What Can I Use?
If you are at home, or in an environment where you control what is permitted, you can use nearly any tool you wish to automate repetitive tasks.
In an environment where you are not in control, your allowable toolset is limited to what the person in control allows. Carl Sassenrath, creator of REBOL, recently expressed frustration at this limitation. However, in such an environment, you really need to pay attention to those restrictions. Maybe one day, they'll wise up and elevate you to a place where you can decide what to allow. Or maybe not. In the mean time, your best bet is to use the allowed toolset to the limit of its functionality and your ability.
So what can you use? It all depends on what is allowed where you are. Many times, Windows networks already utilize KiXtart for login scripts. This makes KiX scripts a natural thing for that environment. In such an environment, you might also use WSH to run scripts written in JavaScript or VBScript. What else can you use? Do you use Java or .Net in your environment? There are multiple languages available that will run on the JVM, such as Jython, JRuby, Nice, Scala, or Groovy, as well as Java itself. On the CLR, there are languages such as Boo, C#, IronPython, and Visual Basic.Net.
Now go forth and conquer.
