/dev/null

How to disable password complexity rule in Active Directory (Windows 2008 R2)

2012-01-11T13:07:00.001-05:00

Go to Start > run > gpmc.msc
Go to "Forest">"Domains" then expand the default domain
Right-click and edit the "Default Domain Policy". This will open a new window with title "Group Policy Management Editor"
On the "Group Policy Management Editor"
go to "Computer Configuration">"Polices">"Windows Settings">"Security Settings">"Account Policies">"Password Policy"
Now modify the password complexity requirements setting.
You have to then run "gpupdate" to propagate the changes.

How to request UAC elevation for .net applications

2011-11-23T00:27:00.001-05:00

http://www.aneef.net/2009/06/29/request-uac-elevation-for-net-application-managed-code/

Dealing With Screen Rotation - Android

2010-08-12T22:45:00.000-04:00

http://androidsfuture.blogspot.com/2010/06/developers-corner-dealing-with-screen.html

StumbleUpon App for Android

2010-08-12T17:31:00.000-04:00

http://www.appbrain.com/app/us.emon.StumbleDroid

How to install Skype in Fedora 13 x64

2010-06-02T04:10:00.000-04:00

su
curl http://ftp-stud.hs-esslingen.de/pub/fedora/linux/updates/13/i386/nss-softokn-freebl-3.12.4-19.fc13.i686.rpm -o nss-softokn-freebl-3.12.4-19.fc13.i686.rpm
yum install nss-softokn-freebl-3.12.4-19.fc13.i686.rpm
yum install alsa-lib.i686 dbus-libs.i686 e2fsprogs-libs.i686 expat.i686 fontconfig.i686 freetype.i686 glib2.i686 glibc.i686 keyutils-libs.i686 krb5-libs.i686 libcap.i686 libgcc.i686 libICE.i686 libpng.i686 libselinux.i686 libSM.i686 libstdc++.i686 libX11.i686 libXau.i686 libxcb.i686 libXcursor.i686 libXdmcp.i686 libXext.i686 libXfixes.i686 libXi.i686 libXinerama.i686 libXrandr.i686 libXrender.i686 libXScrnSaver.i686 libXv.i686 openssl.i686 qt.i686 qt-x11.i686 zlib.i68
yum install libv4l.i686
Now install Skype:

Create repo file:
gedit /etc/yum.repos.d/skype.repo

Put into skype.repo:
[skype]
name=Skype Repository
baseurl=http://download.skype.com/linux/repos/fedora/updates/i586/
gpgkey=http://gd.tuwien.ac.at/infosys/phone/skype/rpm-public-key.asc
gpgcheck=0

Install skype:
yum install skype

Start skype using the command (this is what made video work):
env LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libv4l/v4l1compat.so skype

Source

How to run VMWare vSphere Client version 4 on Windows 7

2009-08-25T12:08:00.000-04:00

1. Edit the VpxClient.exe.config file located in C:\Program Files\Vmware\Infrastructure\Virtual Infrastructure Client\Launcher folder and make it look like the following:

2. Get .Net system.dll from a non Windows 7 machine and copy it inside %ProgramFiles%\VMware\Infrastructure\Virtual Infrastructure Client\Launcher\lib folder.

3. Create a batch file and add the following lines:
SET DEVPATH=%ProgramFiles%\VMware\Infrastructure\Virtual Infrastructure Client\Launcher\lib
"C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\Virtual Infrastructure Client\Launcher\VpxClient.exe"

How to export Workstation VMs to ESXi 4.0

2009-06-18T18:34:00.000-04:00

Use VMWare converter.
Source type: VMWare Workstation
Target Type: VMWare Infrastructure

How to enter nocheckCPUIDLimit on ESXi 4.0

2009-06-18T18:32:00.000-04:00

At the initial bootloader screen (when booting from the ISO), press TAB to edit the boot options
add "nocheckCPUIDLimit" right after
"vmkernel.gz", so that the first part of the boot options BEFORE the
first "---" reads: "mboot.c32 vmkernel.gz nocheckCPUIDLimit ---"
Press enter to finish

When ESX is booting from the HD, press Shift+o and type nocheckCPUIDlimit.

