Be The Spoon

Export / Import your vSphere Client Server List

2012-01-25T10:57:00.002-05:00

http://www.boche.net/blog/index.php/2009/06/17/virtual-infrastructure-client-and-the-windows-registry/

Increasing the number of visible CPU cores in a Windows 7 VM

2012-01-17T15:14:00.004-05:00

I recently had to upgrade a Windows 7 VM from two cpu's to 4. After I added them and turned the VM back on, it only showed two cpu’s in task manager even though it showed 4 cpu’s in device manager. The following link shows how to edit the configuration parameters for the VM so it will show 4 cores in task manager. I had to set 'cpuid.coresPerSocket' to '2' for all 4 cpus to show up.

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1010184

PC Decrapifier

2012-01-15T13:16:00.002-05:00

http://pcdecrapifier.com/

Is your PC running slow? Even brand new PCs often come with LOTS of pre-installed software that can cause that new machine to come to a crawl. Not to mention all of the annoying pop-ups! Others may have a PC that's a couple years old and we're the ones that installed a bunch of junk! It happens to the best of us. We try a bunch of programs over time and forget to remove them.

The PC Decrapifier is here to help! It's a free tool for you to use that helps remove programs, unnecessary startup items and icons that can slow down your PC. It takes you step by step, giving you recommendations on what to remove, many of which can be removed unattended.

How to list all groups a member is part of from the command line

2012-01-11T09:51:00.001-05:00

dsquery user -samid %username% | dsget user -memberof -expand

Taken from here:

http://www.robvanderwoude.com/ntadmincommands.php

How to use Audacity to search for reverse speach patterns

2011-12-12T21:14:00.001-05:00

Download Audacity from:

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

after you make a recording

Ctrl+A

Then go to effects and chose reverse. Go to effects > Change Speed

How to automate Spybot Search & Destroy

2011-12-02T12:18:00.001-05:00

Install Spybot S&D from ninite.com
Create a batch file with the following command:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Spybot - Search & Destroy\SpybotSD.exe" /taskbarhide /autoupdate /autoimmunize /autocheck /autofix /autoclose

Schedule it to run.

Google Desktop Replacement

2011-11-04T16:25:00.003-04:00

If you're like me, you became heavily dependent on Google Desktop over the last few years to help you find that lost email, website, or document in a hurry. Google desktop has been discontinued but I've found a good replacement. Copernic Desktop Search is a great alternative. Check it out here:

Copernic Desktop Search

How to set/view the NIC bind order in Windows

2011-07-29T15:12:00.000-04:00

http://theregime.wordpress.com/2008/03/04/how-to-setview-the-nic-bind-order-in-windows/http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

How to dump a list of Active Directory group members to a text file

2011-05-20T14:01:00.004-04:00

C:\dsquery group -name "GROUPNAME"
"CN=GROUPNAME,OU=Groups,DC=us,DC=MSN,DC=NET"

C:\dsget group "CN=GROUPNAME,OU=Groups,DC=us,DC=MSN,DC=NET" –members > C:\GROUPNAME.txt

Windows 7 Keyboard Shortcuts

2011-05-04T11:36:00.001-04:00

http://www.shortcutworld.com/en/win/Windows_7.html

How to log off remote rdp sessions

2011-05-03T19:11:00.002-04:00

Start > Run > CMD

quser /server:%computername%

logoff %id% /server:%computername%

Taken from here:

http://www.danrigsby.com/blog/index.php/2008/08/26/remotely-log-off-remote-desktop-users/

How to check the status of a service and start it if it's stopped

2011-04-20T11:55:00.001-04:00

The following code will check the status of the service MyServiceName and start it if it is not running (the if block will be executed if the service is not running):

for /F "tokens=3 delims=: " %%H in ('sc query "MyServiceName" ^| findstr " STATE"') do (
if /I "%%H" NEQ "RUNNING" (
REM Put your code you want to execute here
REM For example, the following line
net start "MyServiceName"
)
)

Explanation of what it does:

1. Queries the properties of the service.
2. Looks for the line containing the text "STATE"
3. Tokenizes that line, and pulls out the 3rd token, which is the one containing the state of the service.
4. Tests the resulting state against the string "RUNNING"

Copy and paste to a VMware console session

2011-04-20T11:27:00.000-04:00

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1026437

Microsoft Network Monitor

2011-02-02T15:00:00.002-05:00

Network Monitor 3.4 is a protocol analyzer. It allows you to capture network traffic, view and analyze it.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=983b941d-06cb-4658-b7f6-3088333d062f&displaylang=en

Remove Duplicate Items From Microsoft Outlook

2011-01-24T10:44:00.000-05:00

Outlook Duplicate Items Remover:

http://www.vaita.com/ODIR.asp

Merge multiple PDF's into one

2010-11-03T01:34:00.001-04:00

PDF Blender is a free cross platform PDF merging tool that utilizes Ghostscript.

