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January 2005 - Posts

I'm stealing an idea from Jeff Meager in the newsgroup.... he said.... I decided to make an alert that informed you when too many bad username and password attempts had been made. You will need to customise it to the size of your company, but it's too Read More
There is one thing that both Dr. Jesper Johansson and Steve Riley say in a lot of presentations...they say that “Account lockout has no value”, that it will “cause a denial of service”.  And this is ONE area that I timidly disagree Read More
Alert on DOMAIN at 1/31/2005 8:05:59 PM A large amount of memory is committed to applications and processes. Consistently high memory usage can cause performance problems. To determine which processes and applications are using the most memory, use Read More
You know you are a geek when.... Your best friends who went to the Las Vegas Computer Electronic show and get you a sweatshirt that says “Technology is a girl's best friend“. You debate the merits of looking up the TV listings on www.tvguide.com/listings Read More
I think this is the year of the consultant.  First I get emails asking about this, the a friend posts a “so you want to be a consultant” on his web site and gets it linked to shashdot.  Check it out.... a great paper written by Read More
There are times sometimes you want to go.... yo...dude...what have I been saying?  Scoble tonight ponders about a home server.. not a mirraserver but a server based on Microsoft Media Center Edition.  Like YO DUDE...this is what I've been saying Read More
We start this interview with Sam the SBS 2003 server Q.  Hi Sam.... uh Sam?  You okay? A.  Uh... well.. I'm kinda embarrassed, Q. Embarrassed? A.  Yeah, some of my fellow SBS 2003 server boxes ...well their owners and consultants haven't patched me Read More
Wayne pinged me and asked if I had any Netgear PS110 print servers here and I don't.  Seems like the servers just don't want to work on Win2k3 and you either have to buy the 113s or buy some other print server.  Now we all know that hardware Read More
I have a love/hate relationship with ISA server.  Most of the time I love it, but there's that one hour out of the blue that it drives me crazy.  Part of it is my own fault.  I didn't realize when I first setup the server at home, how important Read More
I want to revisit yesterday's blog post talking about different ways to go from point A to point B.  There's something that is glossed over in the “zeal” to showcase that SBS 2003 is just...well it's just Windows 2003 [other than we are Read More
P.S.  One caveat... for the newbies in the crowd, call up a Microsoft partner {PREFERABLY A SBSIZED ONE} to help you in this OR ANY migration.  And another thing.. we don't call them BDC's in the 2000 AD world... just a heads up... I've Read More
So I was helping out an SBSer and doing some investigation of the server and tonight was reading Robert Hensing's posts on “Anatomy of” and Wolf. Wolf you say?  See when the PSS team [either technical support or in this case Security] Read More
So I'm looking at RSS feeds and notice a person who is having a hard time configuring Outlook over Http on his SBS 2003. pssst... should I tell him that his information was right under his nose...or I should say.. right under his RWW? If he logs Read More
I always joke that someone on the SBS dev team must have been a beancounter in a previous life due to all the log files that SBS has automagically.  Eriq Neale has a great blog post about SBS and logging on his blog.  [by the way if you haven't Read More
You heard me.  Have you looked at your log files today?  Today I was looking at the log files of a SBS box and in looking at the Security Log files, the IIS log files we found we were missing one key element.  The firewall log files.  Read More
Amy 'girl power for ISA server' of Harbor Consulting Services has started an ISA on SBS blog.  You go girl in telling them “Yes it's secure”.  I was finishing up the review of Protecting your Windows Nework by Dr. Jesper Johansson Read More
How to determine the channel that your copy of Windows Server 2003 was obtained through: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=889713 Hmmm that's an interesting KB.. doesn't list SBS nor the Fresno version, but interesting nonetheless. What?  Haven't Read More
Folder redirection does not redirect folders on Windows XP Professional-based computers: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=892227You may receive Error 1721 when you try to remove programs by using Add or Remove Programs in Windows XP: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=891985An Read More
