Network::Windows::IIS Authentication
How IIS Authenticates Users
This looks like a good article. It even includes some packet level trace examples.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];264921
#!/usr/local/bin/perl
use IO::Socket;
#ICA server is at port 1494
$port = ("1494");
#change a.b.c.d & w.x.y.z to your hosts' ip numbers
$primary = "a.b.c.d";
$secondary = "w.x.y.z";
#Check Primary
$connected = 0;
$checkport = IO::Socket::INET->new(
PeerAddr => "$primary",
PeerPort => "$port",
Proto => 'tcp',
Timeout => '0') or $connected = 1;
if (!($connected)) {
#port is up, assign $link to the HTML for a link to the file for this server.
$link = "<a href=\"file1.ica\"><img src=\"icon.jpg\"></a>";
}
else {
#port is down, check secondary
$connected = 0;
$checkport = IO::Socket::INET->new(
PeerAddr => "$secondary",
PeerPort => "$port",
Proto => 'tcp',
Timeout => '0') or $connected = 1;
if (!($connected)) {
#port is up, assign $link to the HTML for a link to the file for the next server.
$link = "<a href=\"file2.ica\"\"><img src=\"icon.jpg\"></a>";
}
else {
#port is down, first two servers are down - there has been a noticably long timout by now
#assign $link with HTML error message.
$link = "<P>Remote Desktop is unavailable.<BR>Please call the support line or<BR><a href=\"mailto://helpdesk\@mycompany.com\">e-mail support</a></P>";
}
}
close $checkport;
#merge variable with template
#the html template contains variable name enclosed by double angle brackets. i.e. <<$link>>
print "Content-type: text/html\n\n";
# Read HTML from template.
merge_file("\\wwwroot\\templates\\remote.html");
exit;
sub merge_file {
# Read HTML from template.
my $template_file = shift;
open(TEMPLATE, $template_file) or print "Error opening $template_file $!";
# temporarily disable "uninitialized value" warnings
$^W = 0;
while () {s/<<(.*?)>>/$1/eeg; print;}
$^W = 1;
close(TEMPLATE);
}
Send me an e-mail with your comments or questions.
Windows::Security::Registry::XUPITER
Xupiter Toolbar Troubles
One of our users got this Xupiter toolbar thingy loaded in her IE the other day. Probably automatically installed ActiveX thing or else she did it herself and denies it now. This thing just totally messes up IE so it won't hardly load any pages from anywhere, messes up home page, search settings, etc.
HOW TO REMOVE IT
- Edit the registry and go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run.
Delete the 'XupiterStartup' entry.
- Open a DOS command prompt deregister the files:
cd "%WinDir%\System"
regsvr32 /u "C:\Program Files\Xupiter\Updates\XupiterToolbar.dll"
regsvr32 /u "C:\Program Files\Xupiter\Updates\XTUpdate.dll"
regsvr32 /u "C:\Program Files\Xupiter\Updates\XTSearch.dll"
- Restart the computer
- Delete the Xupiter folder in Program Files.
- Delete the registry keys:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Xupiter
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Code Store Database\Distribution Units\{A27CFCAE-9351-4D74-BFFC-21EB19693D8C}
12/13/2002
Windows NT/2K::Registry::Service Control
PROBLEM: Gettings stuck starting/stopping services or modifying the service state
A few times I got stuck changing the service "state" (manual/disabled/automatic) or stopping a service. I'm not sure what might cause this to happen, perhaps a dependant service is not stopped first or a prerequisite service is not started yet. But I get left with "stopping" as the status and it never goes away. To work around this for troublshooting I change service state in the registry and restart.
Service entries in the registry:
These are found under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services
The keys below that roughly correspond to services listed under control panel > services.
The value to change: Start
(The data type is REG_DWORD
The value can be:
0 = Boot
1 = System
2 = Automatic
3 = Manual
4 = Disabled
Drivers will have the Boot & System values. 2,3,4 correspond to the values we set through the normal interface.
E-Mail::Spam::Security::Open Relay Testing
Test your mail system to ensure you are not an open relay.
Don't be a spam sending zombie.
http://www.abuse.net/relay.html
http://www.ordb.org/submit/
http://www.paladincorp.com.au/unix/spam/spamlart/
12/12/2002
Windows 9x/NT/2k::Security::Registry
Registry keys to lock down settings users are allowed to change in IE for Win2K haven't changed since IE5 on Win98:
[HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Control Panel]
"Advanced"=dword:00000000
"HomePage"=dword:00000000
"Cache"=dword:00000000
"History"=dword:00000000
"Colors"=dword:00000000
"links"=dword:00000000
"Fonts"=dword:00000000
"Languages"=dword:00000000
"Accessibility"=dword:00000000
"Connwiz Admin Lock"=dword:00000000
"Connection Settings"=dword:00000000
"Proxy"=dword:00000001
"Autoconfig"=dword:00000001
"Ratings"=dword:00000000
"Certificates"=dword:00000000
"Profiles"=dword:00000000
"FormSuggest"=dword:00000001
"FormSuggest Passwords"=dword:00000001
"Messaging"=dword:00000000
"CalendarContact"=dword:00000000
"ResetWebSettings"=dword:00000000
"Check_If_Default"=dword:00000000
"GeneralTab"=dword:00000000
"SecurityTab"=dword:00000000
"ContentTab"=dword:00000000
"ConnectionsTab"=dword:00000000
"ProgramsTab"=dword:00000000
"AdvancedTab"=dword:00000000
Values of zero = allow, one=restrict
Network::Security::More on Peer to Peer File Sharing Clients
(There is lots of great info at http://www.oofle.com )
From: http://www.oofle.com/iptables/filesharing.html
KaZaA Media Desktop and Grokster
Built on the FastTrack filesharing technology, KaZaA has been one of the most popular applications in the world, especially after many Morpheus users came to KaZaA after the Morpheus changeover to Gnutella. I first saw KaZaA a little over 2 years ago, and thought that it was a "decent" implementation as far as how well it worked, but I saw that there weren't very many users on it at the time. Then, a little application called Morpheus came along that was better than the KaZaA client and made the FastTrack network very popular, and made more files available to KaZaA users.
Connection Behavior:
KaZaA and Grokster have pretty much the same connection behavior. First off, as in the case of most file sharing clients, they connect up to a centralized server. Then, this gives you the search functionality in the client, and once you have searched for a client to download your file from, it creates a connection on TCP port 1214 of the remote host (sometimes your port 1214 and takes an incoming connection), and starts sending/receiving the file. Blocking access to the KaZaA amd Grokster networks and to port 1214 will dump all access to them. I'm working on a way to try to do this without a port block, but it's not looking too good so far. Another potential is to allow connections from ports 80 and 53 to 1214, but not allowing any other connections to 1214. This would at least remove the chance of a web connection or DNS connection landing on 1214 and being dumped.
AudioGalaxy
AudioGalaxy is an interesting sort of file sharing program. First off, the application with which you download files from the AudioGalaxy network does not contain a search function. It is, I believe, the only major application that is built this way currently. Instead of searching within the app and bloating things, AudioGalaxy chooses to have users log in to their webpage, and then do search functions within the web, and download files from there. AudioGalaxy is pretty much all around a little different compared to it's competitors, and that's why it, for a while and still in some places, has been a huge problem. AudioGalaxy still generates a lot of the filesharing traffic on the internet, and is the lone major competitor to Morpheus and KaZaA.
Connection Behavior:
AudioGalaxy is a bit different of a file sharing application when it comes to connections. There is one main similarity in this app and the rest of the apps, but even in this similarity there is a difference. First off, the similarity is the fact that the AudioGalaxy client, called a Satellite, connects to central servers on AudioGalaxy's networks, 64.245.58.0/24 and 64.245.59.0/24, or collectively 64.245.58.0/23, but the way it connects is a little interesting. AudioGalaxy chooses an interesting port to have their servers listen on, port 21, commonly associated with FTP. I assume the reasoning behind this, is 1.) hide the connections to the servers, and 2.) make it so that a user cannot block server connections without dumping vital services. Well, this is somewhat the case, but there is another interesting thing about AudioGalaxy, that is, the ports that it chooses to transfer files over. This app chooses to, instead of having one static port for connections, or a few commonly used ports (i.e. 6699 and 6698, etc. on Napster), has one wide range of available ports. But, there is a little hope in this, as this range of ports is quite a high range although a large number. The range AudioGalaxy uses is ports 41000 through 41999, or one thousand ports. The serving client will choose a port in this range, contact the server, and the server will tell the downloading client where to find this awaiting machine and port at to start the download. So, if we want to block AudioGalaxy, it is actually very simple. Stop the users from reaching the AudioGalaxy network, not only do we stop the connections to the servers, but we stop search functionality and every other portion of the AudioGalaxy operation.
