Networking | Linux | Windows | Server 2003

Script for IP Change Alert

2011-10-19T00:18:00.000-07:00

If you need to be notified upon the IP address of the system it can be achieved through following Perl Script
At first a sendemail needs to be installed using : sudo apt-get install sendmail (in Debian based Distros)
Else you may use another MTAs too like sendmail or postfix that is available.
#!/usr/bin/perl -w
#Anwesh Tiwari Oct 12 2011

use strict;
my $today=`date +%Y-%m-%d" "%r`;
#location of TEMP file
my $ip_last_check_file = "/home/tmp/IP-Address";
my $ip_now = `curl -s http://checkip.dyndns.org`;
$ip_now =~ s/.*?(\d+\.\d+\.\d+\.\d+).*/$1/s;

open(IP, "<$ip_last_check_file") or die "Cannot open $ip_last_check_file: $!";
my $ip_last_check = <IP>;0
close(IP);

if ($ip_now ne $ip_last_check)
{
open(IP, ">$ip_last_check_file") or die "Cannot open $ip_last_check: $!";
print IP $ip_now;
close(IP);
#-s "SMTP address of your SMTP server instead" of "-s localhost" if you dont have ipaddress running.
my $output = `sendemail -f sentname\@yourdomain.com -t alertaddress\@yourdomain.com -s localhost -u IP-CHANGE-ALERT -m Gateway IP-address has changed to $ip_now.\\\\n Event Time :$today`;
}

exit;

Pending restart operation SQL server installation

2011-09-28T02:23:00.001-07:00

if you have tried to install SQL Server 2008 and cannot install, because of the errormessage the prerequistite "Restart the computer is required".

But every time you restart computer and try to execute the setup of SQL Server 2008, you get the same message

Then you have change a registry entry in computer

Open Regedit
Find the key "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager"
Rename the "PendingFileRenameOperations" value to "PendingFileRenameOperations2"
Try again

This will solve the Restart Problem

vsftpd virtual users

2011-09-16T06:04:00.001-07:00

Installing vsftpd using text file for virtual users

vsftpd is a secure, fast and stable FTP server. In this tutorial we'll install the server and make it check in a flat text file for virtual users allowed to login.

1. Install required packages

sudo apt-get install vsftpd libpam-pwdfile

2. Configure vsftpd (sudo pico /etc/vsftpd.conf)

Edit these variables in the config file and leave everything else with the default value.

anonymous_enable=NO local_enable=YES write_enable=YES local_umask=022 chroot_local_user=YES virtual_use_local_privs=YES guest_enable=YES user_sub_token=$USER local_root=/var/www/$USER hide_ids=YES

Set the local_root to the parent directory where the user's home directories are located

3. Configure PAM to check the passwd file for users (sudo pico /etc/pam.d/vsftpd)

auth required pam_pwdfile.so pwdfile /etc/ftpd.passwd account required pam_permit.so

Make sure you remove everything else from the file

4. Create the passwd file containing the users

sudo htpasswd -c /etc/ftpd.passwd user1

You can later add additional users to the file like this:

sudo htpasswd /etc/ftpd.passwd user2

5. Restart vsftpd

sudo /etc/init.d/vsftpd restart

6. Create user's home directory since vsftpd doesn't do it automatically

sudo mkdir /var/www/user1

7.Create Appropriate Permissions for that folder for user ftp for uploads

chown 775 ftp:ftp /var/www/user1

Change Virtualbox UUID of Virtual Disk Vdi

2011-09-13T06:34:00.001-07:00

Simply copying the .vdi file into another location will make a verbatim copy of the virtual disk, including the UUID of the disk. If you try to add the copy in the Virtual Media Manager, you will get an error like this:

In this case, you have to do the following:

giannis@giannis-laptop:~$ VBoxManage internalcommands setvdiuuid /path/to/virtualdisk.vdi
 VirtualBox Command Line Management Interface Version 2.2.2
 (C) 2005-2009 Sun Microsystems, Inc.
 All rights reserved.
 
 UUID changed to: 9e89fe14-d010-469e-a737-cd65218c4acb

Since the old UUID is replaced with a new one, you can now add and use the virtual disk.

Please note, that you wouldn't have to follow this procedure if you had used the clonevdi function to copy the virtual disk image, in the first place. The clonevdi function makes sure that the new disk image will have its own unique UUID.

