remote system info

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SenorPr0n

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I've been asking this question on the extreme visual basic forums for a long time now, concerning the visual basic 6 language. Now, I have upgraded (or sidegraded) to vb.net because networking functions are supposed to be easier. I would like to know if it is possible to obtain the system information for remote pc's on a lan. I would also like to be able to shut these pc's down.

I would prefer to not have to use a client, but I guess I would need one for security purposes. This program will have to work for NT based OS's, but I would really like it to work for 9x based systems also.

I've been reading up on WMI and WinSock, but unfortunately, I am not very familiar with these. If anybody could help, it would be greatly appreciated.
 
You can get any information about a computer that is contained it's registry as long as you have permission to access it's registry (such as installed programs, operating system, amount of RAM, etc. You want to use the Registry Class (Microsoft.Win32.Registry) and use the Registry.OpenRemote(RegistryHive) function. Do a search for RegistryHive in your help files and this will guide you in the right direction. You can use System.IO.File or System.IO.Directory for finding out about files and folders (existance of, coping, delting, renaming, etc.). As far as shuting down a remote computer this can be done using the Win32Api function InitiateSystemShutdown. I do my work in C# but .NET is .NET so VB.NET will have the same stuff. If you need help or examples I'll try to get back with you ASAP if you ask. But I won't be able to get back with you until Monday. By the way teh InitiateSystemShutdown will not work very easily on Windows 2000, this is because of security reasons. Good Luck!
 
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