12/11/2002
Windows NT::Recovery Console
To get into recovery console you have to have the local administrator password. You might not remember this on a domain controller.
This really bites. You need the administrator password from when you installed Win2K (before you promoted it to DC.)
If I ever get this server back up I'm going to change this password to something we know. (What the "consultant" told us doesn't work.)
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;239803
Network::Firewall::Packet Level::RealNetworks
Playing around with open ports and firewall rules.
RealNetworks has a good testing site: http://service.real.com/test
RealNetworks content servers and clients use the following communications:
Usually it is initiated by HTTP (such as access to a *.RAM file which really is a single line text file pointing to the real file or stream.)
Then it uses HTTP, RTSP (Real Time Streaming Protocol), or PNA protocols for streaming
Ports:
TCP 554 (RTSP) -> <- UDP 6970-32000
or TCP 7070 -> real audio <- UDP 6970-7170
RealPlayer, RealOne, ...
I'm starting to despise all the "Real_____whatever____" products. They are so huge and have built in web browser with it's own security bugs/etc. I just want the little realplayer we used to have (maybe ver 4) that downloaded on even a slow dialup connection within a reasonable time and installed in a snap.
Besides RealAudio uses kind of ugly network communications. Too many ports and options. Firewall is almost a guarantee that somebody's real___ server somewhere won't work for us.
Using MS ISA (another over featured bloated mess) just for "caching" (MS-PROXY 2.0 was a perfected product, so they just had to trash it all and write a huge, messy, buggy thing.)
Anyway, using ISA for caching only and turning on the requirement that only authenticated users can get out to the web I am having problems with RealPlayer 8-9, RealOne 1-2. It doesn't behave nicely when it comes to authenticating the user.
I can't decide if RealNetworks is too lame and/or lazy to fix their stuff or if Microsoft is just being a pain to try to push RealNet out.
An "almost hit" on my issue is at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];288734
Sometimes (and some users) get a logon prompt and it will work if the user logs in (but it's still a pain and people are whining.) But other times it just returns "access denied" without presenting any logon prompt.
Windows 2K/NT::Security::Cached Credentials
By default, Windows saves the credentials of the last 10 users to logon from a workstation. This allows me, for example, to take my laptop home and logon locally using my domain logon & password allowing me to work with local resources using the same profile that I use at work.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\CachedLogonsCount
Data Type: REG_SZ
Set to 0 to disable caching credentials.
Set to 1 to just save the last one.
12/10/2002
Windows::Autologon
Enable Automatic Logon in Windows 2000
This option is not available for Windows 2000 Server or Advanced Server.
Preventing the Password Prompt in a Non-domain System
- In Control Panel, double-click
Users and Passwords.
- Click to clear the Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer check box.
NOTE: This option does not appear on a system that is a member of a domain.
- Click the Advanced tab.
- Click to clear the Require users to press Ctrl-Alt-Del before logging on check box.
Enabling Automatic Logon on a Member Workstation
WARNING: This will likely be a serious security problem. Anyone booting this system with this registry modification will be logged on to the system with the user's security credentials.
- Start Regedt32.exe and locate the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
- Establish your domain name, account name, and password, using the values you would normally type when logging on. You should assign the following values: DefaultDomainName, DefaultUserName, and DefaultPassword.
NOTE: The DefaultDomainName and DefaultUserName values may already exist. The DefaultPassword value may not. If it does not, create it. To do so:- On the Edit menu, click Add Value.
- In the Value Name box, type DefaultPassword.
- In the Data Type box, click REG_SZ.
- Click OK.
- In the String Editor box, type your password. Click OK and save your changes.
NOTE: If no DefaultPassword string is specified, Windows automatically changes the value of the AutoAdminLogon key from 1 (true) to 0 (false). This disables the AutoAdminLogon feature. This behavior also occurs if the DefaultPassword string is specified but the password is left blank or null.
- On the Edit menu, click Add Value. Type AutoAdminLogon in the Value Name box. Click REG_SZ in the Data Type box. Enter 1 in the String box. Save your changes.
- Quit Regedt32.exe.
- Shut down Windows and turn off the computer.
- Restart your computer and Windows 2000. You should be able to log on automatically now.
From Microsoft Support Article 234562
12/09/2002
Security::Virus/worm::Friend Greeting
They ought to track down these people and spam everybody in their address books!
If you haven't already been stuck by this issue, it is interesting. They are presently hosted on UUNET. Complain about this to: abuse-mail@wcom.com
For info on blocking URL's and IP addresses see:
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/friendgreetings.html
And check back often as the list is updated. (It has new information since just a couple days ago.)
Networking::TCPIP::Unassigned Addresses
Address spaces that are unassigned and designated for internal use.
These addresses are not allowed to be routed on the internet. Although I've run across some odd situations that turned out to be problems resulting from an ISP routing one of these.
http://www.safety.net/sum1597.html
Networking::Wireless::VoIP::Network Management
Notes from Networking Decisions conference.
- We got a great deal since all meals but one were provided free and they paid two of my three hotel nights. And although the conference was free they had VP's and officers of network companies there speaking about network topics and talks from analysts from Gartner, Giga, and Yankee group. The sessions were very focused on technology and there were no "unadvertised" sales pitches.
- The same company is having an Enterprise Windows conference in a similar format at the same location next May. I think we could benefit from attending it as well.
- The Network conference focused on wireless technologies, Voice over IP, and network management.
- NETWORK MANAGEMENT: I was disappointed by the small amount of coverage of network management. But there were a couple good presentations and networking opportunities to talk with others about how they did stuff. And I saw some amazing products - one a "network management appliance" for just $2999 that can be setup to monitor services/devices and alert us when there is trouble. We are doing this now using cheap software and freeware, but this device brings it all together into one small machine that can do more.
-WIRELESS LAN: I got a good understanding of the technologies available for wireless LAN setup.
- The most manageable would be to install antennas in various locations above the ceiling and cable them back to wireless access points in a closet rack. This provides central maintenance and upgrade of the wireless access points.
- There are a good number of security issues. When setting up authentication there are other issues requiring additional hardware/software to provide for "roaming" between access points/etc.
- I don't have a detailed cost analysis, but my impression was that setting up a wireless LAN "right" would cost at least as much as a wired LAN - and you get less performance. I'm sure there are environments where the need for mobility outweighs cost and performance.
- I don't see any advantage to using a wireless LAN for "day to day" needs at my company.
- One idea though would be to provide a wireless internet "hot spot" in conf room(s)for client use in connecting back to their offices or for internet presentations with special furnature arrangement needs. To provide this securely would require cabling all the antennas to access points in the network closets and have them all terminated at a single network segment that is totally separate from ours and connect it directly to it's own firewall interface. This would require additional uplink ports on closet switches and/or cabling runs from the conference rooms on each floor into the datacenter.
- WIRELESS WAN: There continues to be a proliferation of new devices. Blackberry seems to me to continue to be the most suitable and convenient device for getting e-mail and basic PIM functions. Blackberry has a combo phone device and is coming out with an international phone/Blackberry device. Most cost benefit from palmtop computers(like Ipaq) seems to be with custom applications for veritical markets like sales and inventory management - low bandwidth transfers of transaction data and reference numbers. Since the HP/Compaq merger, the Ipaq will continue to be branded as Ipaq and HP palm devices will fade away.
- VOICE OVER IP - This point was brought out repeatedly: VOIP will fail without a thorough network evaluation and implementation of quality of service switches. VOIP causes drastic changes in network utilization and requires specialized skills and equipment to monitor and manage the resulting network traffic.
- VOIP continues to remain in a very long "early adopter" phase. The Gartner analyst projected that by 2008, 20% of new phone switch sales will be VOIP. The Gartner analyst predicted that in our present economy few companies will upgrade to VOIP since, in the best case, we are spending a lot of money just to give users what they already have. Whereas in a realistic case, the resulting user functions may turn out to be fewer and less robust, and numerous problems will be encountered and must be overcome in the process. So user perception would be that the project interrupted their business and cost money to achieve fewer features and more problems.
- What we would need to do to prepare:
- Training! - for telecom people, for data network people, for network admins. All of these positions will be affected by VOIP and all the staff in these positions will be "taken out of their comfort zone."
- Add a "Policy" switch to each closet and implement quality of service features on LAN switches
- Find out what IP capabilities our phone switch has, how "upgradable" it is for use with VOIP.
- I believe the Optiset phones we are replacing our Rolm phones with have an option to upgrade them by changing out the modules in the phones. Existing phones would have to be upgraded and remaining Rolm phones replaced with Optiset IP phones.
- Other presentations brought out that "Back office" opportunities may present themselves to position us for a future migration to VOIP. And some VOIP functions might become attractive for WAN voice.
