Send MySQL Backup thru Google Apps Email using PHP

2010-07-06T08:54:00.000-07:00

This post combines items that were gathered from a few sites. The problem we were trying to solve is emailing a MySQL database backup using PHP PEAR through Google Apps. This script could also be easily modified to send through gmail. The file includes some hints and links to assist you whenever/wherever possible. Thank you Peter for providing the starting point for this script.

Installing Tomato Firmware on Asus WL520GU

2010-05-07T06:08:00.000-07:00

If you're like me having an integrated router and NAS is a big plus. Our needs at my house are somewhat tame, we don't need the fastest NAS nor do we need a full-on Cisco Firewall/Router setup. Also being constrained by US$ (aren't we all) a low cost solution that would allow us to run custom firmware such as dd-wrt and USB storage was what I was looking for.The WL-520GU was right up our alley

Drupal 6 Shortened URL to Files Directory

2010-04-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

We recently had a situation where a client wanted shorter URLs since they were sending out emails and e-newsletters to clients and wanted things shortened up. Since Drupal 6 requires that uploaded files have the entire path it is obvious how that can be an eyesore for some people.Current URL:http://{domain}/sites/{domain or alias}/files/{file}.{extension}A workaround is to go to the file system

This Week's Offender - LongTail Video

2010-04-19T05:51:00.000-07:00

We will be starting a new installment to help people understand the websites bombarding users with spam. It may not be published every week but we thought the title was catchy. For a little background it is possible to isolate a specific website because we use a service which generates a unique email address for each site we sign up for. We use this service when signing up for e-updates,

Internet Speed Test

2010-01-22T08:51:00.000-08:00

It is arguable which website offers the best speed test however I recently stumbled across this tidbit.Hi Jim,thanks for your fast response!I like both the Java and the Flash version, however the Flash version offers a nicer gui.Let me explain our requirements in a bit more detail :-)As a provider, we want to modify the results ... our customers should see a better speed then they actually have,

Searching Craigslist Autos For Specific Years

2009-09-18T21:32:00.001-07:00

Have you ever wondered how to search craigslist for a specific years of vehicles? It is possible using the pipe "|", here is an example search for a 1969-1979 ford truck.ford truck (1979|1978|1977|1976|1975|1974|1973|1972|1971|1970|1969)Go to your city and past the above search into the search bar and see what happens, you should be able to take it from here.

UPS Humor

2009-08-14T08:15:00.000-07:00

Not sure if this is actually true but funny either way.Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humor. Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by UPS ' pilots (marked with a P) and the solutions recorded (marked with an S) by maintenance engineers. By the way, UPS is the only major airline that has never, ever, had an accident.P: Left inside main tire almost needs

Problem with Debian "apt-get upgrade"

2009-07-17T22:35:00.000-07:00

Recently when attempting to upgrade a server that was being neglected we ran across an issue with Debian stating.trying to overwrite `/usr/sbin/add-shell’, which is also in package passwd The solution was simple and was required on a few similar errors where the overwrite and package names changed. Again we had really neglected this server and had not run the apt-get upgrade in a long time.The

How to Prevent Gmail Spam Filtering

2009-07-14T10:16:00.000-07:00

As discussed in last night's post, Google Apps Outlook 2000 How To, we were migrating a client from their existing email hosting to Google Apps Standard. Although Google does a good job with Postini of filtering spam it still was too much for them and they wanted to disable all spam filtering.Fortunately a blog post, Bypass Gmail's Spam Filter, covers it however it appears there is not a way to

Google Apps Outlook 2000 How To

2009-07-13T20:44:00.000-07:00

We were doing a migration for a client today that was moving from a local hosting company to using Google Apps Standard for email hosting. Most of their workstations were using Outlook 2003 and 2007 however we found one that was running Windows 2000 and Office 2000. Although Google provides some good tutorials for configuring email clients it did not cover our version. it turns out that the

How to Lock Windows XP from Command Line

2009-06-30T12:53:00.001-07:00

Start > Run type cmdC:\> rundll32.exe user32.dll, LockWorkStation

Free and Easy Way to Merge PDF Documents

2009-06-29T22:14:00.001-07:00

Recently when downloading a free, multi-part pdf copy of The Foxfire Book on Scribd it reminded me that there was a way in cygwin to merge those multiple copies into a single pdf, enter pdftk. It is extremely simple to merge with a single command.

