To ease my burden of waiting how the file transfer will end, I search at the internet and tried several utilities that claimed to make faster copy times but it seems the same and improvements were just nominal.

Then I stumbled onto an article at ASKPERF and it is all about issues on slow large copy.

The article author suggested using the ESEUTIL (Exchange Sever Database Utilities) to move the large files.

I tried it and improvements were drastic  that it would only take 1 1/2 hours from previous 3 hours to copy.

If you are thinking that it is difficult to use then you are wrong, =) It’s very easy, just follow the direction on the article and copied the following 2 files from the exchange directory over to the non-exchange server.

1) Eseutil.exe
2) Ese.dll

Since I didn’t want to mess with windows path by adding new paths , I justs put the two files under put them in the windows/system32 directory so they would be in my path.

Then to use the utility, from the command prompt, use the following syntax:
C:\esutil /y /d

It’s that simple.

Another plus to this utility is it also gives you a Copy Progress % complete and a progress bar, lets you know it’s working…

I am a big fan of batch files and since this utility works from the command line, I updated my existing batch file to call this utility to move the files once a week. =)

Since I found this one, that perception  changes because it is free! – OpenDNS

Web filtering–the process of blocking user access to high risk sites as well as sites that are inappropriate for the office. There are several solutions available for large and medium businesses. WebSense is probably the most well known. However, the cost of these services is often prohibitive for small businesses. What small businesses–and many home users–need is an easy to use and inexpensive solution. OpenDNS easily meets these requirements. 

All you do is sign up, configure your systems to point to the OpenDNS servers, and you’re ready to configure access constraints to protect your employees and your and your network. Unless you choose to automate dynamic IP  updates, there is no software to load on the client PCs.

The OpenDNS site provides setup instructions for just about any SOHO router. Once the router is configured, OpenDNS instructs you to reboot your systems. This is to renew the DHCP settings supplied by the router, setting the PC’s DNS IP addresses to the OpenDNS servers. A simple ipconfig /renew will also do the trick. Once your system is using the new IP addresses, you’re up and running on OpenDNS. There are claims that this is a faster way to resolve domain names, but that topic is outside the scope of this post.

 I suggest you try it out for yourself. 

Microsoft researchers are hoping to use “information epidemics” to distribute software patches more efficiently.

Milan Vojnović and colleagues from Microsoft Research in Cambridge, UK, want to make useful pieces of information such as software updates behave more like computer worms: spreading between computers instead of being downloaded from central servers.

The research may also help defend against malicious types of worm, the researchers say.

Software worms spread by self-replicating. After infecting one computer they probe others to find new hosts. Most existing worms randomly probe computers when looking for new hosts to infect, but that is inefficient, says Vojnović, because they waste time exploring groups or “subnets” of computers that contain few uninfected hosts. source

I wonder how would it be practically implemented. How to define ” trusted source” and if you only trust a very small number of systems, where is advantage of descentralized patching?

After all its Microsoft,  What have we got to worry about?

Nmap offers much more in its GUI and at the command line than we’ve covered here. If you haven’t used Nmap before, reading its documentation will improve both the speed and scope of your learning curve.

Professionals and casual users alike can benefit and learn from this tool. If I had a “must have” list of all the apps I use, Nmap would rank near the top. If you’re not familiar with it, grab it and give it a go.

More here…

But now that I am holding that position, backup became the Law. Ensuring  all of my clients are getting good backups and good images. Period.  Backups saved me time and further chaos in the office.

Backups are good! And I agree.

What I did in the office is I used Ghost 2006 version to do backup on all workstations by making an image of system partitions after installing OS and other applications and finish tweaking the system for security and is ready to roll out. I even set local group policies and set common profiles of each computer.

Case Scenario:

OS always hang-up, corrupt profile, OS infected with virus and can’t be easily removed. Good thing in using backup is I do not need to reformat, install all from scratch – OS to application that would eat a lot of time. It is just a matter of minutes the the PC is back on its feet again. =)

I am now reaping the joys of backups . It makes me all warm and fuzzy just thinking about it! lol

Ok, lets begin… 

1. Gather all the files that you wish to hide in a folder anywhere in your PC (make it in C:\hidden – RECOMMENDED).
2. Now, add those files in a RAR archive (e.g. secret.rar). This file should also be in the same directory (C:\hidden).
3. Now, look for a simple JPEG picture file (e.g. logo.jpg). Copy/Paste that file also in C:\hidden.
4. Now, open Command Prompt (Go to Run and type ‘cmd‘). Make your working directory C:\hidden.
5. Now type: “COPY /b logo.jpg + secret.rar output.jpg” (without quotes) – Now, logo.jpg is the picture you want to show, secret.rar is the file to be hidden, and output.jpg is the file which contains both.
6. Now, after you have done this, you will see a file output.jpg in C:\hidden.