- I believe we should continue making small steps in that direction so that hopefully next time we need to replace the FAX server we could implement Universal Messaging. I believe we could avoid repurchasing T1 cards and achieve a server hardware savings on the replacement FAX server (and our voicemail is in need of replacement now.) Universal Messaging could also provide us with a graphical interface into our phone mail options and deliver phonemail into our Outlook mailbox where they can be backed up daily. This would migrate us away from our old phonemail machines and eliminate contention for channels to the phonemail since internal calls wilould access voicemail access over the LAN instead of the voice channels from the phone switch.
12/06/2002
Windows::Registry
For Windows 2000 & Windows XP, there is a commandline registry tool, REG.EXE
REG Operation [Parameter List]
Operation [ QUERY | ADD | DELETE | COPY |
SAVE | LOAD | UNLOAD | RESTORE |
COMPARE | EXPORT | IMPORT ]
Return Code: (Except of REG COMPARE)
0 - Succussful
1 - Failed
For help on a specific operation type:
REG Operation /?
Examples:
REG QUERY /?
REG ADD /?
REG DELETE /?
REG COPY /?
REG SAVE /?
REG RESTORE /?
REG LOAD /?
REG UNLOAD /?
REG COMPARE /?
REG EXPORT /?
REG IMPORT /?
Security:Virus::KLEZ
Symantec Security Response - a wealth of information is available from all the big antivirus vendors.
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.klez.h@mm.html Cleaning tools available free - worked like a charm.
Free online virus scan!
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/housecall/start_corp.asp
Patch Outlook!
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS01-020.asp.
Security::Virus::VPN
"Nothing Works!"
NOTHING WORKS! I hear that from people all the time when describing their computer problems. A recent experience with a high profile user's home computer has provided me with some insights and downright fear about future security.
When I visited his home and sat down at his computer I learned that it was true NOTHING WORKED! Got logged in to XP okay, but every shortcut I clicked, "can't find ...." I tried START > RUN > IEXPLORE -> "can't find ..." Then I tried RUN > CMD.EXE -> didn't work. But, RUN > COMMAND.COM worked okay. I went directly to the WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 directory and ran CMD.EXE from the COMMAND shell and it worked fine. (I then had support for long file/directory names and other items I missed greatly under the DOS5 shell clone of COMMAND.COM.) At my CMD prompt I went to C:\PROGRAM FILES\INTERNET EXPLORER and ran IEXPLORE.EXE and it worked! Then I proceeded on an interesting journey of recovery and I had a long time to think about life during reboots and virus scans. During my contemplation, as it all sunk in, I've changed my mind about wanting VPN access for our network. This person was infected with a Klez variant virus. After several hours of work cleaning up the virus almost everything is back to normal. Reading all the vendor propaganda about VPN you would think that the level of encryption of the tunnel is the only security issue with VPN. However, imagine that you have a VPN open to all your employees. Further imagine this big shot bought a new computer and cable modem for Christmas and never installs a personal firewall and then a few weeks later his trial version of NAV expire and gets infected with a virus. This could be a virus or trojan that attaches to available network shares and copies itself there or infects or damages those files. It could be a trojan that sends copies of files or other information to people in the address book or uploads them to a hackers machine. Or it could make his machine a zombie for hackers to take over. We barely have control over user installing and reconfiguring our company computers, we definitely have no control over what mess that home computers might be in. And when you read about companies that have a VPN, but only allow it from company computers, and don't allow personal software installed on company computers.... That "policy" just would make a VPN in our organization not worth the capability. If we have to take our computer with us, then this really wouldn't be as widely useful in our situation. And who is going to police those policies? If we were a huge corporation and hardly ever got ahold of sales persons laptops there would still be very little control over what they did to them.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS01-020.asp.
12/04/2002
Security::Firewall::Blocking Peer-to-Peer file sharing
P2P network client software is the spawn of S A T A N
I am fighting a constant battle with users who are dedicated to screwing up their computers and flooding our network.
Block the sites
SurfControl category is setup for blocking access to websites related to peer to peer file sharing tools and activities.
Blocking P2P traffic
Blocking ports at firewall(both TCP & UDP)
1214 - Kazaa & Morpheus
6346, 6347 - Gnutella/Limewire
1088 - Audio Galaxy - also uses ftp on ports: 21 and 41000+ which are not feasible to block. So I'm consider blocking outbound to server(s.) I need to find a good way to locate where those servers are and hope they are in the same subnet.
How to Configure an Authoritative Time Server in Windows 2000
Windows includes the W32Time Time service tool that is required by the Kerberos authentication protocol. The purpose of the Time service is to ensure that all computers that are running Windows 2000 or later in an organization use a common time. The Time service uses a hierarchical relationship that controls authority and does not permit loops to ensure appropriate common time usage.
Windows-based computers use the following hierarchy by default:
All client desktop computers nominate the authenticating domain controller as their in-bound time partner.
All member servers follow the same process as client desktop computers.
Domain controllers may nominate the primary domain controller (PDC) operations master as their in-bound time partner but may use a parent domain controller based on stratum numbering.
All PDC operations masters follow the hierarchy of domains in the selection of their in-bound time partner.
Following this hierarchy, the PDC operations master at the root of the forest becomes authoritative for the organization, and you should configure the PDC operations master to gather the time from an external source. This is logged in the System event log on the computer as event ID 62. Administrators can configure the Time service on the PDC operations master at the root of the forest to recognize an external Simple Network Time Protocol (SNTP) time server as authoritative by using the following net time command, where server_list is the server list:
net time /setsntp:server_list
There are several SNTP time servers run by the U.S. Naval Observatory that are satisfactory for this function, for example:
ntp2.usno.navy.mil at 192.5.41.209
tock.usno.navy.mil at 192.5.41.41
After you set the SNTP time server as authoritative, run the following command on a computer other than the domain controller to reset the local computer's time against the authoritative time server:
net time /set
More information about the net time command is available at a command prompt if you type the following command:
net time /?
SNTP defaults to using User Datagram Protocol (UDP) port 123. If this port is not open to the Internet, you cannot synchronize your server to Internet SNTP servers.
From: Microsoft KB http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;216734
Time Services White Paper: http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/docs/wintimeserv.doc
12/02/2002
VoIP::Network::Management Tools
Network assessment prior to VoIP deployment is critical to sidestep failure of the entire project.
And Network Management will have a renewed urgency when VoIP is in the picture.
I just came across these products. Haven't used them, but will review them if I ever need to plan for a VoIP installation.
ViViNet: Assessor, Diagnostics, and Manager
http://www.netiq.com/products/va/default.asp
11/27/2002
RDISK is gone in Windows 2000
There is no RDISK.EXE in W2K.
To create a recovery disk:
Start - Run NTBACKUP.EXE
Tools > "Create an Emergency Repair Disk"
Insert a blank formatted disk in drive A: and click OK
Click OK again.
User accounts are now stored in AD and will not be recoverable from the recovery disk.
Active directory must be backed up and restored separately.
11/26/2002
Fast Windows NT Shutdown
The process described here is not the recommended way to shut down your computer, but it can be performed in extreme circumstances when you either cannot normally shut down your computer, or you need to bring it offline without saving any current information. This process, however, is less harmful than turning off the power to your computer by performing a hard restart (reboot).
Performing an Emergency Shutdown in Windows
Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE.
When the logon information screen is displayed, press CTRL.
Press the TAB key to move to the Shut down option, and then while you are pressing CTRL, click Shut down or press ENTER.
When the following message is displayed, click OK to continue with the emergency shutdown:
If you continue, your machine will reboot and any unsaved data will be lost. Use this only as a last resort.
From: MSKB 279134
11/22/2002
Regular Expressions
Unix jockeys use them all the time. What? You NT guys aren't using Regular Expressions? They are extremely powerful and often elegant way to get a lot done in a hurry.
Check out http://www.textpad.com for a great Win32 editor that supports using regular expressions. There may be others. Check out the Rx Cookbook for great examples of usable expressions to apply to your text. http://aspn.activestate.com/ASPN/Cookbook/Rx
11/20/2002
WINDOWS 2000::CMD.EXE::Tips
Autocomplete at command line
Why do I care?
Autocomplete for CMD.exe is not enabled by default in Windows 2000 and later.
When you type a path and then press the TAB key, the command processor searches for all files whose path (but not necessarily the file name) matches your entry. The command processor displays one of the matching file names each time you press TAB. To go backward through the list of file names, press SHIFT+TAB.
How do I get it?
To enable automatic complete for Cmd.exe, use Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe) to view the following registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Command Processor
Edit the CompletionChar value, and set the value of REG_DWORD to 9.
Thanks Kevin and Microsoft
11/15/2002
Outlook 2002::Printing HTML formatted e-mails
PROBLEM/BUG:
When printing an HTML formatted e-mail in corporate version of Outlook 98 and above the attachment name does not print. When printing a message, no indication if given that there were attachments let alone what they are. This works perfectly fine on Outlook Express 6.
