kOrAb's Tech Blog

Kaseya AV: Conflicting Antivirus Silent Removal

2012-05-26T16:02:00.000-07:00

Being an administrator who handles no less than 1000 workstations and servers in a managed environment using Kaseya, one of the sickening thing to deal with is having to install/deploy the managed antivirus on machines with lots of conflicting applications. While Kaseya doesn't have the ability to silently remove any program applications **silently, it's necessary that you logged in remotely and manually remove/uninstall anything barring the deployment of the managed AV.

Thanks to Kaseya Live Connect. After several research and with the info I gathered, I am able to do the thing I need. One of the very powerful feature of Live Connect is the ability to perform execute commands via Command Shell like you're running it inside a Windows Box. So how did this help? Under Audit Page >> Add Remove >> Uninstall String, you will see uninstall strings you need to remove certain applications. See Figure 1 below:

Figure 1: Uninstall String

I have gathered some of the uninstall strings that I have proven to work flawlessly. I will provide my collection of working uninstall strings later on this post but let's just take for example the uninstall string for removing Microsoft Security Essentials. It is:

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Security Client\Setup.exe" /x /s

Take note: the quotes are necessary. Now, connect via Live Connect to your target machine and then click on Command Shell. See Figure 2 below.

Figure 2: Running the Uninstall String via Live Connect's Command Shell

Enter the uninstall string and then wait. Silent uninstall should take around 15 to 30 minutes. But having to monitor quite a number of machines, why should I bother waiting? But rest assured, when I get back with it, Microsoft Security Essential should then be cleared.

As promised, below are my tested uninstall strings with the working parameters. You may have to double check on the versions of the AV installed via Audit Page.
Microsoft Security Essentials:
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Security Client\Setup.exe" /x /s
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Security Essentials\Setup.exe" /x /s
Note: Check the exact path for the 64bit machines

Symantec AV

MsiExec.exe /x {49C27FB0-CEEF-4A11-8114-0BFE336D3884} /qb
MsiExec.exe /x {84B70C16-7032-41EE-965C-3C8D9D566CBB} /qb
MsiExec.exe /x {B1FB7D5C-20CE-4CB6-8F39-306EFDA8290C} /qb
MsiExec.exe /x {A3AEEA68-AC93-4F6F-8D2D-78BBF7E422B8} /qb

Managed Mcafee AV

Agent ID
MsiExec.exe /q /x {362678B4-6ED5-46E9-A6B2-53EF22159151}

App ID (Must be removed first before the agent)
VirusScan 8.0
msiexec.exe /x {5DF3D1BB-894E-4DCD-8275-159AC9829B43} REMOVE=ALL REBOOT=R /q
VirusScan 8.5
msiexec.exe /x {35C03C04-3F1F-42C2-A989-A757EE691F65} REMOVE=ALL REBOOT=R /q
VirusScan 8.7
msiexec.exe /x {147BCE03-C0F1-4C9F-8157-6A89B6D2D973} REMOVE=ALL /q

**Silent AV removal - refers to the ability to remove AV applications without having to interfere with what the current user is doing on the machine.

The Galaxy Range Embraces a Plunge In Size With The New Samsung Pocket

2012-04-05T04:42:00.000-07:00

The Samsung Galaxy Pocket is one of the upcoming smartphones from the Samsung range with a difference, with the title of this smartphone being a definite suggestion of its character. Samsung has been listening to the budget conscious amongst us, announcing a handset that, well, is exactly what it says on the tin; compact in size and very easy on the pocket!! This entry level handset is an ideal choice for those users looking for a lower priced unit that still offers an impressive performance and a quality brand. While sitting alongside the Galaxy S, S2 and upcoming S3, Samsung Galaxy Pocket contracts are much more affordable than those for the higher end devices.

The smallest smartphone in the Galaxy range measures in at only 103 mm x 57 mm wide whilst being 12 mm thick and weighing 97 g in weight.
Features include a 2.8″ touch screen, with a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels, utilising the TouchWiz UX user interface. The Samsung Galaxy Pocket runs on the slightly older gingerbread version of the android operating system and powered by an 832MHz processor. Although the unit only allows for an internal memory capacity of 3 GB, the integrated micro-SD card slot offers the possibility of increasing this to a much more respectable 32GB, for storing music or other external files.

The Samsung Galaxy Pocket comes with Wi-Fi connectivity as well as offering users the option to choose between 3G or EDGE for their internet connection. The unit also boasts Bluetooth 3.0, USB and GPS data connectivity. This ‘pocket sized’ smartphone features various pre-installed Google services such as; Gmail; YouTube; Google Maps; Search; Google Plus and more. Widgets can easily be installed or uninstalled as well as free and paid for apps available for download. Other features include; FM radio with RDS capability for the music lovers out there; a vibration and ring selection which allow the user to utilise MP3 ringtones as well as the conventional 3.5mm headset jack and loudspeaker.

Considering the small size of the smartphone, the battery used on the Galaxy Pocket is quite the opposite! It utilises a Lithium-ion 1200 mAh battery which should last for a minimum of 6 hours talk time. Finally this entry level smartphone offers a 2.0 megapixel snapshot style camera which performs at a screen resolution of 1600 x 1200 pixels. It also has the ability to record video at QVGA quality with about 15 frames per second and last but not least the unit comes with geo-tagging as well as sensors in the likes of Digital Compass and Accelerometer.

Sony Goes it Alone with the Xperia S

2012-01-11T13:26:00.000-08:00

Unveiled at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the Xperia S marks the first attempt by Sony to produce a smartphone since it purchased Ericsson's 50% share of Sony Ericsson at the end of last year. The new Xperia phone still retains much of the design and branding of the smartphones that have been launched by Sony Ericsson in the past few years, but with complete control over the design and production many are expecting this to be a turning point for Sony in the smartphone industry.

Sony is a market leader in many areas of the electronics industry – including TVs and portable entertainment devices – but has never quite enjoyed the same level of success when it comes to phones. The split with Ericsson comes after a period of ten years when the partnership introduced many of the features we now take for granted on phones – including digital cameras and music/video playback.

