Server Is Down"
}
Send-SHDMail @Message

In this example, we are sending out a notification email using a different user than before. We are using the same smtp2go, but you can use any server with the username and password you like. The body is a basic string with no HTML formating.

$Message = @{
    from = "Notify <Notify@Example.com>"
    To = "Somebody@Example.com"
    SMTPUsername = "SMTP2GoUsername"
    SMTPPassword = "SMTP2GoPassword"
    SMTPServer = "mail.smtp2go.com"
    SMTPPort = "2525"
    Subject = "$SomethingWrong"
    PlainText = $true
}
Send-SHDMail @Message

In this example, we are sending a notification email without a body. We are using a custom variable for the subject line. We are also sending this without the SSL encryption as some legacy systems don’t understand SSL encryption.

$Message = @{
    from = "Notifiy <Notify@example.com>"
    To = "IT@example.com"
    SMTPUsername = "SMTPUser"
    SMTPPassword = "SMTPPassword"
    SMTPServer = "mail.example.com"
    SMTPPort = "2525"
    Subject = "Server Down"
    CC = "ITManagers@Example.com"
    BCC = "CFO@Example.com"
    Priority = "High" 
    BodyAsHTML = @"
            <html>
                <body>
                    <center><h1>SERVER DOWN!</h1></center>
                </body>
            </html>
        "@
}
Send-SHDMailMessage @Message

In this example, we are Sending a Carbon copy to the IT manager and a blind carbon copy of the email to the CFO with a high priority.

Notes

The Body and BodyAsHTML can conflict with each other. If you do both the Body and BodyAsHTML, by default, the body will be selected. If you do not put in a body or bodyashtml, it will send the email with a body of “”.
This script requires you to have an SMTP service like SMTP2Go.

Conclusion

That my friends is how you Send Mail With Powershell.

Next Cloud – Download Files

by David | Sep 8, 2021 | Information Technology, PowerShell

In the last blog, I talked about how to upload to your next cloud’s file drop, aka upload only, password-protected folder. This time we will go over how to download from a password-protected folder. Let’s go over how to share out a file with a secure password.

Password-Locked Single File

Navigate to the file you wish to share out.
Click on the file in question.
Click the share link + symbol.
Checkbox the “Password Protect”
Enter a new secure password.
Document the password!
Click the Arrow to set the password
click the Clipboard to copy the link.
In another browser, navigate to the link to make sure it works.

Now we have the File shared, it’s time to download it.

The share ID
The Share Password
The URL of the nextcloud site.
The file name/location of where you will save the file.

Now you have those pieces of information, you can start the process of creating the header. Let’s look at the Variables first.

$NextCloudURL = "https://cloud.bolding.us/"
$ShareID = "XXXxxxxXXxxXXxXX"
$SharePassword = "hotCXxxxx47"
$Filename = "jre-8u301-windows-i586.exe"

Now we have the variables, it’s time to build the headers for our invoke-restmethod.

$Header = @{
    "Authorization" = "Basic "+[System.Convert]::ToBase64String([System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetBytes("$($ShareID):$($SharePassword)"));
    "X-Requested-With"="XMLHttpRequest";
}

Just like in the last bl

The Authorization type is going to be basic. We are going to convert the shareid and the sharepassword into the UTF8 so our nextcloud can understand it. We want all that as a base 64. So we create the string with “$($ShareID):$($SharePassword)” and push that into our System.Text.Encoding UTF8. Using the method GetByes. All that is then put into the System.Convert base of 64 string, aka password.

Next, we tell the site what we are requesting, we are requesting the XML HTTP request. Next, we will create the URL that will be used by the rest method.

$URL = "$($NextCloudURL)public.php/webdav"

Now we create the invoke-restmethod to download the file in question.

Invoke-RestMethod -Uri $URL -Headers $Header -OutFile c:\temp\$Filename

The Script

$NextCloudURL = "https://cloud.bolding.us/"
$ShareID = "XXXxxxxXXxxXXxXX"
$SharePassword = "hotCXxxxx47"
$Filename = "jre-8u301-windows-i586.exe"
$Header = @{
    "Authorization" = "Basic "+[System.Convert]::ToBase64String([System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetBytes("$($ShareID):$($SharePassword)"));
    "X-Requested-With"="XMLHttpRequest";
}
$URL = "$($NextCloudURL)public.php/webdav"
Invoke-RestMethod -Uri $URL -Headers $Header -OutFile c:\temp\$Filename

Non-Password Locked Single File

Now that we covered password locked, it’s time to look at the non-password locked. This is a single line item. Like above, just don’t create a password. Copy the URL.

Navigate to the file that you wish to share
clickt he share icon
Click the share link +
Copy the Link

This is a single-line command. The copied item will be the URL/shareID. If you place a /download at the end, it will download accordingly. Nice right. Its even nicer with PowerShell.

The Script

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://cloud.bolding.us/index.php/s/XxXXXXxxxxXXXxX/download" -OutFile c:\temp\somefile.pdf

That’s it! A simple invoke-webrequest. Now, let’s take it to a different level.

Download a single file from a shared Folder

If you share out a single folder, you can download the files directly from that folder if you know those file names, even if the file isn’t shared itself. Standard information is required. First, let’s make the shared folder.

Navigate to the folder you wish to share out.
Click the share icon.
Click the Share Link +
Click the 3 Dots.
Click the Password Protect
Enter a new password
Document the new password
Click the Arrow beside the password
Click the clip board to copy the link

Here are the items you are going to need to setup this command.

The URL of the next cloud
The Share ID
The Share Password
The File name you are going to download.
The filename/location where you will be downloading too.

Let’s setup the variables now.