ANSWER FROM MICROSOFT SUPPORT:
...several companies have filed DCR's (Design Change Request's) to
change the design for printing attachment icons using HTML email
formatting. Unfortunately, due to the scope of this design change
coupled with the work the Office development team was doing these DCR's
were not accepted. Following is information from Microsoft as to why
these request changing were not accepted.
"Outlook uses the standard Internet Explorer print dialog when printing
email formatted with HTML which has no mechanism for handling
attachments. Office development has examined the possibility of creating
a new print dialog specifically to handle this design change request and
found the risks to code stability and the introduction of new
localization dependencies unworkable for a service release of Outlook.
Inclusion of this functionality in a future version is under
consideration."
RANT
So a free version of Outlook that comes with about every PC you buy will perform this function. However, when a large company pays major money for the latest enterprise edition of Exchange and the newest version of Outlook XP it won't perform this function. Not only this, but that's the way it's been for years. It's been so long, in fact, there is a company who, for about $20 per seat, will sell us a "add-on" for Outlook that will fix this. That should be embarrassing to Microsoft, but after all they are keeping their development channel in business. Just another $200 worth of "add-on" software will make up for some pretty obvious features that people want, but Microsoft just plain doesn't care about that. What's more, our authorized Microsoft support company's answer was to give us a link to www.sperrysoftware.com. Paying for Microsoft support turns out to further an a ploy to advertise overpriced add-on software.
We spent huge money migrating to a mostly Microsoft environment. The e-mail system we migrated from provided this rudimentary capability. There are certain minimal, obvious options that reasonable people come to expect of software. Microsoft just hasn't been responsive to what real people want in the real world. They should balance the "risks to code stability and the introduction of new localization dependencies" against the guarantee of looking downright stupid.
11/08/2002
Today is the first real day of this blog being public. If anybody is reading, please e-mail me and let me know your ideas or other technical tips.
This is one of hopefully very few blog-specific notes.
Although I will take a more conversational, explanatory, maybe humorous tone in future entries, there will be no remarks here about politics, my dog, my personal life, . . .
11/07/2002
Unix::Vi-Line Numbers
From https://engineering.purdue.edu/ECN/Resources/KnowledgeBase/Categories/editors/vi
To display the line numbers in the left margin of a vi document, type :set nu. To turn them off again, type :set nonu.
If you want vi to display line numbers by default, you need to set the EXINIT to set nu.
You can set this in your .login or your shell start-up file.
Open your editor to edit your .login or your shell start-up file. Add the following lines:
For C-Shell:
setenv EXINIT "set nu"
For Bourne or Korn Shell:
EXINIT="set nu"; export EXINIT
For Korn Shell Only (alternate method):
typeset -x EXINIT="set nu"
Either log-out and log back in or "source" your shell start-up file.
-- Alternatively, you can put set nu in your .exrc file in your home directory
Unix::Vi
Vi Tutorial!
I plan to spend a good deal more time here after I complete ctssn.com tutorial.
Stuff
Testing out CYGWIN today - a Unix under Windows thingy. cygwin.org (the name needs work, but it's by RedHat)
I'm working through the tutorial at http://www.ctssn.com and as I go I'm adding modules/etc to cygwin.
And....
http://www.alltheweb.com is awesome. I may be a convert from Google.
10/25/2002
Security::NT Server
When you ran NETSTAT to find out what ports you are listening on, did you ever wonder what application it was that had a specific port open?
Foundstone Vision v1.0 - reports all open TCP and UDP ports and maps them to the owning process or application.
Check out the other great stuff at http://www.foundstone.com
10/21/2002
CITRIX::NETWORK PACKET ANALYSIS
From Citrix Support:Citrix KB
How ICA Client Connections over TCP/IP work
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This solution pertains to:
MetaFrame 1.8 for Microsoft NT Server 4.0, Terminal Server
MetaFrame 1.8 for Windows 2000
WinFrame 1.8
Last modified: Thu Nov 29 15:29:30 2001
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The ICA client uses the UDP (User Datagram Protocol) portion of the TCP/IP protocol suite when browsing for a Citrix server. UDP is a connectionless mode protocol, providing potentially unreliable, unsequenced, and/or duplicated packets, because it leaves these functions to other layers.
The ICA client broadcasts (ffffffffffff) UDP packets to the network with a destination address of UDP port 1604 (0644 hex) and the source address of the client is any high UDP port (any port over 1023). A Citrix server replies with a UDP packet, where the data area contains the names of the current Citrix servers. The pull down list is built using this information. This use of UDP can be avoided by connecting using the IP address rather than by browsing.
NOTE: If the client is in a multiple segmented LAN or WAN and there are IP routers setup to filter UDP then ICA connections will be limited to direct IP addresses only. UDP is normally used to resolve the name to IP address once it has done this then it relies soley on TCP for the ICA connection between Clients and Host.
Connecting to the Citrix Server
ICA client connections actually use the TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) portion of the TCP/IP suite of protocols for communication between the server and the client. TCP is a connection-oriented, end-to-end protocol. It provides reliable, sequenced, and unduplicated delivery of bytes to a remote or local user.
Any application that uses TCP as the transport is assigned a unique port identification number called a TCP port. Communications between a client and a server that take place on a TCP transport will occur through a TCP port. The client side will dynamically assign a port number when there is a request for service. The server side of the application uses a port number that has been preassigned by the InterNet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).
ICA has been assigned port 1494 in the same way Telnet uses port 23 or HTTP uses port 80. For further information regarding ICA and port 1494, refer to RFC 1700.
The process of connecting to a Citrix server from an ICA client is actually very similar to an FTP connection. The following steps are only a local subnet connection to simplify this discussion. Crossing routers or WANs brings the same factors and concerns to ICA connections as any IP traffic would.
First the client will ARP for the hardware address of the server so it can begin the connection. Once the hardware address is known, the client sends a TCP packet to TCP port 1494 (05d6 hex) on the server. At this point, the server normally accepts the request from the client and the ICA connection is negotiated.
How the ICA browser resolves names between client and host
For TCP/IP, the ICA browser resolves server/cluster/app names into IP addresses. There are 2 steps in Name resolving via the ICA browser:
1. Getting the Master Browser's IP address. This is done either by:
A). Broadcasting the "Get Master Address" packet to all Citrix servers (default).
B). Sending the request to one or more specified Citrix server(s) (refer to the ICA client Help under Server Location)
2. Send a request to the Master Browser to get the IP address of the server/cluster/app you want to connect to.
The ICA browser has nothing to do with the IP addresses -> hardware address translation ( the client system takes care of that via ARP ).
10/14/2002
Windows 9X, NT :: Automation
From: HTTP://WWW.ROBVANDERWOUDE.COM
RUNDLL and RUNDLL32
RUNDLL and RUNDLL32 are two utilities supplied with Windows 95/98 and NT.
They can call DLL functions from the command line, allowing us to create extremely powerfull batch files.
Some examples:
Start Control Panel applets (2):
General syntax:
RUNDLL32 SHELL32.DLL,Control_RunDLL filename.CPL,@n,t
where filename.CPL is the name of one of Control Panel's *.CPL files,
n is the zero based number of the applet within the *.CPL file, and
t is the number of the tab for multi paged applets
Examples:
Date/time applet, Time Zone tab:
RUNDLL32 SHELL32.DLL,Control_RunDLL TIMEDATE.CPL,@0,1
Desktop applet, Screensaver tab:
RUNDLL32 SHELL32.DLL,Control_RunDLL DESK.CPL,@0,1
Network applet, Protocols tab:
RUNDLL32 SHELL32.DLL,Control_RunDLL NCPA.CPL,@0,2
Network applet, Adapters tab:
RUNDLL32 SHELL32.DLL,Control_RunDLL NCPA.CPL,@0,3
System applet, Environment tab:
RUNDLL32 SHELL32.DLL,Control_RunDLL SYSDM.CPL,@0,2
Start "Add New Hardware" Wizard (Windows 95):
RUNDLL SYSDM.CPL,InstallDevice_Rundll
Credits: Faris Mlaeb
Start "DialUp Connection" Wizard (Windows 95):
RUNDLL RNAUI.DLL,RnaWizard
Credits: Faris Mlaeb
Install a screensaver (copy the *.SCR file to the Windows directory first) (2):
RUNDLL32 DESK.CPL,InstallScreenSaver C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\Default.scr
The directory shown is for Windows NT/2000/XP, modify for Windows 9x
Lock the screen (Windows 2000):
RUNDLL32 USER32.DLL,LockWorkStation
Credits: Steven Clements (posted on alt.msdos.batch.nt)
Redraw the screen (Windows 95):
RUNDLL USER,repaintscreen
Credits: Faris Mlaeb
Rearrange the windows on the screen (Windows 95):
Cascade:
RUNDLL32 USER,cascadechildwindows
Tile:
RUNDLL32 USER,tilechildwindows
Credits: Faris Mlaeb
Change screen resolution (Windows 9x with PowerToys' QuickRes installed):
RUNDLL DESKCP16.DLL,QUICKRES_RUNDLLENTRY hresxvresxbpp
Where hres is the horizontal resolution in pixels, vres is the vertical resolution in pixels, and bpp is the number of bits per pixel.