Visio Shape Protection - How Can I Resize a Shape?

2009-04-28T09:48:00.000-07:00

If you have worked with Visio long and especially on Visio diagrams generated by other business analysts you might have encountered the following dialog when attempting to Ungroup or perform some shape changes.The solution is easy once you have done it...aren't they all? Select the object and select the following menu item Window > Show ShapeSheet. In the dialog that appears look in the

Visual Studio 2008 Extensions for SharePoint

2009-02-21T12:18:00.001-08:00

If you have been struggling with some of the shortcomings of using the 64-bit Orca hack to to us the previous version of extensions your prayers have been answered. Microsoft has released the next version of the extensions to run on the 64-bit platform.New Features in VSeWSS 1.3 * The extensions now install on x64 bit OS. Visual Studio 2008 and SharePoint must be already installed. *

Good Things Come To Those Who Wait

2009-02-14T22:35:00.001-08:00

...and wait....and wait.Finally a Google Talk for Linux that has not only text messaging but voice chat as well. Thank you James for the quick post about which IM client to use. Thank you to the team who built the IM for making our life on Linux just a tad bit more enjoyable.

Increase Readability In Firefox on Ubuntu

2009-02-12T20:04:00.000-08:00

If you are familiar with ClearType in XP you know what a difference it can make. For the most part we have been satisfied with the look and readability of fonts in Ubuntu Intrepid however the default Firefox fonts were rough. This simple fix went a long way in increasing readability and strain on my eyes.Go to Edit > Preferences > Content > Advanced [Under Fonts & Colors section]. Change to the

Firefox Plugins

2009-02-11T21:07:00.000-08:00

If you ever wondered how to see the detailed information about plugins in Firefox and how to uninstall them, this is your day.To find which ones are installed type "about:plugins" as the URL in Firefox.If you'd like to uninstall just perform the following steps:1. In Firefox type the URL "about:config" 2. Double click the line "plugin.expose_full_path" so the full path to the plugin will be

Install Flashplayer in Firefox on Ubuntu Intrepid 64-bit

2009-02-11T21:02:00.000-08:00

Before starting the install make absolutely sure that you have run the following command which should uninstall nspluginwrapper and flashplugin-nonfree.user@machine~> sudo apt-get remove nspluginwrapperNow you can use the following short installation guideHow to Install Adobe Flash Player 64-bit on Ubuntu 8.10

Cross Platform Password Programs

2009-02-11T12:48:00.000-08:00

If you are considering a password program or looking to migrate from your current password program I'd highly recommend you consider the following two applications. They are cross platform so you can keep the databases and Windows portable versions on a USB key and reference the databases from your Linux version or you can copy them from your Windows installation to your Linux install or the

How Do I Find Out My Linux Version

2009-02-10T18:17:00.000-08:00

lsb_release -aIf your distro returns a "command not found" trycat /etc/*version and you should see a number returned

Resize a VirtualBox VDI

2009-01-12T20:38:00.000-08:00

Recently we wanted to create a series of vdi images. Each image would be built with a minimum disk size and increase. The issue we discovered however is increasing the size of the vdi files as we migrate to each successive image.Here is a simple solution from the Crooked Spoke blog.

Firefox 3 Cookies Issue

2008-12-30T06:43:00.000-08:00

Recently my computer did what all computers did and started to demonstrate they are emotional entities. It just got mad at me and quit saving any login information on sites I visit and have tabs open to most of the day.This is one of those situations where I don't know what the cause was but the cure was easy enough. It had to do with deleting the cookies.sqlite as described here.

Favorite Windows Vista Sidebar Gadgets

2008-12-02T18:24:00.000-08:00

There are some helpful gadgets on this list.