The syntax of the clonedvi goes like this:

$ VBoxManage clonevdi Master.vdi Clone.vdi

Source: http://www.giannistsakiris.com/index.php/2009/05/06/virtualbox-how-to-change-the-uuid-of-virtual-disk-vdi/

Rescue locked SQL Server 2008

2011-09-13T02:49:00.000-07:00

Reset Forgotten Sa password

To configure startup options

Fist Login computer using administrator Account
In SQL Server Configuration Manager, click SQL Server Services.
In the right pane, right-click SQL Server (<instance_name>), and then click Properties.
On the Advanced tab, in the Startup Parameters box, type the parameters separated by semicolons (;).
For example, to start in single-user mode, insert -m; in front of the existing startup options, and then restart the database. (When you start SQL Server in single-user mode, first stop SQL Server Agent. Otherwise, SQL Server Agent might connect first and prevent you from connecting as a second user.)
Important
After you are finished using single-user mode, you must remove the -m; from the Startup Parameters box before you can restart the server instance in the normal multi-user mode.
Click OK.
Restart the Database Engine.
Change security authentication mode (You may not require this step if you have already enabled sa user)
1. In SQL Server Management Studio Object Explorer, right-click the server, and then click Properties.
2. On the Security page, under Server authentication, select the new server authentication mode, and then click OK.
3. In the SQL Server Management Studio dialog box, click OK to acknowledge the requirement to restart SQL Server.
4. You can change password here.
Enable the sa login by using Management Studio(You may not require this step if you have already enabled dual authentication )
1. In Object Explorer, expand Security, expand Logins, right-click sa, and then click Properties.
2. On the General page, you might have to create and confirm a password for the sa login.
3. On the Status page, in the Login section, click Enabled, and then click OK.
Now you can logon with sa user and password .You can also set permission of the local user account from that.

Important
After you are finished using single-user mode, you must remove the -m; from the Startup Parameters box before you can restart the server instance in the normal multi-user mode.

Rename a computer from domain domain Controller

2011-08-07T05:03:00.001-07:00

Rename a computer from domain domain Controller
You can rename a computer that is in domain controller or in LAN using netdom command

Command
netdom renamecomputer Computername /newname:new_computername
/userd:domain\UserName /passwordd:password |* /usero:UserName
/passwordo:password |* /force /reboot:Time in seconds

The following is a description of this command line:

Computername: The current name of the computer to be renamed.
New_computername: The name that the computer will be renamed to. Both the Domain Name System (DNS) host label and the NetBIOS name are changed to the new name. If the new name is longer than 15 characters, the NetBIOS name is derived from the first 15 characters.
/userd:Domain\UserName: The user account to be used for the destination domain. This account is used to make the connection with the domain to which the computer is joined. This parameter is required, and if no domain is specified, the computer's domain is assumed.
/usero:UserName: A user account to be used for the originating domain that has local administrative permissions (this can be the same account specified for /userd:). This account is used to make the connection with the computer to be renamed. If omitted, the currently logged on user's account is used. The user's domain can be specified as "/uo:domain\user". If the domain is omitted, a local computer account is assumed.
/passwordd: password: The password of the user account specified by /userd.
/passwordo: password: The password of the user account specified by /usero.
The asterisk symbol (*): A value that can be connected to either /passwordd or /passwordo and which indicates to prompt for the password.
force: This command can adversely affect some services running on the computer. The user will be prompted for confirmation unless the /force switch is specified.
Reboot: This specifies that the computer should be shut down and automatically restarted after the rename operation is completed. The number of seconds before automatic shutdown can also be provided. The default is 30 seconds. If this parameter is not specified, the computer must be restarted manually.

Remote Administration Server 2008

2011-08-03T07:12:00.001-07:00

Remote Administrator Tool for Server 2008 / Server 2008 R2 available for Vista and windows 7

An AdminPak (a.k.a AdminPack, Admin Pack) for Windows Server 2008 has been released. Windows Server 200x administrators are familiar with the "Administration Tools" or adminpak.msi that they used to install on their management workstations for connecting remotely via MMC to servers instead of having to login them via RDP.