The following example will set the screen resolution to 800 x 600 at 256 colors (8 bits)
RUNDLL DESKCP16.DLL,QUICKRES_RUNDLLENTRY 800x600x8
Credits: William Allen (posted on alt.msdos.batch)
Disable mouse and/or keyboard (Windows 9*/ME)
RUNDLL KEYBOARD,DISABLE
RUNDLL MOUSE,DISABLE
There is an ENABLE function too, but I haven't found the right syntax yet. Without any further parameters it only halts the system without warning (Windows 95). You will probably need the other RUNDLL commands to do a "clean" reboot.
Credits: Koro das Master
Halt system:
RUNDLL MOUSE,ENABLE
Credits: Faris Mlaeb
Start "Add New Printer" wizard:
RUNDLL32 SHELL32.DLL,SHHelpShortcuts_RunDLL AddPrinter
Start GUI mode disk format:
RUNDLL32 SHELL32.DLL,SHFormatDrive
Start GUI mode diskcopy:
RUNDLL32 DISKCOPY.DLL,DiskCopyRunDll
Credits: Media Chance
"Map Network Drive" dialog (Windows 95):
RUNDLL32 USER,wnetconnectdialog
Credits: Faris Mlaeb
Logoff Windows (1)
Logoff Windows 98:
RUNDLL SHELL32.DLL,SHExitWindowsEx
Logoff Windows 98 and run Explorer after relogon:
RUNDLL SHELL32.DLL,SHExitWindowsEx 4
Logoff Windows NT 4:
RUNDLL32 USER32.DLL,ExitWindowsEx
RUNDLL32 USER32.DLL,ExitWindowsEx
This is not a mistake, the command usualy must be called twice before anything happens.
Reboot (1)
Windows 95 (not reliable, sometimes only shutdown):
RUNDLL USER.EXE,ExitWindowsExec
Windows 98:
RUNDLL SHELL32.DLL,SHExitWindowsEx 2
Windows NT 4:
@ECHO OFF
PUSHD "%temp%"
ECHO [Version] > {out}.inf
ECHO signature=$chicago$ >> {out}.inf
ECHO [defaultinstall] >> {out}.inf
RUNDLL32 SETUPAPI,InstallHinfSection DefaultInstall 1 {out}.inf
DEL {out}.inf
POPD
(original batch file by Walter Zackery, adapted for readability)
Shutdown (1)
Windows 95:
RUNDLL USER.EXE,ExitWindows
Windows 98:
RUNDLL SHELL32.DLL,SHExitWindowsEx 1
or:
RUNDLL32 KRNL386.EXE,exitkernel
(will also power down ATX boards)
Show Windows 9*'s "System setting changed, do you want to reboot now?" dialog (1):
RUNDLL SHELL.DLL,RestartDialog
Display NT's "About" dialog, showing version, servicepack, registered owner and amount of physical memory:
RUNDLL32 SHELL32.DLL,ShellAboutW
Open a file with Windows' "Open as" dialog:
RUNDLL32 SHELL32.DLL,OpenAs_RunDLL filename
Swap your mouse to left handed use (tip from "Speedy Gonzales"):
Windows 95:
RUNDLL USER.EXE,SwapMouseButton
Windows NT:
RUNDLL32 USER32.DLL,SwapMouseButton
I know of no command yet to undo this, but the following will get you close:
CONTROL MAIN.CPL
or:
RUNDLL32 SHELL32.DLL,Control_RunDLL MAIN.CPL,@0,1
Start DialUp Network:
(Credits for these commands: Michael J. Gregg and Tom Lavedas)
START RUNDLL32 RNAUI.DLL,RnaDial exact name of dialer entry
TRACERT -h 1 -w 1
The RUNDLL command starts DUN, the TRACERT command is supposed to actually start the dialing process. Since I do not have access to any PC with DUN installed, I could not test the TRACERT command's effect.
Use the RASPHONE command in Windows NT, which can also hang up the connection (credits: Simon Sheppard).
Open "Connect to Printer" dialog:
RUNDLL32 WINSPOOL.DRV,ConnectToPrinterDlg
This commands opens the "Connect to Printer" dialog, as you might have guessed. I don't see any useful application yet, but maybe you do.
Open the Printers folder:
RUNDLL32 SHELL32.DLL,Control_RunDLL MAIN.CPL @2
or for Windows 2000:
RUNDLL32 SHELL32.DLL,SHHelpShortcuts_RunDLL PrintersFolder
Credits: Pascal Rebsamen
Note: To create a shortcut in the Start Menu to open the Printers folder, create a directory using one of the following commands.
Windows 9x (without roaming profiles):
MD "%windir%\Start Menu\Programs\Printers.{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}"
Windows NT 4/2000:
MD "%USERPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs\Printers.{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}"
Open the Fonts folder:
RUNDLL32 SHELL32.DLL,SHHelpShortcuts_RunDLL FontsFolder
Credits: Media Chance
Print a test page:
RunDLL32.EXE SHELL32.DLL,SHHelpShortcuts_RunDLL PrintTestPage
View or change printer settings (Windows 2000):
RUNDLL32 PRINTUI.DLL,PrintUIEntry /?
This will display an extensive list of available functions and many examples.
This list can also be viewed here.
Notes:
1 See my Shutdown page for more information and examples on reboot and shutdown command lines.
2 By associating *.CPL files with the command
RUNDLL32 SHELL32.DLL,Control_RunDLL %1,@0
and *.SCR files with
RUNDLL32 DESK.CPL,InstallScreenSaver %1
you can open and/or install them by doubleclicking on their icons.
The following batch file installs a screensaver if one is specified, and opens the Control Panel applet at the right tab to enable adjustment of its settings (tested in NT only):
@ECHO OFF
IF "%1"=="" GOTO Interact
IF NOT EXIST %SystemRoot%.\System32\%~nx1 GOTO Interactive
RUNDLL32 DESK.CPL,InstallScreenSaver %~f1
GOTO End
:Interactive
RUNDLL32 SHELL32.DLL,Control_RunDLL DESK.CPL,@0,1
:End
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am interested to hear about other possible uses for RUNDLL.
Please send me your tips or comments by e-mail: info@robvanderwoude.com .
More Information
An extensive list of RUNDLL commands with good search capabilities can be found at Dx21's RunDLL32 section.
For programmers, there is more information on Microsoft's INFO: The Windows 95 Rundll and Rundll32 Interface page and on Robert Vivrette's The Unofficial Newsletter of Delphi Users you can find an article about RUNDLL by Wendell Jones (brought to my attention by William Brooks in response to this request for tips; thanks).
At The Visual Basic Developers Resource Centre a list of Control Panel Functions for Windows 9x/NT through RUNDLL can be found (a tip from my collegue Adriaan Westra; thanks).
An extensive list of Control Panel related and other RUNDLL commands can be found at Media Chance's RUNDLL FAQ page.
Jeffrey W. Horning provided a list of Undocuments paths to Windows 2000 tools.
Many more RUNDLL commands in German are available at Pascal Rebsamen's Windows 2000: RunDLL32 page.
9/26/2002
9/19/2002
WindowsNT/2K::Master Browser
POTENTIAL MS BROWSERS
An individual subnet typically does not have that many backup browsers. Often, up to 31 computers on a subnet will have one backup browser. After that, every 32 computers added results in another backup browser being added from the potential browsers. Think of them as systems sitting on the bench, waiting for the coach to send them in. The Master Browser will tell a system when it should assume the role of a backup browser.
Some systems should never be browsers. In both Windows 2000 and NT 4.0, this value is set under the registry entry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesBrowser Parameters
There are three possible entries:
No – This computer should never be a browser. This is an excellent entry when you have a lab setup with a test server or computer that is constantly being changed and/or rebooted and the server keeps forcing browser elections upon being rebooted because it is the most qualified to be the local subnet's Master Browser. NO is the computer equivalent of "knock it off and sit down".
Yes – This is the default value for Windows and NT 4.0 servers. These systems will either be a Master Browser or a backup browser.
Auto – This computer could become a backup browser if needed. The Master Browser will notify it if it's needed. A bench warmer. This is the default for Windows Professional and Windows NT 4.0 workstation systems.
9/09/2002
Networking::Routers
I was attempting to setup a test network "WAN" link by connecting the CSU's between routers back to back. I never go this to work, but got practice assembling a cable and spent some quality time researching this. I was using junk I had gathered up and I didn't want to buy anything more just to do this. I believe I had the cable setup correctly, but I don't know if I had the right adapters to go from AUI to RJ45.
connecting routers/csu back to back. T1 Crossover cable.
