Andrew D Williams

New Switch

admin — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:31:37 +0000

We finnally got to install a new Gigabit switch for our backup server today! Woot!

Migration Tips

admin — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:10:05 +0000

I think we’ve all been there with the .nk2 file.

10 steps to ensure foolproof client migrations | 10 Things | TechRepublic.com

Making a Logon Script Expire

admin — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:52:14 +0000

I’m learning more about scripting all the time. Here is a great scripting tip.

Making a Logon Script Expire

Setup a Time Server in XP Without a Domain Controller

admin — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 21:55:41 +0000

Need to setup a time server without a domain controller? Is free cheap enough? Check this article: How to make a Windows XP machine an NTP server within a workgroup

Today’s IT Chore of the Day is brought to You By:

admin — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:23:34 +0000

Deploying a Self-Signed Root Certificate with Group Policy

Several customers are deploying the latest version of
the excellent
Evolution
payroll service-bureau software from iSystems, and the new management
interface is web based via SSL. This is a major improvement over
the previous version that required interaction with the server via
a logged-in user.

But the web certificate used by the vendor is self-signed, which means
that Internet Explorer users visiting the management interface are
greeted with an untrusted-certificate message:

Though it’s not difficult to dispense with this message – one can accept
the certificate with a few clicks – all users on all workstations must
go through this, and we’d prefer to avoid it. Fortunately, we
can capture and deploy the certificate with Group Policy throughout
the enterprise. It’s worked really well.

Note – this Tech Tip is intended to be used generally
for any kind of certificate deployment, but we’re using the
specific example of Version 6 (“Garfield”) of Evolution. Our
server platform is SBS2003 with XP/SP2 workstations. We’ve
not investigated this process for any browser other than IE.

Disclaimer – We’ll also note that we are not even remotely
approaching PKI or Group
Policy experts, and we have mainly muddled through several of the choices
offered on the road to something that appears to work well. We’d certainly
welcome input from those who actually know this stuff.

Getting a copy of the certificate into a file

Ultimately we need a copy of the public certificate into a file so
that it may be imported into Group Policy, and though some vendors
may publish this certificate on a website, it’s easy to use the
browser itself and export the cert to a file.

Begin the process by loading IE, visiting the website of interest,
and provoking the security warning. It may be necessary to exit all
instances of IE if the certificate had previously been accepted, but
once visible, click the [View Certificate] button.

There is lots of information about this certificate, and we want the
[Details] tab which confirms that the certificate is from who we
think it’s from. Click the [Copy to File] button:

Here we’re offered quite a few choices of certificate format, and we
have chosen Cryptographic Message Syntax Standard (PKCS #7) for no
particularly good reason – we know that it imports correctly into
the Group Policy editor. We don’t think the certificate path matters.

Clicking [Next] prompts for a filename, and it should be of the
form (the .p7b extension matters). The
file should then be somehow moved to the Windows Server with the Group Policy
Management.

Deploying the Certificate with Group Policy

With vendorcert.p7b now on the server, we’re ready to
deploy the certificate.

Launch the Group Policy Manager
and navigate to a suitable object: we prefer the Default
Domain Policy because there is no harm in deploying this
certificate throughout the entire enterprise. Right-click
on that object and select Edit:

In the Group Policy Object Editor, navigate down to:

Computer Configuration
» Windows Settings
» Security Settings
» Public Key Policies
» Trusted Root Certification Authorities

Then right-click and select Import.

In the Certificate Import Wizard, browse to the location of the
file; here we’re looking for vendorcert.p7b. Click
[Next].

With the file selected, we’re shown the Certificate Store
dialog that selects the target location for the cert.
We’ve seen only one choice available with all the rest
grayed out. Click Next.

In the wizard completion dialog, review the settings: they should
all be familiar. Click Finish.

Finished! The certificate has been imported, and it appears in the Group
Policy object. The next time a user logs in, these settings will be
applied and the certificate will be trusted by Internet Explorer.

Multiple (and unrelated) certificates may be deployed in the same
way, so that as other systems enter production with self-signed
certs, they may be included in the same Group Policy object.

We should note, however, that this procedure is intended for
intionally self-signed certificates that are known to be
trusted, and it’s not meant to ameliorate browsing
sites with broken certs (expired, wrong server name, etc.).
Please keep in mind that SSL certificates are a security
measure, and bypassing it thoughtlessly may lead to unpleasant
surprises.

Prevent Messages Without Subjects in Outlook

admin — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 16:58:02 +0000

How to prevent Outlook from sending an email with a blank Subject line? – eCharcha.Com

Sometimes we forget to put the SUBJECT
in the mails which we send. That could be deadly sometimes when you are
communicating to the clients; to avoid such a situation, follow the
steps below. There after when you send a mail without subject, a pop up
window asks for your confirmation. You can try it !

Steps:
1.Open your outlook
2.Press Alt+F11. This opens the Visual Basic editor
3.On the Left Pane, one can see “ Microsoft Outlook Objects“, expand this. Now one can see the “ThisOutLookSession“.
4.Click on “ThisOutLookSession“.
5.Copy and Paste the following code in the right pane. (Code Pane)

Code:

 
Private Sub Application_ItemSend(ByVal Item As Object, Cancel As Boolean) 
  Dim strSubject As String 
  strSubject = Item.Subject 
  If Len(strSubject) = 0 Then 
      Prompt$ = "Subject is Empty. Are you sure you want to send the Mail?" 
      If MsgBox(Prompt$, vbYesNo + vbQuestion + vbMsgBoxSetForeground, "Check for Subject") = vbNo  Then 
              Cancel = True 
      End If 
  End If 
End Sub

6.Save this and Now close the VB Code editor.
7.In Outlook Go to Tools > Macros > Security > In the Security Level Tab > Select the option MEDIUM > OK
8.Now Restart the Outlook, a dialog box pops up to Disable / Enable the macros; select as Enable Macros (this option will pops up when ever you restart outlook.
9.From now on , this macro will make sure you do not make the mistake of sending a mail without subject

Windows XP: Time Changing With Windows Time Service Disabled

admin — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 21:25:33 +0000

For a little while now, I had a couple of systems that were having kerberos issues because the system clocks were a little over five minutes ahead. Turns out a browser plugin these systems were running to view security camera footage was advancing the clock. This occurred because the system storing the video was not syncing its clock to anything and happened to be, you guessed it, a little over five minutes ahead of actual time. Some how the browser plugin was overriding the windows time service. When I disabled the windows time service as part of my troubleshooting, the clock was still changing to five minutes ahead if set to the correct time. I changed the time settings on the video server and both systems started showing the correct time. A very difficult problem to track down.

Lazy Linux: 10 essential tricks for admins

admin — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:30:26 +0000

How to be a more productive Linux systems administrator

read more | digg story

Linux is easier to install than XP

admin — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:38:32 +0000

You might think that installing XP in place of Vista would be easier than installing Linux. You’d be wrong.

read more | digg story

11 Powerful Firefox 3 Add-ons to Replace Standalone Apps

admin — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 18:10:35 +0000

Firefox add-on developers have created some impressive applications that can replace larger, bloated programs. These add-ons can help if you have a small amount of precious hard drive space or you are on a tight budget and don’t have cash to fork out for applications.

read more | digg story