Windows Server 2008 did not have the adminpak built in to the RTM media. These are called the "Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT)" and were released separately on March 24. The RSAT are available here

RSAT For Vista

RSAT for Windows 7

RSAT contains the following tools:

Role Administration Tools:

Active Directory Certificate Services Tools
Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) Tools
Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS) Tools
DHCP Server Tools
DNS Server Tools
File Services Tools
Network Policy and Access Services Tools
Terminal Services Tools
Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI) Services Tools

Feature Administration Tools:

BitLocker Drive Encryption Tools
Failover Clustering Tools
Group Policy Management Tools
Network Load Balancing Tools
SMTP Server Tools
Storage Manager for SANs Tools
Windows System Resource Manager Tools

set time zone ubuntu

2011-07-27T23:41:00.001-07:00

To reconfigure time zone using terminal,use this command
sudo dpkg-reconfigure tzdata

Monitoring Server Traffic

2011-07-27T06:59:00.000-07:00

Installing bandwidthd for Network Monitoring in Debian Server

apt-get install bandwidthd
follow prompts, main config file is /etc/bandwidthd/bandwidthd.con You can copy the conf file from /usr/share/doc/bandwidthd/bandwidthd.conf to /etc/bandwidthd/bandwidthd.conf
apt-get install apache2
cd to /var/www and create a soft link to the htdocs directory that bandwidthd uses (see /etc/bandwidthd/bandwidthd.conf)
ln -s /var/lib/bandwidthd/htdocs bandwidthd
where bandwidthd in the name of the link
restart apache /etc/init.d/apache2 restart (and bandwidthd if needed /etc/init.d/bandwidthd restart)
access bandwidthd
http://<localhost or IP>/bandwidthd

References
http://www.debianadmin.com/network-traffic-analyzer-for-your-ubuntu-system.html
http://infodotnet.blogspot.com/2008/02/install-and-configure-bandwidthd-per-ip.html

fix mp3 showing incorrect length

2011-07-26T22:00:00.001-07:00

If MP3 shows incorrect length or are encoded with variable bitrate (VBR), you can try VBRFix: It is found in ubuntu repository

Code:

sudo apt-get install vbrfix

vbrfix in.mp3 out.mp3

relay mails through server with authentication

2011-06-07T06:34:00.000-07:00

Relay SMTP through another server with Authentication 
Sometimes your ISP blocks 25 port so you need to relay the Email Messages through external authentication server.For that you can use postfix as relay server using following configuration
   
1. Create password maps file (it assigns username/passwords to specified mail servers). You can choose any name, let's say it is /etc/postfix/relay_passwd. It's content should be as follows:        smtp.google.com USERNAME:PASSWORD         Note: Replace USERNAME and PASSWORD with your DNS EXIT mail relay username and PASSWORD.    USERNAME for google would be username@gmail.com      2. Set proper permissions for that file:     # chown root:root /etc/postfix/relay_passwd   # chmod 600 /etc/postfix/relay_passwd         3. Create hash from maps file (remember to do it each time you change your maps file):    #  postmap /etc/postfix/relay_passwd           4. Configure your /etc/postfix/main.cf:     relayhost = [SMTP address]   smtp_sasl_auth_enable = yes   smtp_sasl_password_maps = hash:/etc/postfix/relay_passwd   smtp_sasl_security_options =      Note: If your ISP blocks outgoing port 25. You can choose to use alternative SMTP ports by appending the port at the end: relayhost = [SMTP Address]:26 for gmail it would be [smtp.gmail.com]:587   5. Reload or restart your postfix:   # /etc/init.d/postfix restart

crack password of microsoft access

2011-05-14T19:13:00.000-07:00

This is a free utility to view password of Microsoft Acces access
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/accesspv.html

Rsync on a non default port for ssh

2011-05-03T06:59:00.001-07:00

Rsync on a non default port for ssh

# rsync -avz -e "ssh -p $portNumber" user@remoteip:/path/to/files/ /local/path/

Passing the port parameter to ssh with the -e option worked like a charm. :-)

This is why Unix rocks.

Thanks Mike Hostetler for the tip.

Updating status with music played

2011-04-12T02:48:00.001-07:00

I have trying updating status of Pidgin as music played using some tools to update current status.I have found the tool
I have tried music Tracker from google codes
http://code.google.com/p/musictracker/
Prerequisites:
1. 'pidgin-dev' libraries (sudo apt-get install pidgin-dev)
2. libpcre++ (sudo apt-get install libpcre++-dev)
I have compiled and installed it and it rocks now :)

Mysql slow query from IP other than localhost

2011-04-04T06:16:00.001-07:00

From long time I have been facing a slow query from when it was retrived from another PC but localhost was working well.After much toiling for the answer I found that placing "skip-name-resolve" as a line in my.cnf solved the issue. Strangely, this worked even though no user rights in my database were ever assigned with names, only IP addresses.