How to enable SSH in ESXi 4.0

2009-06-18T16:47:00.000-04:00

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

Delete and Reset Windows Vista Folder Views or Folder Types Settings to Default Clean State

2008-10-12T19:41:00.000-04:00

Click on Start button.
Type regedit in the Start Search box, and press Enter to run Registry Editor.
Click Continue on User Account Control dialog prompt.
In Registry Editor, navigate to the following registry branch:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags

Right click on Bags registry key in the left pane, and click Delete.
Click Yes when prompt for confirmation to delete the registry key and all its subkeys.
Next, navigate to the following registry key (it should be just below):
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\BagMRU

Right click on BagMRU registry key in the left pane, and click Delete.
Click Yes when prompt for confirmation to delete the registry key and all its subkeys.
Close Registry Editor.
Log off and log on again or restart computer so that the registry keys can be rebuilt and recreated.
After logged on, open Windows Explorer, go to Folder Options (Organize -> Folder and Search Options) View tab, and make sure the Remember each folder’s view settings is checked.
To ensure that any changes to Folder settings in Explorer window, close the Explorer window after changes to save the settings. Windows Vista will only remember the state of folders of the window is closed.

Source

Fix for "ORA-00704: bootstrap process failure / ORA-39700: database must be opened with UPGRADE option"

2008-10-02T12:12:00.000-04:00

1. Open a command prompt and browse to /rdbms/admin
1. Start sqlplus (sqlplus / as sysdba)
2. Run "startup upgrade"
3. Run @catproc.sql

How to Access Windows Live Hotmail with Mac OS X Mail

2008-10-02T01:22:00.001-04:00

http://email.about.com/cs/macosxmailtips/qt/et042503.htm

Receive Window Auto-Tuning on Vista

2008-09-21T13:29:00.000-04:00

You can restrict autotuning by running “netsh interface tcp set global autotuninglevel=restricted” from the command prompt. We have found that restricted mode will often allow some of the benefits of autotuning with a number of problematic devices.
Lastly, if all else fails, in order to disable this feature, run "netsh interface tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled".
(In order to reenable autotuning, run “netsh interface tcp set global autotuninglevel=normal”.)

Source:
http://blogs.msdn.com/wndp/archive/2007/07/05/receive-window-auto-tuning-on-vista.aspx

How to clean the recent projects list from Visual Studio 2008 Express edition

2008-09-18T12:41:00.000-04:00

HKCU/Software/Microsoft/VCSExpress/8.0/ProjectMRUList

Delete an Address from the Outlook Auto-Complete List

2008-06-05T11:53:00.000-04:00

To remove a name or email address from Outlook's auto-complete list:#

Create a new email message in Outlook.
Start typing the name or address you want to remove.
Use the down arrow key to highlight the desired (undesired) entry.
Press Del.

Source

How to bind to ADAM using generic LDAP browsers

2008-05-14T16:24:00.000-04:00

Update your ADAM instance's schema and add "msDS-bindableObject" to the "auxiliaryClass" "User" object type. See "Understanding ADAM bind redirection" for more info.
Create a new user (i.e. CN=Bind User,CN=Users,DC=example,DC=com") and add that user to the ADAM Administrators group (CN=Administrators,CN=Roles,DC=example,DC=com).
Set a password for this user and then use this user's DN and password to bind to ADAM from any generic LDAP browser.

How to Synchronize Active Directory to ADAM

2008-05-12T18:18:00.000-04:00

1. Create an ADAM partition using dsmgmt:

create nc dc=example,dc=com server:port

2. Click Start, point to All Programs, click ADAM, and then click ADAM Tools
Command Prompt to open a command window in the ADAM directory.

3. To extend the ADAM schema to match the default Windows Server 2003 schema objects in Active Directory, at the command prompt, type the following command on a single line, and then press ENTER:

ldifde -i -u -f MS-AdamSchemaW2K3.LDF -s server:port [-b username domain password] -j . -c "cn=Configuration,dc=X" #configurationNamingContext

4. To extend the ADAM schema to include schema objects that are required by Active Directory to ADAM Synchronizer, at the command prompt, type the following command on a single line, and then press ENTER:

ldifde -i -f MS-AdamSyncMetadata.LDF -s server:port [-b username domain password] -j . -c "cn=Configuration,dc=X" #configurationNamingContext

5. Modify the configuration file MS-AdamSyncConf.xml with the appropriate parameters:

Replace the value of with the name of the source Active Directory domain
Replace the value of with the distinguished name of the source domain,
Replace the value of with the name of an account in the Domain Admins group of the source domain,
Replace the value of with the fully qualified name of the source domain,
Replace the value of with the name of the partition of the target ADAM instance,
Replace the value of with the base distinguished name of the source domain,

Important Do not delete any unused fields from this file.

