Websites, Toolkits, Deployment tools, Package Managers, Utilities, Applications and Books.
Terminal, Command Line and console blog - Microsoft Devblogs.
Rob van der Woude.com - Batch files, VBS.
Security Bulletins - Microsoft Security updates.
Old New Thing - Raymond Chen, Microsoft.
Microsoft Update Catalog - Search for specific updates by KB#
aka.ms Search - Microsoft short vs long links.
Many resource kit tools and utilities will run successfully on multiple versions of Windows. However Active Directory and NTFS have changed significantly over the years so I recommend you only use the tools supported for your platform.
Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT), includes Active Directory Domain Services Tools.
In Windows 11 just open Apps > Optional features > RSAT
Windows 10 Download (KBase) and then enable after installation: Settings > "Manage optional features"
or use DISM /Add-Capability.To add a Security Tab to ADUC to view object permissions:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Exchange\EXAdmin]
"ShowSecurityPage"=dword:00000001Microsoft Security Compliance Toolkit (2025) - SetObjectSecurity.exe , PolicyAnalyzer and Security Baselines. Release notes (2020).
Policy Analyzer release notes.
Microsoft PowerToys - Windows 10/11 Including Always on Top, File Locksmith, Keyboard Manager (remap keys), Power Renamer, Video Conference Mute. [Github] winget install -e Microsoft.PowerToys
ColorTool.exe - Select a terminal colour scheme.Windows 10 Show or hide Windows Updates - Troubleshooter package.
IE 11 Enterprise Mode Site List Manager - Create / Edit an Enterprise Mode Site List XML.
Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS) - Manage local account passwords across a domain.Sysinternals Suite - Download the Sysinternals utilities.
Account Lockout Status (LockoutStatus.exe) - Display lockout information for a particular user account (Aug 2012).
Account Lockout and Management Tools - Includes LockoutStatus, plus tools to troubleshoot account lockouts, and display password ages(Aug 2012).
Microsoft Security Compliance Toolkit 1.0 - Microsoft-recommended security configuration baselines for Windows 10/11.
How to disable SMB 1 (or 2/3 for testing) - Instructions for all versions of Windows Server & workstation.
File, Folder and Share Permission Utility Tool - Enumerate all the permissions, Technet/Monimoy Sanyal.
File Checksum Integrity Verifier (2015 archive of 2004 utility) - Compute and verify cryptographic hash values for files. This can now be done by CERTUTIL, but FCIV also has options to recurse into subdirectories, exclude files and the ability to save/list/verify checksums in an XML database. Unsupported.
Policy Analyzer from Aaron Margosis - Compare sets of Group Policy Objects (GPOs). Highlight redundant settings or internal inconsistencies.
Group Policy Management Console SP1 & Group Policy Object Settings spreadsheet 2003/2008/2008R2/Win7.
Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS) - Manage local account passwords of domain joined computers (howto).
Microsoft PowerToys - For Windows 11/ Windows 10 (20H1+) FancyZones / Shortcut Key Guide / Batch file renamer / Process terminate tool / Animated gif screen recorder.
Windows 11 Installation Assistant - update to the latest version or download an ISO.
Windows 10 Update Assistant - update to the latest version, includes hardware check.
WuMgr - Manage Windows 10 updates, fine control to download/install missing updates.
Windows 10 - ISO download.
Windows 10 Pro for Workstations - With WinFS
Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 10 version: 21H2, 22H2
Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 11 version: 23H2, 24H2, Server 25
Locale Builder 2.0 - Create custom formats for Windows 10 language and region.
Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) - Automate desktop and server OS deployments.
Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) - Customize Windows 10 images for deployment. Not supported for Windows 11.
Rufus USB formatting tool - Create install media. Can also bypass Windows 11’s Microsoft account requirement for new installs.
Ansible - Configure systems, deploy software, and system updates (alternative to WSUS).
Chocolatey - Package manager for Windows.
Ninite - Automate software installations and updates.
Scoop - A command-line installer for Windows.
Windows Package Manager - WINGET - Scripted Install,update or uninstall, borged from AppGet.
An automatic update via the Microsoft Store for all devices running Windows 10, version 1809 and later.
Wix - freeware tool for building .MSI packages.
SysInternals - Microsoft System utilities.
bottom - A terminal-based graphical process/system monitor.
