Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Access can't append all the records in the append query

I am using tables individual by month. After converting my Select query to a Make Table query I managed to leave the Sales Dollars field blank (at this point it went unnoticed) . I continued, and created a Select query from the New Table (created from the Make Table query) that required the user to enter a parameter value (month) and then converted the query into an Append Query. At this point I ran into the
Error: "Access can't append all the records in the append query."
Research: I researched two sites one by Allen Browne and the other by Microsoft. Allen Browne's site was the most informative on understanding this error.

I recognized that the "null fields" or blank fields were the cause of the problem.
At this point I back-tracked and noticed that my Sales Dollars field was blank.
Hypothesis: Fixing the Sales Dollars field will allow all the fields to be appended.

I recreated the query that was originally made into a table. I ensured that Sum was selected in the Total section in Design View.
Solution: Fixing the Sales Dollars field allowed all the fields to be appended.

Wrap-up: make sure all your fields match with "Sums" and the appropriate "properties" and don't attempt to match blank sells with content cells.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Tripwire, Magicnotes, and Smartpackets

Tripwire came up on one of my Wireshark reports.

"Tripwire is a tool that aids system administrators and users in monitoring a designated set of files for any changes. Used with system files on a regular (e.g., daily) basis, Tripwire can notify system administrators of corrupted or tampered files, so damage control measures can be taken in a timely manner"(Ubuntu Geek, 2008).

As indicated by the the IANA Port Numbers report (2009), port 3023 TCP and UDP is for Magicnotes, port 1169 TCP and UDP is used for Tripwire, and port 3218 TCP and UDP is reserved for EMC smartpackets (IANA, 2009).


References

(April 23, 2008). Ubuntu Geek. List of security tools available in Ubuntu. Retrieved on November 25, 2009 from http://www.ubuntugeek.c om/list-of-security-tools-available-in-ubuntu.html

(November 25, 2009). IANA. Port numbers. Retrieved on November 25, 2009 from http://www.iana.org/assignments/port-numbers

Monday, November 16, 2009

Data Backup & Recovery

Let's say you've got a notebook (laptop) with a small amount of HardDrive (HDD) space. So, you get an external hard drive and move your files over to the external HDD to create more space on your PC. You think to yourself, great I moved the files off my computer to the external HDD and now I've backed up my files. Incorrect!

A LifeHacker article suggests that a user take advantage of three distinct backup styles.
  • Use an external HDD to copy files from key locations in your computer. For example, the Documents folder.
  • Create an image of your notebook's HDD with imaging software like Ping.
  • Backup your files online.
Read the You're Backing Up Your Data the Wrong Way LifeHacker article.
If you've got the money to do this it is worth your time. Build a file server where you can store vital information on a mirrored HDD dedicated for file storage. This is something simple, but if you'd like to go all out and create more possibilities then a server is what you want. Keep your files backed-up by using RAID 10.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

An attack on Open Source

The Oracle-Sun merger is causing many people to throw their hands in the air. Some are doing it with excitement while others are fearing that this merger could destroy the powerful free source program MySQL.

“In Linux there actually is fierce competition between Oracle's flagship product and MySQL,” Mueller said. “MySQL really has already made its presence felt at the high end of the market where Oracle generates most of its revenues and profits, and is a pretty painful, hurtful competitor to Oracle because of its open-source nature and extremely aggressive price structure. What the market needs is for MySQL to continue that trajectory.”...Read the entire article at the Examiner.com.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

CASE Tool: d'zine

D'zine is Open Source. This looks great for those who code and need to create class diagrams from what they have already coded.
The following are features and as stated in d'zine web page:
  • Open Source CASE tool for OOAD.
  • Draw use case ,interaction ,class ,deployment ,ER Diagrams.
  • Code generation in C++ and java.
  • Normalise your ER diagrams and generate SQL code.
  • Reverse engg design from code.
  • Just put in your Java or C++ code and generate class diagrams.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Excel 2003 Menu: UBit Menu

Tired of the 2007 Microsoft Office Ribbon? Want your 2003 Office Menu?
Go to http://www.ubit.ch/software/ubitmenu-languages/
Install the Ubit menu and then open an MS Office product like Excel.
I believe this is a temporary fix and I would recommend that everyone learn how to get around in version 2007 of Microsoft Office with the new Ribbon.

Friday, October 30, 2009

NetStumbler,Cyberspace and Other Network Tools

There are many tools and utilities that can help a Network Administrator. One must know what tools are available, how to use them, and what their legal parameters are.

Stated to the point in a Wiki article (2009),
  • NetStumbler (also known as Network Stumbler) is a tool for Windows that facilitates detection of Wireless LANs using the 802.11b, 802.11a and 802.11g WLAN standards. It runs on Microsoft Windows operating systems from Windows 2000 to Windows XP.
  • Commonly used for:

    • Wardriving
    • Verifying network configurations
    • Finding locations with poor coverage in a WLAN
    • Detecting causes of wireless interference
    • Detecting unauthorized ("rogue") access points
    • Aiming directional antennas for long-haul WLAN links
I find that "unauthorrized ('rogue') access points" refers to access points intended for spoofing.

After searching a little on Wardriving I found that it is the act of recording and then usually mapping Wifi points. It is not piggybacking another person's or entity's network. Which is punishable by law.