Reason:
When a client connects to mysqld, mysqld spawns a new thread to handle the request.This thread first checks whether the host name is in the host name cache.
If not, the thread attempts to resolve the host name The thread takes the IP address and resolves it to a host name. It then takes that host name and resolves it back to the IP address and compares to ensure it is the original IP address so this thread significantly increases the query time and slows down the system.This reverse DNS is suitable for the system connected to internet for letting certain domains to except the request but for system in the local LAN has to suffer a lot time since the local IP normally doesnot resolve to a name.

Enable mod_rewrite apache

2011-03-16T02:30:00.000-07:00

Enable the rewrite module..

sudo a2enmod rewrite

Open the config file..

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/default

Find the following lines..

Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews
AllowOverride None
Order allow,deny
allow from all

Change None to all & save + close the file.

Restart Apache..

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

It helped me :)

ssh login without password

2011-02-12T21:02:00.001-08:00

To enable the remote login you create a pair of keys, one of which you simply append to a file upon the remote system. When this is done you'll then be able to login without being prompted for a password - and this also includes any cronjobs you have setup to run.

If you don't already have a keypair generated you'll first of all need to create one.

If you do have a keypair handy already you can keep using that, by default the keys will be stored in one of the following pair of files:

~/.ssh/identity and ~/.ssh/identity.pub
- (This is an older DSA key).
~/.ssh/id_rsa and ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
- (This is a newer RSA key).

If you have neither of the two files then you should generate one. The DSA-style keys are older ones, and should probably be ignored in favour of the newer RSA keytypes (unless you're looking at connecting to an outdated installation of OpenSSH). We'll use the RSA keytype in the following example.

To generate a new keypair you run the following command:

source@lappy:~$ ssh-keygen -t rsa

This will prompt you for a location to save the keys, and a pass-phrase:

Generating public/private rsa key pair.
Enter file in which to save the key (/home/source/.ssh/id_rsa): 
Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase): 
Enter same passphrase again: 
Your identification has been saved in /home/source/.ssh/id_rsa.
 Your public key has been saved in /home/source/.ssh/id_rsa.pub.

If you accept the defaults you'll have a pair of files created, as shown above, with no passphrase. This means that the key files can be used as they are, without being "unlocked" with a password first. If you're wishing to automate things this is what you want.

Now that you have a pair of keyfiles generated, or pre-existing, you need to append the contents of the .pub file to the correct location on the remote server.

Assuming that you wish to login to the machine called destination from your current host with the id_rsa and id_rsa.pub files you've just generated you should run the following command:

ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub username@destination

This will prompt you for the login password for the host, then copy the keyfile for you, creating the correct directory and fixing the permissions as necessary.

The contents of the keyfile will be appended to the file ~/.ssh/authorized_keys2 for RSA keys, and ~/.ssh/authorised_keys for the older DSA key types.

Once this has been done you should be able to login remotely, and run commands, without being prompted for a password:

source@lappy:~$ ssh destination uptime
 09:52:50 up 96 days, 13:45,  0 users,  load average: 0.00, 0.00, 0.00

What if it doesn't work?

There are three common problems when setting up passwordless logins:

The remote SSH server hasn't been setup to allow public key authentication.
File permissions cause problems.
Your keytype isn't supported.

Each of these problems is easily fixable, although the first will require you have root privileges upon the remote host.

If the remote server doesn't allow public key based logins you will need to updated the SSH configuration. To do this edit the file /etc/sshd/sshd_config with your favourite text editor.

You will need to uncomment, or add, the following two lines:
RSAAuthentication yes
PubkeyAuthentication yes
Once that's been done you can restart the SSH server - don't worry this won't kill existing sessions:
/etc/init.d/ssh restart
File permission problems should be simple to fix. Upon the remote machine your .ssh file must not be writable to any other user - for obvious reasons. (If it's writable to another user they could add their own keys to it, and login to your account without your password!).

If this is your problem you will see a message similar to the following upon the remote machine, in the file /var/log/auth:
Jun  3 10:23:57 localhost sshd[18461]: Authentication refused: 
 bad ownership or modes for directory /home/source/.ssh
To fix this error you need to login to the machine (with your password!) and run the following command:
cd
chmod 700 .ssh
Finally if you're logging into an older system which has an older version of OpenSSH installed upon it which you cannot immediately upgrade you might discover that RSA files are not supported.

