Windows 10 Start Menu - A Working Solution

[lmgtfy]

Hi @Michael ,

 

I've been following your excellent post and have the classic shell working with the gpo you posted.

 

One thing I'm stuck on though is I want users to be able to search for programs in the classic shell menu using the search programs and files but for some reason the default search shows every file in the whole of the C drive so for example if I just type the letter c in the search box it returns 320 programs. Have you or anyone found a way around this?

 

Cheers

[Michael]

Does this work with folder redirection?

 

Yes it does

[Michael]

Hi @Michael ,

 

I've been following your excellent post and have the classic shell working with the gpo you posted.

 

One thing I'm stuck on though is I want users to be able to search for programs in the classic shell menu using the search programs and files but for some reason the default search shows every file in the whole of the C drive so for example if I just type the letter c in the search box it returns 320 programs. Have you or anyone found a way around this?

 

Cheers

 

I don't use/make available the Search facility, I just create pre-determined shortcuts using Folder Redirection for the Desktop and optionally Start Menu.

 

I presume you've restricted/hidden access to C:\ using File Explorer GPOs, in which case, then I can only conclude it's because the applications themselves are located on C:\

[Michael]

Classic Shell 4.3.0 is now out and supports Windows 10 build 1607 or Anniversary Update.

[sparkeh]

Windows 10 is now giving the best Start menu we can have since the beginning. Cortana is great, and no more ******** click to out of desktop like previous version of Windows 8

Language Timothy

[mavhc]

Classic shell hacked https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12215449

[sparkeh]

Classic shell hacked https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12215449

Thanks.

 

Maybe a bit pedantic but its not CS that was hacked. It was FossHub (one of the mirrors that CS uses) that was hacked and the installer replaced with malware. Downloads from the other mirror (Mediafire) are ok.

CS has stopped using FossHub for now.

 

Also, always check the sigs before installing.

 

CS forum topic: Classic Shell • View topic - W10 anniversary update, installed CS4.3 , had to repair OS

Edited August 3, 2016 by sparkeh

[Arthur]

Classic shell hacked

Audacity too.

 

www.audacityteam.org/compromised-download-partner/

 

For about 3 hours on 2nd August 2016 our download server was serving a hacked copy of Audacity that contained malware. This was due to hackers obtaining the password of one of our developers and using it to upload the malware.

 

We have now replaced the 2.1.2 hacked windows installer and disabled that hacked account on FossHub.com – We are taking the incident very seriously indeed. We are working hard, in collaboration with FossHub.com, to do what we can to help prevent such an incident in future. In many ways Audacity is a soft target for hackers – and attractive as a target because of the large number of downloads.

 

We are a community of developers, documentation writers, support and help people, not a commercial outfit with a dedicated security team with strong security protocols. We did not have the right safeguards in place, namely, to monitor external files. We clearly have not been vigilant enough. Over the next few weeks we will be working to become a safer, more secure organisation.

 

We are really sorry that we let you down. If you were hit by this malware download, please accept our sincere apologies. We are now doing our best to learn from it, even if the cost to us is some loss of the community spirit.

 

James Crook (on behalf of the Audacity team).

3rd August 2016.

 

 

UPDATE by FOSSHUB.COM, 2016-08-03, 11.10am GMT:

 

Last night we had a security incident caused by a group of hackers that allowed them to log-in to FossHub developer *through* an user that was compromised. Shortly after, we noticed two users that were compromised. They simply logged-in using their passwords and this allowed them to escalate.

 

The attackers uploaded a malware file on Classic Shell page which was downloaded approximately 300 times. We removed the file in several minutes and we changed all passwords for all services we had.

 

They were greedy meaning that they targeted the largest projects listed on FossHub: Audacity and Classic Shell. We reacted promptly for Audacity installer but for Classic Shell, several hundred users were able to download the malware infected version.

 

We have been in contact with Google, PNAP and other providers.

 

Several hours later, we noticed the attackers were able to gain access through an FTP account and we decided to shut down the main server immediately to prevent any further infection/damage.

 

FossHub.com is down on purpose until we are able to identify the way hackers were able to escalate.

 

Therefore, we are currently in the process of reinstalling everything, change all access rights, passwords and run up under new security rules.

 

The attackers tried to gain access to DNSMadeEasy (our DNS provider), to CloudFlare, personal emails, CDN services etc. The login-logs shows no successful logins, only FAILED attempts.

 

To keep this short, we will keep all services down until further notice.

 

I would like to say that we “apologize” but I would lie not to admit it is the worst day ever for me (personally) and all FossHub team members.

 

After this incident, everything will change on our side. I am disappointed that despite of trying to build the image of one of the cleanest sites on the web we are here.

 

I will email everyone after we are back, now we are under a pile of work, thank you!

 

Regards, Sam – FossHub

[Simcfc73]

I tried to do this myself but ended up cheating and using the attached GP template.. which works really well with a few tweaks on my end.

[Localtechie]

Has anyone noticed or found a way to disable the Powershell folder created when a new user logs in? We have it locked down through applocker so they can't open it but I would prefer if the folder didn't appear just to give the little cherubs one last thing to try and muck around with!

 

Edit: Worked this out after posting just had to delete the folder on the default profile! Knew it would be something simple.

Edited August 11, 2016 by Localtechie

[mavhc]

Why don't you want them to learn powershell, surely it's a useful skill?

[Localtechie]

Why don't you want them to learn powershell, surely it's a useful skill?

I am trying this is for the students profile don't really want them to have access to it of I can help it worked it out though nearly ready for the student rollout!