One of the most disappointing things about Sony Ericsson phones over the past few years has been their inability to keep up with market trends and developments. At the start of last year the LG Optimus 2X introduced dual core processors, which have since appeared on the bestselling phones of 2011 including the Samsung Galaxy S2 and iPhone 4S. But Sony Ericsson's main offerings from last year, the Xperia Arc / Arc S and the Xperia Play didn't managed to incorporate this new development.

The new Xperia S (not to be confused with the Xperia Arc S) is the first dual core phone that Sony will release. At 1.5GHz and with 1GB RAM, it is one of the most powerful phones currently around. But is this too little too late? The industry is all gearing up to switch to quad core, and the first quad core phones could be unveiled either this week at CES or Mobile World Congress in February with quad core phone contracts being on sale within this quarter.

Perhaps this will put off some people who may be holding out for quad core, but the Xperia S still remains one of the most powerful phones running Android Gingerbread. It doesn't have Ice Cream Sandwich unfortunately, but on the plus side it appears that Sony has spent a lot of time revamping its Timescape system. Timescape was probably one of the biggest gripes that people have had with Sony Ericsson phones in the last couple of years as it was badly designed and caused severe performance issues. It looks like the new design not only looks a lot better but performs better too.

The phone also has a pretty decent camera – the 12 megapixel camera comes with LED flash and 1080p video, placing it slightly above the current industry norm. A 1.3 megapixel camera on the front is also one of the highest resolution video calling cameras on offer.

In terms of physical design, the Xperia S looks like it could be the biggest change for quite some time. The last several Xperia phones have all looked almost identical and this may have been one of the reasons why people started to lose interest. The new phone is fresh looking, and has a unique transparent band around the bottom that really sets it apart from a market full of very samey phones. The Xperia S is expected to be launched in the coming months, and like the Lumia 800 for Nokia, this could be a make or break device for Sony. So far things are looking good, and if Sony keeps it up they may be able to push themselves back into the market in a significant way.

Event 1059: The DHCP service failed to see a directory server for authorization

2011-08-13T06:07:00.000-07:00

Event ID	1059
Source	DhcpServer
Type	Error
Description	The DHCP service failed to see a directory server for authorization.

Try one of these solutions:
A. Restart DHCP Server service. Check you Event Viewer. Verify if you're getting Event 1044 on you System Log. This log confirmed that your server is now authorized to start and service clients.

B. On some other instances, restarting DHCP Server service doesn't work. Netsh should do the trick. Do this:
1. On your command prompt, run this command: "netsh dhcp add server ServerDNSServerIP"
Example: netsh dhcp add server dhcp.yourserver 192.168.0.101

This command adds the server to the list of authorized servers in Active Directory. Don't forget to restart the DHCP Server service and verify your System Log.

Event 1016:The DHCP service encountered the following error when backing up the database

2011-08-13T05:38:00.000-07:00

Event ID	1016
Source	DHCP
Type	Error
Description	The DHCP service encountered the following error while backing up the database:

As per Microsoft: "The DHCP service uses a JET database to store configuration and lease information. The service creates a backup copy of its database at a regular interval. Any program or service other than the DHCP service gaining access to the files in the DHCP directory may cause a sharing violation. As a result of the sharing violation, the DHCP service stops processing all client requests because it requires exclusive access to its database and log files".

Based on experience, these fix should work one way or the other.

A. Disable Content Indexing on the DHCP folder:

1. Right click on c:\Windows\System32\DHCP
2. Select Properties >> Advance.
3. Under General tab, uncheck "Allow files in this folder to have contents indexed..."
4. Restart DHCP Server service

B. Anti-Virus Exclusions
1. Depends on your Anti-Virus, add DHCP folder to the scan exclusions.
2. Restart DHCP Server service.

Checking Gmail on YahooMail

2011-04-19T17:07:00.000-07:00

Checking your Gmail accounts inside YahooMail was already in placed before Yahoo introduced the new look recently. I did tried it but it wasn't working then yet beacause Yahoo doesn't support IMAP. That was almost over a year ago. But when the new YahooMail interface was activated, I was surprised to see old and new emails from my Gmail coming in. I then remembered that my previous settings was still intact.

I honestly have three (3) Gmail active accounts which I checked in daily. Although I have introduced How To Open Multiple Gmail Accounts Using Firefox in my previous post, I find this better and more convenient. Imagine, you do not only have the capability to check your Yahoo Mail but also your Google Mail.

Well, I am not just going to brag on my latest discovery but I am also going to let you have a piece of the cake.

How to check your Gmail inside Yahoomail?

Before proceeding, let us first create a folder where your Gmail emails will be populated. This is necessary so that they won't mix up with your Yahoo mail. To create a Folder, just click on the "+" sign on the folder section.

Now let's setup you account.

1. Login to your Yahoo mail account.
2. Click Options >> Mail Options

3. On the left pane select Accounts >> Add Accounts

4. Fill in the Sending Mail section. Make sure you entered your Gmail email. This email can also be set as "Reply To" email.

5. Fill in the Receiving Mail section. This is the part where Yahoo will check for your Gmail. Just fill in the values required. Point "Deliver incoming message to:" to the folder you just created. Follow the values entered for the Server and in the Advanced Options.

6. Save you settings and wait for you email to fill in your folder. Repeat the same process if you have two or more Google mails to check.

Shoot me a comment if you need assistance. God bless.

Mapping Your GoDaddy Domain to Work with a Blogger Blog - Revisited

2011-02-13T14:11:00.000-08:00

I just bought recently a new domain for our baby's Life Journal. I call it Simply Mikaela - Alex's Journey to Life - A Daddy's Journal. The description speaks for itself.

So much for the introduction. This post is actually a review of my previous article - Mapping Your GoDaddy Domain to Work with a Blogger Blog. I noticed that there were some changes on GoDaddy. The same thing applies though but you might find yourself astray if you follow the old instructions. So here's the updated version.