http://www.spaceblue.com/products/pdfblender/

Ghostscript must be installed first:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/ghostscript/files/

PC Decrapifier

2010-10-09T01:30:00.001-04:00

Removes all the pre-installed crap software that comes with a new computer.

http://www.pcdecrapifier.com/removes

batch to exe converter bat2exe

2010-09-13T15:19:00.000-04:00

http://www.f2ko.de/English/index.php

Online version:

http://www.f2ko.de/ob2e/ob2e.html

Download version:

http://www.f2ko.de/English/b2e/index.php

How to tether your blackberry to your laptop and use it as a modem to browse the web

2010-08-24T17:07:00.002-04:00

You need to download and install blackberry USB and modem drivers first:

https://www.blackberry.com/Downloads/contactFormPreload.do?code=A8BAA56554F96369AB93E4F3BB068C22&dl=4DED1AC6DF6BFAD19100E456C4A49EB6

Then connect the phone to the laptop with the USB cable.

Then download and install PDANET:

http://www.junefabrics.com/bin/PdaNetBB130.exe

During the PdaNet installation you will be prompted to install PdaNet on the phone side. When this is done you should see the PdaNet icon under "Downloads" on your Blackberry, tap it and turn on either USB Tether or Bluetooth DUN. You want “USB”

Here is the full version of the instructions:

http://www.junefabrics.com/blackberry/download.php

Barnaby Jack Hacks ATM At Black Hat

2010-08-13T09:40:00.001-04:00

Chris Paget talks about long-range RFID tag reading

2010-08-13T09:35:00.000-04:00

Open source firmware for your home router

2010-08-11T15:26:00.000-04:00

http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/index

How to Close Skype to the System Tray in Windows 7

2010-08-11T11:26:00.000-04:00

http://benosullivan.co.uk/windows/how-to-close-skype-to-the-system-tray-in-windows-7/

MAC Makeup MAC Address Spoofing tool

2010-08-05T11:18:00.001-04:00

http://www.gorlani.com/publicprj/macmakeup/macmakeup.asp

Pwdump

2010-05-03T13:01:00.004-04:00

All these free password auditors use Pwdump:

http://www.foofus.net/fizzgig/pwdump/

Here's and example use from the command line. This outputs encrypted passwords to a file name passwds:

pwdump.exe -o psswds -x \\localhost

After you have that file, open it with your password auditor of choice. The -x is for 64 bit systems. You may have to disable anti virus or add the folders to you exceptions list to run pwdump.

Ophcrack : another free password auditor

2010-05-03T12:59:00.002-04:00

http://ophcrack.sourceforge.net/

Ophcrack is a free Windows password cracker based on rainbow tables. It is a very efficient implementation of rainbow tables done by the inventors of the method. It comes with a Graphical User Interface and runs on multiple platforms

LCP Free Password Auditing Software

2010-05-03T12:56:00.001-04:00

http://www.lcpsoft.com/english/index.htm

Free PDF to TIFF converter

2010-04-19T16:02:00.003-04:00

Command line pdf to tiff converter:

PDFtoTIF

Here is my autoit script to make it a more user friendly:

FileSelectFile, filenamevar, 1
; MsgBox, 0, Example, Filename selected was %filenamevar%
InputBox, NAME, New File Name, Please Type the Name of the new TIFF minus the file extension
runwait, C:\\Program Files\\Pdftotif\\pdftotif.exe "%filenamevar%" "%USERPROFILE%\\DESKTOP\\%NAME%.TIFF"
MsgBox, 0, Your New Tiff, Your new tiff, %NAME%.TIFF, is on your desktop.

Automating Disk Cleanup with CCleaner

2010-03-29T14:48:00.003-04:00

Get the slim version of ccleaner: http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/builds

You can run a silent install: ccsetup229_slim.exe /S

Create a shortcut to ccleaner.exe and change the properties to include the /AUTO switch: "C:\Program Files\CCleaner\CCleaner.exe" /AUTO

Copy the new shortcut to: "%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs\Startup"

note: The command line switches must be in ALL CAPS.

My Windows 7 Appearance Settings

2010-03-29T14:14:00.002-04:00

Here the best mix of speed and features:

My Windows 7 Appearance Settings

2010-03-29T14:03:00.003-04:00

Windows 7: How to Copy A Modified User Profile Over The Default Profile

2010-03-18T14:32:00.003-04:00

source: http://www.irongeek.com/i.php?page=security/windows-7-copy-default-profile

After setting up the profile for one user, lets call the account "JOE", do the following:

0. Login as an admin user, but NOT JOE (you don't want the files in the profile to be locked).

1. Go to c: drive in Explorer (or whatever your system drive is), hit the ALT key, go to the Tools Menu-> Folder Options and start unchecking "Hides" so Explorer sees all files (system, hidden and what not).

