Saturday, December 5, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Outlook Contacts and Truncated Notes
I recently came across a situation where half of the notes in an Outlook contact had disappeared and replaced with a message that the notes were truncated. Come to find out, this happens quite often. Why does this happen? It's because of your cell phone.
If you have a cell phone that synchronizes with Microsoft Exchange email server, then you know that not only can you pull your email to your phone, but also your contacts, calendar and notes. You are also aware that if you make a change on your phone that Exchange is updated the next time your phone syncs.
So here's what happens: Let's say you need to visit your client, and you have his information stored as a contact in your Outlook. You need to get directions to his business and figure that there's no better place to put the directions than in the notes section of his contact info. Makes sense, right? What you didn't plan on was the amount of turns, landmarks and forks in the road you were going to have to keep track of. Now your directions read more like a novel.
When your phone syncs with exchange, it is programmed to only accept a certain amount of the data in the notes section. This way, it won't eat up all the phone's storage space. The phone will download the notes until it hits a certain amount of data, then replace the rest with a message that the data has been truncated (stopped because it has reached its limit).
On your phone, the note for that contact says "...turn right at the dead cow carcass, go down the one lane road for a mule's kick. If you past Billy Bob's bird fee... [message has been truncated]" If you're like me, your first thought would be to sync again in hopes the rest of the message will appear. Don't do it! Actually, if that note is that important, turn off the sync. Actually, take out the battery. What's going to happen is that the exact note on your phone is going to replace the note in Exchange, truncated and all.
So what if this has already happened? What can you do? Nothing. If you have a good backup system, your only hope is that it does a good job of backing up Exchange servers and you can restore that contact. There is a way to "hack" the phone and force it to allow larger contact files, but let's save that for another discussion.
Thanks for reading.
Thomas Johnsen - CCNA, MCSE+Security, MCDST, A+, Net+, Security+
Lead Engineer
Networthy Systems
7060 Phelan Blvd. Ste. 104
Beaumont, Texas 77706
(409) 861-4450
http://www.networthysystems.com
If you have a cell phone that synchronizes with Microsoft Exchange email server, then you know that not only can you pull your email to your phone, but also your contacts, calendar and notes. You are also aware that if you make a change on your phone that Exchange is updated the next time your phone syncs.
So here's what happens: Let's say you need to visit your client, and you have his information stored as a contact in your Outlook. You need to get directions to his business and figure that there's no better place to put the directions than in the notes section of his contact info. Makes sense, right? What you didn't plan on was the amount of turns, landmarks and forks in the road you were going to have to keep track of. Now your directions read more like a novel.
When your phone syncs with exchange, it is programmed to only accept a certain amount of the data in the notes section. This way, it won't eat up all the phone's storage space. The phone will download the notes until it hits a certain amount of data, then replace the rest with a message that the data has been truncated (stopped because it has reached its limit).
On your phone, the note for that contact says "...turn right at the dead cow carcass, go down the one lane road for a mule's kick. If you past Billy Bob's bird fee... [message has been truncated]" If you're like me, your first thought would be to sync again in hopes the rest of the message will appear. Don't do it! Actually, if that note is that important, turn off the sync. Actually, take out the battery. What's going to happen is that the exact note on your phone is going to replace the note in Exchange, truncated and all.
So what if this has already happened? What can you do? Nothing. If you have a good backup system, your only hope is that it does a good job of backing up Exchange servers and you can restore that contact. There is a way to "hack" the phone and force it to allow larger contact files, but let's save that for another discussion.
Thanks for reading.
Thomas Johnsen - CCNA, MCSE+Security, MCDST, A+, Net+, Security+
Lead Engineer
Networthy Systems
7060 Phelan Blvd. Ste. 104
Beaumont, Texas 77706
(409) 861-4450
http://www.networthysystems.com
Friday, August 21, 2009
Windows Server 2003 Expiration
Just a reminder, Windows server 2003 will expire July 13, 2010. If you have extended support, then you have until 2015.
So if you don't have extended support, get it before the expiration date.
- Thomas Johnsen
So if you don't have extended support, get it before the expiration date.
- Thomas Johnsen
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Important Online Commerce Notice
Buy.com and Orbitz, among many other commerce websites, partner with a company called WebLoyalty in which WebLoyalty has the right to do what they want with the data you give to the commerce sites.
From what I understand, let's say you are on the buy.com website, you have decided ton purchase something and are checking out. During the checkout phase, a pop-up asks if you want a coupon or some special deal and you need to put in your email address. You will not be able to continue until you put in an email address. This is where they get you. If you put in an email address, you have agreed to the fine print and will be charged something like $12.00 a month from WebLoyalty.
