Optimize Windows system reliability and performance with Sysinternals

IT pros and power users consider the free Windows Sysinternals tools indispensable for diagnosing, troubleshooting, and deeply understanding the Windows platform. In this extensively updated guide, Sysinternals creator Mark Russinovich and Windows expert Aaron Margosis help you use these powerful tools to optimize any Windows system's reliability, efficiency, performance, and security. The authors first explain Sysinternals' capabilities and help you get started fast. Next, they offer in-depth coverage of each major tool, from Process Explorer and Process Monitor to Sysinternals' security and file utilities. Then, building on this knowledge, they show the tools being used to solve real-world cases involving error messages, hangs, sluggishness, malware infections, and much more.

Windows Sysinternals creator Mark Russinovich and Aaron Margosis show you how to:

• Use Process Explorer to display detailed process and system information
• Use Process Monitor to capture low-level system events, and quickly filter the output to narrow down root causes
• List, categorize, and manage software that starts when you start or sign in to your computer, or when you run Microsoft Office or Internet Explorer
• Verify digital signatures of files, of running programs, and of the modules loaded in those programs
• Use Autoruns, Process Explorer, Sigcheck, and Process Monitor features that can identify and clean malware infestations
• Inspect permissions on files, keys, services, shares, and other objects
• Use Sysmon to monitor security-relevant events across your network
• Generate memory dumps when a process meets specified criteria
• Execute processes remotely, and close files that were opened remotely
• Manage Active Directory objects and trace LDAP API calls
• Capture detailed data about processors, memory, and clocks
• Troubleshoot unbootable devices, file-in-use errors, unexplained communication, and many other problems
• Understand Windows core concepts that aren't well-documented elsewhere

Mark Russinovich is Chief Technology Officer of Microsoft Azure, where he oversees the technical strategy and architecture of Microsoft's cloud computing platform. He is a widely recognized expert in distributed systems, operating system internals, and cybersecurity. He is the author of the Jeff Aiken cyberthriller novels, Zero Day, Trojan Horse, and Rogue Code, and co-author of the Microsoft Press Windows Internals books. Russinovich joined Microsoft in 2006 when Microsoft acquired Winternals Software, the company he cofounded in 1996, as well as Sysinternals, where he authors and publishes dozens of popular Windows administration and diagnostic utilities. He is a featured speaker at major industry conferences, including Microsoft Ignite, Microsoft //build, RSA Conference, and more.

Aaron Margosis is a Principal Consultant with Microsoft's Global Cybersecurity Practice, where he has worked with security-conscious customers since 1999. Aaron specializes in Windows security, least-privilege, application compatibility, and the configuration of locked-down environments. He is a top speaker at Microsoft conferences, and created many of the tools commonly used by organizations implementing high-security environments, including LUA Buglight, Policy Analyzer, IE Zone Analyzer, LGPO.exe (Local Group Policy Object utility), and MakeMeAdmin, which can be downloaded through his blog (https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/aaron_margosis) or through two team blogs for which he is a primary author (https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/fdcc and https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/SecGuide).

Chapter 1 Getting started with the Sysinternals utilities

Overview of the utilities

The Windows Sysinternals website

Sysinternals license information

Chapter 2 Windows core concepts

Administrative rights

Processes, threads, and jobs

User mode and kernel mode

Handles

Application isolation

Call stacks and symbols

Sessions, window stations, desktops, and window messages

Chapter 3 Process Explorer

Procexp overview

Main window

DLLs and handles

Process details

Thread details

Verifying image signatures

VirusTotal analysis

System information

Display options

Procexp as a Task Manager replacement

Miscellaneous features

Keyboard shortcut reference

Chapter 4 Autoruns

Autoruns fundamentals

Autostart categories

Saving and comparing results

AutorunsC

Autoruns and malware

Chapter 5 Process Monitor

Getting started with Procmon

Events

Filtering, highlighting, and bookmarking

Process Tree

Saving and opening Procmon traces

Logging boot, post-logoff, and shutdown activity

Long-running traces and controlling log sizes

Importing and exporting configuration settings

Automating Procmon: command-line options

Analysis tools

Injecting custom debug output into Procmon traces

Toolbar reference

Chapter 6 ProcDump

Command-line syntax

Specifying which process to monitor

Specifying the dump file path

Specifying criteria for a dump

Monitoring exceptions

Dump file options

Miniplus dumps

ProcDump and Procmon: Better together

Running ProcDump noninteractively

Viewing the dump in the debugger

Chapter 7 PsTools

Common features

PsExec

PsFile

PsGetSid

PsInfo

PsKill

PsList

PsLoggedOn

PsLogList

PsPasswd

PsService

PsShutdown

PsSuspend

PsTools command-line syntax

PsTools system requirements

Chapter 8 Process and diagnostic utilities

VMMap

DebugView

LiveKd

ListDLLs

Handle

Chapter 9 Security utilities

SigCheck

AccessChk

Sysmon

AccessEnum

ShareEnum

ShellRunAs

Autologon

LogonSessions

SDelete

Chapter 10 Active Directory utilities

AdExplorer

AdInsight

AdRestore

Chapter 11 Desktop utilities

BgInfo

Desktops.

ZoomIt

Chapter 12 File utilities

Strings

Streams

NTFS link utilities

Disk Usage (DU)

Post-reboot file operation utilities

Chapter 13 Disk utilities

Disk2Vhd

Sync

DiskView

Contig

DiskExt

LDMDump

VolumeID

Chapter 14 Network and communication utilities

PsPing

TCPView

Whois

Chapter 15 System information utilities

RAMMap

Registry Usage (RU)

CoreInfo

WinObj

LoadOrder

PipeList

ClockRes

Chapter 16 Miscellaneous utilities

RegJump

Hex2Dec

RegDelNull

Bluescreen Screen Saver

Ctrl2Cap

Chapter 17 Error messages

Troubleshooting error messages

The Case of the Locked Folder

The Case of the File In Use Error

The Case of the Unknown Photo Viewer Error

The Case of the Failing ActiveX Registration

The Case of the Failed Play-To

The Case of the Installation Failure

The Case of the…