8/28/2002
Networking::Tutorial::Cisco
http://www.cisco.com/warp/customer/779/smbiz/community/learning_center.html
Networking Connection > Learning Center CISCO Networking Connection: Learning Center
8/16/2002
Internet Tools
Global Whois Gateway (ZoneEdit.com)
http://www.zoneedit.com Includes other great internet tools too.
8/09/2002
Web Design::Standards
Guidlines for Building Maintainable Websites
A List Apart: for people who make websites
http://www.alistapart.com
8/07/2002
Outlook::Virus
Issue
To avoid viruses launched automatically by viewing HTML messages, is there a way to view all messages as text?
Normally Outlook views all messages in the format in which they were sent in. And there is no feature that will allow changing the default viewing format.
Suggestion
Microsoft KB document Q307594 outlines instructions for changing viewing format to text only.
Enable the "Read as Plain Text" Feature
WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.
To enable the "Read as Plain Text" feature, you must make the following additions to the system registry:
Click Start and then click Run. In the Open box, type regedit.
Navigate to the following registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Outlook\Options\Mail
On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWord Value.
With the new Dword selected, type ReadAsPlain.
Double-click to open the new value. In the Value Data box, type 1 and then click OK.
NOTE: "Read As Plain Text" is turned on and the BodyFormat property is locked at 1. (Help says it's read/write.) Any attempt to set it to another value will result in an error.
Click OK and then close the registry.
Web::Research
Keeping up with a topic
From: http://www.researchbuzz.com/extrasample.html Helllllp! I Can't Keep Upppppp!
The most frequent complaint I hear from researchers is that they can't keep up with the new sites that appear on the Internet every day. That's one reason they read ResearchBuzz, they say. And I get asked often, "How do you learn about all these new sites?" This article is my attempt to let you in on the secrets of finding new sites. Yes, there are some cool newsletters to subscribe to, but there are also some site monitoring tricks you can use and even a couple of bookmarked Yahoo searches that'll keep you up and humming with all kinds of new stuff.
1) Sites to See -- To get new sites, monitor sites.
My favorite site to monitor for new sites is Yahoo. Did you know that you can search Yahoo for new sites added within a certain time period? Absolutely! Check out http://search.yahoo.com/search/options . You'll be able to search Yahoo for sites added within the last day, three days, week, month, three months, six months, or four years. If you're interested in parrots, for example, do a one-day query for "parrot" (always use singular; a search for "parrot" will also find "parrots") and then bookmark the result. You can check the link every day or use an link-monitoring service to track changes to it. How often it changes depends how common the word is.
(Are you interested in lots of different new sites? Check out Yahoo! What's New; http://dir.yahoo.com/new/ . Links to new sites added in the last week are on the right side of the page.)
You can look for new sites added to search engines, too. Tracerlock ( http://www.peacefire.org/tracerlock/ ) will monitor AltaVista for new indexed sites containing the keywords. (Be sure to use very specific keywords or otherwise you'll get a lot of unnecessary junk.) It'll e-mail reports to you every day, so there's no link to monitor. On the other hand, you're limited in the number of search words you can check, and it'll only mail you the first ten results (another reason to use very specific keywords.)
And if search engines, why not Usenet? Google Groups' advanced search ( http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search ) allows you to restrict your search to specific dates or -- and this is more useful for our purposes -- different time periods. For example, you could restrict your search to posts made in the last week or the last month.
Pick a time period (last week is better for more general searches) and use a keyword along with the phrase "new site." For example, if you're interested in parrots, query +parrot +"new site" (you don't have to use the + marks.) To narrow down your search, you can limit your query to certain newsgroup types. For example, if you're interested in the Ruby programming language, you could do a search for +Ruby +"new site" and restrict your search to comp* newsgroups (that is to say, newsgroups in the comp* hierarchy.) You will get some clinkers this way, but this is also a good way to find some gems.
2) Sites to See -- Read Your Press Releases
Companies that can afford it often use press releases to get the news out about their sites. The two main press release wires are PR Newswire and BusinessWire.
PR Newswire has a full list of their most recent releases at http://www.prnewswire.com/tnw/tnw.shtml , and BusinessWire has a list of their most recent releases at http://www.businesswire.com/ , but I don't recommend using this method to review press releases unless you have a lot of interests and a lot of free time (tons of press releases go out every day!)
Instead, use a search engine to filter the press releases for you. Northern Light's News Search -- http://www.northernlight.com/news.html -- allows you to search press release wires only and sort the results by date. The snag with this method is that it's hard to come up with good keywords. "new site" won't do it; some press releases will say "new Internet site," some will say "new Web site," and still others will say "redesigned site."
The best idea for less-common search terms might be to simply use that term without any modifiers. You'll get some inappropriate results, but it shouldn't be hard to pick out the good stuff. Northern Light allows you to save news searches as "search alerts," e-mailing you when there are new results in your news search.
(Some readers might be asking, "Can you save search alerts on Northern Light's regular search engine searches?" Yes. "So why not use those to track new sites, too?" That's fine, though you may find yourself getting too much overlap between the AltaVista searches and the Northern Light searches. If that happens, ditch the less useful one -- the idea is to keep you informed of new sites, not drown you in information!)
2) Sites to See -- Newsletters
Obviously you know all about newsletters to keep up with new sites, since you read ResearchBuzz. But there are other sites that provide good resource overviews. You may find others you like -- these are a few of my favorites.
Librarian's Index to the Internet -- http://www.lii.org/
New additions to a selection of Internet resources maintained by a group of librarians. Weekly newsletter available. Good stuff, well annotated.
Neat New Stuff on the Net -- http://marylaine.com/neatnew.html .
Weekly site reviews by Marylaine Block. The annotations vary in length, but she always manages to come up with a gem or two I've never heard of.
The Scout Report -- http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/report/sr/current/ .
Weekly report of resources more academically-oriented. Thorough annotations and explanation of resources. Really great stuff.
Don't try to keep up with every last site added to the Internet. You can't do that. Nobody can do that. The best you can do is try to keep up with interesting new offerings in your field. This article should get you off to a great start.
8/05/2002
Windows9x::Registry
From Joe's Tips - Win98
Windows 98, Windows 95 troubleshooting tips
These are a few tips I gathered while trying to find answers to numerous problems I've had with Windows. It was frustrating looking for all this stuff so I thought I'd put some of them on a web page and maybe help somebody out. When I get a chance, I'll add some more. Some of these tips involve editing the registry. It's always a good idea to back up the registry, anyway. Especially when you're messing with it. Consider yourself warned. If you get some help here, that's great. If not, what the heck, you learned something anyway.
Cleanup Add/Remove Programs
If you installed a Windows program and deleted it in Explorer, the Add/Remove listing in Control Panel is still there. To remove it, do this:
Start/Run/Regedit. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Uninstall. Delete the program. This will delete it from the list. It won't delete the actual program.
To disable CD autoplay:
Start/Settings/Control Panel/System/Device Manager, select your CDrom, choose properties and uncheck "Auto Insert Notification".
If you don't use User Profiles and don't want the Windows Logon screen to appear at startup:
When the logon screen comes up, enter your user name but don't enter a password. The next box will ask to reaffirm, tell it okay. If you already have a password entered, go to Start/Settings/Control Panel/Passwords/Change Windows Password. Put your password in the old box and leave the others blank.
If you DO use User Profiles but don't want the last user listed in the Windows logon screen:
Start/Run/Regedit. Go to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Winlogon. In the right pane you should see "DontDisplayLastUserName". A value of "0" means last user will NOT be cleared. Change the "0" to "1" to clear last user at logon.
If your files open with the wrong programs:
In Explorer, highlight the file. Hold down the Shift key and right click the file. Choose "Open With" from the menu. Make sure you check the save box.
To change Windows Explorer's font and icon size:
Right click the desktop. Choose Properties/Appearance. In the Item box select Icon. Make your changes.
To make a copy of a floppy:
Right click the floppy icon in My Computer. Select "Copy Disk". Follow on screen instructions.
To bypass the Recycle bin when deleting files:
Hold the Shift key down while dragging to the recycle bin or deleting from a menu. CAUTION, once you do this, that file's gone forever.
If Defrag won't Run:
Delete everything in Internet Explorer's "Temporary Internet Files" folder and Netscape's cache folder. Empty the Recycle bin, too. I also delete the contents of my temp folder. (Usually C:\Windows\Temp).
If the computer locks up when you disconnect from the Internet:
Start/Settings/Control Panel/Network. Double click TCP/IP, WINS Configuration tab and make sure "Disable WINS Resolution" is marked. If that doesn't work, go to C:\Windows\System folder and rename "Vnbt.386". Restart the computer.