Wow, you don't have anything to do with WebLoyalty, so how do they have the right to take your money. From what I understand, when you sign up with companies partnered with WebLoyalty, you agree to the fine print that they have the right to do anything they want with the data you give them, even if that means credit card information. WebLoyalty pays it's clients for that data, then turn around and charge you.
So what do you get for your $12.00? WebLoyalty will let you know about great coupon offers and other deals they think you might be interested in.
Let me see if I understand... WebLoyalty steals my money and repays me with SPAM?!?!?!
Thomas Johnsen
MCSE+Security, MCDST, CCNA, A+, Net+, Sec+
Lead Engineer
Networthy Systems
Beaumont Texas
thomasjohnsen.smbittips@networthysystems.com
www.networthysystems.com
(409) 861-4450
From what I understand, let's say you are on the buy.com website, you have decided ton purchase something and are checking out. During the checkout phase, a pop-up asks if you want a coupon or some special deal and you need to put in your email address. You will not be able to continue until you put in an email address. This is where they get you. If you put in an email address, you have agreed to the fine print and will be charged something like $12.00 a month from WebLoyalty.
Wow, you don't have anything to do with WebLoyalty, so how do they have the right to take your money. From what I understand, when you sign up with companies partnered with WebLoyalty, you agree to the fine print that they have the right to do anything they want with the data you give them, even if that means credit card information. WebLoyalty pays it's clients for that data, then turn around and charge you.
So what do you get for your $12.00? WebLoyalty will let you know about great coupon offers and other deals they think you might be interested in.
Let me see if I understand... WebLoyalty steals my money and repays me with SPAM?!?!?!
Thomas Johnsen
MCSE+Security, MCDST, CCNA, A+, Net+, Sec+
Lead Engineer
Networthy Systems
Beaumont Texas
thomasjohnsen.smbittips@networthysystems.com
www.networthysystems.com
(409) 861-4450
Important iPhone notice!
There is a vulnerability with Apple's iPhone in which the attacker can take total control of your phone.
It seems that the phone can accept commands received through SMS (text messages). They are called controlled SMS messages and work a little different than regular SMS. The attacker runs the initial SMS and from there, the rest of the messages are unseen and run commands in the background.
So what can the attacker do? Well, anything! They can turn on the camera and see what is around you. They can turn on the microphone and hear what you're saying. They can program your phone to send spam (at your expense) and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Remember, your iPhone is a miniture computer and can do virtually anything that a regular computer can do.
What can you do? I just found out that there is an update that will fix the issue that just came out a day or two ago. You have to plug in your iPhone to iTunes and check for updates. Be sure you manually click the button to check for updates. If you just plug in your phone, it will report that no updates are needed until you manually press the "check for updates" button.
This should fix your phone. I'm wondering if it truly fixes the phone or just "band-aids" it. We'll have to wait and see.
How will you know if you have been attacked? So far, the only indication that you have been attacked is if you get a text message with a square at the end of it. No one has said what the message is about so I assume that it really doesn't matter. But, if there is a square at the end, then the phone has been taken over and you should take the battery out until you are ready to update the phone with the latest patches.
Thomas Johnsen, MCSE+Security, MCDST, CCNA, A+, Net+, Sec+
Lead Engineer
Networthy Systems
Beaumont Texas
thomasjohnsen.smbittips@networthysystems.com
www.networthysystems.com
(409) 861-4450
It seems that the phone can accept commands received through SMS (text messages). They are called controlled SMS messages and work a little different than regular SMS. The attacker runs the initial SMS and from there, the rest of the messages are unseen and run commands in the background.
So what can the attacker do? Well, anything! They can turn on the camera and see what is around you. They can turn on the microphone and hear what you're saying. They can program your phone to send spam (at your expense) and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Remember, your iPhone is a miniture computer and can do virtually anything that a regular computer can do.
What can you do? I just found out that there is an update that will fix the issue that just came out a day or two ago. You have to plug in your iPhone to iTunes and check for updates. Be sure you manually click the button to check for updates. If you just plug in your phone, it will report that no updates are needed until you manually press the "check for updates" button.
This should fix your phone. I'm wondering if it truly fixes the phone or just "band-aids" it. We'll have to wait and see.
How will you know if you have been attacked? So far, the only indication that you have been attacked is if you get a text message with a square at the end of it. No one has said what the message is about so I assume that it really doesn't matter. But, if there is a square at the end, then the phone has been taken over and you should take the battery out until you are ready to update the phone with the latest patches.