Mapping Your GoDaddy Domain to Work with a Blogger Blog

1. Log in to your GoDaddy account. On the upper right click on My Account >> My Products

2. Click on View in Domain Manager

3. Click on the domain you want to Map

4. Click on Launch below the DNS Manager

5. Edit "www" by putting your mouse over to the pencil icon and then click on it.

6. Enter the value as seen on the image below

You domain is now ready. But when somebody types www.domain.com instead of just domain.com, you browser won't be able to recognize that. So let's do a little forwarding.

7. Go back to Domain Manager by clicking it right on top.

8. Pull down the Forward options and then select Forward Domain.

9. On the domain box, type your domain with www. See example below. Click OK.

You are now done with GoDaddy. Let's configure your Blogger Blog.

1. Log in to your Blogger account and go to Settings >> Publishing

2. Under Advance Settings, enter your domain with the "www". You don't have to tick on Redirect because it has been configured at GoDaddy. Save and your ready.

You might have to wait for a while for changes to take effect but you should see your domain mapped to your Blogger Blog after a cup of coffee or a little bit more patience than that.

Windows Live: Exploring Photo Fuse

2010-12-28T13:52:00.000-08:00

This is part of the installment regarding my experience with Windows Live Essentials. Previously I've mentioned about Windows Live Mesh. This time, I'll be walking you through on how to use Photo Fuse. Photo Fuse is only part of the powerful features that the Windows Live Photo Gallery can offer. The photo on the left was taken near our blooming Wax Apple. Some call it Java Apple or Love Apple. Locally, it's called Makopa.

Believe me. These two kids ain't a twin. She's Alex. Our one and only Gem. It's actually a two picture of her taken one after the other and then fuse together using Windows Live Photo Gallery.

Before we will proceed for the instructions, you might have to visit my previous post on how to install Windows Live Mesh and make sure you select Photo Gallery and Movie Maker if you prefer not to install all the components of Windows Live Essentials.

Here's how I did it.
1. I took two pictures of her on the same spot. You'll probably need a tripod for a neat fusing output. But not necessary though if you're only doing this for fun.

2. I created a folder inside my Pictures library and place it in there. This is necessary for easy browsing with Photo Gallery.
3. Open Windows Live Photo Gallery. It should be listed in the All Programs section after the successful installation of Windows Live Essentials.
4. Browse to the folder inside your Pictures library where you put the pictures and then select all.

5. Click the Create tab >> Photo Fuse.

6. Expand the selection box to the right until you see that portion of the second picture you wanted to appear on the first picture. Click the preview of that second portion. Photo Fuse will now do its part. Click save when done.

Didn't I mentioned that even a novice can do this?

Shoot me a comment if you need assistance. I hope you enjoy my last article for this year. Merry Christmas and a Blessed 2011 to all!

Windows 7: Ignoring the Guest Account

2010-12-25T02:32:00.000-08:00

Windows 7 got lots of good features in terms of usability, management, security and maintenance. And if you have a Laptop or PC shared among friends and relatives, expect an unbearable headache having to reconfigure your PC from modified System Settings, installed unnecessary Programs, excessive writing to disk and worst, reformat your hard drive if all else fails. Don't you know that the Guest Account can address this issue? While Guest Account is the most ignored item in Windows 7, it can perfectly save you time from having to reconfigure your Computer and spare you some headache from annoying users who loves personalize stuff that doesn't belong to them.

By default, Guest Account is disabled on Windows 7. Let's check how Guest Account can help when enabled.

So how do we enable the Guest Account?
1. Open the Control Panel
2. Under the "User Accounts and Family Safety", click "Add or remove user accounts"

3. Click on Guest Account.

4. Click on the "Turn On" button.

Shoot me a comment if you need assistance.

Complete Collaboration Suite For An Academic Institution

2010-11-26T17:54:00.000-08:00

For more than two years since 2007 to 2009, I have been an IT Support Engineer to one of the IT Company based in Dallas, Texas, USA. Yes, you heard me right. While sitting at the comfort of our home here in the Philippines, I was given an opportunity to showcase my talent and skills in the field of Information and Communication Technology to the American clients. It was not easy though having to relate with them using their dialect. It was guts, confidence, my family and faith in God that help me made it through.

I was excelling in terms of performance based on the numbers of tasks completed in a week. And even worked overtime unpaid.

While given the chance to relate with our American clients, I found two things that is essential to their everyday office needs: email and instant messaging. Email have become more like having to brush your teeth, take a bath and eat. It's part of their lives. I also found out that ticket system is not only useful in handling issues but also a good tool in project management and tracking. Having all these experiences combined with my knowledge in server handling particularly Linux server, I come up with an idea of creating a Complete Collaboration Suite for an Academic Institution. But of course, utilizing the available Open Source applications. I'll be mentioning them later on.

Most universities here in the Philippines already have an email but doesn't have a collaboration features or at least most of them don't. Instant messaging was also not a good consideration. Much more with Ticket System. These things are no longer a question as to how it can be utilized in bigger corporations or even to a medium-sized companies to increase productivity and improve collaboration. So I did a further research how can Email, Instant Messaging and Ticket System can help improve collaboration and motivates productivity in an Academic Field. I have combined all those sources and this is what I come up with along with the available Open Source applications that I believe can help. I will only site the advantages of each.

Advantages of Email using Zimbra Collaboration Suite:

Fast
Cost of sending an email is zero or negligible
Emails can be sent in bulk
Able to send with attachments
Email is accessible
Built in spell checking
Can be formal as well as informal
Email storage and management
Secured
Easy reference
Resource Sharing
Calendar Sharing

Advantages of Instant Messaging using Openfire:

Rapid information dissemination
Faster, more immediate decision-making
The ability to be more responsive
The ability to achieve more in meetings
Motivates team productivity
Secured - SSL based encryption
Resource sharing

Advantages of Ticket System using osTicket:

Tickets can be created via email, online forms or jabber (created by staff).
Issues or Projects are documented
Tickets are archived
Easy reference
Progress are tracked
Accessible

I currently have a running complete package in one of the University. I am glad that they whole-heartedly embrace the idea despite other concerns. We are currently in the testing phase. But we'll surely get to the top.

