Radish Logic

How to Disable Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration in Windows Server

If you have launched a new Windows Server 2016, 2019, or 2022 and opened Internet Explorer it will automatically open a page saying Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration is enabled.

When you open a website, it will then prompt you that the content that you are accessing is being blocked by Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration.

Windows recommends adding this to a list called Trusted sites zone, but adding all the many websites that you are accessing is tedious.

The solution to this is to disable the Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration. Follow the tutorial below on how to disable it.

How to Change the Font Size of AWS CloudShell

If you have been using AWS CloudShell you might notice that the default font size is small.

#1

To change the font size of AWS CloudShell, click on the gear icon in the upper right corner of the AWS Console.

How to create IAM User Access Keys via AWS CLI

To create programmatic Access Keys for an AWS IAM User using AWS CLI, run the command aws iam create-access-key.

On the command below change MyUser with the username of your target IAM User.

aws iam create-access-key --user-name MyUser

This will return the following JSON formatted string.

How to create IAM User Access Keys using AWS Console

If you want to be able to control your AWS resources on your local computer you will either use AWS CLI or AWS SDK. To use those tools, you will need to have an Access Key ID and a Secret Access Key.

In this post, we will show you how you can generate your own Access Keys so you can programmatically access your AWS resources.

For the instructions later the target username that I want to create Access Keys is rabano. Yours will be different.

List of Public SSM Parameters of latest Operating System EC2 Images

We are running CI/CD pipelines that take the latest EC2 Image of Windows or Red Hat then it will automatically install the required security agents and check if they are properly installed.

At first, it was a hassle since we had to always be on the lookout for the latest EC2 Image ID of our target operating system and input this manually into our pipeline. But as it turns out AWS maintains SSM Parameters that holds the latest Image IDs of various operating systems and their versions.

Sometimes I see these in CloudFormation scripts.

How to remove the Taskbar Chat and Widgets icon in Windows 11

When I switched to Windows 11 I had to adjust to the changes in the Taskbar. One of the things that I do not find useful is the Widgets and Chat icon in the Taskbar.

If you want to remove the Widgets and Chat icon in the Taskbar follow the steps below.

How to move the Taskbar Icons to the left in Windows 11

If you’re like me who just recently switched to Windows 11, you might find the taskbar icons in the center a little awkward.

If you want to move the taskbar icons to the left, just like in their original position in Windows 10, then just follow the steps below.

How to access the C: Drive in Amazon Workspaces

The C: Drive or root volume in AWS Workspaces cannot be seen if you open File Explorer.

This post will show how you can access the C: Drive when it is not shown.

If you want the C: Drive to be shown permanently then reading my post about it here will help.

Below are three ways you can access the C: Drive.

Access C: Drive with Windows File Explorer

To access C: Drive with Windows File Explorer, go to the address bar and enter C:. This will bring you to the C: Drive.

How to show C: Drive in Amazon Workspaces

If you have been using AWS Workspaces then you might have noticed that the C: Drive cannot be seen when you open Windows File Explorer.

File Explorer not showing C: Drive in an Amazon Workspace

The reason why the C: Drive is hidden in Workspaces is because it is the root volume. Users are discouraged from storing files in the root volume because when you need to Rebuild a workspace any changes that you made in the C: Drive will be wiped out. Only the D: Drive or the User Volume will be restored to what its previous snapshot.

There are some use cases when you need to access the C: Drive. It might also be possible that you just want to have the C: Drive visible.

Follow the steps below to make the C: Drive visible in Windows File Explorer in your Amazon Workspaces.

Steps in showing the C: Drive in Amazon Workspaces

Click on Search icon and type regedit. Then click on regedit.

CloudFormation: How to solve Circular Dependency between an Elastic IP and an EC2 Instance

When writing a CloudFormation Template that needs to use the value of an Elastic IP to a file inside an EC2 Instance, you will most likely encounter a Circular dependency between resources error.

I encountered this when configuring OpenSwan IPSec VPN in CloudFormation.

You can try the CloudFormation template below to see the error above.

CloudFormation Template with Circular Dependency Error

Parameters:
  AmazonLinux2AMIID:
    Type: AWS::SSM::Parameter::Value<AWS::EC2::Image::Id>
    Default: /aws/service/ami-amazon-linux-latest/amzn2-ami-hvm-x86_64-gp2

  KeyName:
    Type: AWS::EC2::KeyPair::KeyName

Resources:
  ElasticIP:
    Type: 'AWS::EC2::EIP'
    Properties:
      Domain: vpc
      InstanceId: !Ref EC2Instance
  
  EC2Instance:
    Type: AWS::EC2::Instance
    Properties: 
      ImageId: !Ref AmazonLinux2AMIID
      InstanceType: t2.micro
      KeyName: !Ref KeyName
      UserData: 
        Fn::Base64:
          !Sub |
            #!/bin/bash -ex
            echo "${ElasticIP}" >> /EIPAddress.txt