Thomas Johnsen, MCSE+Security, MCDST, CCNA, A+, Net+, Sec+
Lead Engineer
Networthy Systems
Beaumont Texas
thomasjohnsen.smbittips@networthysystems.com
www.networthysystems.com
(409) 861-4450
Friday, July 17, 2009
Funny 10 Tech support calls
Here is a top 10 list that I got through one of my RSS feeds. I can't take credit for this... I just think it's funny.
Number 10
Number 9
Number 8
Number 7
Number 6
Number 5
Number 4
Number 3
Number 2
Number 1
Over the years, there have been a great number of calls to help desks. Sometimes it feels as though I took most of them myself. They fall broadly into several categories, which I have listed as hardware failure, network problems, forgotten passwords, unfamiliarity with equipment and software, and the downright bizarre. Here’s a summary of some of my all-time favorites.
Note: This article originally appeared as an entry in our User Support blog. It’s also available as a PDF download.
Number 10
“The system won’t recognize my password. It was okay on Friday, but now it’s Monday morning, and it doesn’t work anymore. Is it a virus or is the network down?”
No, you’ve forgotten that you changed your password last thing Friday afternoon.
Number 9
“My mouse isn’t working.”
This turned out to be a weird one, but one that became clear as soon as I visited the desk. The caller was left-handed and had naturally picked up the mouse nearest to his left hand. The user next to him was getting highly frustrated by all the random submenus that kept appearing on his screen.
On the same call we found another nonworking mouse. This time it was because someone had stolen the ball.
Number 8
“Whatever I write on my computer, the screen shows something totally different.”
This was the result of a simple prank involving swapping two monitors so that each person was looking at the screen of the person opposite.
Number 7
Again in the prank stakes, the caller reported that the wrong letters came out on his screen.
A cursory investigation revealed that his key caps had been rearranged to display an abusive message. The caller failed to notice the message but was not touch typing. The problem was that after all the thousands of hours spent bashing away at a keyboard, I assumed that I would be able to replace the caps onto the correct keys, but it took longer than I thought. I eventually had to obtain another keyboard to refer to.
Number 6
“Are you updating the Internet? I can’t get into my e-mail.”
Number 5
I’ve got the < >virus; I can’t get my printer to work.
This one turned out to be related to number 4. The user was hitting Ctrl+P, but his printer remained resolutely silent. I promised to investigate just as soon as I had dealt with number 4.
Number 4
The person in the next office over reported that the same 50-page report had been coming out of his laser printer continuously for the last hour.
That was one of those situations when I felt like putting the two telephone receivers together and getting them to sort it out themselves.
Number 3
“What am I doing wrong?”
“I don’t know, what are you trying to do?”
“Oh, just the usual stuff.”
I’ve always been touched by the user’s enduring faith in my clairvoyant skills.
Number 2
“Sometimes I get an error code on the screen. What is causing it?”
“What does it say?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Then I don’t know what is causing it.”
-and sliding in at the top spot:
Number 1
“My screen has exploded! Can you fix it without losing my work?”
I insisted that the user unplug the monitor. When I arrived with a replacement screen I was able to plug it in. The work was still showing, and the caller was amazed. I advised against watering plants that had been placed on top of the CRT screen.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Firefox Notice
If you are using Windows and choose to use FireFox as your browser, there is an option that you need to know about.
Microsoft has come out with an update that adds an extension to FireFox and they claim that they added the extension to make browsing the web easier for the end user. When you go to certain web pages that are designed for this extension, software can be installed on your system without your acknowledgement.
Why should you be concerned? The bad guys can create websites that use this extension, too. Land on the wrong page and the bad guy can (and will) install software on your machine that allows them to take over your system.
What should you do? You can't uninstall it but you can disable it. Open FireFox, click on Tools and then click Add-ons. The Add-ons window opens so you should click Extensions. Look for an extension called Microsoft .NET Framework Assistant 1.0. The description reads, "Adds ClickOnce support and the ability to report installed .NET versions to the web server." Click the disable button. Restart FireFox.
What gets me about this thing is that Microsoft didn't ask me if I wanted this extension. I didn't have the option of accepting or denying it. It was just installed and enabled. BAD, BAD MICROSOFT!!!
Thanks for reading.