Caffeine.exe - Prevent your computer from going to sleep.
CMDebug - Create and debug batch files with an integrated IDE editor and debugger.
Console 2 - Windows console emulator for CMD and/or PowerShell (review)
ConEmu-Maximus5 - Windows console emulator for CMD and/or PowerShell (review)
CopyTrans Manager - Add music to an iPhone without iTunes.
CopyTrans Filey - Add files to an iPhone without iTunes.
CryptoPrevent - A Group Policy to block executables from specific paths.
Cygwin - Linux-like environment for Windows, tutorial: 1, 2, 3
DOFF - Print a formatted date and time, with an optional date offset, e.g. -1 prints yesterday, +1 prints tomorrow. (source + BSD licence).
FastCopy - An alternative to RoboCopy.
FindRepl.bat - FInd and Replace text, JScript/Batch script.
Gow - Lightweight UNIX utilities compiled as native win32 binaries.
ImageMagick - Edit/Convert bitmap images(PNG, JPEG, GIF) on the command line (scripts).
Jdupes - Manage duplicate files: delete, hard link, dedupe.
Joeware.net - Admin, AD and Exchange tools.
Karen’s directory printer - Dump a list of files/folders to a text file.
Microsoft Mouse without Borders - Control up to four computers from a single mouse / keyboard.
MParallel - Run multiple tasks in parallel, for multi-processor/multi-core machines.
Nirsoft Utilities and NirCMD freeware Command-Line Tool.
NSIS (Nullsoft Scriptable Install System) - Create Windows installers (open source).
Npocmaka - Batch scripts, zipjs.bat + others.
PDFtk - Command-line tool for processing PDFs.
Petter Nordahl-Hagen - Offline Windows Password & Registry Editor.
pretentiousname - Utilities by Leo Davidson.
Repl.bat - FInd and Replace text, JScript/Batch script.
Ritchie Lawrence - Batch function library, cmdow for manipulating program windows and mtee stream splitter.
SetACL - Utility to manage permissions, auditing and ownership (free).
SetRes - Set screen resolution (Ian Sharpe).
SoX - Sound processing command line utility.
Bill Stewart - Batch script and Windows admin tools.
System Tools - Dump Event Log, Registry or Security info.
WebP utilities - encode/decode WebP animated images, Google.
Wake On Lan Command Line: Depicus / Gammadyne / Nirsoft / PowerShell Wake On LAN script
- Windows Terminal (App Store) + GitHub winget install -e Microsoft.WindowsTerminal
- ConEmu
- ConsoleZ
- Fluent Terminal
- Hyper
- MinTTY
- MobaXterm
- Tabby
- ZOC (not free)
Agent Ransack - File Search (search all file types).
AIMP3 - Fully featured free music player.
Autohotkey - Automate keystrokes, mouse clicks and more. winget install -e Lexikos.AutoHotkey
AutoIT - GUI scripting.Beyond Compare - Directory, Registry and file comparison utility (cross platform).
Brackets - Open source HTML/CSS code editor.
Calc.exe - The old Windows calculator from Windows 2003. [Github]
CamStudio - Record screen and audio activity on your computer.
Clonezilla - Partition and disk imaging/cloning program.
CPU-Z - gather information on system devices.
DaVinci Resolve - Video editor.
Dban - Darik’s Boot and Nuke, a boot CD that securely wipes hard disks.
Emby - Media Server.
Event Sentry - Event log monitoring.
Everything - Locate files and folders by name instantly.
FTP - Cyberduck - FTP client.
FTP - filezilla-project.org - Warning: some official filezilla builds contain malware 2013 + 2015 + 2018 + 2024 (also via Ninite)
FTP - WinSCP - Free SFTP, SCP and FTP client for Windows .Flash uninstall - EOL Date= Dec 2020
Firefox Desktop - Web Browser winget install -e Mozilla.Firefox
Firefox Enterprise - Web Browser with Windows Group Policy support.
Foobar 2000 - freeware audio player.
FreeCAD - Sketch 2D shapes and create high quality drawings / 3D models.
Glasswire - Firewall with network monitoring.
Greenshot - Screenshot capture and edit.
Hex Editors: ImHex, HDD.