Email not working

2008-07-16T14:26:00.000-07:00

When working with a client today on email problems I realized I had never provided a simple tutorial for helping with email problems. As a user of Thunderbird, Outlook and/or Outlook Express you might have run into a situation where you can't send and/or receive emails for a new email account that has been set up. Sometimes it can be traced to a configuration problem when setting the account up

Remote Desktop Connection on Windows Vista Home Premium

2008-07-14T13:43:00.000-07:00

In case you've only found blogs that say it can't be done then buckle up boys and girls, Tony Chan has come to the rescue and the ride isn't even a harrowing one.Steps to Add Remote Desktop to Vista Home Premium:1. Download termsvr.zip here 2. Extract Termsvr.zip to a temp directory 3. Start "Command Prompt" in Administrator mode (Run As Administrator) 4. Run the corresponding batch file for your

Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack

2008-07-09T11:46:00.000-07:00

Recently I upgraded my main laptop to Windows Vista Business and as usual it begins the search for the newer versions of some of the tools that you've become so accustomed to using. This blog post has to do with the Windows Server 2003 Administrator Tools Pack. If you haven't used it before I'd recommend you check it out.Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 Administration Tools Pack for x86 editions

Dell Bluetooth Travel Mouse

2008-07-03T08:52:00.000-07:00

We recently ordered 4 new Latitude D830s for a client with the Bluetooth mice and upon received had an interesting experience. Granted my experience with Bluetooth is limited (okay non-existent except for my phone headset) it was still interesting. The paperwork that came with the mouse shows that when setting up Bluetooth you just select the "Don't use a passkey" item. Well the problem is either

Protect Your Home Network Tidbit - A Simple And Quick Solution

2008-06-20T09:06:00.000-07:00

Too often non-technical people get confused when they hear so many terms about security and from some of the press you read you would think that there is a full-time team of hackers that were hired just to take down your home network. The reality is there are a lot of automated attacks happening every second that are much more effective than a full-time team sent after you. Some of these attacks

Internet Connection Drops Every Few Minutes

2008-06-13T07:09:00.000-07:00

Do you have an issues with your internet connection dropping every few minutes or multiple times per hour? If you're running XP Home/Office you've found a possible simple fix.The first thing is to verify that the problem exists on your PC by eliminating the router and internet connection at your location. Go to a friends or neighbors house that has internet access and make sure that the problem

Display Datasheet View in SharePoint 2003

2008-06-12T08:29:00.000-07:00

Recently we had a user contact us that was having an issue getting the datasheet view to work in SharePoint 2003. The following message was appearing when attempting to use the datasheet view.The list is displayed in Standard view. It cannot be displayed in Datasheet view for one or more of the following reasons: A datasheet component compatible with Windows SharePoint Services is not

Google Easter Egg

2008-06-12T08:21:00.000-07:00

In case you've never heard of an easter egg I'll defer to wikipedia.A virtual Easter egg is an intentional hidden message or feature in an object such as a movie, book, CD, DVD, computer program, or video game. The term draws a parallel with the custom of the Easter egg hunt observed in many western nations.As Google has shown in the past they have a sense of humor and don't mind doing something

SkypeOut Caller ID

2008-06-06T07:43:00.000-07:00

Today I'm logging into my skype account and happen to scan the home page and what do I see?So I quickly scan my calendar and no, it isn't April 1st and I don't see a full eclipse outside so something must be going on. I click the View Settings link and .... wait for it ....The heavens open and Josh Silverman personally touched my account and I could hear the angels singing, just like the

Google Filter Issues?