Read your state laws for "breaking and entering" in cyberspace at http://www.ncsl.org/IssuesResearch/TelecommunicationsInformationTechnology/ComputerHackingandUnauthorizedAccessLaws/tabid/13494/Default.aspx

An interesting point to consider is that when wardriving with NetStumbler, there is communication between the network and you as a war-driver. Thus, there could be legal issues.
Lets look at some articles that have to do with Network tools like Nmap, Wireshark, and Netstumbler.

Preston (2001) a writer for the Journal of Law and Policy expressed many valid points in 2001, which are still valid today. He extensively cites many court cases including State vs. Allen.
And states that basic defense methods like firewalls "that [prevent] port scans but not nmap-type OS fingerprinting might establish a strong case for liability against a nmap scanner...the cost of preventing nmap-type OS fingerprinting might be found minimal; the court might assign liability only where the defendant used other means to get the information".

Cited List
Related Links

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Use an Input Form in Excell

If you need someone to input information into Excel, but they are not Excel savvy create a Data Input Form. This Data Input Form will allow a user to input data easily, similar to a form in Access.
First, you will need to build your Excel workbook as you would like it formatted, organized, and formulated to connect with other worksheets inside your workbook.
After you have created your workbook with all the necessary columns follow my video tutorial.

  1. Click on the Customize Quick Access Toolbar on the Quick Access Toolbar at the very top of the page to the left of the MS Office button.
  2. From the drop down menu click More Commands...
  3. From the Choose commands from drop down box select All Commands
  4. Scroll down to Form... in the commands box below
  5. Select Form... and then click the Add>> button and click OK
  6. Now click the Form button on the Quick Access Toolbar and then you'll define the form according to how you created your worksheet.
  7. Input your first data set.
  8. Click the New button and that data now appears on your sheet.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Accounting Industry Software: Microsoft Dynamics

Microsoft is launching its new accounting software package into the market to compete with the current market leaders Quickbooks and Peachtree.

According to the InvestWiki, Intuit.Inc owns "79% of the retail tax preparation software market with TurboTax , and 89% of the small business accounting software market with Quickbooks"(InvestWiki, Retrieved on Oct 22, 2009 from http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Intuit_(INTU)

Take a look for yourself at this "new" software.
Click here to take a test drive. Yes, you must use Windows Internet Explorer and Install their Active X control for the Test Drive.
The appearing compatibility and ease of use makes it very appealing; however, questions comes to mind, about setting it up through the network (servers involved), reliability, efficiency, and maneuverability.

With the current price I don't believe small business owners will convert from Quickbooks to Microsoft Dynamics. See add (demo 3).

I believe Microsoft will become a large competitor with financial software. How much of the market they will take, I don't know.
Learn more about Microsft Dynamic for yourself at http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/asmartmove/default.mspx

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Port Scanning with Nmap: The How To

Tutorial Article Nmap: A valuable open source tool for network security by Michael Cobb.
I found this article very useful to learn more about the general Scanning fundamentals.
See how to spoof ports, fragment packets, scan to determine the Operating System, and save reports to your computer.

The Reference Guide to Nmap
http://nmap.org/book/man.html

This is a site with helpful tips. This is a page is associated with the above page.
http://nmap.org/book/man-port-scanning-techniques.html

Monday, October 12, 2009

New Technology: Google Voice

Google Voice, bring more organization to your phone. Appears useful for business. It's Free
Give your phone life.

But what are the agreements with phone numbers you use -now that Google could see all you phone numbers, as well as those who you call and those that call you- what stops them from selling your numbers to calling agencies or having your numbers put all their calling lists for the future?

Restoration & Backup: Ping

Better than Ghost and Free. It's Ping.
Learn more about the great abilities of Ping to partition and format disks as well as data restoration and backup.
http://ping.windowsdream.com/

Friday, October 9, 2009

Career: Microsoft Certifications

This site lists and explain with requirements the many certifications that are possible through Microsoft.
See Certifications from Windows 7 to MS Office to Server 2008 for Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Protecting Your Network: Sniffing

When sniffing your network you need to be able to recognize the "captures".

In Wireshark's Wiki, sample captures are listed so that you can recognize
  • Crack Traces
  • Viruses
  • Protocol Traffic
  • Wifi
Also it is important to be able to recognize the varying methods of attacks. Wikipedia explains a number of attacks and also gives some prevention tips.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Know This: E-mail Hoaxes, Authorities to Reference, Firewalls

I received an e-mail today "warning" about the "postcard virus". I became unimpressed at the large quantity of people that continue sending this e-mail without verifying its validity. After completing some simple searches through Google's search engine, I found many articles dating back to 2001, identifying this e-mail as a hoax.
When this e-mail is continually re-forwarded, precious time and email bandwidth are wasted. This is disadvantageous for a company.

Sophos recommends this policy to avoid hoaxes.
Check the Authority that the author references in this case McAfee, Microsoft, and CNN. Also the major firewall vendors post the current virus threats on their individual sites.
The e-mail also referenced Microsoft's authority.
CNN was also referred to. Here is the search for "postcard virus" within CNN.
Consumer search lists the top Firewalls
These are two free Firewall providers