Sometimes a big project takes time and you need to build team morale.  Sometimes it's as dumb as buying pizza when folks are working late.  Sometimes it's Root Beer... yup.. Root beer.  About 4 p.m. when the brain has totally fried, we Read More
I just got the “Networking Infrastructure Solutions“ from the Action pack and the diagram for networking on the back is a single nic setup.  I just don't get it why every single time I see an official Microsoft “small biz” Read More
From the mailbag today comes a question from James regarding how much you can put on one SBS 2003 box.  Good question.  I'll check with my gurus.  I know that you can put CRM on SBS and infact the information is included in the CRM documentation.  Read More
Configure Password Policies Using strong passwords is important, and configuring password policies to enforce strong passwords helps keep the Windows Small Business Server network secure. After you configure or change password policies, all users are Read More
So I brute force cracked a password yesterday....It was a 6 character password with one capital letter, one number and the rest lowercase.  I password protected an Office document and then used an Elcomsoft.com program to see how long it would take Read More
Sometimes we feel the need to be extra paranoid in SBSland and that includes making sure the password on the Administrators account is EXTREMELY Dr. Jesper Johansson approved long and hard to crack.  There's also another step you can do BUT remember Read More
"No Updates Were Installed" error message when you try to install an update from the Windows Update Web site on a computer that is running Windows Small Business Server 2003: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=887425Event 1030 and event 1058 may be logged, Read More
While I think POP pulling into a workstation is silly as you should use the power of your server, if you absolutely positively MUST have your Outlook on your workstations individually POP AND do Exchange you'll want to make the POP be the “main Read More
Remember I said how we add the domain/connectcomputer to the IE trusted zone to properly run it?  So exactly what does connect computer script do anyway you ask? psst... yes it DOES do way more than manually connecting the computer to the network Read More
It's good that we're getting important enough for a known "google hacker" site to post about our uniqueness...  It's bad that we're getting important enough for a known "google hacker" site to post about our uniqueness...  Just a heads up ...they Read More
I was googling and stumbled across a KB article and thought I'd stick it up here Codes for the audit logs:   Field Comments Event Type, Source,Category,ID,Date,and Time self-explanatory User The user account performing the logon. Read More
Jut got an email in the mailbag and this is not the first time I've gotten this question: How do we become members of your site? Well see it's like this... it's not really a member site.  You see, that login box is just my username and password Read More
I make it a rule to merely add the web site of the SBS server I am going to either connect to internally or connect to externally in the trusted zone in Internet Explorer.  IE, Tools, Internet Options, Security, Trusted Sites, sites and then enter Read More
From the mailbag today comes the question from Alex... is there a way to publish Companyweb without opening 444?  And the answer is.... No.  You must have 444 for external access to CompanyWeb [Sharepoint]. SBS bascially requires the following Read More
Looking for Troubleshooting tips for Small Business Server 2003? There's an excellent resource on the SBS web site but I“ve put links here as well: Troubleshooting Server Setup Troubleshooting Users and Groups Troubleshooting Client Read More
Back in May I posted of the three things I've done on my SBS servers.  But I'm here for an update because I only do two of them now: To ensure that file locking doesn't occur on databases and Quickbooks Disable oplocking http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q296264 Read More
Cal emailed today a “Geese as community” piece that I had to find a copy to share: When you see geese flying in a "V" formation, you might be interested in knowing what facts scientists have discovered about why they fly that way. Read More
I'm sure people wonder what exactly is my job.  Sometimes that's a very good question.  Somedays it's just standing over the shoulder and telling someone in the office how to attach a file to an email.  Somedays it's trying to Read More
You do know about the documentation resources for SBS right? What?  You don't? Start here for a Documentation by Task for Windows Small Business Server 2003 Then you do know about the SBS Documentation blog, right? Huh?  You don't?!! Dude, Read More