2008-06-06T06:34:00.001-07:00

If you run gmail combined or multiple filters in a single filter entry here is a point if it ever appears that the filters 'quit working'.BackgroundIn case you didn't know it is possible to apply multiple filters with the same action in a single entry. For example lets say you want to flag a group of inbound emails that come from different people. You get some emails from me.com and you.com

Sql Server 2000 Reporting Services (SSRS) LogonUser Problem

2008-06-05T14:03:00.000-07:00

We recently had an issue where we had set up a new server for a customer due to a problem with their older server. It is running some older stuff: Sql Server 2000 as well as the associated Sql Server 2000 Reporting Services, it also has all of the latest SPs installed. When we set up the user that SSRS would use to connect to the Reporting Service database we must have typed a password in

Skype Call Quality

2008-05-23T10:18:00.000-07:00

If you're attempting to improve your Skype call quality one thing to consider is Quality of Service setting on the router. Especially in cases where you do a lot of multitasking or you're using a network that has other users adjusting the QoS settings can have a noticeable impact on the quality of your calls.The attached article walks you through updating the router software, dd-wrt, to give

Alternative Way To Force Logoff In Terminal Client/Remote Desktop

2008-05-08T14:46:00.001-07:00

Due to my working from a hotel and the way they set up their network I was only able to VPN into a client's network and connect to one of their servers. There were connectivity issues at the hotel and their network would keep dropping my connection. Last time I connected it said I had exceeded the maximum number of connects on the only server I could connect to remotely....uh oh.After some search

How To Fix A Bad DVD

2008-02-06T22:42:00.000-08:00

If you've ever had a DVD that was having problems you might want to consider trying out ddrescue. I used it on a video that had one too many scratches on it and it created a reusable iso that worked well enought to watch.user@machine-> aptitude show ddrescuePackage: ddrescueState: installedAutomatically installed: yesVersion: 1.13-3Priority: optionalSection: universe/utilsMaintainer: Ubuntu MOTU

rdesktop Minimize From Full Screen

2008-02-06T06:47:00.000-08:00

After spending the time to get a Xubuntu workstation to VPN into a Windows environment I realized that I've become accostomed to using Windows Remote Desktop in full screen however when running rdesktop in full screen the small bar at the top that allow you to minimize didn't appear. The solution is easy however, CTRL+ALT+ENTER and it reduced size so you can see your XFCE panel.If you're not sure

021 no connection named [OpenSWAN]

2008-02-05T13:00:00.000-08:00

Since it had been over a year since I had last used OpenSWAN I couldn't remember why this error occurred. Searching Google for 021 no connection named "blah" was not producing a fix. Finally, and I admit this a little embarrassed I read the manual and found that I had forgot to do after configured the /etc/ipsec.conf file.user@machine ~> sudo ipsec auto --add myconnectionSo if you see the

Restarting Pluto [OpenSWAN]

2008-02-05T12:57:00.001-08:00

If you've suffered the same fate as I have...the inability to locate solutions on restarting pluto aside from the infamous RTM this post if for you.First we'll make sure pluto is running and get the PIDuser@machine ~> sudo ipsec setup --statusIPsec running - pluto pid: 8794pluto pid 8794No tunnels upNow we restart everything related to ipsecuser@machine ~> sudo /etc/init.d/ipsec

Remove Shut Down button on Windows Server 2003

2008-01-28T10:05:00.000-08:00

We recently assisted a client that has slowly moved from having staff in an office setting to most of them being virtual. Since they are doing away with their large office and instead going to a small office without the availability of a small server room we needed to move them to a data center. Part of the move required that we allowed access to their accounting data and software which has

IPKG Update Problems

2008-01-24T21:17:00.000-08:00

When attempting to run the command to update ipkg on a new unslung box I kept seeing the following issue.user@machine ~> ipkg updateipkg_conf_init: Failed to create temporary directory `(null)': No such file or directorySince I hadn't set up an unslung box in quite awhile I couldn't remember how I'd fixed this before after I switch over to using bash instead of the default sh. Then like a flash

Synchronize/Update Time on Active Directory DC

2008-01-22T08:01:00.000-08:00

Recently while performing some updates on a couple of DC on a Windows only corporate network I noticed the time seemed off by more than 10 minutes. After a little investigation it appears that the time wasn't being updated. Using Google as my dear online search friend I came across this post. The script has been saved to a .bat file that is run on as a schedule task now so the problem is a thing