Windows Live: Keep Your Files In Sync Across PCs Around The Globe

2010-11-05T15:23:00.000-07:00

At the office, I worked on three servers and a PC. I have several documents, files and softwares on each of these machines that I am accessing and updating every now and then. The most critical part happens when some of the documents that needs to be updated and there are important changes made just when things gets rough that I need to transfer them manually via Flash Drives. I usually lost track of the updated version especially when I also brought a copy at home for some changes.

Thanks to Windows Live Mesh, I can now virtually sync my files wherever I am and whatever PCs or Laptops I use. All you need to have is a broadband connection and the rest is just right at your fingertips, FREE! I also forgot to mention the FREE 5Gigabyte space that you can use to store your stuffs.

Setting Windows Live Mesh is easy
Download the latest version of Windows Live Essentials. And then install after downloading.

It will then prompt you to let you select whether to install all the free applications of Windows Live or choose what you want to install and then click install.

If you choose the second option, make sure that you select Windows Live Mesh.

The installer will then download and install the application.

It might require you to restart the PC after installation.

Running Windows Live Mesh

Click the Start button ,
Type Mesh in the search field
Click Windows Live Mesh

You will be required to sign in if this is your first time to connect to Window Live Mesh.

I won't go into much details to get you started but here's some quick tips to get you in-sync immediately. On the PC or Laptops where files needs to be synchronized, click on Sync a Folder.

Then browse through the folder of your choice. Make sure you have everything you need on that folder. Then wait for a while. On the other PCs or Laptop, do the same thing. But this time, all you have to do is create the same folder name as you have on your first PC. Windows Live Mesh will then have that folder synchronized in no time.

You may play around to get you familiarize. Shoot me a comment if you needed assistance. God bless!

Google Apps: Free Custom Email For Your Domain for Blogger

2010-10-18T20:16:00.000-07:00

Google Apps doesn't only provide free email for your domain but a custom email for your domain. While Yahoomail, Standard Gmail, Hotmail, Mail and other free email service can help, having a custom email for your domain will give you a professional look. Like for example my domain is korabtech.com. It's best to have admin@korabtech.com rather than admin@gmail.com or admin@yahoo.com.

There are actually two Editions for Google Apps: the Standard (which is free) and the Premiere Edition (paid of course). Standard Edition offers 50 free user accounts. More than enough of what I require. While the Premiere Edition is unlimited. Check here for more comparisons.

Setting up a Google Apps account whether Standard or Premiere is very simple. The tricky part goes with your domain MX record settings. My blog is hosted by Blogger and my domain is by goDaddy. So my simple tutorial will be limited to these areas. But if you know how to configure the MX record with your domain, same thing should apply.

Setting up a FREE custom email for your goDaddy domain and Blogger blog.
Create a Standard or Premiere Edition Google Apps account. When your account has been created, Google Apps will provide you with free guide on how to setup your domain's MX record. But their goDaddy quide seem outdated. I could hardly follow their guide so I created mine here.

Follow these simple steps to configure your goDaddy's MX record.
1. Log in to your goDaddy account. Go to your domain and then click Advance Details.

2. Click on the Total DNS Control link

3. Scroll down to the Mail Exchange section. Click on the Add New MX Record Button

4. On the HostName put: "@". Enter the following Google Mail Exchange address based on their priorities. Just follow the image below.

MX Server address	Priority
ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM.	1
ALT2.ASPMX.L.GOOGLE.COM.	5
ASPMX3.GOOGLEMAIL.COM.	10
ASPMX5.GOOGLEMAIL.COM.	10

If you have successfully configured all the MX records, wait up to 48hrs. In my case, I got my custom email up and running in less than an hour. It will actually depend on how soon Google refreshes their MX records.

Shoot me a comment if you needed assistance. God Bless!

Zimbra on Red Hat EL5

2010-10-18T01:29:00.000-07:00

Zimbra, as part of VMware, Inc., is the leader in open source, next-generation email and collaboration software. Zimbra is simplifying IT and setting the standard for web and cloud based collaboration with innovative user experiences, such as a rich AJAX web interface. Streamlined administration, advanced mobility and both on-premises and hosted cloud deployment options have quickly made Zimbra a preferred collaboration platform for businesses, service providers, government and educational institutions. With more than 60 million paid mailboxes worldwide, Zimbra is one of the largest and fastest growing email providers.

Count me in. I am starting to like Zimbra. As I look through the differences between the two Editions, I've decided to just settle with the Open Source Edition. The Network Edition with its enterprise class features, surely has a lot to offer. But we only need basic email and collaboration and do not require enterprise features. The Open Source Edition perfectly meet our needs.

Installation was also smooth on Red Hat EL5. Although I've encountered some bumps, but going over through the documentation and its requirements will surely get you running in no time. And I would agree that Zimbra is really the leader in open source, next-generation email and collaboration.

Installing osTicket On RedHat Enterprise Linux

2010-10-12T19:01:00.000-07:00

osTicket is a widely-used open source support ticket system. It seamlessly integrates inquiries created via email, phone and web-based forms into a simple easy-to-use multi-user web interface. Manage, organize and archive all your support requests and responses in one place while providing your customers with accountability and responsiveness they deserve.

This post is actually and definitely not a tutorial on how to install osTicket on RedHat EL. The instructions that comes along the with package is straight-forward and very comprehensive. So I don't think there's a need for a tutorial anymore. I am only going to elaborate some problems during installation and my solutions to it.

Installing osTicket on Mandriva 2009 and 2010 Powerpack runs smoothly. But on RedHat EL, it will give you blank screen after pressing the Install button. I go over the instructions and found out that nothing was missing. But when I go over the requirements needed to be installed prior to installing osTicket, Php and MySQL must be installed. You also need to consider other extension PHP packages like php-pdo and php-mysql. Doing so, you are good to go.

Profiling Students - A GIS Application

2010-10-03T14:37:00.000-07:00

Dr. Al Tongco, a pure bred Filipino and a GIS guru based in Oklahoma State University was invited to conduct a Seminar Workshop on Geographical Information System (GIS). His presentation was a proposal on an Integrated Management - a GIS approach. It was a very interesting topic since GIS hasn't yet become a practical application on a University setup. He tackle on several areas in making GIS a good source of income and an asset for research and development.