2. Go to Users\ and rename "Default" to "Default Back" (we want to keep the old one around in case things go south and we need to but the original Default profile back).

3. Make a copy of "JOE", then rename the copy of "JOE" (not the original!!!) to "Default".

4. Right click on "Default" and set the permissions so that the "Everyone" and "Users" groups have "Read & Execute", "List Folder Content" and "Read" NTFS permissions (this was the default already when I tested). At this point, you can use the Right click Computer -> "Properties"-> "Advanced System Settings"->"User Profiles" tool to delete the JOE profile if you like.

5. Try to login as an account that does not already have a profile. If the new user's profile looks like the setting you did for "JOE", all is good in the hood.

Free command line defrag utility

2010-03-11T15:45:00.000-05:00

JKDefrag

The long-awaited version 4 is finally out. The program is now called "MyDefrag", because it has a scripting language and you can customize just about every aspect of it. It is no longer the "JK" (Jeroen Kessels) defragger, but "my" (your) defragger!

* Fully functional freeware.
* With scripting language.
* Improved interface.
* Higher speed.
* Better optimization.
* Lower memory usage.
* Extensive documentation.
* Easier to install.
* .... and more!

Free burning and backup software

2010-03-11T15:35:00.000-05:00

Ashampoo Burning Studio Free 6.77

Multi-disc file backup and restore on CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs; create compressed backup archives with powerful password protection; split archives automatically across multiple CDs, DVDs or Blu-ray discs; restore archive contents to their original locations; integrated Audio CD ripper store your audio tracks as WMA or WAV files; new option for setting the number of copies you want to burn (available for all disc formats); discs can now be verified immediately without being ejected first (if the drive supports this feature); numerous other small improvements that make the program easier to use and more effective; burn files and folders on data CDs/DVDs/Blu-ray discs; burn Audio CDs from WAV, MP3, FLAC, WMA and Ogg Vorbis files; burn MP3-CDs from your MP3 files; burn Video DVD, Video CD (VCD) or Super Video CD (S-VCD); create and burn CD/DVD/Blu-ray disc images; burn speed and other options can all be set automatically.

Server 2008 Remote Server Admin Tools RSAT

2010-02-24T10:12:00.002-05:00

Formerly adminpak.msi

For Windows 7:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=7D2F6AD7-656B-4313-A005-4E344E43997D&displaylang=en

For Windows Vista:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=9FF6E897-23CE-4A36-B7FC-D52065DE9960&displaylang=en

Upgrade Symantec Endpoint Protection client machines using Symantec Enterprise Managment Console

2010-02-18T09:59:00.001-05:00

http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/ent-security.nsf/docid/2009101503293948?Open&seg=ent

Upgrading clients by using AutoUpgrade

Question/Issue:
How to perform an autoupgrade of SEP Clients after upgrading the SEP manager or after adding the latest client install packages.

Solution:
The AutoUpgrade process lets you automatically upgrade the Symantec Endpoint Protection client software for all the clients that are contained in a group. For example, you can use AutoUpgrade to upgrade clients from the MR2 release to the MR3 release. You can also add a client installation package by using the client installation files from the product disc. You must test the AutoUpgrade process before you attempt to upgrade a large number of clients in your production network. If you do not have a test network, you can create a test group. You can add a few non-critical clients to the test group and upgrade them by using AutoUpgrade. You can confirm the upgrade completed
successfully by verifying the version number of the client software that appears in the About dialog box.

To upgrade clients by using AutoUpgrade :

1. In the Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager console, click Admin
2. Click Install Packages
3. Under Tasks, click Upgrade Groups with Package
4. In the Welcome to the Upgrade Groups Wizard panel, click Next
5. In the Select Client Install Package panel, select the appropriate client installation package, and then click Next
6. In the Specify Groups panel, select the groups that contain the client computers you want to upgrade, and then click Next
7. In the Package Upgrade Settings panel, select Download client from the management server
8. Click Upgrade Settings
9. On the General tab, select Maintain existing client features when updating
1. You can optionally add or remove features when upgrading
10. Uncheck Upgrade Schedule (This is required only when upgrading from versions earlier than MR2)
11. Optionally, on the Notification tab, customize the user notification settings
1. You can customize the message displayed on the client computer during the upgrade
12. For more information about schedule and notification settings, click Help
13. Click OK
14. In the Upgrade Groups Wizard, click Next
15. Click Finish

Block Spyware in Internet Explorer

2010-02-03T15:24:00.004-05:00

First download and install Spyware Blaster. Then export the restricted sites from your registry and use group policy or a login script to push them to your users desktops.

Export Internet Explorer’s Trusted and Restricted Sites:

source: http://www.ghacks.net/2008/04/06/export-internet-explorers-trusted-and-restricted-sites/

Part of the security concept of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer are the zones which define security settings for Internet, Local Intranet, Trusted Sites and Restricted Sites. The settings for Internet and Local Intranet are global settings which are valid for all websites visited if they are not found in the Trusted or Restricted Sites list. Trusted and Restricted Sites can have different security settings which normally means lower security settings for trusted sites and higher ones for restricted websites.