Monday, October 5, 2009

Careers: Computer Systems Analyst

From the research a Computer Systems Analyst is expected to have a bachelor degree; however, there are entry level positions.
The job duties are many, but generally the duties will be within these categories:
  • "Planning, designing, installing and developing new computer systems
  • Revamping existing computer systems for new tasks
  • Networking computer systems with others
  • Preparing cost-benefit and return-on-investment (ROI) reports for management
  • Testing and debugging new or revamped computer systems and the networks on which they communicate" (John Steven Niznik. (n.d.). computer systems analyst jobs. About.com . Retrieved from About.com: Tech Careers on October 5, 2009.).
The Annual Salary as of May 2006 was
  • "Median: $69,760
  • The middle 50 percent make between $54,320 and $87,600 a year
  • The lowest 10 percent make less than $42,780
  • the highest 10 percent make more than $106,820
Median annual salary and earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of computer systems analysts in May 2006 were:
  • Professional and commercial equipment and supplies wholesalers $81,080
  • Computer systems design and related services 71,680
  • Management of companies and enterprises 71,090
  • Insurance carriers 69,990
  • State government 61,340"(Career Overview. (n.d.). Retrieved October 5, 2009, from Overview.com: http://www.overview.com/career_summaries/Computer_Systems_Analysts.htm).
Here are a few sites to see for yourself what the current employers are looking for in Computer Systems Analysts.
Works Cited

John Steven Niznik. (n.d.). computer systems analyst jobs. About.com . Retrieved on October 5, 2009 from About.com: Tech Careers: http://jobsearchtech.about.com/od/computerjob13/a/systems_analyst.htm

Career Overview. (n.d.). Retrieved October 5, 2009, from Overview.com: http://www.overview.com/career_summaries/Computer_Systems_Analysts.htm

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

A College Learning Model adapted to the Workplace

There is a unique college learning model that would be well suited to train workers for new tasks and assignments. The learning model that LDS Business College has designed is a 3 step repetitive cycle.
The principles can be applied to different aspects of the learning process.
They are
  • Prepare
  • Teach One Another
  • Ponder and Prove
I would like to think of these steps as cyclical, meaning that passing through the three steps once will not produce the maximum result.

As I think of the word prepare many ideas come into my head, "a Boy Scout is always prepared", "prepare for the unexpected", and "prepare for the worst". I would apply the Prepare principle in the job setting by first, studying an enterprises history before going to the job interview. Prepare can also be seen from an angle that a future employee would need to have developed certain skills learned desired principles before applying to a position. Another way of interpreting the Prepare principle is that the employer would encourage use of notes, made by the employee, created to make a knowledge base and thus a more effective and efficient work flow throughout the business.
It is a known fact that when one teaches a skill that skill is reinforced into the teacher. When we teach others, we give our selves the opportunity to strengthen the knowledge we gained previously. Also when one teaches they receive commentary from those they teach, whether peers or not, and this commentary can be used as constructive guidance to strengthen the teacher's developing knowledge. If we teach what we know than we reinforce that knowledge and also strengthen that knowledge by following constructive guidance. If employees are encouraged to teach the new skills to other employees than the retention level of these new skills will increase.
When I say Ponder and Prove, I simply mean that one needs to think about a task or problem before attempting to resolve it hands on. For example, if a pop-up error window appears as you are designing a company worksheet, do you click through the error message without reading what the possible errors could be and repeat the same process again and again, but expecting a different result? The purpose of pondering and proving is to use methodical and systematic problem solving when approached with problems. Formally stated, know the problem, research the problem, search for solutions, from your research determine a course of action and prove that it works or prove it infective. When your result is infective, research further and continue the process until you've proven a hypothesis effective.

Restated in my words this would the learning model to implement in training employees.
  • Be Prepared
  • Reinforce material through teaching and take constructive guidance
  • Use Systematic Problem Solving
To learn more about LDS Business College's recent activity go to http://www.utahcampuscompact.org/ldsbc.html
The LDS Business College website ldsbc.edu
For more information on the LDSBC Learning Model click here.
Picture of LDSBC learning model created by LDSBC and I take no ownership for its structure or design.

PC Slow After Login? Small Changes, Quicker Startup

Problem: Slow Start-up time after login to windows.
We all know that you have a computer or have used a computer that has taken several minutes just to start-up after the logging-in to Windows.
The change is simple, you need only go to one place to choose which programs will initiate at startup.

Research: http://ezinearticles.com/?How-To-Remove-Unwanted-Startup-Programs-As-Fast-As-Possible&id=685807

Hypothesis Tested and Proven:
  1. Click the Start Button
  2. Open the "Run" program
  3. Type msconfig into the text field
  4. Click on the Startup tab
  5. Choose which programs you want to begin at startup by clicking on the box. The boxes with green checkmarks will begin at startup.
Note to user: Please, either search on the internet about each startup program before deselecting it or don't touch it at all. Obviously, some startup processes are necessary for windows startup.Conclusion: With a little research weather it be on the internet, through an acquaintance, or in a manual, a person can find the solution to almost any computer problem.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Friday, September 18, 2009

Setting-up Wireless on the Network Security Toolkit (NST)

This link will give you detailed steps on how to set-up your wireless on you Network Security Toolkit.
http://24.97.150.195/nstwiki/index.php/Wireless_Setup_Tips#Detailed_Steps
  1. Boot Live CD
  2. Run the command "setup_x". After configuring the display you'll be returned to the console prompt.
  3. Run the command "init 5"
  4. Right click the desktop. Select NST WUI, then Documentation and then NST WUI Start Page (w)
  5. Login using "root" for "User Name" and your original password for "password"
  6. Using the menu bar, select Networking, then Wireless, and then WPA-PSK Setup
  7. Select your wireless interface. Click AP Scan. Choose your SSID. Enter the PSK (key). Click Perform WPA-PSK Setup.
  8. Close the Firefox browser. From the terminal window, run the command: "init 3". From the console prompt run the command "init 5"
The Main Page for NST Wiki http://24.97.150.195/nstwiki/index.php/Main_Page
You can check out the latest news about NST at http://networksecuritytoolkit.org/nst/index.html

Learning about Snort

I found some very informative articles about Snort.