Here are some of the points he mentioned:

Building the GIS Capability of a University
Objective by Focus Area
GIS in Various Focus Areas
Integrated GIS Model
The Business Case of GIS:
Disciplines & Industries Using GIS

He also introduced an open-source tool to assist us in implementing GIS called MapWindow. I am currently doing a project on profiling the university student on a GIS approach. This project aims to help us analyze not only the geographical locations of every student but as well as the more in-depth data like number of students enrolled on an area, identify their religious affiliations and much more. The statistical data can then be used to analyze potential areas for promotions, outreach and more.

Since the project is still under development, great ideas are welcome. You may use the contact form on this website to get in touch with the Author. God bless!

Regarding Dr. Al Tongco, besides his affiliations with Oklahoma State University, he's also the founder of PhilGIS - a source of free GIS data in the Philippines.

Windows Server 2008: Sharing Internet Between Hyper-V Network And Physical Network - Part 2

2010-09-16T17:47:00.000-07:00

Part 1 of this post is actually enough to get this thing going to those who can assume what to do next. But for the benefit of those who doesn't follow yet how to completely configure Internet Sharing between Hyper-V hosts and the existing network, you may proceed reading.

By default, when you configure a NIC for internet sharing, the IP set on it is 192.168.137.1. But if you wanted to modify the IP to fit your existing subnet like my case, check my older post on how to modify the default ICS DHCP range.

Phase 3 - Preparing the Virtual Hosts

Assuming that your External Virtual Network router IP is 192.168.1.1 and your existing Windows 7 and Windows XP workstations are already on that subnet, all computer should now be able to access the internet except the virtual hosts.

Configuring the Virtual Hosts:
1. Add the External Virtual Network adapter to each Virtual Hosts. Follow these steps to do that:

Open Hyper-V Manager. Right-click on one of the Virtual Hosts >> Settings
Add Hardware >> Network Adapter
On the Network, select the External Virtual Network >> Add
Do this on the rest of the Virtual Hosts you wanted to connect to the network.

2. Configuring Windows XP hosts. This OS doesn't have yet the capability to integrate itself to the Hyper-V server. To make this OS work with Hyper-V network, we need to insert the Integration Services. Follow these steps to do that.

Run the Windows XP virtual hosts.
When the OS is completely loaded, go to the File Menu. Click Action >> Insert Integration Services Setup Disk.
It will install the driver to load the MS Virtual Machine Network Bus Adapter. This will serve as your Local Network Adapter.
Assign an IP address to connect to your External Virtual Network e.g. 192.168.1.2. On the other hand, if you configure internet sharing without modifying the default ICS DHCP range, this host should be able to connect to the internet via DHCP. Same thing with Windows 7 hosts.

3. Configuring Windows 7 hosts. This OS is already compatible with Hyper-V. Thus Integration Services will no longer be necessary. So go ahead and assign an IP.

Phase 4 - Testing

Fire up! Run your Virtual Hosts like any other workstation that you have. They should be able to access the internet, share and access network resources. Shoot me a comment if you have problems.

Still confuse or unable to follow the instructions? You may have stumbled upon this page directly. Please read the Part-1 of this post for you to be able to comprehend. God bless!

Windows Server 2008: Sharing Internet Between Hyper-V Network And Physical Network - Part 1

2010-09-16T17:46:00.000-07:00

Currently, I have a network of Windows 7 and Windows XP workstations combined. Now I have two virtual hosts: Windows 7 and Windows XP both created using Hyper-V. I needed this virtual hosts for testing purposes. I've got some bunch of scripts that needs testing before deploying. Now what? I wanted these virtual hosts to connect to my local network and be able to access the internet like any other workstations on my LAN. They also need to have access to the network resources. In short, I wanted to have replica of my Winodows 7 and Windows XP workstations on Hyper-V.

I did some research and thorough reading but failed. Until I ended up experimenting. Although my research didn't actually help solve my issues but it somehow guided me leading to a perfect solution. It was actually as easy as I thought it was otherwise. I am very much satisfied of the exact solution I found. What I love in this solution is that I don't need to create a separate Hyper-V network to be bound to my existing network. Pretty complicated that way.

Here are the requirements:
1. Windows XP and Windows 7 Hyper-V hosts
2. NIC1 connected to the internet
3. NIC2 to be used as Virtual Network Switch for both Hyper-V network/hosts and the existing LAN
4. Windows Server 2008 of course.

Instructions will be divided into Four Phases: Phase 1 - Preparing the Virtual Network Switch, Phase 2 - Sharing the internet, Phase 3 - Preparing the Virtual Hosts and finally Phase 4 - Testing .

Phase 1 - Preparing the Virtual Network Switch

1. Open Virtual Network Manager. To do that: Run Hyper-V Manager >> Expand to the server where the virtual hosts are created >> Right-click on it >> Virtual Network Manger

2. Add a new External Virtual Network.

3.Enter your desired network name to something you can easily remember. In my case I used External Virtual Network. And then connect to NIC2 >> click OK.

4. Your External Virtual Network will then be created.

Phase 1 - Sharing the Internet

How to share the internet? To do that: Open the properties option of NIC1 >> Select the Sharing Tab >> Enable Internet Sharing. On the Home Network Connection, select the External Virtual Network you just created.

If you are going to check on the properties of NIC1, everything is bind except Microsoft Virtual Network Switch Protocol as opposed to NIC2 which is the opposite.

NIC2 will now serve as the Virtual Network Switch between your existing LAN and the Hyper-V Hosts. The External Virtual Network will serve as your Router so that your Hyper-V hosts and your existing workstations having the same subnet would be able to access the Internet.

If you know how to add the External Virtual Network to the Hyper-V hosts, it may no longer necessary to read further. But making sure otherwise, please do so.

Phase 3 - Preparing the Virtual Hosts

Registry Hacks: Restrict USB Drive Access to Network Users

2010-09-07T19:52:00.000-07:00

As promised in my previous post on Allow Standard Users to Modify Registry Keys, I will further elaborate the procedures on how to restrict USB drive access to network users. USB drive also means Flash Drive but not limited to USB Hard Drive enclosure or External USB Hard Drive. So basically, this will cover any type of storage with USB interface as tested.