You would for instance add websites like that of your bank, insurance company or even shopping sites like eBay or Amazon to the list of trusted websites while untrusted websites like Altavista would land in the untrusted sites list. The list grows quite a bit if you make use of that feature and primarily use Internet Explorer when surfing the Internet.

It would be quite redundant to add all websites again if you purchase a new computer, be it a new desktop computer or notebook. A far better solution – besides making the switch to Opera or Firefox – would be to export the zone settings and import them again in the new computer.

All domains are stored in the Registry and what you need to do is export the Registry key from the old computer and import it at the new one. Sounds easy right ? Start by opening your Registry Editor. I do it by using the shortcut Windows R, entering regedit and hitting enter.

Navigate to the Registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER \Software \Microsoft \Windows \CurrentVersion \Internet Settings \ZoneMap \Domains and right-click the key Domains. Select Export from the menu and save it to your hard drive. Copy the saved file to the new computer and double-click it there to add it to the Registry.

Symantec Technical Support Phone Number

2010-02-03T15:04:00.000-05:00

1 800 342 0652

http://www.symantec.com/business/support/contact_techsupp_static.jsp

Fix a corrupted Windows XP bootloader

2010-01-05T14:30:00.000-05:00

http://mypchell.com/guides/77-fix-a-unbootable-windows-xp

If Windows XP does not start, and you receive one of those lovely Blue Screens (also known as BSOD - Blue Screen of Death), then you will definitely want to pay attention to this guide because it could be your saving grace. This fix has saved me from a reformat and reinstall so many times.

The fix is to repair the ntldr (the ntldr is the boot loader) and the ntdetect.com (the ntdetect.com is responsible for detecting basic hardware)

To do this fix you will need a Windows XP CD.

Stick the Windows XP CD in, and boot your computer from the CD (if you need help getting your computer to boot from the cd, check out this excellent tutorial, http://www.windowsnetworking.com/j_helmig/bootcd.htm ).

Once you have booted up, you will see a Blue Screen

Hit R, To go into the Recovery Console. You will have to type in the Admin password (If you don’t recall setting a password for the Admin, try leaving it blank then hit enter, if you get an error, that means that there was a password. You will need this password to continue)

Once in the recovery console, type the following (note my CD Drive is letter D: so change this to whatever your CD Drive is and my Windows is on C: so change that drive to whatever your Windows is on):

copy D:/i386/ntldr C:
(then hit enter, if it asks you if you want to replace a file, say yes)

copy D:/i386/ntdetect.com C:
(then hit enter, if it asks you if you want to replace a file, say yes)

Next type: fixboot

Then type: fixmbr
When you see the message are you sure you want to write a new boot sector, say yes

Then Reboot.

Enable SSH for vmware ESXi

2010-01-05T14:29:00.000-05:00

http://www.vm-help.com/esx40i/ESXi_enable_SSH.php

GMail Drive shell extension

2009-12-02T16:46:00.001-05:00

http://www.viksoe.dk/code/gmail.htm

Backup Everything in Firefox

2009-12-02T15:05:00.001-05:00

FEBE

Find your Windows Product Key

2009-12-02T09:45:00.000-05:00

The Magic Jelly Bean

Software for vista

2009-11-05T10:37:00.002-05:00

Agent Ransack (search for files)

Explorer2 Lite (replace windows explorer)

Auslogics Disk Defrag

Small Diesel Pickups Coming to the U.S.

2009-06-30T15:40:00.002-04:00

http://www.mahindrana.com/

NIST Time Servers

2009-06-15T11:56:00.001-04:00

http://tf.nist.gov/tf-cgi/servers.cgi

Custom RIngtones for the Pantech C740 Matrix

2009-04-03T00:09:00.004-04:00

Chop up your mp3 with Audacity then save it at a bitrate that gives you a final file size of 300k or less, next:

Can I assign different ringtones to each contact on Pantech Matrix?

Each contact that is stored in the Phone memory may be customized with individual ringtone and graphical caller ID, as well as storage of other contact information. All options for contacts stored in the SIM memory are limited and no personalized caller ID may be set.