Figure 1: Snort Architecture by Nalneesh Gaur of Linux Journal


The Linux Journal will provide you with information about the architecture, Snort rules, the principles upon which Snort is based, some examples of what the back end or output will be, and also great diagrams like the one above to help grasp the concept.

From Snort's home site snort.org I found that 4 programs are required before installing Snort:
  • Libpcap
  • PCRE
  • Libnet
  • Barnyard
As well there were programs to help and assit Snort like Oinkmaster.
http://www.snort.org/downloads/additional-downloads/#oinkmaster

You can download you Snort Rules at snort.org as well.
http://www.snort.org/start/rules

For information on Snort, read Docs from Snort like Snort Manual.
http://www.snort.org/start/documentation

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Implementing Information Systems

A SWOT analysis aids in strategically examining a company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

S-Strengths
W-Weaknesses
O-Opportunities
T-Threats

This can be applied to an IT department to identify human, technical, and financial resources.
Dilbert.com
If you see the need for a systems request or someone else mentions they need IT support, it is probably for one or more of the following reasons:
  • better performance
  • improved services
  • reduced cost
  • more information
  • stronger controls
  • support for new products and services
When you decide you want to implement a new information system consider these internal factors:
  • Strategic Plan
  • Top Managers
  • User Requests
  • Information Technology Department
  • Existing Systems and Data
Also consider these external factors:
  • Technology
  • Suppliers
  • Customers
  • Competitors
  • The Economy
  • Government

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Snort Install Round One: no C compiler (gcc)

I downloaded Snort from http://www.snort.org/downloads. I downloaded the 2.8.4.1 version.
This site http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1421 has the instructions to install Snort. This is where I got the instructions to install 'libpcap'.
It also has instuctions on trouble shooting and understanding SNORT
I downloaded libpcap-0.8.1 from http://sourceforge.net/projects/libpcap/.
As I read the Install.txt file I found how to use the command console to install libpcap.

I entered the following into the console
su ---to bring up the root
usergzip -d -c libpcap-0.8.1.tar.gz tar xvf - ---then all the files were listed inside
cd libpcap-0.8.1/ ---going into the folder now
./configure ---and then it configured the setting of computers settings as well it checked the C compiler (gcc ) and recieved a works... no as well as the configure: error: intallation or configuration problem: C compiler cannot create executibles.

Then from there obviously the 'make' commands would not work because the config could not make a file in MakeIn folder adjusted to my system.

After searching through all the following documents and sites I Downloaded cc-4.3.4.tar.gz from http://gcc-ca.internet.bs/releases/gcc-4.3.4/ a mirror of gcc.gnu.org. I'm not sure what to do from here?
How do I install this gcc since I didn't have one.
What is a gcc? It must have something to do with a compiler.

These are the links of numerous sites I have searched inorder to find a solution:


Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Advanced Speadsheets with Microsoft Excel: Beginning

Pondering: Starting with today's work the first exercise proved simple and purposeful because of the pre-reading and examples I completed. The examples became, as discussed in class, more difficult to understand and less practical. I find the business, finance, and managerial viewpoint and application of Information Systems very interesting.
Learning: One must read the text before assuming that the exercises are inapplicable to the text. Read, learn, before you work.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Cell Phone Fix- No Sound

If you encountered a similar problem than this information will be very useful to you. In fact a good quantity of users experience this problem about a year and a half after purchase, that they cannot hear the sounds from their phone when they make a call.
Many say that they had recently used an ear jack so that they could talk hands free and after removing the ear jack their button sounds and conversations were frustratingly unheard.

Error / Problem: No Sound on cell phone when conversing. No sound from keyboard.

Verify that on the volume of the buttons and conversation settings the status of "Ear jack-In" is on the top. This verifies that the phone still believes the ear jack is plugged in.
Go ahead replug your jack back into the phone... the sound is back and the phone works fine with he jack plugged back in. However, to get the phone to work without the jack plugged in will take a small effort of work on your part.

Research: I read various forums to figure out that many users experience this same difficulty with their phones. All of their solutions were obsolete, but got me thinking of what hadn't worked and what could work. My proposed solution was based off of a USB port problem that I had experinced months prior.

Hypothesis:
  • Plug in ear-jack.
  • Turn phone off.
  • Pull out the battery for 10 seconds.
  • Remove the ear-jack. Reinsert the battery.
  • Turn phone on.
Results: Positive result confirmed. The phone functions as normal without the ear-jack needed.

Afterthought: Problems have similar steps that can be used to solve them. Also, forums are the greatest. They allow common folk to see an error that has beset many and after analyzing, can find a solution whether stated or not.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Forensic Computer Tools

PhotoRec proved to be a huge help.
Some one whiped thier hard drive, but as all should know it's difficult to really erase everything off your hard drive; so I used PhotoRec a free open source tool used to recover lost files. It will recover picture files, web files, word proccessing documents and more.

Friday, May 15, 2009

USB device not recognized

Problem: I have had some trouble with my XP sp3 PC. My mouse and printer still function; however, the mass storage devices, like my 500GB External HDD and my flash drives, bring up the error "USB Device not Recognized. One of the USB devices attached to this computer has malfunctioned, and Windows does not recognize it."

Reserach:
I searched some support articles through Microsoft's support website, only to find that all their solutions didn't function.