In this case use a DSA key instead - by generating one:
ssh-keygen
Then appending it to the file ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on the remote machine - or using the ssh-copy-id command we showed earlier.

Note if you've got a system running an older version of OpenSSH you should upgrade it unless you have a very good reason not to. There are known security issues in several older releases. Even if the machine isn't connected to the public internet, and it's only available "internally" you should fix it.

Instead of using authorized_keys/authorized_keys2 you could also achieve a very similar effect with the use of the ssh-agent command, although this isn't so friendly for scripting commands.

This program allows you to type in the passphrase for any of your private keys when you login, then keep all the keys in memory, so you don't have password-less keys upon your disk and still gain the benefits of reduced password usage.
If you're interested read the documentation by running:
man ssh-agent

Thanks Steve  for this great Tip
 

system admin commands windows

2011-02-06T04:14:00.001-08:00

Basic System Administration Commands for windows

Control Panel
    * CONTROL: opens the control panel window
    * CONTROL ADMINTOOLS: opens the administrative tools
    * CONTROL KEYBOARD: opens keyboard properties
    * CONTROL COLOUR: opens display properties.Appearance tab
    * CONTROL FOLDERS: opens folder options
    * CONTROL FONTS: opens font policy management
    * CONTROL INTERNATIONAL or INTL.CPL: opens Regional and Language option
    * CONTROL MOUSE or MAIN.CPL: opens mouse properties
    * CONTROL USERPASSWORDS: opens User Accounts editor
    * CONTROL USERPASSWORDS2 or NETPLWIZ: User account access restrictions
    * CONTROL PRINTERS: opens faxes and printers available
    * APPWIZ.CPL: opens Add or Remove programs utility tool
    * OPTIONALFEATURES: opens Add or Remove Windows component utility
    * DESK.CPL: opens display properties. Themes tab
    * HDWWIZ.CPL: opens add hardware wizard
    * IRPROPS.CPL: infrared utility tool
    * JOY.CP: opens game controllers settings
    * MMSYS.CPL: opens Sound and Audio device Properties. Volume tab
    * SYSDM.CPL: opens System properties
    * TELEPHON.CPL: Opens phone and Modem options
    * TIMEDATE.CPL: Date and Time properties
    * WSCUI.CPL: opens Windows Security Center
    * ACCESS.CPL: opens Accessibility Options
    * WUAUCPL.CPL: opens Automatic Updates
    * POWERCFG.CPL: opens Power Options Properties
    * AZMAN.MSC: opens authorisation management utility tool
    * CERTMGR.MSC: opens certificate management tool
    * COMPMGMT.MSC: opens the Computer management tool
    * COMEXP.MSC or DCOMCNFG: opens the Computer Services management tool
    * DEVMGMT.MSC: opens Device Manager
    * EVENTVWR or EVENTVWR.MSC: opens Event Viewer
    * FSMGMT.MSC: opens Shared Folders
    * NAPCLCFG.MSC: NAP Client configuration utility tool
    * SERVICES.MSC: opens Service manager
    * TASKSCHD.MSC or CONTROL SCHEDTASKS: opens Schedule Tasks manager
    * GPEDIT.MSC: opens Group Policy utility tool
    * LUSRMGR.MSC: opens Local Users and Groups
    * SECPOL.MSC: opens local security settings
    * CIADV.MSC: opens indexing service
    * NTMSMGR.MSC: removable storage manager
    * NTMSOPRQ.MSC: removable storage operator requests
    * WMIMGMT.MSC: opens (WMI) Window Management Instrumentation
    * PERFMON or PERFMON.MSC: opens the Performance monitor
    * MMC: opens empty Console
    * MDSCHED: opens memory diagnostics tools
    * DXDIAG: opens DirectX diagnostics tools
    * ODBCAD32: opens ODBC Data source Administrator
    * REGEDIT or REGEDT32: opens Registry Editor
    * DRWTSN32: opens Dr. Watson
    * VERIFIER: opens Driver Verifier Manager
    * CLICONFG: opens SQL Server Client Network Utility
    * UTILMAN: opens Utility Manager
    * COLORCPL: opens color management
    * CREDWIZ: back up and recovery tool for user passwords
    * MOBSYNC: opens Synchronization center
    * MSCONFIG: opens System Configuration Utility
    * SYSEDIT: opens System Configuration Editor (careful while using this command)
    * SYSKEY: Windows Account Database Security management (careful while using this command)

