Greg's IT Blog

Symantec AntiVirus Client Uninstall

2011-10-06T06:18:00.000-07:00

When removing Symantec anti virus you often need to supply a password for the uninstall the application. This can be a hassle if you've forgotten the password. As usual, there is a work around.

Here's how to remove SAV without supplying a password:

- Click on Start>Run

- Type regedit and press Enter (This will open the Registry editor)

- Navigate to the following registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Intel\LANDesk\VirusProtect6\CurrentVersion\AdministratorOnly\Security

- Look for a DWORD value called UseVPUninstallPassword. Once you find it, double click it.

- Change the value of UseVPUninstallPassword to 0 (zero) and click OK [See pic below]

- You can now close the Registry Editor window and uninstall Symantec anti virus without the a password request.

Iphone iOS 4 calendar sync issues with Exchange

2011-09-22T06:52:00.000-07:00

After updating to iOS 4, you might have encountered issues when syncing your Microsoft Exchange account. I know I did. Immediately after setting up Google Sync on my iPhone iOS 4, the sync took forever to complete. I ended up deleting and adding the account several times but it didn’t really fix the issue as it would still take forever to sync new contacts or new events in the calendar.

According to this Apple Support ticket. Here are the symptoms: immediately after updating to iOS 4, some users may notice that Exchange ActiveSync Mail, Contacts, or Calendars do not sync, or sync very slowly. In addition, some Exchange Server administrators may notice their servers running slowly.

Here is the fix offered by Apple:

To work around this issue, users should install a configuration profile from Apple that increases the amount of time the iOS 4 device will wait for the Exchange Server to respond to its sync requests. For best results, the profile should be installed on as many iOS 4 devices at your company as possible.

To install the profile:

Use Safari on your iOS 4 device to download the configuration profile. It may be easiest to read this article with your iPhone or iPod touch and tap the download link there, but you may also email the attachment to another email account on your iOS 4 device, and tap the attachment to open it.
Tap Install to install the profile, and enter your passcode if prompted.
A warning message will appear because the profile is not signed. Tap Install Now.
Tap Done to complete the installation, then power off your device and power it back on.
Wait for your Exchange data to finish syncing.
After installation, the profile will be listed under Settings > General > Profile.

The above configuration profile sets the iOS 4 sync timeout value to 240 seconds. This is now the default in iOS 4.0.1.

Some institutions may wish to increase the sync timeout value beyond 240 seconds. To do so, download the unsigned configuration profile and open it in a text editor. Search for the value "240.0" (without the quotes) and change this to the desired number of seconds. Deploy the profile using the instructions above, noting that the configuration profile has not been signed by Apple.

Have you had this issue? If so, did this fix work for you?

Moving your WSUS database

2011-09-18T18:49:00.000-07:00

At times the WSUS database can grow large on your server. It is possible to move the database to a larger drive. To accomplish this just perform the following task.

net stop "update services"
net stop w3svc
cd "C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL$WSUS\Binn"
osql -E -S %computername%\wsus -Q "exec sp_detach_db 'SUSDB'"
md d:\WSUSDB
move "C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL$WSUS\Data\SUS*.*" d:\wsusdb
osql -E -S %computername%\wsus -Q "exec sp_attach_db @dbname=N'SUSDB', @filename1=N'D:\WSUSDB\SUSDB.mdf', @filename2=N'D:\WSUSDB\SUSDB_log.ldf'"
net start "update services"
net start w3svc

Thanks

Volume Shadow Copy Service Failes with error 0xffffffff

2010-05-03T19:33:00.000-07:00

Note This article is not for use with Windows Vista, with Windows Server 2008, or with later operating systems. Starting with Windows Vista and with Windows Server 2008, Windows component installation is manifest based. If you try to manually register specific components, such as those that are described in this "Resolution" section, in the operating systems that are mentioned in this note, unexpected results may occur that may require reinstalling Windows to resolve.

