Does the thread pool have different handle access privileges? Why am I getting ERROR_INVALID_HANDLE?

Raymond ChenJanuary 29, 2016Jan 29, 201601/29/16

The most common reason for getting ERROR_INVALID_HANDLE is that you have an invalid handle.

Why is getting the HP_HASHSIZE so weird?

Raymond ChenJanuary 28, 2016Jan 28, 201601/28/16

Second-order logic.

Why does CryptDestroyHash crash, but only sometimes?

Raymond ChenJanuary 27, 2016Jan 27, 201601/27/16

Improper destruction leads to undefined behavior, and undefined behavior includes “crashing only sometimes”.

How can I tell whether my console program was launched from Explorer or from a command prompt?

Raymond ChenJanuary 25, 2016Jan 25, 201601/25/16

That’s not actually what you want to know.

If I’m going to store a SID in a file, should I store the string form or the binary form?

Raymond ChenJanuary 22, 2016Jan 22, 201601/22/16

Pros and cons.

What does the /V (verify) flag to XCOPY mean, and how did it get that way?

Raymond ChenJanuary 21, 2016Jan 21, 201601/21/16

It doesn’t mean much any more.

So how bad is it that I’m calling RegOpenKey instead of RegOpenKeyEx?

Raymond ChenJanuary 20, 2016Jan 20, 201601/20/16

Mostly not bad, except for the gotcha.