Microsoft Word 2000 Unspecified Code Execution Vulnerability

2008-01-01T14:23:00.000-08:00

What can you do about it, nothing until Microsoft issues a patch but you should be aware of it. Here is the overview from SecurityFocus:Microsoft Word 2000 is prone to an unspecified remote code-execution vulnerability.Microsoft Word 2000 is confirmed vulnerable to an unspecified remote code-execution issue. Exploit attempts against Word 2003/XP will consume all CPU resources and will cause a

SharePoint 2003 Menus (MSOWebPartPage_OpenMenu)

2008-01-01T14:21:00.000-08:00

As we were attempting to add custom menus to SharePoint 2003 we discovered that is was actually pretty easy using a built in JavaScript function provided (and utilitized) by SharePoint. The function name is MSOWebPartPage_OpenMenu and the problem was that the posts we found discussing how to do it with SharePoint seemed to indicate that the function allowed some optional parameters but we

ASP.NET - Store ViewState in Database using VB.NET

2008-01-01T13:55:00.000-08:00

We had finally crossed the barrier of ViewState performance and were watching our application performance drop signficantly. I did the usual websearches and arrived at two solutions: 1) start changing major bits of code to not use ViewState and/or 2) store ViewState in the database.This page made it seem easy however the one issue was that we're using VB.NET and not C#. From some additional

Sysinternals [Now Windows Sysinternals]

2007-12-18T07:50:00.000-08:00

If you haven't heard of Sysinternals you've been missing out on some of the best diagnostic utilities for Windows on the free market. The site was originally started by Mark Russinovich and Bryce Cogswell back in 1996 and through the years has offered some great utilities that helped make keeping an eye on a Windows box or diagnosing problems much easier. Now that they've been bought by Microsoft

Play DVD ISO In VLC

2007-12-11T07:51:00.000-08:00

After ripping some DVDs I purchased that appear to have been made using a home computer DVD burner or something simple I couldn't get the ISO files to play in VLC using the usual method. After a few minutes of looking around VLC I found the solution, these DVDs did not have menus so it was cause VLC to not load the ISO, switching to the command that exists for DVDs without menus we were off to

Get List of Installed Packages on Debian, Ubuntu, Etc.

2007-12-10T20:18:00.000-08:00

Need to get a list of packages that exist on your Debian based system? If you're running Ubuntu, Debian, etc. try the following.user@machine~> dpkg --list

Adding SSL Site To Nginx Quick Start

2007-12-09T21:34:00.000-08:00

If now is one of those times you just want to Get 'Er Done and not have a long drawn out process for doing something, welcome.Step 1: Install OpenSSLuser@machine ~> sudo apt-get install opensslStep 2: Create Self Signed Certificate [Answer questions in a way that makes you feel good ;)]user@machine ~> sudo openssl req -new -x509 -days 365 -nodes -out /root/nginx.cert -keyout /root/nginx.keyStep

Internet Explorer on Linux

2007-12-05T22:12:00.000-08:00

If you've ever had a need for running Internet Explorer, in this case IE6, on Linux there is a simple solution. First question might be why in the world would you want to? In some cases you need to test a website on IE to be sure it renders properly and in some cases you might be accessing Microsoft software that is a little picky about the browser that is accessing it.The solution exists in

Using Adobe Reader to Print PDFs Causes Printer Crash

2007-12-05T15:33:00.000-08:00

Today I had a situation that has occurred once before. When attempting to print certain pdfs to a wireless printer the printer would present an error screen after a few seconds that required a hard restart. When attempting to update Acrobat Reader 7 through the update link inside of reader it generated an error saying it could not perform the update. Downloaded Acrobat Reader 8 through their

Create an ISO from a DVD

2007-12-04T21:53:00.000-08:00

If you need to create backups of DVDs there are a multitude of ways people recommend doing them on the web. The easiest I found can be accomplished in a single command and creates an ISO file that can be mounted later if necessary. Even tried it with an old, uncopyrighted DVD movie and it worked well.user@machine ~> dd if=/dev/dvd0 of=~/dvdcopy.iso bs=2048Some might ask: Why the bs=2048

Ubuntu Version Where Are You?