Inkscape - Vector Graphics (Illustrator).
imgburn - Free CD/DVD/Blu-ray burner (MajorGeeks link to avoid OpenCandy malware).
iTunes 7 - (Old Version) Minimal 32 bit media player, unsupported but still works on Windows 10.
Krita - Photo/graphics editor (open source).
Lansweeper - Network Monitoring.
Lost NT password
MalwareBytes - Anti Malware, detect and remove worms, Trojans, rootkits, etc.
iMatch - Manage, catalog and organize digital images.
Metapad - Simple notepad replacement.
Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator - Remap keys.
Netikus - Password, Ping, FTP, event log alerts.
Notepad++ - Notepad replacement. winget install -e Notepad++.Notepad++O&O ShutUp10 - Portable app to control Windows 10/11 security & privacy settings.
Okular - PDF Reader.
OBS Studio - Free and open source software for video recording and live streaming.
Partition Wizard - GUI Disk Partition Manager.
Pazera - A collection of useful tools and utilities, 32 and 64bit.
PDFill - Create, Fill, Edit, Delete and Submit PDF Form Fields.
PDFCreator - Print any document to PDF.
Photoshop Elements - Basic photo editing and organisation.
PhotoRec - Data recovery software - hard disk, CD-ROM & Memory Cards.
Pinboard.in - Bookmarking + app SimplePin
PuTTY - Free Telnet/SSH Client.
Rapid Environment Editor - Edit environment variables, donationware.
RawTherapee - Raw image processing.
Recuva - Recover deleted files.
Servers Alive - Network monitoring.
Shotcut - free, open source, cross-platform video editor.
SoftPerfect - Search, Scan for open file shares and other utils.
Sumatra - PDF viewer.
StartAllBack - Windows 11 utility to restore the classic UI.
SyncBack - GUI Backup and synchronize files.
Syncthing - Sync files between devices.
TeamViewer - Screen sharing/Remote control (Mac/PC/Linux.)
Textadept - cross-platform text editor.
TXTcollector - Free Text File Merging Tool.
TightVNC - Remote control.
TreeSize Free - Quickly scan directory sizes and find space hogs.
Trinity Rescue Kit - Live Linux distribution for recovery and repair operations on Windows machines.
VLC Media Player - Free versatile media player. winget install -e VideoLAN.VLC
VueScan - Scanner Software.
WSUS Offline Update - Microsoft updates without an internet connection.
Wink - Capture screenshots/video, add help text.
WinAmp 2.95 - Old but still usable MP3 player.
WinMerge - open source WinDiff
VirtualBox - Open Source virtualisation for Windows, Linux, Macintosh, and Solaris.Zero Assumption Recovery - data recovery.
7Zip - compression winget install -e 7zip.7zip
ZoomIt - Screen annotation, and recording tool for technical presentations and demos. (SysInternals)
Batchography: The Art of Batch Files Programming - Biblio
by Elias Bachaalany, 2016
Discover the lost art of Batch file programming, start with the basics of manipulating numbers, strings and variables and move on to looping operations, recursion, debugging and troubleshooting of your scripts. The final chapter has a number of batch file recipes: parsing .ini files, creating interactive menus and more. Highly recommended.Windows 10: The Missing Manual - Biblio / Bookshop.org / Hive UK
by David Pogue
An enjoyable but still very detailed read with lots of good tips and keyboard shortcuts.Windows Server 2019 & PowerShell All-in-One For Dummies - Biblio / Bookshop.org / Hive UK
by Sara Perrott.
Comprehensive and understandable guide.Troubleshooting with the Windows Sysinternals Tools (2nd Edition) - Biblio / Hive UK
by Mark E. Russinovich
Guidance and inside insights for the Windows Sysinternals tools. Guided by Sysinternals creator Mark Russinovich and Windows expert Aaron MargosisWindows Internals, Part 1 (2017) - Biblio /Hive UK and Part2 (2019) - Biblio / Hive UK
by Mark E. Russinovich, David A. Solomon and Alex Ionescu
Insider perspectives and hands-on experiments to demonstrate how Windows operates.Windows NT Shell Scripting by Tim Hill - Sample chapter.
First published in 1998 so no mention of PowerShell, despite this it’s still a solid introduction to writing batch files under Windows.
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