Controlling Script Passwords

By default, the BlueZone Script Recorder will not allow passwords (sometimes referred to as hidden fields or hidden text) to be captured and inserted into the script while the script is being recorded.  This feature is referred to as the Automatic Password Prompting feature.

What is the Benefit of this Feature?

Scripts that contain passwords can be shared with other users.  The Automatic Password Prompting feature prevents scripts from being recorded with actual passwords.  Without this feature, a user can record a logon script and save it.  Then this user could share the script with another user.  If that user runs the logon script, they would be logging on with the original author's username and password.  You are depending on the author to be savvy enough to remove his or her password before sharing the script.

How it Works

When the Automatic Password Prompting feature is enabled, and when a hidden field is encountered during the recording process, the password (or hidden text) is not actually stored as part of the script.  Instead, the BlueZone Script Recorder automatically inserts an "Input Command" with the label "BlueZone Recorded Prompt", with the "hidden" attribute turned on.  The password that was entered during the recording process is discarded.

The end result of using this feature is that when the script is run, and a hidden field is encountered, the script will prompt all users, including the author, for a password.

Essentially this is the same as manually inserting a "prompt for password" command into the script in lieu of the actual password.

NOTE  In BlueZone Text Based Scripts, the actual command that is inserted into the script is a little different, but the end result is the same.

Disabling the Automatic Password Prompting Feature

If you want to disable the Automatic Password Prompting feature and allow BlueZone to capture and record passwords during the script recording process, the BlueZone Administrator, will have to edit the SETUP.INI file and add ScriptRecordHiddenText=Yes to the [BZSetup] section, located at the top of the SETUP.INI file.

[BZSetup]
ScriptRecordHiddenText=Yes

By default ScriptRecordHiddenText=No is not included in the SETUP.INI file.  The reason why it is not included, is to minimize the chance of a clever BlueZone user from changing the value of ScriptRecordHiddenText=No to Yes, before installing BlueZone.  ScriptRecordHiddenText=No does not have to be present in the SETUP.INI file in order for the Automatic Password Prompting feature to be enabled.

This is a global feature and will affect all types of BlueZone scripting regardless of the script format, proprietary or text based.

The SETUP.INI file is located in the BlueZone Distribution Image or BlueZone CD-ROM.

CAUTION!  Any changes made to the SETUP.INI file, will only take affect after SETUP.EXE is run, and BlueZone has run through the installation process.

SEE  Creating a Distribution Image in Chapter 6, for more information on creating a distribution image.

SEE  BlueZone Scripts in the Introduction to BlueZone Scripting in this chapter for more information on types of BlueZone scripts.