[Simcfc73]

I'm trying to figure out how to get rid of the programs folder that appears in the start menu with maintennace and startup in it. I've set the GP to hide it but its still showing up.

[Localtechie]

I'm trying to figure out how to get rid of the programs folder that appears in the start menu with maintennace and startup in it. I've set the GP to hide it but its still showing up.

 

Have you deleted the folder in the default user profile?

[Simcfc73]

Thanks, very tired at the moment so trying to sort this out is taking ages.

[victory2012]

is anyone else having trouble with explorer freezing with cs. i started delpying windows 10 and have had to stop because users reporting that explorer freezes where double clicking on desktop shortcut doesnt work and file explorer doesnt open at all, taskbar is frozen too and doesnt update, all this is reoslved if i restart explorer.exe but its happening too often, i have reported it on CS forums but no solution as yet and wondered if anyone else noticed it or solved it?

 

Thanks

[Simcfc73]

is anyone else having trouble with explorer freezing with cs. i started delpying windows 10 and have had to stop because users reporting that explorer freezes where double clicking on desktop shortcut doesnt work and file explorer doesnt open at all, taskbar is frozen too and doesnt update, all this is reoslved if i restart explorer.exe but its happening too often, i have reported it on CS forums but no solution as yet and wondered if anyone else noticed it or solved it?

 

Thanks

 

This is happening on my work PC alot running windows 10, I havent noticed it on the PCs I have deployed.. yet. The explorer restart trick usually solves it.

 

No solution yet though

[Michael]

is anyone else having trouble with explorer freezing with cs. i started delpying windows 10 and have had to stop because users reporting that explorer freezes where double clicking on desktop shortcut doesnt work and file explorer doesnt open at all, taskbar is frozen too and doesnt update, all this is reoslved if i restart explorer.exe but its happening too often, i have reported it on CS forums but no solution as yet and wondered if anyone else noticed it or solved it?

 

Thanks

 

If you try using downloading the latest GPOs I uploaded here, it should resolve what you're describing.

 

I believe the source of the problem is how the GPP settings are applied - changing from Replace to Update resolves the issue.

[victory2012]

Hi thanks for suggestion , its still happening i havent got clue whats causing it and its such a shame as was planning a major rollout of windows 10 this summer.

 

Logon as user and explorer becomes unresponsive i can load all other programs but file explorer , this pc all lock up and dont open .. retsrating explorer fixes it for short time before it comes back.. any other help or suggestions what to look for will be most appreciated.

[MicrodigitUK]

I have been experiencing the same problem with CS. I'v narrowed it down to some incompatibility issue with roaming profiles.

 

I have noticed if you wipe a profile for a user and log in with a fresh profile Explorer is stable with CS. But after the profile has been written back to the network and on 2nd logon Explorer becomes unstable when used with CS.

 

Unfortunately even after reporting the issue in CS forum CS cannot replicate this Explorer crash with roaming profiles and put it down to an environmental issue.

 

Only work around I could come up with using CS and keeping Explorer stable is ditch roaming profiles. We have been looking at UE-V as a replacement for our existing roaming profiles. Tests we have done using UE-V, Win10 and CS have had a stable Explorer. Not fully implemented from the testing stages yet, but it seams to resolve the issue.

[Ephelyon]

is anyone else having trouble with explorer freezing with cs. i started delpying windows 10 and have had to stop because users reporting that explorer freezes where double clicking on desktop shortcut doesnt work and file explorer doesnt open at all, taskbar is frozen too and doesnt update, all this is reoslved if i restart explorer.exe but its happening too often, i have reported it on CS forums but no solution as yet and wondered if anyone else noticed it or solved it?

 

Thanks

 

I wonder if we're posting in the same thread over there?

 

I've coded a workaround in AutoIt that will restart Explorer.exe (and Classic Shell) if you press Ctrl+Alt+Esc. This has made it manageable - though annoying - for users over here, in that it moves the issue from being a serious problem to being a mere inconvenience, so we've proceeded with our Windows 10 rollout as planned. I've attached the zipped source and executable to this post in case anyone finds it useful. We deploy it through the (hidden) Startup folder in our redirected Start Menu.

 

Note: this code assumes a 64-bit version of Classic Shell in the Program Files path for it.

RestartExplorer.zip

Edited August 16, 2016 by Ephelyon

[victory2012]

Ephelyon - yes i am willowfield2012 on there, seems like many having this issue, though i am starting to suspect it is actually related to a windows update somewhere.

 

I have just done a in place upgrade on my build machine to the annaversary edition and then took a new image, have just rolled this out the some users and it is no longer happening!.. im going to do some more testing over the next few days with some more users but i suspect there was something not quite right with the specific version of windows 10 i was using.

 

Thanks for the autoit i will use that too just in case at least it allows me to complete the rollout.

[Ephelyon]

You're welcome!

 

I've seen it "less" since the Anniversary Update over here, but still occasionally. What the AU does seem to have cured is the issue of hanging on sign-out. The other major headache - the black screen on sign-in - is still occurring, through less frequently and now at least the shell does seem to appear eventually, as opposed to not at all previously.

 

Now it's just the slow logon times that need sorting out... :/

[victory2012]

i havent seen the black screen on sign-in , only time i ever had that is a used to have bginfo run on logon and it caused this so had move it into startup folder.

 

logon times not too bad wish i could find another way for printers though GPP is far to slow!

[Ephelyon]

You might find this approach works better for your printers. You can either do it this way or employ a similar methodology using the Environment Variables GPP instead of Ini Files.