2007-11-30T21:26:00.000-08:00

Being a more recent Ubuntu user I can never remember which version I installed, it was much easier in the Debain days but adapt, improvise and overcome is the motto I try to live by. There are two options which I've included below, if someoone knows of more please pass them along.Option 1:user@machine~> cat /etc/issueUbuntu 7.04 \n \lOption 2:user@machine~> lsb_release -aNo LSB modules are

Encrypted Offsite Backup - Part I

2007-11-30T20:51:00.002-08:00

For a couple of years now I've been performing offsite backups using the following process.1. If not already loaded, boot into my Windows XP partition on my laptop2. Copy all important files to a directory inside of the My Documents folder3. Zip everything up using 7zip4. Encrypt the zip file created in step 3 using AxCrypt5. Copy the file to my backup server in another state using scpThe process

$363 19" All-In-One PC

2007-11-27T13:13:00.001-08:00

George Ou is a crazy man, his projects like this are what keeps me coming back to his blog. If you have 5 minutes read the blog post and check out the pictures.The $363 19-inch dual-core all-in-one LCD PC by ZDNet's George Ou -- This is the new all-in-one Intel dual-core 2.0 GHz E2180 19″ LCD PC computer I built for the family. The shocker is that I did it for less than $363 in parts (not

Mount Disk by UUID

2007-11-26T21:57:00.000-08:00

Have you ever been in a situation where you are wanting to mount your disk drives (USB, ATA, SATA, Firewire, etc.) by some unique identifier due to the occasional weirdness where you get the joy of what used to be your USB thumb drive -> /mnt/disk is now /mnt/disk2? If not then move on and pretend like you never stumbled across this post, if you have been scratching your head or read a convoluted

Retrieve System Information

2007-11-26T07:28:00.000-08:00

As usual with Linux (and Windows in some cases) there are multiple ways to accomplish the same task but here is one for getting information on disks, usb devices, etc. attached to your computer.user@machine:~$ sudo lshwThe listing can be quite long so don't forget to run it with the less, more or grep if you just want to see if a particular device is installed. For example if I wanted to check if

Setting up a Linksys NSLU2 with Debian

2007-10-30T12:42:00.000-07:00

In case you've been out of the loop for awhile there is a nice little network device called NSLU2 put out by Linksys. It is not the perfect device nor the end all solution to having a small machine that can run multiple USB drives as well as other USB accessories however it is cheap and has a large following which helps if you're not one of those types that likes to spend long weekends figured

Scan for Wireless Networks on Ubuntu

2007-10-29T21:42:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm beginning to travel more I run into situations where I need to search for wireless networks. Since I'm running Xubuntu some of the utilities that would exist in the more full featured desktops do not exist in Xubuntu but I found a few alternatives.One solution is to install the wifi-radar package. Another that I found was running the following commands:user@machine ~> sudo iwlist

Test nginx Configuration File

2007-10-29T21:40:00.000-07:00

If there is a time when it becomes necessary to test out a nginx.conf file prior to attempting to use it (IOW on a live/production system) here is a handy little command.user@machine ~> nginx -t -c /etc/nginx/nginx.conf

PHP Based SMTP Script with TLS Support

2007-09-30T11:35:00.000-07:00

After some searching on the web I found a quick and easy to implement script that has support for TLS which is required for all Google SMTP (Outbound) email. Their documentation is thorough and gave me everything I needed to email without spending hours playing around with things.XPertMailer - Advanced PHP Mail Engine

Send Email from Windows Batch/VBS File

2007-08-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

Our scenario was we were trying to improve on the manual process that a previous network administrator was using where he was manually checking the server each night to make sure a script had run, obviously this isn't a process that can be duplicated very successfully across many clients (I kinda like my free time at night) so we wanted to set up a script which handled the normal network, disk,