This article,however, provides a great deal of options.
http://www.ntcompatible.com/Desperately_need_help_---_USB_Devices_Not_Recognized_t32356.html

Hypothesis: I have al;ready tried to update drives, scan for updates in hardware, reboot my computer, and change power settings on my USB Root Hubs.

I am going to now attempt unplugging all the USB drives and then turning off the computer and then unplugging the cable from the wall.

Yes, it worked...All is well!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Did you Forget your Windows Admin password?

Use Ubuntu.
This link is has a great tutorial for how to reset the password as well as a link on how to get Ubuntu.
Ubuntu is will save you.
Source: http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntucat/how-to-reset-a-windows-xp-password-with-ubuntu/comment-page-1/

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Set-up Print Server

Great information from a blog
http://www.theblog.ca/print-server-how-to

Know the IP address for the Printer and then set it up on each client comuter.

I suspect the problem might be the new router.

http://www.ehow.com/how_4452276_set-up-wireless-printing-home.html

Computer Forensics

A great article on new software that will lead the industry in Computer Forensic investigations.
source: http://www.slideshare.net/EdisonHsiun/dc-31-solution-of-the-forensic-data-recovery-presentation

A very useful page. http://www.datatriage.com/blog/hard-drive-recovery-for-your-valuable-data.html

HD Doctor Blog
A blog about hard drive recovery, hard drive repair, computer forensic and so on…
URL: http://www.hddoctor.net

Computer Forensics and the Corporate world.
source: http://search.techrepublic.com.com/search/computer+forensic.html

Forensic Software
source: http://www.forensic-computing.ltd.uk/tools.htm

Article with instructions on Recovery of HDD failure.
source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/how_to/4294038.html

Article from LifeHacker to use PhotoRec to recover lost data. -Open Source- "Free"
source: http://lifehacker.com/software/data-recovery/recover-lost-files-from-a-wiped-hard-drive-197336.php

Stellar Data Recovery's: Windows, Photos, and Hard Drive Recovery.
source: http://www.stellarinfo.com/

Download PhotoRec & TestDisk
link: http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Download

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Lavasoft has TOP THREATS to computer listed

Top Threats
W32/Elkern.C
Worm/Bagle.FJ
Worm/Mytob.AP
Worm/Mytob.CD
Worm/Mytob.AD

see more...click here

Computer Reboots and "lsass" file error

1. Boot into the recovery console using your Windows XP CD.
2. Type: CHDIR sytem32 and press Enter.
3. Type: CHDIR config and press Enter.
4. Type: Rename Security Security.bak and press Enter.
5. Type: Copy C:\Windows\repair\security and press Enter.
6. Type: Exit and press Enter (this will restart your computer).

If all goes well, your PC should work. If not try this:

Quote from above:
"I had this problem and managed to fix it without a reinstall.
Create the disc at www.ubcd4win.com on a good pc and boot off of it on the bad one. Once in go to Start, Programs, Registry Tools, Registry Restore Wizard. Tell it where Windows is installed (C:\Windows usually). Then pick the date that you want to roll back to. I chose the one closest to todays date and it recovered it fine. Reboot and bingo! It's back. (Well it was for me...!)"

Source: http://www.askdavetaylor.com/lsassexe_system_error_every_time_i_boot_windows.html

More answers: my google search

I replaced the system file as needed.
I replaced the security file as directed.

I received the following error while booting into windows.

isass.exe - System Error
Security Accounts Manager Initialization failed becasue of the following error: A device attached to the system is not functioning. Error Status: 0xc0000001. Please click OK to shutdown this system and reboot into SafeMode, check the event log for more dedicated information.

Research: Micorsoft's Technet
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316751

Copy the SAM File from the Repair Folder
loadTOCNode(2, 'resolution');

If you cannot restore the SAM file by using the Windows Backup utility, copy the SAM file from the following location
C:\WINDOWS\repairand paste it to this location:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\config

I replaced SAM file in windows/system32/config/SAM with windows/repair/SAM

EXITO
SUCCESS


Realtek NIC Drivers

http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/downloadsView.aspx?Langid=1&PNid=6&PFid=6&Level=5&Conn=4&DownTypeID=3&GetDown=false#RTL8100B(L)/RTL8100C(L)/RTL8101L/RTL8139C(L)/RTL8139C(L)+/RTL8139D(L)/RTL8100(L)/RTL8130/RTL8139B(L)

http://www.realtek.com.tw/search/default.aspx?keyword=driver

Set-up Wireless Access Pointer as a Repeater

Repeater Mode: In repeater mode, the AP functions to extend the range of the wireless network. It receives a signal wirelessly from another AP, and then passes it on to its own wireless clients. The repeater must have its SSID, Channel, and Encryption settings the exact same as the AP whose signal it is to repeat. The user must also enter the LAN MAC address of the main AP. The repeater does not need to be hardwired to anything (except a power source; at least until we get wireless power ). Wireless repeating is often a proprietary solution, and may not work in a mixed brand environment.

Source: http://www.dslreports.com/faq/10929



Linksys by Cisco's knowledge base: http://linksys.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/linksys.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=4200

Wireless Access Points:

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Install Error 0x800706F8

Upon installing Windows Server 2008, I encountered this error after only a minute of installation processes beginning.
"Windows cannot install required files. Make sure all files required for installation are available, and restart the installation. Error Code 0x800706F8"

In researching the issue, I found that the DVD driver firmware needs to updated.
source: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090306063127AAKXzQ5

After further searching< I find that I might have possibly burned the ISO at too fast of a speed.
source: http://www.techsupportforum.com/microsoft-support/windows-vista-support/145482-vista-can-t-find-all-required-files-during-installation.html

I will post the results.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Computer Laws

Keep up to date with your Computer Laws. These affect you.
I have provided three links to aid your search.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

An Issue, What's the Answer?