Thomas Johnsen - CCNA, MCSE+Security, MCDST, A+, Net+, Security+
Lead Engineer
Networthy Systems
7060 Phelan Blvd. Ste. 104
Beaumont, Texas 77706
(409) 861-4450
http://www.networthysystems.com/
Microsoft has come out with an update that adds an extension to FireFox and they claim that they added the extension to make browsing the web easier for the end user. When you go to certain web pages that are designed for this extension, software can be installed on your system without your acknowledgement.
Why should you be concerned? The bad guys can create websites that use this extension, too. Land on the wrong page and the bad guy can (and will) install software on your machine that allows them to take over your system.
What should you do? You can't uninstall it but you can disable it. Open FireFox, click on Tools and then click Add-ons. The Add-ons window opens so you should click Extensions. Look for an extension called Microsoft .NET Framework Assistant 1.0. The description reads, "Adds ClickOnce support and the ability to report installed .NET versions to the web server." Click the disable button. Restart FireFox.
What gets me about this thing is that Microsoft didn't ask me if I wanted this extension. I didn't have the option of accepting or denying it. It was just installed and enabled. BAD, BAD MICROSOFT!!!
Thanks for reading.
Thomas Johnsen - CCNA, MCSE+Security, MCDST, A+, Net+, Security+
Lead Engineer
Networthy Systems
7060 Phelan Blvd. Ste. 104
Beaumont, Texas 77706
(409) 861-4450
http://www.networthysystems.com/
Thursday, April 9, 2009
ROI Tip - Install Only What You Need
How to get the most out of your desktops. This is an on going issue with a lot of companies. I believe that the computers today will be around for a long time. As more companies are going to Cloud Computing and Software as a Service, you will not need power house computers to do the usual tasks.
It should be a common practice that you plan on replacing your computers every few years so that you will stay on top of technology, your system can keep up with upgraded software, etc. But these days, more applications are hosted "in the cloud" and you access them through a medium like your web browser. Need an example? Google has word processors and spreadsheets available as a service. That is the application in the cloud. You use your web browser to access these applications. The future is heading in this direction for all business software, so, you don't need to have the latest and greatest computer.
So how do you get the computers you have now to last as long as possible? Simple... Make sure you are only installing programs you need to do your job. Do not install games, music players, file sharing programs, or anything else that is not related to your line of business. Think about it this way: Music players give your sound card a workout. Windows Media Player give your video card a work out. File Sharing programs give your Network Card a work out. Games give all three a workout. Don't forget that all these programs overwork the CPU, Memory, Motherboard and Hard Drive. Most programs are using your hardware even when you don't think they are, like iTunes. Did you know iTunes puts a small program in the background that constantly looks for updates?
The point is, if you are running the bare minimum, you are saving your system from a lot of unnecessary work. It will make your system run faster and make it more secure. The parts have to work less, therefore, they will last longer and reduce your energy costs.
If you need help making the computers on your network more efficient, give Networthy Systems a call and we'll be more than happy getting your network running as efficiently as possible.
It should be a common practice that you plan on replacing your computers every few years so that you will stay on top of technology, your system can keep up with upgraded software, etc. But these days, more applications are hosted "in the cloud" and you access them through a medium like your web browser. Need an example? Google has word processors and spreadsheets available as a service. That is the application in the cloud. You use your web browser to access these applications. The future is heading in this direction for all business software, so, you don't need to have the latest and greatest computer.
So how do you get the computers you have now to last as long as possible? Simple... Make sure you are only installing programs you need to do your job. Do not install games, music players, file sharing programs, or anything else that is not related to your line of business. Think about it this way: Music players give your sound card a workout. Windows Media Player give your video card a work out. File Sharing programs give your Network Card a work out. Games give all three a workout. Don't forget that all these programs overwork the CPU, Memory, Motherboard and Hard Drive. Most programs are using your hardware even when you don't think they are, like iTunes. Did you know iTunes puts a small program in the background that constantly looks for updates?
The point is, if you are running the bare minimum, you are saving your system from a lot of unnecessary work. It will make your system run faster and make it more secure. The parts have to work less, therefore, they will last longer and reduce your energy costs.
If you need help making the computers on your network more efficient, give Networthy Systems a call and we'll be more than happy getting your network running as efficiently as possible.
Thanks for reading.
Thomas Johnsen - CCNA, MCSE+Security, MCDST, A+, Net+, Security+
Lead Engineer
Networthy Systems
7060 Phelan Blvd. Ste. 104
Beaumont, Texas 77706
(409) 861-4450
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
MS Genuine Advantage Update Notice
The latest update for the Microsoft Genuine Advantage update has a broken link. If you need to manually install it, you can download the update from the Microsoft Download Center at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=afd45b36-3d77-4259-801c-d31a9a90cdcf.