To resolve this issue, follow these steps:
Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
Type the following commands at a command prompt. Press ENTER after you type each command.
cd /d %windir%\system32
Net stop vss
Net stop swprv
regsvr32 ole32.dll
regsvr32 oleaut32.dll
regsvr32 vss_ps.dll
vssvc /register
regsvr32 /i swprv.dll
regsvr32 /i eventcls.dll
regsvr32 es.dll
regsvr32 stdprov.dll
regsvr32 vssui.dll
regsvr32 msxml.dll
regsvr32 msxml3.dll
regsvr32 msxml4.dll
Note The last command may not run successfully.
Perform a backup operation to verify that the issue is resolved.

Outlook does not show embedded images

2010-01-14T09:54:00.001-08:00

There are times when users can not view images embedded in the body of their emails. This is usually caused by items in the Cached outlook file. Here are the steps to resolving this issue.

Go into registry (Start -> Run -> regedit)
1. Locate the Outlook Temporary Items folder by opening the Registry and locating
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Outlook\Security\OutlookSecureTempFolder
2. Navigate to the value of this Key. It should be something like: %USERPROFILE%\LocalSettings\Temporary Internet Files\OLK...\ (the OLK.. is a randomly generated file that is created.
4. Copy and paste the string to your explorer address bar..
3. Quit Outlook
4. Delete the contents of the folder
5. Launch Outlook

Unfortunately, this issue keeps reoccurring on some pc's so you need to move the temp folder to a seperate location, and that should fix the issue permanently.

Go into registry (Start -> Run -> regedit)
1. Locate the Outlook Temporary Items folder by opening the Registry and locating
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Outlook\Security\OutlookSecureTempFolder
2. Change the 'OutlookSecureTempFolder' key DATA value to a location that you would like to use.

If your are using outlook 2007 then the registry key would be the following:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Outlook\Security\OutlookSecureTempFolder

Renewing 1024Bit SSL Certificates to 2046 or 4096 bit length.

2010-01-05T06:50:00.001-08:00

I currently ran into a issue when attempting to renew an SSL Certificate that was issued using a CSR with a length 1024 Basically, new CSR's need to be either 2048 or 4096 in length. What does this mean???

It means that you can not renew the certificate using conventional methods although this should be simple...

At this point there are 2 options.

1. Recreate your certificate from scratch.. Yes, this means you will need to remove the current certificate and create a new CSR with either a 2048 or 4069 bit length. Once this has been done you can add that CSR to the request and receive the new certificate. Remember that this option would cause downtime if you have any secure pages or any shopping carts as those secure pages will not work while you are regenerating the certificate.

2. Option 2 is to create a new temporary website and create a new SSL Certificate using the same information as the one created for the existing site. Remembering to change the Key length to either 2048 or 4096. Once you have created the new CSR, ensuring that it was done correctly, then you should be able to process the renewal and add the certificate to the live site.

Remember, if you opt to use option 2 then it is extremely important that you enter the correct information when generating the CSR or you will get errors when processing the certificate.

These is just an overview of how to correct this issue, a guide on creating or renewing an SSL Certificate on IIS will be coming soon...

OpenDNS

2009-11-11T10:50:00.000-08:00

Looking for a good DNS or Web filter to secure your network. Looking to stop users from access inappropriate sites???

www.opendns.com

I've used and configured most products such as websence and other filtering applications on the network side. Although all have their good points and are more than adequate. They all cost a lot of money.

Opendns.com is a DNS/Web filter that allows you to be as open or as strict as you want. You can use it's general rules, which are already robust or you can add rules to become even more granular. Reporting capabilities are already built in and provide general reports on usage which are more than adequate for management reviews.

The best thing of this is that it is either free (for home users) or a fraction of the price compared to those other in-house applications and there is little or no maintenance. Just add them as you DNS servers and viola!!! your in business.

Hello

2009-07-07T11:07:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon everyone...

Well this is my first blog..

Just got back from a great family trip at Miami beach.. 5 days at the beach with my family was so much fun.. Samantha has learned to swim under water and Jonathan is trying to immitate her. You should see it a 4 year old boy with arm floats trying to swim under water.. funny...

Hope you come back..

Play on the field an not on the Bench....