Network Administrators are required to provide 5 years of e-mail back-up when sued.

A small business of less than 500...can use Google to do company e-mail through Google Apps.
  • Who would be responsible to provide the 5 years history of email at a suit, the Network Admin of the sued company or Google?

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Security Companies

RSA Security a company dedicated to information system security.
They have some neat ideas and handy products to help prevent loss.
http://www.rsa.com/node.aspx?id=1155

Port Numbers

Valuable and detailed information on computer ports.
http://www.iana.org/assignments/port-numbers

Tip of the day: move your communication channels of the normal ports up to higher port numbers.
This will make it more difficult for the average hacker's low number port scan to detect your port communication.

Monday, March 16, 2009

project: Server

Problem 1: Monitor will not detect motherboard.
Problem 2: DVD drive will turn on only if the IDE cable is not plugged in.

Possible solutions:
1a. The four pin power cord is not drawing sufficient power for the required eight pin.
2a. The drive isn't labeled as slave.

Research: After talking with a couple of other technicians I found that my proposed solutions were inocrrect and that the issue probably dealed with my power supply in form or another. After attempting to to get the mother board to boot up with just one stick of ram and just the processor plugged plugged in, the power would have been easily been sufficient, but the it still didn't boot.

Power supplies have an option on running on 115 Volts or 230 Volts. The standard for U.S. appliances is 115V.

Result: I flipped the switch to 115 Volts and the computer booted up just right.
I have a server with three 500GB SATA HDDs, an AMD x5200 Athalon processor, two 2GB sticks of DDR2 RAM, one 40GB IDE HDD, and one DVD drive.

My next step is to install Microsoft Server 2003 as the OS on the 40GB IDE HDD.

Reflecting: A simple check as to the U.S. voltage standard and my power supply's state as to whether the switch needed to flipped or not , would have saved much time.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Setting up Raid-5

I am building a Server. I am using three 500GB SATA HDDs.

After I constructed the server and plugged everything together, I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

I consulted Microsft's Help and Support for more inofrmation on setting up Raid-5. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/323434

My one worry a becomes the note that the system files and boot files cannot be on the same disk.

I am going to Install Windows Server 2003 as the OS.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Computer Repair-Business Thoughts

I have thought about doing part-time work as a Computer Technician and I have also wondered what all is necessary to start a computer repair business and what to avoid.

Some of these forums will give a good insight into preparation and what to expect.
http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r21686763-ATT-ConnecTech-Jobs
http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/40343-starting-computer-repair-business.html

There was talk of OnForce. Apparently they are the company that AT&T's ConnecTech uses. This is the OnForce link for their Service Pro Help Topics.
http://help.onforce.com/pros/

This is an opinionatetd article against working with OnForce. http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/232/RipOff0232335.htm

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Online Schooling- WGU

There are a great number of E-colleges as we can call them, but one that was mentioned to me lately is the Western Goverenors University.

Take a look at the College of Information Technology.

It appears that you only pay twice a year and there is not a limit on how many classes you can take.
Look at their tuition page.

CheckOut Espy

Espy designs databases
Learn more about Espy at espy.com.

Business to Business E-commerce.

B2B E-commerce through low start up costs.
fotolia.com
Use fotography skills to take pictures and sell them online to businesses who would use them in the design of their websites.

And B2C E-commerce through low start up costs
monkeysurvey.com
Use script and designer skills to design programs to run surveys.


Amazon.com did not a low start up cost.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

AVG states that 43% of Computer Users Annually Lose Data. What’s the truth?

In reading a CRS Report for Congress dated back to September 2006, I gathered some startling statistics as to lack of surety IT professionals had in their own systems. They state: that "an August 2006 study by the Elk Rapids, MI-based privacy management research company Ponemon Institute found that only 37% of information technology professionals believed their company is effective at preventing data breaches (Deborah Rothberg, "IT Pros Say They Can't Stop Data Breaches," eWeek, August 30, 2006 at [http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2010325,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03129TX1K0000614]) . Citing a lack of resources and high product costs as barriers to preventing data leakages, only 43% believed their company would detect a large data breach (involving more than 10,000 customer records) more than 80% of the time (Sponsored by Port Authority Technologies, independently conducted by Ponemon Institute, National Survey on the Detection and Prevention of Data Security Breaches, August 28, 2006, at [http://www.portauthoritytech.com/resources/downloads/wp_Ponemon_Institute_Study.pdf]).

With companies cutting budgets in the current economic challenge, what is stopping companies from not spending the necessary measures to ensure the integrity of their data. Yes, of course for the competitive edge companies will want to protect databases that hold information pertaining to new-release products, customer profiles, and financial data. But, what about employee data, is it safe? We understand that laws are place, but no one finds out about these losses unit someone tells, and that is usually forced by a Federal Agency that comes to audit the system or another auditing agency. Will these groups be paid off, are their ethics left in the system, is there enough government funding to pay these auditors? Our economy has a great deal to do with our security.