Be aware that both SIM and Phone contacts will be displayed as there is no way to filter out one or the other. Unless you want each contact to show up twice, you should 'Menu > 8.Address Book > 1.Contacts > Options > 9.Copy & Move > 3.Copy All to Phone' then go again to 'Options' and then '10.Delete All > 2.SIM'

Vista Search Alternative

2009-04-01T16:42:00.001-04:00

Agent Ransack

Disable the Symantec Endpoint Tray Icon

2009-03-24T13:06:00.002-04:00

Save as a .reg file:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Symantec\Symantec Endpoint Protection\SMC]

"LaunchSmcGui"=dword:00000000

Vista and Sysprep, sysprep.xml

2009-03-11T11:27:00.005-04:00

Contents of the sysprep.xml file to be placed at C:\windows\system32\sysprep
command to execute:
Start -Run - CMD
C:
CD "C:\windows\system32\sysprep"

sysprep.exe /generalize /oobe /reboot /unattend:sysprep.xml

References:

Activate the Vista Administrator Account

2009-03-10T14:14:00.000-04:00

Start - Run - CMD
Net user administrator youradminpassword
Net user administrator /active:yes

Threadmaster GUI

2009-02-13T14:25:00.006-05:00

ThreadMaster Monitors Threads and handles high CPU utilization on a per application basis.

http://timwells.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=55&Itemid=72

Preventing Sysprep from Removing Default and Custom Desktop Icons and Shortcuts

2008-12-10T09:19:00.002-05:00

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/820885/

Enable the local Administrator account in Vista

2008-11-04T10:07:00.001-05:00

1. Click on Vista Start button, then go to Control Panel.
2. Inside Control Panel, click on System and Maintenance link, follow by Administrator Tools at the bottom.
3. An Administrator Tools window appears. From there, click on Local Security Policy applet.
4. Alternatively, type secpol.msc in Start Search box and press Enter.
5. Click Continue on User Account Control’s Windows needs your permission to continue running Microsoft Management Console (MMC) dialog box.
6. On the left pane of Local Security Policy MMC, expand Security Settings (should be opened by default), then expand Local Policies.
7. Click on Security Options branch.
8. Double click on Accounts: Administrator account status setting, then select Enabled radio button on Local Security Setting tab of Properties window.
9. Click on OK button.
10. Log off, switch user of restart your computer to logon with activated Administrator account.

Disable Vista UAC

2008-11-03T15:49:00.001-05:00

http://www.petri.co.il/disable_uac_in_windows_vista.htm

Method #1 - Using MSCONFIG

1.

Launch MSCONFIG by from the Run menu.
2.

Click on the Tools tab. Scroll down till you find "Disable UAC" . Click on that line.

3.

Press the Launch button.
4.

A CMD window will open. When the command is done, you can close the window.
5.

Close MSCONFIG. You need to reboot the computer for changes to apply.

Note that you can re-enable UAC by selecting the "Enable UAC" line and then clicking on the Launch button.

Enable ctrl+alt+del in Vista

2008-11-03T15:48:00.001-05:00

Type in secpol.msc into the start menu search box and then navigate to Local Policies \ Security Options.

Find the setting for "Interactive Logon: Do not display last user name" and change it to enabled.

How to change the OFfice 2007 Product Key

2008-10-30T11:26:00.000-04:00

1. Close all Microsoft Office applications.

2. Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.

3. Locate the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Registration

Note You may also find another subkey that resembles the following subkey:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Registration\{91120000-0011-0000-0000-0000000FF1CE}

4. If you find additional subkeys that reference Microsoft 12.0 registration, open each subkey, and then identify the product by the ProductName entry.
For example: ProductName=Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007

5. When you find the subkey for the product from which you want to remove the existing product license key, delete the following entries:
* DigitalProductID
* ProductID

6. Exit Registry Editor.

The next time that you try to run an Office application, you will be prompted for a new product license key. Then, you can enter the product license key.

Free Registry Optimizer

2008-08-14T09:27:00.001-04:00

NTREGOPT :
http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/index.htm

How to disable ctfmon

2008-07-30T13:13:00.002-04:00

Ctfmon.exe is used for alternative language input. It slows terminal services way down.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/326526

Various issues may occur on a Windows Server 2003-based computer that is running the Volume Shadow Copy Service

2008-03-12T10:59:00.000-04:00

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940032

1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
2. Type the following commands at a command prompt. Press ENTER after you type each command.
• cd /d %windir%\system32
• Net stop vss
• Net stop swprv
• regsvr32 ole32.dll
• regsvr32 oleaut32.dll
• regsvr32 vss_ps.dll
• vssvc /register
• regsvr32 /i swprv.dll
• regsvr32 /i eventcls.dll
• regsvr32 es.dll
• regsvr32 stdprov.dll
• regsvr32 vssui.dll
• regsvr32 msxml.dll
• regsvr32 msxml3.dll
• regsvr32 msxml4.dll
Note The last command may not run successfully.
3. Perform a backup operation to verify that the issue is resolved.

