Obtaining computer SID and Processor ID using C#

Sometimes you have to track a unique identifier for an application (e.g. license key registration). Here are two small C# methods to get the Windows SID (Security ID) and the motherboard processor ID (may be more than one).

using System;
using System.Linq;
using System.Management;
using System.Security.Principal;

namespace ConsoleTest
{
   class Program
   {
      static void Main(string[] args)
      {
         new Program().Run(args);
      }

      private void Run(string[] args)
      {
         string sid = UserSecurityId();
         Console.WriteLine("The SID is: {0}", sid);

         string[] processorIds = ComputerProcessorId();
         foreach (string id in processorIds)
         {
            Console.WriteLine("Processor ID: {0}", id);
         }
      }

      public string UserSecurityId()
      {
         return WindowsIdentity.GetCurrent().User.AccountDomainSid.ToString();
      }

      public string[] ComputerProcessorId()
      {
         return new ManagementObjectSearcher("Select * from Win32_Processor")
            .Get()
            .OfType<ManagementObject>()
            .Select(o => o["ProcessorID"].ToString())
            .ToArray();
      }
   }
}

PowerShell to encrypt / decrypt app.config sections

Here is a PS script called AppConfigCrypto.ps1 that allows you to encrypt and decrypt sections of an appConfig. Be aware that once a config is encrypted, you can't just copy it from machine to machine since the encryption is done via the default machine key. You should be able to get around this by importing your own keys and modifying the script below. If you don't import a user specified key, then you will have to encrypt on the machine where the application will execute.

Here's the PS script:

param(
[string]$sectionName,
[string]$exePath="app.config",
[switch]$encrypt,
[switch]$decrypt)

function CallExit($msg)
{
$msg
Usage
exit
}

function OKExit($msg)
{
$msg
exit
}

function Usage
{
"Usage: ./AppConfigCrypto.ps1 sectionName exePath [-encrypt | -decrypt]"
}

# check params
if ($sectionName.Trim().Length -eq 0) { CallExit("%You must pass a section name (e.g. appSettings, ConnectionStrings)") }
if ($encrypt -eq $false -and $decrypt -eq $false) { CallExit("%Must specify -encrypt or -decrypt") }
if ($encrypt -ne $false -and $decrypt -ne $false) { CallExit("%Must specify either -encrypt or -decrypt") }

# load the config
$config = [System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager]::OpenExeConfiguration((Resolve-Path $exePath))

# make sure section exists and is readable
$section = $config.GetSection($sectionName)
if ($null -eq $section) { CallExit("%$sectionName section not found") }
if ($section.IsReadOnly()) { CallExit("%$sectionName is read-only") }

if ($encrypt)
{
if ($section.SectionInformation.IsProtected -eq $true) { OKExit("%Section already encrypted") }
"Encrypting $sectionName . . ."
$section.SectionInformation.ProtectSection("RsaProtectedConfigurationProvider")
}
elseif ($decrypt)
{
if ($section.SectionInformation.IsProtected -eq $false) { OKExit("%Section already decrypted") }
"Decrypting $sectionName . . ."
$section.SectionInformation.UnprotectSection()
}

# save section
$section.SectionInformation.ForceSave = $true
$config.Save()

Update: Clear Visual Studio "Recent Project" entries

I had posted last October how to clear the recent project/file list in Visual Studio via a register cleanup. Recently I found a really nice VS add-in to do this. Very nice for VS 2008.

http://www.csharper.net/blog/visual_studio_2008_add_in_compatibility.aspx

PowerShell Prompt Utility

This utility allows you to launch a Windows PowerShell command-prompt directly from Windows Explorer via a right-click. Extract, right-click and select "Install".

Download Here

Virtual CD Driver for XP

This utility allows you to create a virtual CD for Windows XP. Once created, you can mount ISO files and view them just like it was a directory structure.

Download Here

DOS Prompt Utility for Visual Studio

This utility allows you to launch a Visual Studio command-prompt directly from Windows Explorer via a right-click. Extract your version (VS 2003, VS 2005), right-click and select "Install".

Download Here