Example file:

6. Install the configuration file. At a command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
ADAMSync /install server:port MS-AdamSyncConf.xml /passPrompt

. Synchronize the data from the Active Directory forest to the ADAM configuration set. At a command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

adamsync /sync server:port "dc=example,dc=com" /log -

Fix for "ratlperl.exe - Unable To Locate Component : This application has failed to start because perl58.dll was not found." error

2008-04-30T16:40:00.000-04:00

http://www-1.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?ratlid=cctocbody&rs=984&uid=swg21119507

Fix for Special Folders Reverting to Default Folder Icon in Windows Vista

2008-04-16T20:06:00.000-04:00

My inbox has been flooded with people asking why the "pretty" icons in their user folder keep turning back into regular folder icons, and what they can do to fix it. After writing the first article about the Music folder, I decided to just put all of the information into a single article.

Using the same example as last time, the Music folder here is showing the generic folder icon instead of the slick one that it should be using.

The icons that are displayed on the folders are set through the hidden desktop.ini file inside of each folder. The problem is that a lot of applications seem to screw with this file and cause it to become corrupted or otherwise unusable. What we'll do here is just reset the offending file to the default values that I've listed here.

To open the desktop.ini file, you'll need to paste this command into the start menu search or run box, which will open the music folder's desktop.ini file.

notepad %USERPROFILE%\music\desktop.ini

If you wanted to open the desktop.ini file in the pictures folder instead, you'd substitute "pictures" for "music" in the command, like this:

notepad %USERPROFILE%\pictures\desktop.ini

You'll see a file that should look exactly like this, but probably does not.

Select the entire contents of the file and delete it, replacing the contents with the default values that I've listed below. (You only need to pick the one that matches the folder you are trying to edit)

Note that you will need to logout and back in to see the changes, or you could just restart explorer.exe if you are feeling ambitious.

Contacts

[.ShellClassInfo]
LocalizedResourceName=@%CommonProgramFiles%\system\wab32res.dll,-10100
InfoTip=@%CommonProgramFiles%\system\wab32res.dll,-10200
IconResource=%SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll,-181

Desktop

[.ShellClassInfo]
LocalizedResourceName=@%SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,-21769
IconResource=%SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll,-183

Documents

[.ShellClassInfo]
LocalizedResourceName=@%SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,-21770
IconResource=%SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll,-112
IconFile=%SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll
IconIndex=-235

Downloads

[.ShellClassInfo]
LocalizedResourceName=@%SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,-21798
IconResource=%SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll,-184

Favorites

[.ShellClassInfo]
LocalizedResourceName=@%SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,-21796
IconResource=%SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll,-115
IconFile=%SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll
IconIndex=-173

Links

[.ShellClassInfo]
LocalizedResourceName=@%SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,-21810
IconResource=%SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll,-185
DefaultDropEffect=4
[LocalizedFileNames]
Public.lnk=@shell32.dll,-21816
Searches.lnk=@shell32.dll,-9031
Recently Changed.lnk=@shell32.dll,-32813
Music.lnk=@shell32.dll,-21790
Pictures.lnk=@shell32.dll,-21779
Documents.lnk=@shell32.dll,-21770

Music

[.ShellClassInfo]
LocalizedResourceName=@%SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,-21790
InfoTip=@%SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,-12689
IconResource=%SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll,-108
IconFile=%SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll
IconIndex=-237
[LocalizedFileNames]
Sample Music.lnk=@%SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,-21806

Pictures

[.ShellClassInfo]
LocalizedResourceName=@%SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,-21779
InfoTip=@%SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,-12688
IconResource=%SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll,-113
IconFile=%SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll
IconIndex=-236
[LocalizedFileNames]
Sample Pictures.lnk=@%SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,-21805

Saved Games

[.ShellClassInfo]
LocalizedResourceName=@%SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,-21814
IconResource=%SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll,-186

Searches

[.ShellClassInfo]
LocalizedResourceName=@%SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,-9031
IconResource=%SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll,-18
[LocalizedFileNames]
Indexed Locations.search-ms=@shell32.dll,-32811
Everywhere.search-ms=@shell32.dll,-32814
Shared By Me.search-ms=@shell32.dll,-32802
Recent Music.search-ms=@shell32.dll,-32803
Recent Documents.search-ms=@shell32.dll,-32804
Recent Pictures and Videos.search-ms=@shell32.dll,-32806
Recent E-mail.search-ms=@shell32.dll,-32807
Recently Changed.search-ms=@shell32.dll,-32813

Videos

[.ShellClassInfo]
LocalizedResourceName=@%SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,-21791
InfoTip=@%SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,-12690
IconResource=%SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll,-189
IconFile=%SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll
IconIndex=-238
[LocalizedFileNames]
Sample Videos.lnk=@%SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,-21807

Hopefully by this point your icons should be back to looking good again…

Source

Configure Microsoft Active Directory for SSL Access

2008-03-25T19:14:00.000-04:00

Source

How to Generate a Certificate from an Internal CA

2008-03-25T18:45:00.000-04:00

Configuring the Certificate Authority

Note:

In order to add the Certificate Service Web Enrollment component (subcomponent to CA), which we’re going to use in this article, the server needs to be running IIS, so if you haven’t already done so, install IIS before continuing with this article.