Unlike Restrict Applications On A User-Based Policy in Windows XP wherein the procedure is done on every workstations. We will be utilizing the network infrastructure most particularly if you have a Windows Server running on your system.

On a networked environment wherein data are being shared to several users, security is still the best policy. Data needs to be protected from being copied by restricting access to USB drives or at least to some users.

How do we restrict USB Drive Access to Network Users?

Since this will involve Windows Server, Windows Server 2008 users needs to consider reading my previous post on Allow Standard Users to Modify Registry Keys before proceeding.

The instructions will be straight-forward. So please read carefully.
Here it is:
1. Let's prepare the Registry script needed to be loaded on every user when they log in to the network.
For the restricted users, create a file user.reg then add the script below:

For the admin users, create a file admin.reg then add the script below:

2. Let's now prepare the batch file that will be loaded on the respective user profiles.
For the restricted users, create a file user.bat then add the code below:

For the admin users, create a file admin.bat then add the code below:

3. Copy the batch and registry scripts you just created to your AD script folder. 4. Load the batch file to the user's profile. Assign the admin.bat to the admin users and the user.bat to the restricted users. This should work on Windows Server 2003 & 2008 on Winodws XP and 7 workstations. Happy tweaking. Shoot me a comment if you needed assistance. God bless!

Registry Hacks: Bypass Proxy Server for Local Addresses

2010-09-02T00:20:00.000-07:00

First thing first, let's discuss in brief what is this Proxy Server all about? Proxy Server is a Computer System or can be an Application Program that will act as an intermediary between Workstation PCs requesting for a Secure Internet Service such as Web or FTP to other Servers. But what if you're only trying to access local Intranet resources such as your Company Websites hosted locally. This is where the "Bypass proxy server for local addresses" feature of Internet Explorer comes in.

But on a Networked environment this feature can be a lot more precious than a gem. Let's say you have several workstation PCs with several users in it with different login credentials. One user should have Internet access and the other one should not but they can login to any available PCs and able to access the local intranet sites. Although the "Bypass proxy server" feature plays a great role in this but that is not enough to get things done. We will be using a dummy proxy server. This is just to prevent the user from accessing websites outside their local network. But eventually, they still can access their local intranet sites.

Adding proxy and setting up a proxy bypass can be done manually to your Internet Explorer but we are are not going there since we are considering quite a number of PCs to configure. So just imagine the time that will be wasted while we can do this via Logon Scripts.

Setting up the Logon Scripts

1. Create a registry file (e.g. filename.reg) and then add the following keys:

On ProxyOverride, localdomain.net can be any FQDN or your local IP address subnet in the format: 192.168.25*. The "*" tells the browser to include all IP in that particular subnet. ProxyServer can be any IP and port number. And then just copy all rest. The last registry keys is intended so that users won't have the ability to modify the Options menu of the Internet Explorer. I suggest adding this when you have successfully configured the first key.

2. Create a batch file (e.g. filename.cmd or filname.bat) that will call the registry file you just created. Add these lines and then save it:

These commands will silently load the keys to your registry without any prompt.

3. Copy the two scripts you just created to your AD script folder.

4. Load the batch file to the user's profile to whom you wanted this to apply.

Now let's fire it up! Let the user log in to any PC. If you're not seeing this to take effect, you might want to consider my previous post about: Allow Standard Users to Modify Registry Keys. It might be necessary to set some permissions on the registry keys that you wanted to add.

I got this tested on Windows 7 and Windows XP workstations on Windows Server 2008. Shoot me a comment if you needed assistance. God bless!

Windows Server 2008: Allow Standard Users to Modify Registry Keys

2010-08-31T22:26:00.000-07:00

Logon Scripts is one way of automating tasks when logging in to a network. It's one way of easing the burden of the Administrators of having to manually map drives, run programs and other usual tasks that needs to be accomplished. But one problem with Logon Scripts is having to deal with Registry. By default, Windows AD doesn't allow Standard Users to modify the Registry via Logon Scripts. Well, no problem with Users having administrative privileges. But adding Administrative Privilege to Users that don't require it is not a good idea to consider.

There were suggestions of using RegINI, managing the Power Options and modifying the Remote Registry. Although I find them useful but I'm not comfortable with them. I found one which almost convinced me but considering more than a hundred PCs to deal with, it's still quite a hassle on my end. I am referring to manually setup permission to a particular reqistry keys on every workstations so that a Standard User can have the ability to modify the registry using Logon Scripts.

What exactly is my intention of doing this?
On a user-based policy, I wanted all Standard Users to restrict access to USB drives. Adding Logon Script via GPO will globally affect all users including administrators and modifying a particular Registry Key value is the only way to do this.

I tried my luck exploring every corners of the GPO for any possible solutions until I finally stumbled upon a very word that I believe will shed light to all of this: Registry. On that particular section of the GPO, you can add any Registry Keys and set permissions to restrict or allow anyone even without Administrative Privilege.

Before we proceed, we have to take note that I wanted to make modifications on this Registry Key every time a user logs in:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\USBSTOR

How do we get around with this?
1. Click Start. On the "Search programs and files" box, type gpedit.msc >> Enter
2. Group Policy Management Editor will be opened. Expand Computer Config >> Windows Settings >> Registry
3. Right+click on Registry >> Add key...
4. A new window will pop. Expand to the Registry Key you wanted to make modifications and then click OK.

5. You will then be prompted to add the Users or Groups who will be granted access to that particular Key. In my case I chose "Authenticated Users".

6. Setup your Logon Scripts. You're done!

Now everytime a user logs in with the appropriate logon scripts in place should be able to modify the value of the Registry Key set before hand.

I will further elaborate on my next post the details on how to restrict USB drive access on Windows Server 2008 AD.

Shoot me a comment if you need assistance. God Bless!