- Thomas
- Thomas
Monday, February 2, 2009
Organization is the key
If you haven't noticed, it's been a while since I posted a blog. A few weeks ago, I missed a few days of work due to illness, and I thought I'd never catch up.
I watched an online webinare about using tools to stay organized. I spent almost 3 whole days organizing everything. Two and a half days later, I finally caught up and am able to share the experience with you. Here is a general "How To:"
I had old stuff that needed to be done that I kept putting off because newer, more important things kept coming in. First, I used Outlook and created a task for each thing needing to be done. You may feel like you don't have time to put anything off, but trust me, it will pay off.
Second, I started putting my tasks in 1/2 hour time blocks. Reserve an hour first thing each morning and a half our each evening; I'll explain in a minute. Put your most important items first, and your least important items at the end of the day. When you fill up your day, then start putting them in next day. Don't forget to make time for things like lunch, meetings, appointments, etc.
If you are like me, I have a bunch of emails that have come in overnight. I spend the first hour each morning reorganizing what needs to be done for the day, mixing in my new tasks. At the end of the day, I spend half an hour organizing the next day if I have tasks left over that I didn't get to.
Now that everything has a time block, start going down your list. If you finish a task within the half hour time bock, great! Move on to the next one. If a task takes longer than half an hour, that's okay. There will probably be a task that doesn't take as long and will put you back on schedule. If you are working on a task, especially one of the older ones, and it is taking longer than your half hour time block, find a stopping point and schedule to continue the task the next day. What's another day going to hurt, right?
I had tasks that were two weeks old or more and with new ones coming in all the time, I just couldn't get caught up. I started organizing my days to get caught up and it worked! At first, I thought to myself that I don't have the time to spend organizing my calendar, but I forced myself to do it. Now, not only have I caught up, but I'm finding that I have time to spare. What a relief!
One more thing to mention, part of staying organized is knowing when to delegate chores to other people. Do you have time to work on your network and keep it maintained? Maybe you should delegate that responsibility to someone. Give Networthy Systems a call and we'll be more than happy to do it for you.
Thanks for reading.
Thomas Johnsen - CCNA, MCSE+Security, MCDST, A+, Net+, Security+
Lead Engineer
Networthy Systems
7060 Phelan Ste. #104
Beaumont, Texas 77706
(409) 861-4450
http://www.networthysystems.com
I watched an online webinare about using tools to stay organized. I spent almost 3 whole days organizing everything. Two and a half days later, I finally caught up and am able to share the experience with you. Here is a general "How To:"
I had old stuff that needed to be done that I kept putting off because newer, more important things kept coming in. First, I used Outlook and created a task for each thing needing to be done. You may feel like you don't have time to put anything off, but trust me, it will pay off.
Second, I started putting my tasks in 1/2 hour time blocks. Reserve an hour first thing each morning and a half our each evening; I'll explain in a minute. Put your most important items first, and your least important items at the end of the day. When you fill up your day, then start putting them in next day. Don't forget to make time for things like lunch, meetings, appointments, etc.
If you are like me, I have a bunch of emails that have come in overnight. I spend the first hour each morning reorganizing what needs to be done for the day, mixing in my new tasks. At the end of the day, I spend half an hour organizing the next day if I have tasks left over that I didn't get to.
Now that everything has a time block, start going down your list. If you finish a task within the half hour time bock, great! Move on to the next one. If a task takes longer than half an hour, that's okay. There will probably be a task that doesn't take as long and will put you back on schedule. If you are working on a task, especially one of the older ones, and it is taking longer than your half hour time block, find a stopping point and schedule to continue the task the next day. What's another day going to hurt, right?
I had tasks that were two weeks old or more and with new ones coming in all the time, I just couldn't get caught up. I started organizing my days to get caught up and it worked! At first, I thought to myself that I don't have the time to spend organizing my calendar, but I forced myself to do it. Now, not only have I caught up, but I'm finding that I have time to spare. What a relief!
One more thing to mention, part of staying organized is knowing when to delegate chores to other people. Do you have time to work on your network and keep it maintained? Maybe you should delegate that responsibility to someone. Give Networthy Systems a call and we'll be more than happy to do it for you.
Thanks for reading.
Thomas Johnsen - CCNA, MCSE+Security, MCDST, A+, Net+, Security+
Lead Engineer
Networthy Systems
7060 Phelan Ste. #104
Beaumont, Texas 77706
(409) 861-4450
http://www.networthysystems.com
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