Windows utility and applications

    * EXPLORER: Opens windows Explorer
    * IEXPLORER: Opens Internet explorer
    * WAB: opens Contacts
    * CHARMAP: opens Character Map
    * WRITE: opens WordPad
    * NOTEPAD: opens Notepad
    * CALC: opens Calculator
    * CLIPBRD: opens Clipbook Viewer
    * WINCHAT: opens Microsoft Chat Interface
    * SOUNDRECORDER: opens sound recording tool
    * DVDPLAY: run CD or DVD
    * WMPLAYER: opens Windows Media Player
    * MOVIEMK: Opens untitled Windows Movie Maker
    * OSK: opens on-screen Keyboard
    * MAGNIFY: opens Magnifier
    * WINCAL: opens Calendar
    * DIALER: opens phone Dialer
    * EUDCEDIT: opens Private Character Editor
    * NDVOL: opens the mixer volume
    * RSTRUI : opens Tool System Restore (For Vista only)
    * %WINDIR%\SYSTEM32\RESTORE\rstrui.exe: opens Tool System Restore (for XP only).
    * MSINFO32: Opens the System Information
    * MRT : launches the utility removal of malware.
    * Taskmgr : Opens the Windows Task Manager
    * CMD: opens a command prompt
    * MIGWIZ: Opens the tool for transferring files and settings from Windows (Vista only)
    * Migwiz.exe: Opens the tool for transferring files and settings from Windows (for XP only)
    * SIDEBAR: Open the Windows (Vista only)
    * Sigverif : Opens the tool for verification of signatures of files
    * Winver : Opens the window for your Windows version
    * FSQUIRT: Bluetooth Transfer Wizard
    * IExpress opens the wizard for creating self-extracting archives. Tutorial HERE
    * MBLCTR: opens the mobility center (Windows Vista only)
    * MSRA : Opens the Windows Remote Assistance
    * Mstsc : opens the tool connection Remote Desktop
    * MSDT: opens the diagnostic tools and support Microsoft
    * WERCON: opens the reporting tool and solutions to problems (for Vista only)
    * WINDOWSANYTIMEUPGRADE: Enables the upgrade of Windows Vista
    * WINWORD : opens Word (if installed)
    * PRINTBRMUI : Opens migration wizard printer (Vista only)

Disk management

    * DISKMGMT.MSC: opens disk management utility
    * CLEANMGR: opens disk drive clean up utility
    * DFRG.MSC: opens disk defragmenter
    * CHKDSK: complete analysis of disk partition
    * DISKPART: disk partitioning tool

Connection management

    * IPCONFIG: list the configuration of IP addresses on your PC (for more information type IPCONFIG/? in the CMD menu)
    * INETCPL.CPL: opens internet properties
    * FIREWALL.CPL: opens windows firewall
    * NETSETUP.CPL: opens network setup wizard

Miscellaneous commands

    * JAVAWS: View the cover of JAVA software (if installed)
    * AC3FILTER.CPL: Opens the properties AC3 Filter (if installed)
    * FIREFOX: Mozilla launches Firefox (if installed)
    * NETPROJ: allow or not connecting to a network projector (For Vista only)
    * LOGOFF: closes the current session
    * SHUTDOWN: shut down Windows
    * SHUTDOWN-A: to interrupt Windows shutdown
    * %WINDIR% or %SYSTEMROOT%: opens the Windows installation
    * %PROGRAMFILES%: Opens the folder where you installed other programs (Program Files)
    * %USERPROFILE%: opens the profile of the user currently logged
    * %HOMEDRIVE%: opens the browser on the partition or the operating system is installed
    * %HOMEPATH%: opens the currently logged user C: \ Documents and Settings \ [username]
    * %TEMP%: opens the temporary folder
    * VSP1CLN: deletes the cache for installation of the service pack 1 for Vista
    * System File Checker (Requires Windows CD if the cache is not available):
          o SFC / scannow: immediately scans all system files and repairs damaged files
          o SFC / VERIFYONLY: scans only those files system
          o SFC / Scanfil = "name and file path": scans the specified file, and repaired if damaged
          o SFC / VERIFYFILE = "name and file path": Scans only the file specified
          o SFC / scanonce: scans the system files on the next restart
          o SFC / REVERT: return the initial configuration (For more information, type SFC /? In the command prompt CMD.