Too many times I see people not understanding the difference between being a DOMAIN administrator and being a LOCAL administrator.  Being a domain admin means that the user logging in has full right to anything on that domain and basically has Read More
SeanDaniel.com points out once again that we should WAIT [patience patience] for our OWN SBS SP1 which will include Windows 2003 sp1 and we should not run the Security Configuration Wizard on our SBS [see I was right] and also points to that kewl Exchange Read More
Vendor:  noun:  one that sells something Customer:  noun:  One that buys goods or services. Salesperson:  noun:  A person employed to sell merchandise  VAR/VAP:  Value Added Reseller/Provider Value:   Read More
We sit down again with Sam the SBS 2003 Server and ask a few questions: Q.  Hi, Sam, it's been a couple of weeks since our last Q and A and we just had to do a follow up. A.  Sure thing! Q.  We got a question via the mailbag today as Read More
Today an email was sent out and it was cc'd to several SBSers.  Due to the fact that there were a couple of SBSers on the list who had not patched their systems for an issue with the POP Connector, those of us on the email blast are now receiving Read More
 http://mssecurities.savvislive.com/20050118/registration.html The recording is on now the web.  One of the Security MVPs that I know, “Calamity Jane” was really impressive during the roundtable section.  Remember Read More
CHAT: SBS Live! ** Tuesday, January 18, 7 p.m. Eastern Microsoft MVP and SBS expert Andy Goodman helms another year of Small Business Server chats; the first of these chats takes place this Tuesday, January 18. If you have any questions for Read More
Join host Mike Nash, on January 18th at 9:00 a.m. PST Microsoft's senior executive in charge of security, for a discussion of the latest spyware techniques, highlight technologies, and best practices that organizations can use to mitigate the threat Read More
In addition to adding the search box for the blog, [see the box above Yoda to the right] we've adding something else tonight.  A bit of “intelligence testing”.  You see like every other “good thing” is this world, Read More
Executive chat - Windows Small Business Server 2003 [January 18, 1:00 pm Pacific, 4:00 pm Eastern]Bob Muglia, Senior Vice President of the Windows Server Division, along with Eugene Ho, Director of Small Business Server, discuss Windows Small Business Read More
In the world of geekdom we use many abbreviations.  Small Business Server 2003 is abbreviated to SBS.  The new Security Configuration Wizard that will be included in Windows 2003 sp1 is nicknamed SCW.  And DDT?  That's Jason's [a tech Read More
Many eons ago I thought I did a brilliant thing about passwords.  I made sure that all the local adminstrator passwords on my desktops matched the Administrator password of the domain.  But see what I didn't realize was that I was in reality Read More
I had to buy a computer in a retail computer store today.  I hope I don't have to repeat the experience.  You see we had a bit of a problem at the office.  We had a break in and lost one desktop.  Fortunately because there is NOTHING Read More
To anyone who truly beleives that running Terminal Server in Application mode on our SBS 2003 domain controller can be made secure and could ever be secure, I am reminded of a joke that Dr. Jesper J said and has been repeated in SBSland.... “what Read More
Well I feel quite silly and foolish.  I totally did not understand the significance of the choices that I made when installing my member server and when it came to licensing the Terminal Server part of the member server I forgot a two letter word. Read More
For those of you who missed the “Oh Canada” event, we've got some more photos on the web site.  Harry and the SMBNation will be travelling next to India, Singapore, Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Taiwan. I'm hoping too Read More
I've had a couple of requests lately to add a search feature to the blog.  Well I was finding the Steve Riley blog which had a trackback to another blog that had a post about “adding search”.  Kewlamondo.  See that box on the Read More
A while back I blogged about why we needed multiple firewalls in our network.  In addition to our firewalls on the outside, we in SBSland are now putting firewalls on the inside.  Remember I said that Steve Riley talked about this in his “death Read More
Via the mailbag today I got a heads up to a post that says “Microsoft is asking external coders, aka Hackers if they have patch suggestions”. Now keep in mind, this post is as a result of an eweek article that talks about a closed beta Read More