Windows Server 2008: Installing WordPress on IIS7

2010-08-17T20:58:00.000-07:00

Installing WordPress on Windows Servers prior to Server 2008 can somehow cause you a lot of headache. To be much particular with the native support on PHP hosting. And not to mention the requirements needed to get WordPress running. To mention some of Wordpress dependencies are: CGI, Web Development Tool, PHP, URL Rewrite, MySQL and more.

Thanks to Microsoft Web Platform Installer. You can now say goodbye to those headaches. Microsoft Web Platform will give us the tool, framework, database and applications to help us build our Websites.

How do we install WordPress on IIS7?

Get the Microsoft Web Platform Installer here and then click on the Download button.
Save and then install.
Web Platform Installer will then try to connect to the server to load the latest Web Platform products.
After loading, select on the Web Applications tab on the upper left.
Scroll down to the bottom of the selections and then tick on WordPress. Click Install.
On the next window, it will display all the dependencies needed to be installed to run WordPress. Click "I Accept".
Since MySQL is among the dependency needed to be installed, it will initially ask you to enter the root password. Enter the password and then click Continue.
Platform Installer will now start downloading all the required applications. It will automatically install the downloaded applications.
Wait until the installation is completed and you're IIS server is ready then for WordPress.

Shoot me a comment if you need assistance.

Windows Server 2008: Disable DHCP on ICS

2010-07-05T19:39:00.000-07:00

This is related to my previous post on Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) - Windows Server 2008: Modify ICS Default IP Range.Why would I be needing such? By default, DHCP is enabled on the configured NIC after successfully enabling ICS even if DHCP server is not installed. I will get into much more details later on regarding this.

As explained on my previous post, it is necessary for me to change the default ICS IP Range to match the ICS server with my existing subnet: 192.168.254.0. The default ICS subnet is: 192.168.137.0. So does explain the necessity of such. But one drawback that I missed to look into is that my ICS server is also broadcasting on other network wherein DHCP is enabled on every workstations. I actually don't need the DHCP feature of ICS since all of my workstations are already assigned with IP addresses. But enabling ICS is the only way I could share the internet access flawlessly to all workstations.

I did some further research and found out that there's no way we can disable ICS or I'm just not diligent enough to fulfill my assignments. But I found a way to get around with this. I found two ways to prevent broadcasting of DHCP to a nearby network: 1. Install DHCP server and setup restrictions 2. Disable any instances of DHCP services.

How do we disable or at least disallow DHCP request on the ICS server?

Install DHCP server and setup restrictions.

Click Start >> All Programs >> Administrative Tools >> Server Manager
Right-click on Roles >> Add Roles
Click on Next then select DHCP Server
Click Install and then follow instructions to complete the installation
After installing DHCP Server, go back to the Server Manager main window.
Expand Roles >> DHCP Server >> Scope
Right-click on Address Pool >> Add new exclusion
You may enter an IP or an IP range to be excluded in the DHCP scope.
Now expand Filters and then right-click on Allow >> New filter
Enter the MAC addresses of the PCs to be allowed.

Or if you don't want to divulge yourself into the complications of Step 1, you might want to just Disable any instances of DHCP Services. In my case, this is all I need since I didn't use DHCP server anyway.

To do that, click Start and then type "services.msc" on the run box and then press Enter
Look for any instances of DHCP. If the that service is running, right-click >> Stop
To make sure that DHCP Service won't start after any restart, double-click on the service.
On the Startup type, select Disable >> Ok.

I may have failed to disable DHCP on ICS but my workarounds did somehow address the issue. Shoot me a comment if you need help.

Windows Server 2008: Creating Personal Web Folder

2010-06-16T19:48:00.000-07:00

Unlike the Linux environment, after a user account has been created, a personal web folder will automatically be created or mapped for that particular user. With the Virtual Directory technology in place, this is now possible with Windows Server 2008. It may not be as instantaneous as may seem with the rival Linux, but we will be at par when we get this done on the proper way.

How would this apply?
I have this introduced to one of the University wherein students needs to have a personal web folder. It is to this folder where the students upload their projects for live testing. FTP will no longer be necessary. Upon logging in to the server from their respective workstations, a certain drive has been automatically mapped to a certain web folder assigned to each of them. They can either copy-paste or directly do their thing on that particular folder.

What are the requirements?
1. Windows AD user account.
2. Web Server IIS installed.
3. A PC workstation already joined to the domain.

How to create the personal web folder?

Preparing the User's account.

Create a folder assigned to a user with "Full Access" rights. Add a "Read & Execute" & "List folder" access to all "Authenticated User". Share the folder with the same Access permissions above.
Open "Active Directory Users and Computers" console. Select the user's properties.
Click the Profile tab. Select a drive letter to Connect to, then point it to the shared directory you've just created above.
The sample path is \\servername\students. Change servername to the name of your server and the students to the share name of the folder.

Preparing the server

Open the IIS Manager. Expand the Server Name >> Sites >> Default Website
Right + click on "Default Web Site" and then select "Add Virtual Directory".
You may enter any Alias that will describe the user's description. On the Physical Path, browse through the shared folder you created. Click OK.

Testing the Personal Web Folder.

Let the user log in from the workstation. Open "My Computer". The user should now have an extra drive letter assigned as its personal web folder.
Create a sample index.html file on that folder.
Open your web browser and then type this on the address bar: http://domain/webfolder/
Change domain to your network's domain e.g. office.net. Change webfolder to the Virtual Directory alias you assigned to that folder.
You should be able to see the content of your index.html file. And other authenticated user should also be able to see that particular web folder but unable to make modifications on it.

Shoot me a comment if you're having problem regarding this.

Blogumus: Flash Animated Label Cloud for Blogger - Updated June 2, 2010

2010-06-01T23:47:00.000-07:00

UPDATED June 02, 2010

For more than two weeks, I have been ignoring the failed performance of this widget. I thought it was just some compatibility issues until I found out that this is actually a hosting issue. The two important files needed to get this widget to work is no longer accessible where it was hosted before. The instructions has been updated to correct this issue.
This is already a repost of the older entries but I added here an alternative web host as another option.

Blogumus. That is its new name. This is originally a plugin for Wordpress called WP Cumulus plugin by Roy Tranck. Amanda of Blogger Buster did a great effort of converting this lovely stuff to work with Blogger Blog.