To install the CA component, do the following:

Click Start > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs
Select Add/Remove Windows Components
Put a checkmark in Certificate Services

Below screen will popup as a warning, just click Yes > then Next

We now have to select what type of CA to use, choose Enterprise root CA and click Next

In the following screen we have to fill out the Common name for our CA, which in this article is mail.testdomain.com.

Leave the other fields untouched and click Next >

We now have the option of specifying an alternate location for the certificate database, database log, and configuration information. In this article we will use the defaults, which in most cases should be just fine.

Now click Next >

The Certificate Service component will be installed, when it’s completed, click Finish

Creating the Certificate Request

Now that we have installed the Certificate Services component, it’s time to create the Certificate Request for our Default Website. We should therefore do the following:

Click Start > Administrative Tools > Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager
Expand Websites > Right-click Default Website then select Properties
Now hit the Directory Security tab
Under Secure Communications click Server Certificate…

As we’re going to create a new certificate, leave the first option selected and click Next >

Because we’re using our own CA, select Prepare the request now, but send it later, then click Next >

Type a descriptive name for the Certificate and click Next >

We now need to enter our organization name and the organizational unit (which should be pretty self-explanatory), then click Next >

In the next screen we need to pay extra attention, as the common name reflects the external FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name), to spell it out, this is the address external users have to type in their browsers in order to access OWA from the Internet.

Note: As many (especially small to midsized) companies don’t publish their Exchange servers directly to the Internet, but instead runs the Exchange server on a private IP address, they let their ISP’s handle their external DNS settings. In most cases the ISP creates a so called A record named mail.domain.com pointing to the company’s public IP address, which then forwards the appropriate port (443) to the Exchange servers internal IP address.

When your have entered a Common Name click Next >

Now it’s time to specify the Country/Region, State/Province and City/locality, this shouldn’t need any further explanation, when you have filled out each field, click Next >

In the below screen we have to enter the name of the certificate request we’re creating, the default is just fine, click Next >

In this screen we can see all the information we filled in during the previous IIS Certificate Wizard screens, if you should have made a mistake, this is your last chance to correct it. If everything looks fine click Next >

And finally we can click Finish.

Getting the Pending Request accepted by our Certificate Authority

Now that we have a pending Certificate Request, we need to have it accepted by our CA, which is done the following way:

On the server open Internet Explorer
Type http://server/certsrv

Note: In order to access the Certsvr virtual folder, you may be prompted to enter a valid username/password, if this is the case use the Administrator account. When you have been validated the Windows 2003 Server will most probably block the content of the CertSrv virtual folder, which means you wil have to add it to your trusted sites in order to continue.

Now that you’re welcomed by the Certificate Services, select Request a Certificate

Click advanced certificate request

Under Advanced Certificate Request click Submit a certificate request by using a base-64-encoded CMC or PKCS #10 file, or submit a renewal request by using a base-64-encoded PKCS #7 file

Now we need to insert the content of the certreq.txt file we created earlier, you can do this by clicking the Browse for a file to insert or by opening the certreq.txt file in notepad, then copy/paste the content as shown in the screen below, then click Submit >

Now select Base 64 encoded then click Download certificate

Click Save

Choose to save the certnew.cer on the C: drive > then click Save

Close the Microsoft Certificate Services IE window.

Appending the Certificate to the Default Website

Okay it’s time to append the approved Certificate to our Default Website, to accomplish this we need to do the following:

Click Start > Administrative Tools > Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager
Expand Websites > Right-click Default Website then select Properties
Now select the Directory Security tab
Under Secure Communications click Server Certificate… > then Next

Select Process the pending request and install the certificate > click Next >

Unless you have any specific requirements to what port SSL should run at, leave the default (443) untouched, then click Next >

You will now see a summary of the Certificate, again if you should have made any mistakes during the previous wizard screens, this is the final chance to correct them, otherwise just click Next >

The Certificate has now been successfully installed and you can click Finish

Enabling SSL on the Default Website

We have now appended the Certificate to our Default Website, but before the data transmitted between the clients and the server is encrypted, we need to click the Edit… button under Secure Communications.

Here we should put a checkmark in Require Secure Channel (SSL) and Require 128-bit encryption just like below:

Now click OK.