Windows Event Logs On Remote System As Different User

2007-08-01T06:57:00.000-07:00

We ran into an issue recently where one client had multiple domains set up and access to separate servers required logging in as a different user on a different Active Directory domain. One of the servers was having issues with logging on due to slow performance so we wanted to view the remote logs as a different user, there are a few ways to do this but the easiest I found is run the following

Remote Mount Directories using SSH

2007-07-28T22:30:00.001-07:00

Now that I've moved over to using Linux as my primary client OS I decided it was time to remotely mount my NSLU2 (using Unslung) using SSH instead of messing with the Samba shares. It seems that there is a package for doing that on Ubuntu called sshfs, see this post on Debian Administration for more information.One recommendation would be to try the sshfs package instead as I didn't require the

Command Line Reference - Windows Admin Tools

2007-07-24T21:04:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wanted to launch a Windows utility from the command line (or make a shortcut but weren't sure what the utility was called. Here is a handy reference shamelessly copied from here in the event, as always, the link becomes unavailable.AD Domains and Trustsdomain.mscActive Directory Managementadmgmt.mscAD Sites and Serrvicesdssite.mscAD Users and COmputersdsa.mscADSI

Remote Desktop Connection 6 - Remember/Save Domain Name

2007-07-24T21:01:00.000-07:00

After months of dealing with an irritating behavior with RDP 6 not saving my domain I think I've got it to work correctly now. To give a brief background I have a laptop at home that is on a workgroup however I VPN into a client where I using RDP client to connection to Terminal Services running on different servers. The client has a couple different domains but the *.rdp files were not saving my

Fix Most Common Windows Problems

2007-07-24T21:00:00.000-07:00

Located this handy, dandy utility when doing some other research.Dial-a-fix is an advanced utility for 32-bit versions of Microsoft Windows written by DjLizard in Borland Delphi 7 that repairs various Windows problems, such* Windows Update errors and problems with Automatic Updates* SSL, HTTPS, and Cryptography service (signing/verification) issues* COM/ActiveX object errors and missing registry

Air Travel and Laptop Confiscation

2007-07-24T20:58:00.002-07:00

If you do much air travel and take a laptop with you when traveling you need to keep the following information in mind. The below quote is from some of my periodic financial reading entitled What We Now Know by Casey Research with this particular item coming from the December 26, 2006 issue.Do you own a laptop computer? Do you routinely travel with it?If so, you might want to consider taking a

Nikola Tesla - Obscure Genius

2007-07-24T20:58:00.001-07:00

This is semi-related to computers (electricity) but it was such an amazing discovered that I had to post it here. For background I was doing some research on electrical stuff and stumbled across information about Mr. Tesla [deceased]. The more I read the more I realize that he is probably one of the most intelligent, if not the most, men ever to live. The history books just don't give this man

Spyware 'Protector' that is Spyware [Spyware Sheriff]

2007-07-24T20:56:00.001-07:00

For those of you who install and buy things without checking with some semi-computer professional let me put out this warning. When speaking with a customer that I've helped with some website work and not with his PC work be warned. Spyware Sheriff (a.k.a. Spy Sheriff) is spyware and will push you into so much fear that you'll buy the full product.All I can say is be afraid, be very afraid and

Freeware, Shareware, Silverware - Is It Legal?

2007-07-24T20:54:00.000-07:00

When doing my usual daily work I realized that I've never written a post about freeware, shareware and silverware. Ok strike the silverware just making sure you're paying attention. The intent of both is to create an environment where the average computer user can actually enjoy their PC. If you've never downloaded free and/or share ware you are missing out. In some cases you're missing out on

Is My Hard Drive Going Bad/Failing?