Add/Remove Programs = appwiz.cpl
Administrative Tools = control admintools
Authorization Manager= azman.msc "New"

Calculator = calc
Certificate Manager = certmgr.msc
Character Map = charmap
Check Disk Utility = chkdsk
Control Panel = control "New"
Command Prompt = cmd.exe
Component Services = dcomcnfg
Computer Management = compmgmt.msc = CompMgmtLauncher "New"

Date and Time Properties = timedate.cpl
Downloads = Downloads "New"
Device Manager = devmgmt.msc
Direct X Troubleshooter = dxdiag
Disk Cleanup Utility = cleanmgr
Defragment User Interface = dfrgui "New"
Ditilizer Calibration Tool = tabcal "New"
Disk Management = diskmgmt.msc
Disk Parmelonion Manager = diskpart
Display Properties = control desktop or desk.cpl
DPI Scaling = dpiscaling "New"
Driver Package Installer = dpinst "New"
Driver Verifier Utility = verifier or /reset
DVD Player = dvdplay "New"

Encryption File System = rekeywiz "New"
Event Viewer = eventvwr.msc

Fax Cover Sheet Editor = fxscover "New"
File Signature Verification Tool = sigverif
Folders Properties = control folders
Fonts = control fonts
Free Cell Card Game = freecell

Group Policy Editor = gpedit.msc

Internet Explorer = iexplore
Iexpress Wizard = iexpress
Internet Properties = inetcpl.cpl
IP Configuration = ipconfig.exe
iSCSI Initiator = iscsicpl "New"

Keyboard Properties = control keyboard

Libraries = explorer or Windows key + E
Local Security Settings = secpol.msc
Local Users and Groups = lusrmgr.msc
Logs You Out Of Windows = logoff

Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool = msdt "New"
Microsoft Paint = mspaint.exe
Mouse Properties = control mouse
Mouse Properties = main.cpl
Mobility Center (only on mobile) = mblctr or Windows key + X
Network Connections = control netconnections
Network Connections = ncpa.cpl
Notepad = notepad

ODBC Data Source Administrator = odbcad32 "New"
Optional Features Manager = optionalfeatures "New"
On Screen Keyboard = osk or Windows key + U

Performance Monitor = perfmon.msc
Phone and Modem Options = telephon.cpl
Power Configuration = powercfg.cpl
Printers and Faxes = control printers
Printer Migration = PrintBrmUi "New"
Private Character Editor = eudcedit

Regional Settings = intl.cpl
Registry Editor = regedit.exe
Remote Assistance = msra "New"
Remote Desktop = mstsc
Resultant Set of Policy = rsop.msc

Scheduled Tasks = control schedtasks
Security Center = wscui.cpl
Services = services.msc
Shared Folders/MMC = fsmgmt.msc
Shuts Down Windows = shutdown
Snipping Tool = snippingtool "New"
Sounds and Audio = mmsys.cpl
Sound Recorder = soundrecorder "New"
Sound Volume = sndvol "New"
Spider Solitare Card Game = spider
SQL Client Configuration = cliconfg
Stored User Names and Passwords = credwiz "New"
Sticky Note = StikyNot "New"
System Configuration Editor = sysedit
System Configuration Utility = msconfig
System File Checker Utility = sfc
System Information = msinfo32
System Properties = sysdm.cpl or Windows key + Pause/Break

Task Manager = taskmgr
Trusted Platform Module = TpmInit "New"

Utility Manager = utilman
User Accounts = netplwiz or control userpasswords2

Windows Activation = slui "New"
Windows Backup Utility = sdclt "New"
Windows Fax and Scan = wfs "New"
Windows Firewall = firewall.cpl
Windows Firewall with Advanced Security = wf.msc "New"
Windows Image Acquisition = wiaacmgr "New"
Windows Media Player = wmplayer
Windows Magnifier = magnify
Windows Management Infrastructure = wmimgmt.msc
Windows Update App Manager = wuapp "New"
Windows Standalong Update Manager = wusa "New'
Windows System Security Tool = syskey
Windows Share Creation Wizard = shrpubw "New"
Wordpad = write

Change MAC address debian

2011-02-01T04:02:00.001-08:00

If you wish to explicitly set your MAC address upon a Debian system you can do so by adding an entry to your /etc/network/interfaces file.

Beneath each interface you wish to setup add "hwaddress ether xx:xxx..". For example:

auto eth0 static
iface eth0 inet static
address 1.2.3.4
gateway ...
broadcast ...
hwaddress ether 02:01:02:03:04:08

full url access log in squid

2011-01-26T23:07:00.001-08:00

Few days before I was wondering how to log a full URL in the squid log and finally found a solution
strip_query_terms off

Logs it all now
When strip strip_query_terms on it logs only http://www.google.com/search?