 We're now in search of the perfect bag for our brand spanking new Acer Tablet PC TravelMate C112. And we've found a web site that sells “laptop carrying cases for women” Okay I'm not quite sure I'm going to cart around a pink laptop Read More
So even in SBS land there's already few questions on the listserves about the Mini Mac that was just announced at MacWorld. So just a couple of FAQs for anyone who asks: Are they based on OSX?  Yup. Does that mean that they can connect/be Read More
Drat.  Come home, need to check on something at the office and RWW isn't working.  Rats.  Okay I've got a back door so lets check out the issues..... Port 443 is responding - ran a Portqry [the GUI one for me] and 443 and 4125 are good.Web Read More
It's that time of the month when people go to Windows Update and I need to remind everyone.....big deep breath... IT DOESN'T PATCH EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You must visit our SBS download page after visiting Windows update. In my mind our Read More
Want a really nice sized, fabulous travel laptop?  I'd highly recommend the Acer Travelmate C110 series that is also a tablet pc.  Why do I love it?  Because when I'm attempting to work on an airplane and the guy [or girl] in the seat in Read More
Do you remember the ad... “how many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a toosie roll lollypop?” ...”one.... two....three...crunch” as the wise owl licking the lollypop bit into the chocolate center? I Read More
What's the one thing I don't do with the Remote connectivity features of SBS 2003? I don't connect to my network from any public computer, one that is like a Internet cafe/kiosk computer or even a hotel business center.  Why?  Because it's Read More
Got a call from the gang in Toronto and other than freezing poor Frank [who's from Florida] it sounds like they had a fun time.  If you didn't make the Toronto event tonight remember that the Toronto Server user group meets all the time.  To Read More
Come sit on the couch while Psychologist Hensing determines what kind of computer admin you are, shall we? I was a bit surprised that 60% of admins set up their servers without a firewall.  I guess I've lived too long in wizard land where we just Read More
 January 11, 2005 Today Microsoft released the following Security Bulletin(s). Note: www.microsoft.com/technet/security and www.microsoft.com/security are authoritative in all matters concerning Microsoft Security Bulletins! ANY e-mail, web board Read More
Used this PortQuery tool tonight to do some debugging and ensure that the port I thought I had open was indeed open.  Had to laugh... the tool says the port exits.  I think they mean exists. More kewl tools are discussed on this blog post.  Read More
I checked with Microsoft Canada and there is still plenty of room so PLEASE if you are in the vicinity tomorrow night of Mississauga and the Microsoft Canada location - SHOW UP! TechNet Canada and the Toronto Windows Server User Group (TWSUG) are proud Read More
In this patch release, the issue that causes queueing of mails downloaded using the POP3 Connector has been resolved. http://www.trendmicro.com/download/product.asp?productid=39 http://kb.trendmicro.com/solutions/search/main/search/SolutionDetail.asp?SolutionID=23065 Read More
Last chance to meet up with the SBS family members in Toronto on TuesdayFirst up is the SMBnation event Sponsored by HP, this one-day workshop is a retreat that focuses on the business and bits (technology) of Windows Small Business Server 2003 for consultants, Read More
I'm starting to sound like a broken record but watch out and keep IE [and I would argue all browsers] in high security Tools Internet options Security tab and reset the Internet for High security From Incidents.org Secunia Advisory for IE Read More
Is it the right of employees to surf the net, download anything, use personal email? It is if you don't have an acceptable use policy. Sample policies can be downloaded and customized from the SANS.org web site. Sample checklists can be downloaded Read More
Today I fielded a call from a fellow CPA who was trying to fix an issue with his computer at home.  He started off by saying “well I installed XP sp2 and I probably shouldn't have done that”. Wrong.  You SHOULD do that!  AND we Read More
Fixing my sister's laptop that has been giving problems with USB devices like the thumb drives and I was trying to get her new gig drive working and it kept coming back with an error message:  “The specified service does not exist as an installed Read More
Hi!  I'm Sam the SBS 2003 server with today's friendly reminder: To the Computer installer community, just remember that when it comes to renaming me you can't run dcpromo on me and rename me.  This is the one area where I differ from Read More