2007-07-24T20:51:00.000-07:00

This is one that comes up from time to time and a recent foray into looking at a customer's computer made me realize I should post something to help out. The easiest way to test your hard drive for a crash if you're unsure as to its health is to download a utility from the manufacturer to run a diagnostic on it. Most of them either run a utility to copy them to a floppy or you need a program to '

Windows XP Quick Reference Card

2007-07-24T20:50:00.000-07:00

Do you always forget what the commands are to execute within Windows or you're just wanting to set by your desk for those days it just doesn't pay to think?Windows XP Personal Trainer Quick Reference CardWindows Shortcut KeysOr if you work at the command line

Finding a File on Your Computer

2007-07-24T20:49:00.002-07:00

If you've put a file somewhere and don't know how to find it then you've arrived :) Since I don't like to reinvent the wheel here are a few good tutorials.How to locate a lost file using Windows XP's search featureHow do I quickly find files and folders?Here are a few additional links to help you out.7 Tips to Manage Your Files BetterMake Windows XP Search find your files

Customize Your Computer

2007-07-24T20:49:00.001-07:00

If you're like me making a ch cha chhaaa change is a hard thing to do sometimes. In the case of our day-to-day computer work it is sometimes even hard. We get into habits that drain our time and don't invest some additional effort into learning ways to reduce our time by working more efficiently.- If you're on a machine that is on the lower end of hardware requirements for Windows XP you can

KB832483 Security Update for Microsoft Data Access Components

2007-07-24T20:46:00.001-07:00

Having a problem/issue with recursive Windows Automatic Update for KB832483 trying to install on Windows 2000 Professional? Have you been searching the web for a fix?Perform the following steps:1. Install the MDAC 2.8 from here2. Reboot as requested3. Go back to the update site again4. Go get something to drink to celebrate your fixing a problem.

TCP/IP Repair Windows XP

2007-07-24T20:45:00.001-07:00

ADMINISTRATORReset TCP/IP in WinXPKen Steffes03 Jan 2005This tip was submitted to the SearchWin2000.com tip exchange by member Ken Steffes. Please let other users know how useful it is by rating it below.I've run into computers that can't display Web pages in Internet Explorer even though they can connect to their ISP account. This sometimes occurs after adware gets into the system. Removing

Winzip, 7zip, WinRar - Zip Utilities Review

2007-07-24T20:37:00.000-07:00

This seems to be a recurring question with Windows Users. What is the best free zip program/utility?Having been a Microsoft Windows user since Windows 3.1 here are a couple I use consistently, any of them should solve your needs.7zip OverviewIf you're looking for something that has good compression as well as covering most of the zip formats out there:Packing / unpacking: 7z, ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2 and

Keeping SSH Session Open

2007-07-24T17:40:00.000-07:00

If you're a person that uses ssh often to connect to remote machines one thing you'll discover pretty quick is that you want a way to keep your ssh session 'open and running' when you're disconnected. The best solution I found for that is screen. To quote directly from the man for screen:Screen is a full-screen window manager that multiplexes a physical terminal between several processes (

Creating an ISO from a CD on Linux

2007-07-24T17:35:00.000-07:00

As many can relate too I've built up a huge pile of CDs from customer PC builds, PC installs, software purchases, etc. Now that I've migrated my main PC over to Linux I wanted to move all of them out to ISOs so I'd have a backup (plus I'm working on automated offsite backups). Doing it is easy!dd if=/dev/cdrom of=cd.iso # for cdrom If you want to know more then I'd recommend checking out this

Web Server Restart (nginx) Without Downtime

2007-07-24T17:20:00.001-07:00

One of the reasons we've migrated our hosted websites to nginx is not only performance but some notable features that were not, at the time, available for Apache. They may not be available but the longer I work with nginx the less inclined I am to switch back.If you would like to restart nginx without losing incoming connections during the 'restart process' just do the following, taken directly

Welcome

2007-07-24T17:15:00.000-07:00

This blog is going to be a migration of my current blogs in 3 different different brands of blog software into a single blog. For a little background I do Linux and Microsoft consulting for small - medium sized companies. My customers have me do everything from set up their small business network to some of my bigger contracts where I develop software for SharePoint (a.k.a MOSS) 2007,

Small Business Tech Guy

Drupal 7 Painfully Slow Performance

Compound Interest Calculator

Find Text Within Files

Help - SearchFilterHost.exe is hogging CPU!

Show all NVRAM Settings in Tomato

For NTP Update on Tomato