Open it (double-click) and it will show the picture you wanted to show. Now try opening the same file with WinRAR, it will show the hidden archive .

Update me if it work with you. {evil grin}  I don’t know if you already knew this but its great.

Microsoft  recently  released service pack for (NSDQ: MSFT)’s Office 2003 software suite renders inaccessible files saved in some older formats, including some previous versions of Microsoft Word, according to a support bulletin issued by the software maker.

The bulletin states that Microsoft Office 2003, Service Pack 3, blocks a number of file formats — including Microsoft Word 97 for Windows and Microsoft Word 98 for Macintosh.

Also blocked are file formats found in some older versions of Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint, Lotus Notes, and Corel’s Quattro spreadsheet and Draw programs.

While some of the updates that Microsoft issues may seem minor, unanticipated system changes can wreak havoc with complex business computing environments. A modification to one program can cascade through numerous other software components.

Microsoft, however, does provide a detailed workaround for those who want to defeat Service Pack 3 for Word 2003′s auto-blocking. But the workaround calls for users to modify their computers’ registry settings — a risky procedure that can render a PC unusable if not done correctly.

Source: Office 2003 Update Quietly Zaps Older File Formats, Paul McDougall, InformationWeek, 2 January 2007

The Video Electronics Standards Association or VESA has announced a new digital display interface, dubbed DisplayPort.

This new interface will supplant DVI and VGA connections eventually and its micropacket architecture offers significantly more bandwidth with multi-monitor support over a single cable. Like HDMI, a DisplayPort connection can carry 8-channel 24-bit audio, but also offers a dedicated auxiliary link for control communications of things like panel I/O and microphone connections. There are hundreds of big brand name companies behind the standard that is set to compete with HDMI for desktop and notebook dominance, including the likes of AMD, Intel, NVIDIA, Samsung and Dell.

AMD’s RV635 XT With Dual DisplayPort And DVI-D

However, DisplayPort is more likely to co-exist with HDMI, since HDMI is specifically targeted for consumer electronics like set-top boxes, DVD players etc, while DisplayPort was designed from the ground up for computing.

Left To Right – DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI-D (from LCD display)

Though we’ve heard through the grapevine that NVIDIA is readying DisplayPort capable graphics cards for sometime early next year, AMD has stepped up with the first DisplayPort-enabled graphics card to hit our test labs.

I want to share this to you.

Here’s a neat trick for Gmail users and fans of free text. While signed-in to Gmail, they can send SMS to mobile phones.

Add mobile buddies by clicking Add Contact on the embedded chat client.
Type in a buddy’s mobile number followed by @chickkatalk.com (for example:
63917 xxxxxxx@-chickkatalk.com). The mobile buddy will then be included in the Gtalk buddy list. Double-click the buddy’s name and fire away with text messages!

This feature is powered by Chikka, creator of the popular gateway to texting mobiles from a PC via a mobile instant messenger (IM).

Chikka actually announced its Chikka Messenger’s interoperability with Google Talk (Gtalk) last year. Thus one may now also “Chikka” from Gtalk and vice versa. Messenger’s interoperability with Google Talk (Gtalk) last year. Thus one may now also “Chikka” from Gtalk and vice versa.

Messages sent from Gmail or Gtalk will be received by a Chikka chat buddy on his mobile as SMS when he is logged off from his PC.

Happy texting ^_^

Microsoft is releasing on Feb. 27 next year Windows Server 2008 .

Remarkable features of the new system based on customer feedback: the Read-Only Domain Controller (RODC) and Restartable Active Directory for Directory Services.

The RODC is a new type of domain controller that hosts a read-only replica of the Active Directory database. “If you combine RODCs with the BitLocker Drive Encryption feature first introduced in Windows Vista, you no longer have to worry about thieves (or silly employees) walking off with one of your domain controllers and all your goodies,” says the book authored by Mitch Tulloch with the Microsoft Windows Server team.

The Restartable Active Directory Domain Services let the administrator stop AD services on domain controllers so that updates can be applied or offline de-fragmentation of the database can be performed, and this can be done without rebooting the machine.

More than 30 customers were involved in the production of Windows Server 2008 and hundreds of scenarios were considered in coming up with its features.

“Customer input was crucial to the design and features of Windows Server 2008. We meet with customers regularly and get their feedback,” Microsoft spokesperson says.
Aside from the NAP, Server Core Installation Option and Read-Only Domain Controller, new technologies are introduced with the Windows Server 2008 – Microsoft Windows Powershell, Internet Information Services 7.0, Server Manager, and Windows Server Virtualization. Enhanced technologies include Terminal Services, Windows Firewall, Failover Clustering, Dynamic Partitioning, and Auto-Tuning Networking.

What ever OS infrastructure it is, it SHOULD be “extensible, stable, flexible and also predictable.”