When strip strip_query_terms off it logs whole URL http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=full+url+squid+log&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=

Thanks davebarnes for the trick.

backup all databases MSSQL

2010-12-30T23:00:00.001-08:00

A script to backup all databases in MSSQL

DECLARE @name VARCHAR(50) -- database name  
 DECLARE @path VARCHAR(256) -- path for backup files  
 DECLARE @fileName VARCHAR(256) -- filename for backup  
 DECLARE @fileDate VARCHAR(20) -- used for file name 
 
SET @path = 'C:\Backup\'  

SELECT @fileDate = CONVERT(VARCHAR(20),GETDATE(),112) 
 
DECLARE db_cursor CURSOR FOR  
SELECT name 
FROM master.dbo.sysdatabases 
 WHERE name NOT IN ('master','model','msdb','tempdb')  
 
OPEN db_cursor   
FETCH NEXT FROM db_cursor INTO @name   
 
WHILE @@FETCH_STATUS = 0   
BEGIN   
        SET @fileName = @path + @name + '_' + @fileDate + '.BAK'  
        BACKUP DATABASE @name TO DISK = @fileName  

       FETCH NEXT FROM db_cursor INTO @name   
 END   

CLOSE db_cursor   
DEALLOCATE db_cursor


 adapted from

Multiple Instances Users in google talk

2010-12-21T04:09:00.001-08:00

If you have several google talk accounts, you may want to run multiple instances of google talk at once. Here's how to do it.

Many users, including myself, like to have several different personalities on IM–Work, play, etc. By default google talk with only allow you to run instance of the program at a time. Here's how to get around that…

Run google talk with the following switch: /nomutex

If you installed google talk to the default location, you can easily create a shortcut to this setting.

New

Shortcut

"c:\program files\google\google talk\googletalk.exe" /nomutex

5. Click Next6. Name it whatever: Google Talk Multiple, etc.
7. Click OK until you are done.

For Geeks : you can change the googletalk.exe using suitable tools like hexeditor and do this

Change this:
004536FD . 3BC6 CMP EAX,ESI
004536FF . 75 05 JNZ SHORT googleta.00453706

to this:
004536FD . 8BC1 MOV EAX,ECX
004536FF . EB 05 JMP SHORT googleta.00453706

Please inform me if it isn't legal

Adpated from

resize clone vdi image using Virtual box

2010-12-19T05:09:00.001-08:00

Resize An Existing .vdi Virtualbox Image

Start off by creating a fresh new drive of the size you're after using the VirtualBox user interface. Then, locate both the your old, smaller HD and the new, larger one and run the following command:

VBoxManage clonehd --existing oldhd.vdi newhd.vdi

After some progress indicators ahve come and gone your HD should have been cloned to the larger one. You now need to use some software to expand your drive partition into the new space. Vista and W7 have this feature built in to Disk Management, or you could use something like GParted. I have never had luck with the integrated windows disk management tools, so I opted to use a free product called EASEUS PARTITION MASTER – home edition:

This tool was easy to install directly into the new vdi image. Walked through the wizard after clicking on "Resize" – it rebooted itself and resized the partition without a fuss.

force SVN comit log

2010-12-09T23:51:00.001-08:00

Forcing SVN Comments with TortoiseSVN

But as a developer you can force yourself to always comment before committing, as well. This one is particulary to do with TortoiseSVN as thats what I currently use at work.

The way it works is, once you have checked out a folder from the repository onto your local machine, you need to go to TortoiseSVN properties and add an inbuilt property to one or all your files. You can setup a property on one or more files so that it wont let you commit unless you write a minimum number of characters as my commit comments. The property is called tsvn:logminsize and it comes along with a set of other inbuilt properties. Simply right click anywhere in the checked out folder and go to TortoiseSVN Properties and add the property called tsvn:logminsize and give it a value of whatever you want. I gave it 10 (screenshot below).

I added the property recursively so it applies to all my files. Once thats done, it wont even enable the "OK" button on the commit dialog box until you enter atleast 10 characters. Just a little reminder to myself that commenting is absolutely necessary.

I didnt realize this was possible until today and I am really liking it.

Changing Graphics Resolution ubuntu

2010-12-06T03:09:00.001-08:00

Changing Graphics Resolution shortcut in debian ubuntu Press Ctrl+Alt+ the (+,-) arows on the key board