Configuring Network TIme Protocol on your Domain Controller

2008-03-11T11:24:00.001-04:00

http://tf.nist.gov/service/its.htm

Vista refuses to print, Spooler keeps crashing

2008-02-28T12:09:00.001-05:00

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;324757

How to troubleshoot DNS name resolution on the Internet in Windows Server 2003

2008-02-11T14:41:00.000-05:00

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/816567

Cell Phone SMS Email Addresses

2008-01-24T13:43:00.000-05:00

T-Mobile: phonenumber@tmomail.net
Virgin Mobile: phonenumber@vmobl.com
AT&T / Cingular: phonenumber@txt.att.net
Sprint: phonenumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com
Verizon: phonenumber@vtext.com
Nextel: phonenumber@messaging.nextel.com

Configuring Wireless Domain Services for multiple Cisco Access Points

2008-01-24T09:22:00.000-05:00

Click here

Copy Local Policies to other machines

2008-01-09T12:02:00.000-05:00

Found on: http://n00dlestheindelible.blogspot.com/2006/04/copy-local-policies-to-other-machines.html

1. Configure the local policy on one machine
2. Copy the %systemroot%\System32\GroupPolicy folder to somewhere on the network / your distribution share / whatever
3. On each target machine, assuming the 'master' GroupPolicy directory is located at D:\GroupPolicy, do

attrib -H %systemroot%\system32\GroupPolicy
xcopy D:\GroupPolicy\* %SystemRoot%\system32\GroupPolicy /e /v /c /i /h /r /y
attrib +H %systemroot%\system32\GroupPolicy

Reboot the target machine.

Enable or disable unc path browsing

2008-01-07T14:04:00.000-05:00

http://www.windowsitpro.com/Articles/Print.cfm?ArticleID=25421

"We maintain a locked-down desktop environment with restricted access to the file system. We don't want users to be able to browse shares on their local drives. However, users can still open Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) and type

\\
to browse shares on network machines and
C:\
to view local files. Can we close these holes?

Yes. You must edit the NoRun value (of type DWORD) in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer or HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer registry subkey. (Changes you make to values in the HKEY_CURRENT_USER key apply to a specific user account; changes you make to values in the HKEY_CURRENT_MACHINE key apply to anyone who logs on to the machine.) If you set NoRun to 1, the Start menu's Run command no longer appears and IE no longer lets users access local files, browse server shares, or use Universal Naming Convention (UNC) paths. If a user tries to violate these restrictions, IE responds with a message such as Access to the resource c:\boot.ini has been disallowed. For information about these settings, see the Microsoft article "How to Limit User Access to Local Computer or Hard Disks with Internet Explorer 4.01" (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q179221).

If your workstations are running Windows XP Professional Edition or Windows 2000 Professional and are members of an Active Directory (AD) domain, you can use Group Policy to achieve your goals. Open a Group Policy Object (GPO), go to User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Start Menu & Taskbar, and enable Remove Run menu from Start menu.
"

Fixing Slow Right Click Problems in Windows

2008-01-07T13:59:00.000-05:00

See this link:

Slow Right Click or just download ShellExView to determine the add-on that is the culprit.

2007-12-16T17:08:00.000-05:00

Best motherboard warranties:

2007-12-14T11:36:00.000-05:00

After some searching I found these:

EVGA: Lifetime Warranty:
mobo link
I would not recommend EVGA boards based on this review from Newegg:

"Cons: After 3 months the USB ports all stopped working. EVGA charges more money to RMA the board. RMA's board and replacement has bad RAM slots. EVGA tells me to go back to vendor if I want my $$ back.....AFter two boards I deserve a refund."

Intel: 3 Year Warranty
mobo link

Asus : 3 years but says to contact your reseller

mobo link

Gigabyte supposedly has a three year warranty but I cannot find it on their website.

Foxconn: 3 year warranty
mobo link

DFI: Mentions 3 Year Warranty but can't find a real warranty policy on the site

RAID Calculator

2007-12-06T15:15:00.000-05:00

RAIDCalc

Tools to manage DNS

2007-12-06T14:06:00.000-05:00

Tools to manage DNS

How to Find the SMTP Email Server for an Email Address

2007-12-06T13:44:00.000-05:00

This example helps determine the mail server for a given email address. This is useful for determining your own SMTP mail server to use with NetMailBot.

If you are unsure of the name of the mail server for an email address, first try "mail.domain.com" or "smtp.domain.com". If niether work, try the following:

* Requirements
o Windows 98/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003. Not available for Windows 95.

* Steps
1. Open a DOS Command Prompt (Start->Programs->Accessories->Command Prompt)
2. Type "nslookup".
3. Your computer's DNS Server name and IP address will be displayed.
4. Type "set type=mx" - This will cause NSLOOKUP to only return what are known as MX (Mail eXchange) records from the DNS servers.

How can I use Group Policy to add a site to the Trusted Sites zone?