When a program freezes your computer:
Hit the Ctrl, Alt, and Delete keys at the same time. This brings up a box listing all your currently running programs. The offending program should be listed as "not responding". Click "End Task" to close it. Sometimes this won't work and there's nothing you can do but reset.
To see all details in Windows Explorer:
Left click the rightside panel, hit Ctrl and the (+) sign on the number pad on the right side of the keyboard.
If your floppy drive hunts a nonexistent disk when Windows opens:
Start/Run/Regedit. Do a Find for "a:". Delete the value. Continue the search with the F3 key, deleting as you go. I seem to have this problem whenever I run an executable from the floppy.
If your Help files quit working:
Get "wow32.dll" from the Windows install disk and reinstall it in C:/Windows/System.
When you're in the mood for some new icons:
Before you surf the net, check out these libraries on your hard drive. Moricons.dll, Pifmgr.dll, Progman.exe, Shell32.dll and (if you have Plus!) Cool.dll.
If Windows setup can't find your install files: SETUP PATH
Start/Run/Regedit. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Setup. Change the path.
If your Taskbar ends up in some screwy spot on the desktop:
Drag it where you want with the left mouse button. It looks like it won't move, but it will.
To move a window with the keyboard (if you can't reach it with the mouse)
Alt + space for the system menu on the window
M to select move
Arrow keys to move the window
Enter to end.
To restart Windows without rebooting (faster)
Hold down the Shift key while clicking yes on the restart dialog. Or, if you use User Profiles, just click "Log on as another user".
Here are the places Windows uses to load Startup programs:
load= and run= in "Win.ini";
[386Enh] section of "System.ini";
C:\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp;
Registry keys: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run or RunServices.
To open Windows Explorer to My Computer (no folders expanded)
Right click your desktop or Start Menu Windows Explorer shortcut, choose Properties, click the Shortcut tab. Put this line in your shortcut target window: C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE ,/n,/e,/select,C:\ or, in Windows 2000: %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe ,/n,/e,/select,C:\
To change drive letters for your removable drives (CD, Zip, etc.) do this:
Right click "My Computer", choose Properties, click the "Device Manager" tab, click on the + by "Disk Drives", double click the drive you want to change, click Settings, type in the Start and End letter you want to use for this drive. (They're usually the same)
To edit Win95/98's registration name or number
Start/Run/Regedit, go to:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion. Look for "ProductId", this is the registration number, or "Registered Owner". Make your changes. I've included a link above to a handy little app that makes this job easy.
To turn off the modem sounds (when the slider bar doesn't work):
Right click "My Computer", choose Properties/Device Manager, click the (+) sign by Modems, highlight your modem, select Properties/Connection/Advanced. Type "M0" (that's a ZERO) in the extra settings box.
Reinstall with Windows 95 Companion CD:
(1) copy all CD files onto your harddrive
(2) copy dossetup.bin, oemsetup.bin, oemsetup.exe, setup.exe, setup.txt, suhelper.bin, and winsetup.bin to the same directory (#1 above), from any version of Windows95.
(3) run setup from the directory you chose in #1, above.
FYI: setup.exe was intentionally omitted from the CD to prevent users from installing OSR2 on another system. The CD should only be used for adding and/or removing OS components. Yes, I think the "Companion" concept is a ripoff, too.
To free up memory in DOS:
(1) Add these lines to "config.sys":
DOS=HIGH,UMB
DEVICE=C:\windows\HIMEM.SYS
DEVICE=C:\windows\EMM386.EXE NOEMS
Then when adding a device to config, use "DEVICEHIGH=". When adding to autoexec.bat, use "LOADHIGH=". This should give you 600k or so if you're not using drivespace.
(2) In the [386Enh] section of 'System.ini', add 'LocalLoadHigh=1'
(3) If you are not using DoubleSpace or DriveSpace, delete 'drvspace.bin' and 'dblspace.bin' from the C:\ and C:\Windows directories.
This will free additional DOS memory and speed system startup.
To change the Win95/98 startup logo:
Open your picture in a graphics program. (Paint or whatever) Resize or crop it to 640x480 in 256 colors and save it as a bitmap. Then squeeze it to 320x400. (I know it looks funny, but it'll work) The finished file MUST be exactly 126k in size. Rename it "logo.sys" and copy it to your root directory.
To change the default search engine in IE4:
Changing the default search engine was easy in IE3. It's a hassle in IE4 but you can do it. Start\Run\Regedit, work your way down to HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main. Right click "Search Bar", choose "Modify" and change the address. Do the same with "Search Page".
To make a shortcut to Device Manager:
If you constantly find yourself right clicking My Computer to get to Device Manager, (I'm always screwing something up) right click the desktop, choose New/Shortcut, put this line in the dialogue box and leave it on your desktop or add it to the start menu: CONTROL SYSDM.CPL,,1
If your hardware is running in "compatibility mode":
Windows probably put a NOIDE entry into this registry key, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CURRENTCONTROLSET\SERVICES\VDX\IOS and you must remove it. This entry is put there any time Win95 can't load 32-bit drivers, and after it's in there you can't load Windows drivers on boot-up until it's gone. Search the Registry for NOIDE. When found, delete it. Then right-click My Computer, select Properties/Device Manager. Under Hard Disk controllers, select your IDE controller and delete it. Reboot. Windows should now rediscover your hardware and let you install drivers.
To put Notepad in the rightclick menu of all files:
Copy the following lines:
REGEDIT4
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\ open]
@="&Notepad"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\ open\command]
@="Notepad.exe %1"
Paste them in Notepad, save as "Note.reg" Doubleclick the saved file to merge in the registry. Very handy.
To save your Netscape bookmarks as IE favorites (or vice-versa):
Download "Favtool", a little MS freeware app. It's on Microsoft's site , but they seem to move it around. Use the link above if you like.
If IE5 doesn't ask if you'd like to disconnect after closing your browser:
Go to Tools/Internet Options/Connections/Settings/Advanced, ensure that
'Disconnect when connection may no longer be needed' is checked.
If that doesn't work, try this: Start/Run/regedit. Go to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER|Software|Microsoft|Windows|Current Version|Internet Settings
'EnableAutoDisconnect'
Change value '00 00 00 00' to '01 00 00 00'
If your internet apps won't launch DUN (and your DUN settings don't help):
Start/Run/regedit. Go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ System\CurrentControlSet\Services\RemoteAccess
and check the values in the right panel for these two items (if they are listed):
NoLogon and Remote Connection.
If either or both have a value of '01 00 00 00' (make sure DUN is not connected),
change them to read '00 00 00 00'
If you lose your 95/98 product key and can't reinstall:
Go to 'Start/Run/Regedit'. Drill down to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion.
Look for 'ProductKey' in the right pane. That's your number.
Cascading Control Panel in your Start menu:
1. Copy the following line:
Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
2. Right-click Open the Start button.
3. Create a New Folder and paste the line above.
8/03/2002
E-Mail :: Spam
Prepared Statement of THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ON
"UNSOLICITED COMMERCIAL E-MAIL"
Send spam to uce@ftc.gov for possible investigation
Outlook :: Command Line Switches
From MS article: Q296192
The Microsoft Outlook Help file contains an entry that lists command-line switches, which you can use to start Outlook in a specific mode or with a specific form. This article lists additional command-line switches that are not included in the Outlook Help file.
Example, if you want to use the /Cleanreminders switch, the command-line should read as follows:
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Outlook.exe." /Cleanreminders
NOTE: The full path needs to be in quotation marks to preserve long filenames.
/CleanFreeBusy
Cleans and regenerates free/busy information.
/CleanReminders
Cleans and regenerates reminders.
/CleanViews
Restores default views.
/ResetFolders
Restores missing folders for the default delivery location.
/ResetFolderNames
Resets the language of the default folders to the language of the Outlook client.
/ResetOutlookBar
Rebuilds the Outlook Bar.
/NoPreview
Turns off the Preview pane at startup.
/CleanSchedPlus
Deletes all Schedule+ data (free/busy, permissions, and .cal file) from the server.
/Safe
Starts Outlook without extensions, preview pane, or toolbar customization.
/Recycle
Activates an existing Outlook window.
/Folder
Opens new window in "folder" mode (Outlook Bar and Folder List off).
/Profiles
Shows MAPI Profiles dialog box regardless of the options setting on the Tools menu.
/Profile
Loads specified profile. (If your profile contains a space, Outlook may treat it as an invalid profile name when using this switch. Work around this by wrapping the profile name in quotes.)
/s
Loads specified shortcuts file (.fav file).
/f Opens .
/p
Prints . Same as /f except is associated with the print verb instead of open.
/Embedding
Used to open a .msg file as an OLE embedding. Standard OLE command-line argument.
/c
Creates a new item of the specified message class (Outlook forms or any other valid MAPI form).
/a path:\
Opens a new e-mail message with the specified file attached.