After searching and researching credible sources, I found one site from Pepperdine University. They actually cite their sources; whereas, the two sites using this claim to sell a service to back-up data, did not cite their sources.
The article states that information loss has many sources, but they only credited forty percent of data loss to hardware failure (David M. Smith, PhD, The Cost of Lost Data). From the sources cited from the university's article I would trust the information as credible. With 40% of hard drives failing, I personally if I were a hard drive manufacturer I would invest into research searching for the way to improve the life a hard drive. I would then develop the hard drive and use it as a great marketing for my companies name as the company with quality hard drives. If this could be proven, it would raise the question to large business and government entities to switch to a more reliable hard drive. So there is a business opportunity waiting to explode.

I end with my statement that yes, it is a great idea to back up files in some form or another whether this be by trusting a company to encrypt your information and uploading to their site, where they probably use hard drives setup on a RAID 5 to prevent data loss. If you decided to do the same the files would be with you, under your responsibility to protect and maintain replacements of the hard drives. Because it's RAID 5 you can pull out a faulty Hard drive of the three and insert the new one and the data will be restored.

Sources:
CRS Report for Congress, Data Security Breaches: Context and Incident Summaries, Updated September 28, 2006
http://ipmall.info/hosted_resources/crs/RL33199_060928.pdf

The Cost of Lost Data, David M. Smith, Pepperdine University
http://gbr.pepperdine.edu/033/dataloss.html?addcomment=1&savecomment=1&messaged=Your%20comment%20has%20been%20submitted%20for%20processing.&#listcomments

Two site making this claim in order to sell their service:
http://www.barbarabrabec.com/Computertalk/carbonite-online-backup-program.htm Carbonite hosts AVG.


http://ezinearticles.com/?How-Will-You-Survive-a-Computer-Disaster?&id=1893908





Thursday, February 5, 2009

Geographical Information Systems at the Recreational and Social side

Geographical Information Systems have brought the outdoorsman to technology. Many forms of recreation are now used with GPS and other mapping devices. From their old days of maps and compass many have gone to the new technology of GPS and thrown away the old. Today, there are recreation activities that have been designed solely around using the GPS. Geocahiong a beefed up version of hind and go seek mixed with treasuring hunting and computers has a large number of participants worldwide. To explain the game: the hider, places their cache in some hidden, no conspicuous location, records the locations' coordinates with their GPS and then logs it into an internet site for crazed geocahers to go find. Beyond the sport of Geocahing , games have been invented for the specific use of the GPS (http://www.utahgeocachers.com/games-local.php).

Wherever you might be, either you yourself or another person nearby is using a GPS device or Map system from their phone. Many people use GPS devices to make driving an easier task. With a mobile application called "Dodgeball" you can see if you have any friends within ten blocks (Levy, 2004). With all this technology changing daily personal life and the business world one could wonder how this came to be that we could have such ease to finding locations though just googling a zip code a store name and seeing exactly where we need to go. This technology was coming to life in the 1960's and it was a great factor in helping decide where to place ski runs in Utah (Levy, 2004).

Without a doubt Geographical Information Systems have changed how the middle class moves from point A to point B throughout their day. Indefinitely the GPS has brought not only valuable information, but as well fun filled recreation times. Now consider to yourself about beginning your very first geo cache. If you don't have a GPS find someone who does and begin your new recreational hobby today. And don't forget the Geographical Information Systems next time you use MapQuest or Google to find directions.


References

Levy, S. (2004). Making the ultimate map. (cover story). Newsweek, 143(23), 56-58. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=13241522&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Boost you Resume

Get Online Credentials
http://www.expertrating.com/jobs/Managerial-jobs/B2B-Jobs-jobs.asp
They give help in giving credentials for those who seek a jb from B2B. ATM Repair.

Spread the word about your skills as a ATM Repair Technician
http://www.atmmachine.com/atm-techs.html

Preparing to be an ATM Repair Technician
http://www.collegeboard.com/csearch/majors_careers/profiles/careers/100763.html

Network Discovery will not turn on

In my Server box I am running Windows Server 2008

Error: Network Discovery will not turn on.

Hypothesis: Find the port or the program name for Network Discovery and Netlogon, access it through a search inside of the windows firewall exceptions tab and Netowrk Discovery should turn on,

Research:
Learn how to Add programs into Windows Firewall Exception list.
Go to http://www.clearapps.com/help.html#faqa9

Microsofts lists posts and their application protocal and the service names at http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/support/articles/ref_net_ports_ms_prod.mspx

After my research I was stilled in a state of confusion, so I turned to a student and he helped me.

These are the steps we took
  1. Go to Windows Firewall, click on the advanced tab and click the "Restore Defaults" button.
  2. Click on the Exceptions tab and click the boxes for NetLogon and Network Discovery.
    -At this point Network Discovery still was not turning on.
  3. I went back and turned on File and Printer Sharing as well.
  4. We turned on some more of the services that can be found through going to administrative tools. -This is not very useful because, I don't remeber what we turned on.
  5. We were able to turn on Network Discovery, but we were not able to turn on Printer sharing.
  6. To fix this problem we unistalled the printer and reinstalled it.
  7. Printer sharing was turned on succesfully.

Reflection: this post becomes useless at step four because the reader does not which services to turn on inorder for them to have the same success as author of the blog. I can definatley Imrove my taking of notes when I fix computers, but as for this case I also need those who fix the problem to write down the solution steps as they go.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Creating a Home Folder for Users

  • Share the Users folder by doing an advanced share.
  • Go to Active Directory Users and Computers on the server Double Click the Users folder and then Right-click a user and select Properties.
  • Select the Profile tab.
  • On the Home Folder option: click Connect, select a drive (ex. H: )and type file://127.0.0.1/users/%25username%25

                  
Creating a Home folder is very useful to keep all the documents on the Server. Also, the folders can have quotas placed on them, to prevent your users from doing storing massive amounts of junk on your server. Great way to prevent loss of data on work stations and manage speed up the work stations by keeping them more free of user documents.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Server 2008 ignores my selection to Turn on Network Discovery

I click apply after selecting "Turn on Network Discovery", however, rather than having the green circle appearing, the gray bleak circle with "Off" remains.