2007-11-28T11:07:00.000-05:00

http://www.jsifaq.com/SF/Tips/Tip.aspx?id=6644

Awesome XP Tweaks Site

2007-11-27T11:16:00.000-05:00

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

Send email via Telnet

2007-11-09T11:30:00.000-05:00

CMD
telnet xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx 25

HELO
MAIL FROM:you@hostname.com
RCPT TO:them@someplace_else.com
DATA

You type your message then type a period on a line by itself then hit ENTER
QUIT

Running newsid for Vista as Administrator

2007-11-07T15:12:00.000-05:00

Disable UAC

Download Newsid.exe and copy to C:

c:
cd\
runas /noprofile /user:%computername%\Administrator "c:\newsid.exe"

Change the Windows Vista Product Key

2007-11-07T15:03:00.000-05:00

Open a command prompt.
Type:

slmgr.vbs -ipk

To activate after you change the product key:

slmgr.vbs -ato

Restore a missing or malfunctioning language bar in WIndows XP

2007-10-15T12:39:00.000-04:00

Save as a .reg file and apply:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{540D8A8B-1C3F-4E32-8132-530F6A502090}]
@="Language bar"
"MenuTextPUI"="@%SystemRoot%\\System32\\msutb.dll,-325"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{540D8A8B-1C3F-4E32-8132-530F6A502090}\Implemented Categories]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{540D8A8B-1C3F-4E32-8132-530F6A502090}\Implemented Categories\{00021492-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{540D8A8B-1C3F-4E32-8132-530F6A502090}\InProcServer32]
@="C:\\WINDOWS\\system32\\msutb.dll"
"ThreadingModel"="Apartment"

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
"NoSaveSettings"=dword:00000000

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\CTF\LangBar]
"ShowStatus"=dword:00000004

Also, open a command prompt:

C:
cd windows\system32
regsvr32 msutb.dll

Now Restart your computer

CentOS Software RAID How-to

2007-08-30T15:20:00.001-04:00

Software RAID How-to

Evolution email + Hotway to get hotmail

2007-08-27T20:56:00.000-04:00

Taken from: ubuntugeek

If you want to use you Evolution mail client to send and receive your hotmail messages use the following procedure.

First, make sure your system is up to date. Open up a terminal and type

sudo apt-get update

First You need to install the inet daemon

sudo apt-get install inetutils-inetd

This takes care of all of our dependencies.

Next You need to install pop3 server and hotsmtp

sudo apt-get install hotway hotsmtp

This will install hotway, which allows you to read hotmail e-mails by simulating a POP3 server, and hotsmtp, which allows you to send e-mail through hotmail using SMTP.

By default, however, only hotway gets installed properly to your inet daemon, so let’s fix this.

sudo gedit /etc/inetd.conf

Look for the following line

pop3 stream tcp nowait nobody /usr/sbin/tcpd /usr/bin/hotwayd

By default, hotway leaves a copy of each message it downloads on the server but if you don’t feel like filling up your hotmail box, change the line to add “-r” to the end, complete line looks like below

pop3 stream tcp nowait nobody /usr/sbin/tcpd /usr/bin/hotwayd -r

And we also need to add a line to get hotsmtpd working, just paste the following line at the bottom of the file

2500 stream tcp nowait nobody /usr/sbin/tcpd /usr/bin/hotsmtpd

This will set the inet daemon to listen to incoming calls on port 2500, and forward the connection to the hotsmtp daemon. Now, save your file, exit gedit, and restart your inetd server using the following command

sudo /etc/init.d/inetutils-inetd restart

If everything is working properly, you’ll see the following pop up on your screen

* Restarting internet superserver inetd [ ok ]

Now, close out of your terminal and start up Evolution. It may pop up the first-time use wizard, you can use that if you like. Or, you may have to go to Edit->Preferences and hit the Mail Accounts button on the left. However you choose to do it, here’s your information:

Email Address: xxx@hotmail.com (fill in your normal e-mail address that you use to login to hotmail)

Receive Server type: POP
Server: 127.0.0.1
Username: xxx@hotmail.com (same as above)
Security: No encryption
Authentication type: Password
(Remember password checkbox is up to you)

Send Server type: SMTP
Server: 127.0.0.1:2500
[X] Server requires authentication (check this box)
Use Secure Connection: No encryption
Authentication Type: PLAIN
Username: xxx@hotmail.com (same as above)
(Optional Remember password checkbox)

Suse RAID Driver Installation

2007-08-07T16:03:00.000-04:00

****************************************************************************
**2. OpenSUSE 10.2 Installation *********
****************************************************************************

A. Before Installation - Under DOS/Windows environment

a. Unzip "install.zip"

X:\PATH\pkunzip.exe install.zip =>> driver.img

b. Dump it into a floppy disk.

X:\PATH\rawrite.exe driver.img A:

Tips: You can get rawrite.exe from openSUSE 10.2. Installation DVD/VCD disk 1

B. openSUSE installation start...boot from DVD/VCD

a. Press "F5" for "Driver Update".

b. Select "Installation" to install the openSUSE 10.2

c. Insert the driver disk to floppy drive.

d. When the message: "Please choose the driver update medium" pop-up, it means
Now, your areca raid driver is working for your raid volume. And you can see all your raid volumes appear on "SuSE medium list". Please click "Back" for back to normal installation console.

e. Please follow SuSE's installation procedure to install your system.