8/02/2002
Outlook::Settings
Save settings. From: http://www.exchangeadmin.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=25045
The Save My Settings Wizard
Outlook::File Description
Under profile directory\application data\microsoft\outlook...
*.FAV = Outlook Bar settings
*.SRS = send/receive group settings
*.NK2 = nickname-resolution files
OUTLPRNT = Print customizations
OUTCMD.DAT= toolbar customizations
VIEWS.DAT=custom system file views
Windows::Registry::Automation
VBS function: RegWrite
How to write registry key from VBS
http://www.microsoft.com/mspress/it/feature/090100.asp
Windows::Registry::Automation
Resource on scripting to manipulate registry.
Registry Scripting
http://www.windowsitlibrary.com/Content/314/1.html
8/01/2002
Regular Expressions::Removing HTML
ASPN : Rx Cookbook
From: http://aspn.activestate.com/ASPN/Cookbook/Rx/Recipe/59820 - a site containing excellent examples of useful regular expressions
When writing CGI scripts which suck in textual content from users (such as discussion threads, for example), it's often useful to be able to detect and/or remove HTML tags in user-submitted content. This regular expression, documented in perlfaq6, is relatively effective at getting rid of HTML:
while(<>) {
s/<(?:[^>'"]*|(['"]).*?\1)*>//gs;
}
Web Design::Perl::Input Validation
Writing secure forms & scripts. Prevent your script from getting hacked!
ASPN : Rx Cookbook : Removing dangerous characters from CGI forms
From: http://aspn.activestate.com/ASPN/Cookbook/Rx/Recipe/65124
When you write a CGI script, you should be conscious of the content of any user-supplied data your script processes. Malicious users can insert special control characters into form data to cause various nasty things to happen inside your server.
One simple way to "sanitize" user data is to filter out any characters in the data which are not within a set of allowed characters, as this example shows.
#!/usr/local/bin/perl
$_ = $user_data = $ENV{'QUERY_STRING'}; # Get the data
print "$user_data\n";
$OK_CHARS='-a-zA-Z0-9_.@'; # A restrictive list, which
# should be modified to match
# an appropriate RFC, for example.
s/[^$OK_CHARS]/_/go;
$user_data = $_;
print "$user_data\n";
exit(0);
This example came from CERT® Coordination Center at Carnegie Mellon
University (http://www.cert.org/tech_tips/cgi_metacharacters.html).
Regular Expressions :: Perl :: Web Design
I haven't tried this RegEx but it could be useful to get the URL's from a block a text.
Finding URLs in text -- the COMPLETE way
From: http://aspn.activestate.com/ASPN/Cookbook/Rx/Recipe/59864
This is a huge regex. Check the link.
Outlook :: Data Store
From MS article Q232323
Summary
In Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server, a database (also referred to as a "store") is made up of two files, an .edb file and an .stm file. For example:
Mailbox Store = Priv1.edb Priv1.stm
The .stm file houses Internet content message streams as defined in Request for Comments (RFC 822), and the .edb file contains messages that are in MAPI format (Rich Text Format).
More Information
When an Internet mail message comes into the Exchange 2000 information store, the body of the message is saved in the .stm file, and the header information (From, To, Cc, Time Sent, and so on) is converted to Rich Text Format (RTF), and then stored in the .edb file.
MAPI-based e-mail clients (such as Microsoft Outlook 98 and Microsoft Outlook 2000) only see the header in MAPI format, and other properties of the messages are converted to MAPI as needed. Any request for a MAPI property not already available causes the information store to call the IMail content conversion engine to furnish it.
For example, if a MAPI client reads an Internet mail message (and does not make any changes to the message), conversion is performed only on the properties needed by the MAPI client.
If a MAPI client edits an Internet mail message, a full conversion (from Internet message stream format to MAPI) is performed on that particular mail message. In other words, the entire message (both header and body) are converted into a MAPI mail message. At that point, the entire message is converted to MAPI format and stored in the .edb file.
This process also works in the opposite direction; messages originating from MAPI clients have their outbound message properties converted. In other words, if a MAPI client sends a message to a recipient on the Internet, it causes a full conversion from MAPI to Internet message stream format.
7/30/2002
Web Design::Blogger
W.Blogger "client" software for posting to blogs
w.bloggar - software to manage blogger blogs
7/29/2002
e-Commerce::Interesting
Create branded/artistic merchandise available for individual sale.
Create your own store
7/26/2002
Outlook::Automation
Create a file to "merge" an appointment into Outlook calendar. Based on GMT so same appt could work for anyone worldwide.
Create an Outlook appointment by doubleclicking a text file with extension VCS with contents formatted as follows:
BEGIN:VCALENDAR
PRODID:-//Microsoft Corporation//Outlook 10.0 MIMEDIR//EN
VERSION:1.0
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART:20020726T220000Z
DTEND:20020726T223000Z
LOCATION;ENCODING=QUOTED-PRINTABLE:
DESCRIPTION;ENCODING=QUOTED-PRINTABLE:test appointment
SUMMARY;ENCODING=QUOTED-PRINTABLE:Drive Home
PRIORITY:3
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR
7/24/2002
Web Design::Search Engines::Link
Search Engine Tutorial for Web Designers
http://www.northernwebs.com/set/
Web Design::Meta Tags::Link
How To Use HTML Meta Tags
http://searchenginewatch.com/webmasters/meta.html
7/08/2002
Windows NT/2000::Terminal Services::Licensing
Problem
Windows 2000 terminal server has licensing that must be activated via internet. Early versions of terminal services had a bug that did not properly "release" old client licenses. Obtain latest release and patches to correct this problem. Contact MS licensing to work out license pool.
TEMPORARY WORKAROUND
When client attempts to logon, "Terminal server licensing not allowed. "
Registry hack will allow continued use of "temporary license" for another 90 days.
At the client side, merge the following file:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSLicensing\HardwareID]
"ClientHWID"=hex:02,00,00,00,05,d9,74,7e,a0,d4,cc,9e,87,b2,61,75,9e,a9,d5,05
6/18/2002
Telecom::Area Codes
AREA CODE MAPS
NANPA: Number Resource Information
http://www.nanpa.com/number_resource_info/area_code_maps.html
6/09/2002
Windows::Tips::Notepad
KEEP SETTINGS CHANGES IN NOTEPAD BY DEFAULT
If you choose Page Setup from the File menu in Notepad, the settings are not saved when the file is saved. Example: you want to remove the header and footer from all notepad documents you print. When you go into page setup and remove the default header and footer, then exit notepad and re-start notepad, the header and footer re-appear.
Knowledge Base article Q64269 advises that you can't change the Default Page Setup.
WORK AROUND
Shut down all instances of notepad.exe (this will not work if notepad is not shut down).
Run Registry Editor (at your own risk), and find
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Notepad\
Change the key/value "fSavePageSettings" from 0 to 1.
Windows::Tips::Internet Explorer::HTML Editor
change the default html editor and View Source viewer
Adding an editor to the html editor list in Internet Explorer
Open regedit, go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, find the key ".htm"
Expand the ".htm" key and find the key "OpenWithList"
Create a new key under "OpenWithList" named after the editor you wish to add, in this example "vi.exe"
Close things back to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT and find the key "applications"
Create a new subkey under "applications" with the same name from above. Ex "vi.exe"
Create a new subkey under the key created in the last step called shell
Create a new subkey under shell called edit
Create a new subkey under edit called command
Change the default value under the key command to the full path to your editor in quotes plus "%1" (with the quotes) Ex: "c:\vi\vi.exe" "%1"
This is doing two things. Steps 1-3 tell IE to try to use an editor with the name specified. Steps 4-9 tell the shell how to use the edit verb on that application name. The quotes are important. The quotes around the full path the executable keeps the program in one group, and the quotes around the %1 makes it such that the whole file name is accepted even when it has a space in the path (which it almost always does).
Changing the view for view source in Internet Explorer
Open regedit, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Expand the key "Software"
Expand the key "Microsoft"
Expand the key "Internet Explorer"
Create key "View Source Editor" under "Internet Explorer"
Create key "Editor Name" under "View Source Editor"
Change the default value of key "Editor Name" to something named after the view you wish to use, in this example "vi.exe"
Close things up and expand HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
Expand the key "applications"
Create a new subkey under "applications" with the same name from above. Ex "vi.exe"
Create a new subkey under the key created in the last step called shell
Create a new subkey under shell called open
Create a new subkey under edit called command
Change the default value under the key command to the full path to your editor in quotes plus "%1" (with the quotes) Ex: "c:\vi\vi.exe" "%1"
This is similar to the other hint, except you register in a different place, and this command uses the verb "open" instead if "edit"
Internet::Speed Test::Link
Test connection speed
http://www.testmyspeed.com
Security::Link
DSHIELD - a very good security resource with information and info on current attacks.
http://www.dshield.org
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