Research: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/948613

Hypothesis: If I create a new role in the Firewall to allow connection through Port 5357 then Network Discovery will turn on.

Results: The bleak circle with "Off" remains after opening Port 5357.

Hypothesis: Look deeper into the Firewall and keep it simple.

Current Results: I entered into the Firewall and tried adding a program "Network Discovery" in the exceptions tab, but I have not had positive results yet in finding such a program.


 

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

OU's in the Active Directory

Check out the OU's in the domain.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb727085.aspx
http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=32080
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/technologies/directory/activedirectory/default.mspx
These are three sites that offer more infor on Active Directory and OU's

Career: Getting Started

Both companies help place people in IT jobs. When you have a degree.
Robert Half
SOS Technology

Active Directory Issues: “a Primary Domain Controller (PDC) cannot be contacted.

Error: Domain that was supposed to be created upon the install of Active Directory is nor appearing and creating errors of shutdown and communication.

Research: support.microsoft.com http://support.microsoft.com/kb/903654

Hypothesis: If I uninstall Active Directory by typing dcpromo /forceremoval into the command promt with admin user right. Then ensure that the latest update is installed on Server 2008-service pack1. Then reinstall Active Directory using a Static IP than yes it will be able to see my domain and the computer will quit crashing.

Result: The initial attempt to type dcpromo /forceremoval did not complete the task as desired. The Active Directory was still in existence.

And an interesting, note two pictures and my google chrome are now none existent.

Hypothesis: click remove role and follow directions.

Result: Success on the removal and now I am reinstalling Active Directory

Hyppothesis: Start install of AD

Error: Fun new error: on the reinstall I select to choose my own static IP address. It won't let me continue. I check and view my network connections and their properties. My preferred DNS server is 127.0.0.1

On the network map it should be 172.16.1.11

Oh great goodness the new recommendation is that I continue with the exact same method that I preformed the first time, that yes failed the first time. Ooooh now I'm steaming mad.

So I go through the ordeal once again with the result of "not successful"

The errors I receive upon trying to enter the Active Directory Domain and Trusts are:

Firstly, "You cannot modify domain or trust information because a Primary Domain Controller (PDC) cannot be contacted. Please verify that the PDC emulator for the current domain and the network are both online and functioning properly."

Secondly, "The configuration information describing this enterprise is not available. The server is not operational."

Research: This site might have a solution http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc780487.aspx I'll search it.

Just as I was about to ready to delete and reinstall Server 2008, when I received some advice.
In the first place I should have looked at the event viewer to do systematic problem solving.


Hypothesis: Enable and start the Server service and the Netlogon service and active directory should work


Result: Yes, Windows Server 2008 automatically has the Server service disabled, I enabled it and then had to Start it and then start the Net logon service. We’re all smiles now.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Don’t use an Operating System in your Business


How would you enjoy cutting your electric bill, conserving space by getting rid of those bulky PC towers and having more control as an IT manager?



WSYE has developed terminals that can attach to the back of the monitor. They are about the size of a home router. They are small. They prevent many IT nightmares caused by users and are very reliable.



In an
article from PR Newswire, Marc Driessen Vice President, Dynamic Manufacturing Solutions, Inc states "Easy to maintain, easy to deploy and easy to administer. What more could we ask for,"



Wyse and VMware Customers Champion Thin Clients as Ideal Desktop Virtualization Endpoint Based on Low TCO, Rich Multimedia Capabilities, Ease-of-Use and Security :Virtual Desktop Adoption Continues to Grow as Wyse Combines Hardware and Software Solutions for Best-in-Class End-User Experience. (16 September). PR Newswire. Retrieved January 15, 2009, from ABI/INFORM Dateline database. (Document ID: 1555342781).







The Wyse S10 is a great choice for dependability. As the CTO I could use this software to manager the "thin clients". The price range these of fine pieces of hardware is expensive. WYSE has a spot just for Enterprises to buy from. The idea is that the power, space, and time that will be saved will make this cost well worth your pennies.



You should try one for free from WYSE.







Learning-Autometed Syestems Inc.

Find out who they are http://www.asiweb.com/.
give me a comment after your search.
They have career oppenings.
It is interesting to read their Job requiremnts etc.

E-Collaboration

Linked-in is your business social network.
Get linked it at linkedin.com
Get built

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Making the Install of an OS Simpler

In a work place there can be many workstations. And with all the jazz about these new Operating Systems, you as an IT person could spend all your useful hours wasted by individually installing the OS to every workstation manually. Now shouldn't there be an easier method. Yes, and there is.

Through the use a server (which you should have with more than 5 workstations) the installation of the OS on many workstations becomes like a hot bath, pleasurable and relaxing.

There a few methods one can use if there are going to enjoy life.
The first being, the use of Windows Deployment Services through Windows Servers 2003 & 2008. This is a great tool that will help you use disk images to do the install to workstation computers.

The second is the Unattended Install procedure. This requires the use of XML files. For sample XML files go to www.Microsoft.com

A neat article I found called "Install multiple OS Without Cds" take a look.

Hypothesis: this should work outside of VirtualPC. I will do these installs through the server I am building at home.

Results will be posted soon.