This is a flash-based widget. So make sure you have updated your browser's flash plugin. This is the updated code as mentioned on Blogger Buster.Update your code if you have installed the previous version.

How to inject the code in your Blogger Blog.
Installing Blogumus is as simple as copy and paste procedure. Some tweaks may require editing of the code. But don't worry, instructions will be provided.

The instructions is divided into two parts: 1A. Uploading the files to your web host like FreeWebs. or 1B. Google Site 2. Setting up the code widget in Blogger.

1A. Uploading the files to FreeWebs
1. Login to your FreeWebs or create and account if you don't have one yet.
2. Click the "Edit This Site" button to where you want to upload the files.

3. Select File Manager >> Single File Uploader. If you are subscribed to a premium account, you may choose Multi File Uploader.

4. Download and upload these two important files: swfobjects.js and tagcloud.swf to your account's root directory.

5. The actual url should now look like:

http://yoursite.webs.com/codes/swfobject.js

http://yoursite.webs.com/codes/tagcloud.swf

6. Change yoursite to your Google Site name. We will use these actual paths on the proceeding instructions.

1B. Uploading the files to Google Site.
1. Login to your Google Site or create an account if you don't have one yet.

2. Inside your account click More actions >> Manage site

3. Click Attachment >> Upload

4. Download and upload this two important files: swfobjects.js and tagcloud.swf to your Google Site account's root directory.

5. The actual url should now look like:
http://sites.google.com/site/yoursite/tagcloud.swf
http://sites.google.com/site/yoursite/swfobject.js

6. Change yoursite to your Google Site name, We will use these actual paths on the proceeding instructions.

2. Setting up your Blogger code widget
1. Go to Layout>Edit HTML in your Blogger dashboard, and search for the following line or something similar:

<b:section class='sidebar' id='sidebar' preferred='yes'>

2. Paste the code below after <b:section class='sidebar' id='sidebar' preferred='yes'>

<b:widget id='Label99' locked='false' title='Labels' type='Label'>

<b:includable id='main'>

<b:if cond='data:title'>

</b:if>

<div id='flashcontent'>Blogumulus by <a href='http://www.roytanck.com/'>Roy Tanck</a> and <a href='http://www.bloggerbuster.com'>Amanda Fazani</a></div>

var so = new SWFObject("http://sites.google.com/site/yoursite/tagcloud.swf", "tagcloud", "240", "300", "7", "#ffffff");

// uncomment next line to enable transparency

//so.addParam("wmode", "transparent");

so.addVariable("tcolor", "0x333333");

so.addVariable("mode", "tags");

so.addVariable("distr", "true");

so.addVariable("tspeed", "100");

so.addVariable("tagcloud", "<tags><b:loop values='data:labels' var='label'><a expr:href='data:label.url' style='12'><data:label.name/></a></b:loop></tags>");

so.addParam("allowScriptAccess", "always");

so.write("flashcontent");

</script>

<b:include name='quickedit'/>

</div>

</b:includable>

</b:widget>

3. Change the URL of the red text on the above code to ones created on 1A Step 5 or 1B Step 5.

4. Preview your template. If you have successfully installed the code, the tag cloud should appear on your sidebar.

5. Save you template.

There are customizable areas in your Blogumus. These are the following:

Width is set to 240px

Height is set to 300px;

Background color is #ffffff

Test color is grey

Font size is "12"

Look into these line of code to customize your Blogumus:

var so = new SWFObject("http://halotemplates.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-cumulus-example/tagcloud.swf", "tagcloud", "240", "300", "7", "#ffffff");

Look into these line if you wanted to edit the text color. Change the value of 0x333333 to your preference.

so.addVariable("tcolor", "0x333333");

Look into these line if you wanted to adjust the font size. Just change the value of style='12' to your preferred size.

so.addVariable("tagcloud", "<tags><b:loop values='data:labels' var='label'><a expr:href='data:label.url' style='12'><data:label.name/></a></b:loop></tags>");

Note: While you are able to edit these values, you can also preview the changes before saving your template.

We took advantage of this great work of art for FREE. Please leave the the credit links in the widget intact. Leave me a comments if you have problems installing the code and I'll try to help you set things up on your blog.

Check the main website: kOrAb's Tech Blog for a live preview. The widget is located at the lower right.

Windows Server 2008: Changing The Default ms-DS-Machine-Account-Quota Attribute

2010-05-17T20:14:00.000-07:00

By default, Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard Edition only allows 10 computers to be joined to a Domain. Beyond the allowed numbers, other connecting computers will get the following errors:

“The machine account for this computer either does not exist or is unavailable.”

“Your computer could not be joined to the domain. You have exceeded the maximum number of computer accounts you are allowed to create in this domain. Contact your system administrator to have this limit reset or increased.”

“The following error occurred attempting to join the domain “domain.com”.
Your computer could not be joined to the domain. You have exceeded the maximum number of computer accounts you are allowed to create in this domain. Contact your system administrator to have this limit reset or increased.”

We can actually pre-create the user's Computer Account but dealing with more than a hundred computers joining a domain is pretty much a hassle. The only solution to this is to change the default limit of the number of Computers that can join a Domain.

ms-DS-MachineAccountQuota attribute holds the value restricting the number of Computers allowed to join a Domain. Using the Active Directory Service Interfaces Editors (ADSI Edit) you can manage Active Directory objects and attributes.

I found some walk-through but they ain't comprehensive for an average Network Administrator. I made it simple and just make sure that you have the ADSI Edit installed before following the procedure:
1. Click Start >> adsiedit.msc
2. If this is the first time to connect to the Domain Node using ADSI Edit, righ-click on the "ADSI Edit" icon and then select "Connect to". Otherwise, proceed to Step 4.
3. On the Connection Settings, change the name to your Domain Server's Computer Name then click OK.

4. Your Domain Node will be created. Right-click on DC >> Properties.
5. Look for the "ms-DSMachineAccountQuota" attribute.
6. Click on it and then select the Edit button.

7. Enter the desired value and click OK twice and you're done.

Shoot me a comment if you need assistance.