Testing our SSL enabled Default Website

Now that we have gone through all the configuration steps necessary to enable SSL on our Default Website, it’s time to test if our configuration actually works.

From the server (or a client) open Internet Explorer, then type:

http://exchange_server/exchange

You should get a screen similar to the one shown below:

This is absolutely fine, as we shouldn’t be allowed to access the Default Website (and any virtual folders below) through an unsecure connection. Instead we should make a secure connetion which is done by typing https, therefore type below URL instead:

https://exchange_server/exchange

The following box should appear:

Note: You may have noticed the yellow warning sign, this informs us The name on the security certificate is invalid or does not match the name of the site. Don’t worry there’s nothing wrong with this, the reason why it appears is because we aren’t accessing OWA through the common name, which we specified when the certificate was created. When you access OWA from an external client through mail.testdomain.com/exchange, this warning will disappear.

Click Yes

You will now be prompted for a valid username/password in order to enter your mailbox, for testing purposes just use the administrator account, like shown below:

Now click OK

We should now see the Administrator mailbox.

Notice the yellow padlock in the lower right corner, a locked padlock indicates a secure connection, which means OWA now uses SSL.

Source

Windows Media Player Firefox Plugin

2008-02-14T21:31:00.000-05:00

http://port25.technet.com/pages/windows-media-player-firefox-plugin-download.aspx

Fix for Vista Winodws Update Error Code 80004002

2007-12-20T00:38:00.000-05:00

When running Windows Update in Vista to check for updates, Windows Update fails to check and search for any new updates or hotfixes available with the following error message:

Windows could not search for new updates
Error(s) found:
Code 80004002

Clicking on Try again button does not help, and the error page keeps coming back. Get help link meanwhile does not have much information regarding code 80004002 even from online help. Sometimes, error code 80004002 may also appear when Windows Update or Automatic Update detects new updates been released, and prompt to user notification about the new updates. However, user can or cannot download the updates, and updates will not install, with system generates error code 80004002.

Error 0×80040002 is a standard COM error that related to E_NOINTERFACE, which means some COM DLL components on the system is not correctly registered, or has become corrupted. It’s probably due to this reason that Windows Update process cannot find the interfaces that its dependencies DLL exports.

To solve and fix the 80040002 stop error on Windows Vista Update, try the following resolution to re-register the Windows Update related DLLs.

Open an elevated command prompt, and type the following commands. Press ‘ENTER’ key after each command:

regsvr32 wuapi.dll
regsvr32 wuaueng.dll
regsvr32 wuaueng1.dll
regsvr32 wucltui.dll
regsvr32 wups.dll
regsvr32 wups2.dll
regsvr32 wuweb.dll

There may be some errors on registering on the DLL, which can be ignored. Once re-registered, check for updates again. In most case, Automatic Update will work almost immediately. If trick does not work, try to disable UAC. You can always re-enable the UAC once the Windows Update gets working again.

If the WU 80004002 problem still persists, install Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) will probably solve all problems. Currently, Vista SP1 has RC version which is in near-complete stable stage. Users can download Vista SP1 RC via Windows Update or download Vista SP1 RC standalone setup package to install.

Source: http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/12/19/fix-vista-winodws-update-error-code-80004002/

Get Vista and Samba to work

2007-12-17T15:26:00.001-05:00

Early adopters of Microsoft’s new Vista operating system may notice that it will not connect to Samba share folders out of the box. This will be a bit of a pain for many enterprise customers. The technical reason is because Microsoft Vista’s default security policy is to only use NTLMv2 authentication. According to a Google search Samba doesn’t support this yet.

Update: Some readers have pointed out that NTLMv2 authentication is supported in Samba 3.0. However, this certainly wasn't an option to get this running in my instance.

To get Vista to work with Samba follow the simple instructions below:

1. Open the Run command and type "secpol.msc".

2. Press "continue" when prompted by Vista.

3. Click on "Local Policies" --> "Security Options"

4. Navigate to the policy "Network Security: LAN Manager authentication level" and open it.

5. By default Windows Vista sets the policy to "NTVLM2 responses only". Change this to "LM and NTLM – use NTLMV2 session security if negotiated".

Once you’ve done this Windows Vista will be able to view network drives based on Samba servers and should fix any issues around using Samba as a Primary Domain Controller.

Source:
http://www.builderau.com.au/blogs/codemonkeybusiness/viewblogpost.htm?p=339270746

Why my CHM file does not work?

2007-12-12T20:00:00.001-05:00

CHM viewer component may not be registered. Why this can happen? A lot of reason - don't even try to understand. Just run from your command prompt (elevated command prompt in Vista) "regsvr32 hhctrl.ocx" if you get "OK" - try to open file again.