So you are IMing away typing up some pretty senstive info and because it's on IM and not on email the fact that you are giving away secrets to Fort Knox is fine because this is IM and not email right? You do know that IM traffic can be sniffed... that Read More
During our tech meeting today, one of my fellow geeks was telling the story of how the firm that leased the space below her office moved out and they shut off the DSL.  When they did, they shut off her DSL and she realized how much she depended on Read More
So Graeme asks, am I running beta code of the Microsoft anti-spyware on a production workstation at the office to make sure that it goes out an egress filtering ISA server firewall?  You bet your little bippy I am to make sure that the program Read More
Yes, you know I'm talking to you! You need a centralized place in your firm.  A meeting place the represents the meeting of the minds of the employees in your office. You need a place to share data.  None of this mamby pamby peer to peer Read More
You cannot successfully perform an online backup information store databases on your Exchange Server 2003 SP1 computer, and event ID 217 is logged: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=889528How to remove and how to install the Windows Small Business Server Read More
From the download center today The sample scripts provided are likely to appear in the upcoming System Administration Scripting Guide (see More Information link), which will ship as part of the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit. The sample scripts are Read More
In Wednesday's Joe Wilcox's Microsoft Monitor, he says “I'm dubious reseller support is necessary for every SBS 2003 installation, or even the majority. “ Yo, Joe, I have news for you, while easy to set up, this little box still needs a bit Read More
Microsoft just opened up a public anti spyware beta today.  You can download the software here. So far, nice interface, but I did already “beta bug” that I wanted a corporate console version, something that we could do just like the Read More
Forgot to post the final “top 10” of the AICPA survey that identifies top technologies that either affect firms or their clientele in the next 12 months.  I always enjoy participating in that committee, it really makes you look at your Read More
Because I forgot that this evening was the live broadcast of Bill Gates at the Consumer Electronic Show.  Oh well, not to worry because it's online. The friends I was staying with over the weekend, one of them is going to CES tomorrow.  Read More
Went to Fry's Electronics over the weekend [it's kinda like an adult's Disneyland] and bought two 1 gig usb thumb drives.  Each gig cost $99US.  They even had a writing pen that held a usb pen drive.  Now there are two things that Read More
 A bit off topic posting.....Coming home from Los Angeles today over the “Grapevine”, the name for the Interstate 5 roadway across the mountains, we had just a smidge of snow.  As we drove along, there was a Lookout point that Read More
Executive chat - Windows Small Business Server 2003 [January 18, 1:00 pm Pacific, 4:00 pm Eastern]Bob Muglia, Senior Vice President of the Windows Server Division, along with Eugene Ho, Director of Windows Small Business Server, discuss SBS 2003 in this Read More
Remember my Blog post that small businesses are starting to look at VOIP?  {I've seen this in my fellow geek accounting/technology firms starting to roll out or investigate this technology}  A couple of my geek friends down in LA use this in Read More
HEADS UP! Trend's latest update was giving a false alarm and was indicating that the systems were infected with this virus when they were NOT infected: http://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/virusencyclo/default5.asp?VName=HKTL_LSASSSBA.A&VSect=T While Read More
So you have an idea about billing, preparing bids and what not but need to ask more technical questions, more questions about licensing, and perhaps questions about networks a bit larger than a SBS network? Want to have a direct connection Read More
Question from the mailbox today is interesting in that it's not the first I've seen about someone making a change and interested in becoming an SBS consultant. Some of the questions that typcially come up are things like.... How much do I charge Read More
Back from our New Year's trip to Disneyland. We survived the Tower of Terror ride [well the adults barely survived, the 10 year old we were with wanted to go again]. While in the park we noticed two cool technology items.  Once was at the Test Read More
Well I'm going to be checking out the technology of Disneyland and California Adventure today and tomorrow [don't laugh, you should see the RJ45 wall jacks in California Adventure that we've seen on past trips].  So blogging will be light.  Read More