$NextCloudURL = "https://cloud.bolding.us/"
$ShareID = "XxxXxXXXxXXxXXX"
$SharePassword = "xXxXxxxX"
$FileName = Java.exe
$Outfilepath = c:\temp\java.exe

Next, we build the header like we did above. I’ll skip the explaining this time.

$Header = @{
        "Authorization" = "Basic "+[System.Convert]::ToBase64String([System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetBytes("$($ShareID):$($SharePassword)"));
        "X-Requested-With"="XMLHttpRequest";
    }

The share this time is the folder. So we are authing to that folder. This is great because if you forget the password later, it’s in the script. Next, we grab the file using the invoke-restmethod.

Invoke-RestMethod -Method GET -Header $Header -uri "$($NextCloudURL)public.php/webdav/$($Filename)" -OutFile $Outfilepath

Notice at the end of the URL, the $($filename). This is the filename inside the share. So we are looking for that file to download. That’s all, take a look at the script.

The Script

$NextCloudURL = "https://cloud.bolding.us/"
$ShareID = "XxxXxXXXxXXxXXX"
$SharePassword = "xXxXxxxX"
$FileName = Java.exe
$Outfilepath = c:\temp\java.exe
$Header = @{
        "Authorization" = "Basic "+[System.Convert]::ToBase64String([System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetBytes("$($ShareID):$($SharePassword)"));
        "X-Requested-With"="XMLHttpRequest";
}
Invoke-RestMethod -Method GET -Header $Header -uri "$($NextCloudURL)public.php/webdav/$($Filename)" -OutFile $Outfilepath

There we go, that’s it yall. If you have any questions feel free to reach out.

Next Cloud – File Drop

by David | Sep 1, 2021 | Information Technology, PowerShell

I love my nextcloud. It is hosted at my house, and I can upload files from anywhere in the world. It’s very clean, and one of the most awesome features is the file drop. I use scripts to upload the results all the time to the file drop location on my next cloud. A file drop is an upload-only file location. This means the outside world can not see the files inside of it. Only I can do that. I can also password lock this file drop location so only those with the password can get into it. It’s pretty cool.

How to setup a File Drop

I am going to assume you have a nextcloud. Once you log in, click the + icon to create a folder. We will call it PFD for password file drop and click the arrow to create.

Now we will set up the sharing side with the password lock.

Click the PFD folder to open the menu on the right hand side.
Click the sharing icon
Click the share link +.
Click the three dots
Radio check the File Drop (Upload Only)
Check the Password Protect
It will auto generate a password, It’s best to make your own.
Document your password!
Click the arrow to save the password
Click the clip board to copy the link for your new share
In a different browser test your link.

Now you have a safe place for the files to go. It’s time to upload files via PowerShell. You will need a few items. First the URL of your site. example https:\\cloud.bolding.us. Next, you will need the shareID of the folder in question. That can be found in your URL at the end. Example

The URL. For this example we will be using https://cloud.bolding.us
The shareID of the directory in question. It is the last part of the main url that we copied by clicking the clip board. I have bolded it for you in this example: https://cloud.bolding.us/index.php/s/oWHeW4dfWnxwXXX
Next you will need the password.

Those are the three things you will need to create your invoke-restmethod. Lets build the script. Lets declare our variables.

$NextCloudURL = "https://cloud.bolding.us/"
$ShareID = "oWHeW4dfWnxwXXX"
$SharePassword = "I'mAnAwesomePasswordDon'tYoVKnowThisRock$LikeCheesecake!"

Next, we need the item we are going to upload. We are going to use the Get-item command to grab that information.

$item = Get-Item c:\temp\upload\mycrazyideas.sqlite

Now the hard part. We need to create the header. This is where we will be placing the passwords and the type of information we are going to be accessing.

$Headers = @{
        "Authorization" = "Basic "+[System.Convert]::ToBase64String([System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetBytes("$($ShareID):$($SharePassword)"));
        "X-Requested-With"="XMLHttpRequest";
    }

Next, we tell the site what we are requesting, we are requesting the XML HTTP request. Next, we will create the URL that will be used by the rest method.

$URLBuild = "$($NextcloudUrl)/public.php/webdav/$($Item.Name)"

This is building a string for our URL for the rest method. It will look something like this:

https://cloud.bolding.us/public.php/webdav/mycrazyideas.sqlite

Now we have the Header that will be needed for our rest method. We have the URL. now we need the method and the file. We do the file by using the -InFile and select the full name of the file $Item.Fullname. The method will be PUT as we are putting something somewhere.

Invoke-RestMethod -Uri $URLBuild -InFile $Item.Fullname -Headers $Headers -Method Put

Now it’s time to put it all together into a workable function.

Script

function Invoke-SHDUploadToNextCloud {
    [cmdletbinding()]
    param (
        [string]$NextCloudURL,
        [string]$ShareID,
        [string]$SharePassword,
        [string]$ItemPath
    )
    $item = Get-Item $ItemPath
    $Headers = @{
        "Authorization" = "Basic "+[System.Convert]::ToBase64String([System.Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetBytes("$($ShareID):$($SharePassword)"));
        "X-Requested-With"="XMLHttpRequest";
    }
    $URLBuild = "$($NextcloudUrl)/public.php/webdav/$($Item.Name)"
    Invoke-RestMethod -Uri $URLBuild -InFile $Item.Fullname -Headers $Headers -Method Put  
}

« Older Entries

Next Entries »

About Me

hello and welcome to The Random Admin. This blog was born out of a love for teaching and learning new things. Over the years, I have learned the best way to learn something deeper, is to teach it. This blogs main focuses are, Information Technology and Mental health. If you find it helpful, let me know. As always, if you have any questions feel free to reach out.

Donation Links:
PayPal
CashApp