Loading RAID Drivers to Install Redhat or CentOS

2007-08-07T16:00:00.000-04:00

A. Before Installation

- Under DOS/Windows environment

a. Unzip driver disk
X:\PATH\pkunzip.exe install.zip =>> driver.img
b. Dump it into a floppy disk.
X:\PATH\rawrite.exe driver.img A:
Tips: You can get rawrite.exe from RedHat installation CD #1
"\dosutils" directory.

- Under Unix enviroment

a.
# unzip install.zip
b.
# dd if=driver.img of=/dev/fd0

B. Installation

a. Booting from Installation CDROM #1

b. On "Welcome to Red Hat Linux" installation screen, a prompted lable "boot:"
will appear at the bottom of the screen. According to the prompt, type in
"text(or linux) dd" to tell linux we have a driver disk.

c. You will be asked "Do you have a driver disk?", select "Yes".

d. When prompted "Insert your driver disk and press OK to continue", insert the
driver diskette in the floppy drive and then select "OK".

Mandriva 2005 Postfix Anti-Spam, Anti-Virus Relay Server for Exchange Server 2000/2003

2007-07-02T12:10:00.001-04:00

link here

Adding .flv MIME type in IIS

2007-06-27T11:10:00.001-04:00

1) Select the site to configure in IIS, right click and select "Properties"
2) Under HTTP Headers Tab, select "File Types" under the MIME Map section and select "New Type"
3) Type ".flv" as the associated extension and "video/x-flv" as the content type.

Firefox Extensions That I Use

2007-06-19T12:49:00.002-04:00

All-in-One-Gestures

Tab Mix Plus

X-marks

Video DownloadHelper

Ebay Sidebar

Clear Google Desktop Cache

2007-06-18T13:53:00.001-04:00

To remove every item from the Google Desktop Search cache, you can delete the google desktop search index and restart the software. This will reset the Google desktop index.

Step 1. Close GDS by clicking the tray icon and choose exit.

Step 2. Open the folder:
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\application data\Google\Google Desktop\some alphanumeric code (12 digits)

You will see huge files with random extensions like ht1 cf1 wh. Delete all files in this folder except the files that start with sidebar_

Step 3. Restart Google Desktop Search.

Outlook 2003 Command Line Switches

2007-06-07T13:45:00.000-04:00

command line switches for Outlook 2003

Slipstreaming a windows service pack

2007-05-23T11:08:00.000-04:00

You can slipstream SP2 into your Windows Server 2003 CD by copying the contents of your CD to a folder on your hard-drive, and issuing the following command:

WindowsServer2003-KB914961-SP2-x86-ENU.exe /integrate:C:\W2k3\

In the example above, this is the x86 installer being used and the Windows Server 2003 CD has been copied to C:\W2k3\

This information was gathered from the following link:

Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 Released!

How to change the Office 2003 Product Key

2007-04-23T12:47:00.000-04:00

Delete the data for the following registry key, do not delete the key itself.

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Registration\{90110409-6000-11D3-8CFE-0150048383C9}]
"DigitalProductID"

When you restart Office it should prompt you for the new product key.

My new Tankslapper tank bag kit installed:

2007-03-03T17:18:00.001-05:00

Slideshow here

Finally installed my heated motorcycle grips!

2007-02-25T18:38:00.000-05:00

Linked here:

http://www.sportbikes.net/forums/showpost.php?p=2747968&postcount=77

Opening Windows mini dump .dmp files

2007-02-07T10:17:00.000-05:00

Download Windows Debugging Tools from :

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/devtools/debugging/default.mspx

Open Debugging Tools then:

File > Symbol File Path:
Copy and paste the following with no spaces

SRV*c:\local cache*http://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols

Dump Files are located in C:\WINDOWS\Minidump

Source: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2005/041105-windows-crash.html?page=2

File server migration cont'd.

2007-02-06T11:00:00.000-05:00

I've decided to migrate the shares using the registry following this guide from Microsoft:

Saving and restoring existing Windows shares

To actually migrate the files and folders and retain the data, I will be using SyncBack Freeware which can also copy over the NTFS permissions.

Migrating a Windows File and Print Server

2007-02-05T21:33:00.000-05:00

Today I spent a good part of my day migrating a Windows 2000 print server to a Windows 2003 Enterprise Server. I was going to use Microsoft's Printer Migration Tool but then I realized that going from 2000 to 2003, the drivers would not be a good match so I decided to do the whole process manually. I've tried using Microsoft's tool before and it's a little buggy, even when going to the same OS version. Soon I will have to find a way to migrate the user shares and other file shares on the server. One way I've been looking at is Microsoft's file server migration toolkit. More to come.