IT Jack of All Trades: 2010

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Get Free Exam vouchers with 20% discount with Free Secondshot

Get Free Exam vouchers with 20% discount with Free Secondshot. This can be used for MCP/MCTS/Dynamics exams. Simply email the following details to vmaceda at hotmail dot com:

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Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Remap user permissions to objects in the database

There's a time where you need to restore a prod database over a test database. Then all permissions in the stored procedures were gone. To fix this execute the following command:

EXEC sp_change_users_login 'Auto_Fix', ''

This will remap the database users login to the right objects.

**This must be done to all database user

Serious ASP.NET exploit

A serious ASP.NET exploit has been discovered. It can be used to decrypt viewstate, remotely log in as any user and potentially gain control over a server.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yghiC_U2RaM

The exploit works by firing thousands of requests at a website, examining the returned error messages for information and eventually collecting enough information to derive the server's encryption key. Any ASP.NET website that doesn't return a static error page can be hacked using this method.

http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2010/09/18/important-asp-net-security-vulnerability.aspx

Friday, June 18, 2010

Free Defensive Database Programming E-Book from Red Gate

"This is not a 'should have' book; it is a 'must have' book". Joe Celko. This book contains dozens of practical, defensive programming techniques.

http://www.red-gate.com/specials/Ebooks/Defensive_Database_Programming.pdf

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Free 100% Microsoft exam discount voucher

WD02WJNWKS

If you can't book it, it means it's already been booked. This valid for any Microsoft exam in any country.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

You receive error 401.1 when you browse a Web site that uses Integrated Authentication and is hosted on IIS 5.1 or a later version

When developing an ASP.NET application on a machine that's running IIS 5.1 or a later version, you may receive an error message that resembles the following:

HTTP 401.1 - Unauthorized: Logon Failed

You may also receive an error message that resembles the following when you try to debug a Microsoft ASP.NET project in Microsoft Visual Studio 2003:

Error while trying to run project: Unable to start debugging on the web server. You do not have permissions to debug the server.
Verify that you are a member of the 'Debugger Users' group on the server.

This issue occurs if you install Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) or Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1 and above). Windows XP SP2 and Windows Server 2003 SP1 and above include a loopback check security feature that is designed to help prevent reflection attacks on your computer. Therefore, authentication fails if the FQDN or the custom host header that you use does not match the local computer name.

There are two methods to work around this issue, use one of the following methods, as appropriate for your situation.

Method 1: Disable the loopback check

The first method is to disable the loopback check by setting the DisableLoopbackCheck registry key.

To set the DisableLoopbackCheck registry key, follow these steps:

Set the DisableStrictNameChecking registry entry to 1. For more information about how to do this, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

281308

(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/281308/ ) Connecting to SMB share on a Windows 2000-based computer or a Windows Server 2003-based computer may not work with an alias name

Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
In Registry Editor, locate and then click the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa

Right-click Lsa, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
Type DisableLoopbackCheck, and then press ENTER.
Right-click DisableLoopbackCheck, and then click Modify.
In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK.
Quit Registry Editor, and then restart your computer.

Method 2: Specify host names

To specify the host names that are mapped to the loopback address and can connect to Web sites on your computer, follow these steps:

Set the DisableStrictNameChecking registry entry to 1. For more information about how to do this, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

281308

(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/281308/ ) Connecting to SMB share on a Windows 2000-based computer or a Windows Server 2003-based computer may not work with an alias name

Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
In Registry Editor, locate and then click the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa\MSV1_0

Right-click MSV1_0, point to New, and then click Multi-String Value.
Type BackConnectionHostNames, and then press ENTER.
Right-click BackConnectionHostNames, and then click Modify.
In the Value data box, type the host name or the host names for the sites that are on the local computer, and then click OK.
Quit Registry Editor, and then restart the IISAdmin service.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

FREE Microsoft Second shot + 50% off voucher

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Saturday, March 13, 2010

Free 100% MCP/MCTS/DYNAMICS Exam Discount March 13, 2010

Below is another free voucher up for grabs. The trick here is to book it immediately before others book it. If you can't use it, it means that it's already been claimed:

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Tuesday, March 9, 2010

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Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Unable to start debugging on the web server. Access is denied

If you get this error while debugging asp.net applications in VS.NET try the following:

1.) Make sure that the your account is in the debuggers user group
2.) Go to the .NET command prompt, type aspnet_regiis -ir

Friday, February 26, 2010

Issues when upgrading Hyper-V server installed in Windows Server 2008 Standard to Enterprise Edition

Currently, we just purchased another 32GB for our hyper-v server. I was wondering why on earth I can't fire more VMs and hyper-v is complaining that I have insufficient memory despite I got 64 GB and the entore system is only utilizing 31GB. Good thing that my colleage point out that hyper-v is installed in a standard edition of Windows Server 2008. So the solution is to upgrade the OS to enterprise edition. Sound easy, think again. Below are some things that you should consider before upgrading:

Firstly, any Saved State VM’s will be incompatible with the upgrade. To resolve this, please ensure that all VM’s are shut down (NOT Saved or Paused)
Secondly, Some snapshots may be incompatible after the upgrade. To resolve this, please review any snapshots you have on VM’s and if possible remove these.

If you would like to read more about the upgrade processes , you may refer to the following KB article:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/957256

Free 100% Discount MCTS/MCP Voucher Feb 26, 2010

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CloudCamps Coming

Intergen is sponsoring the upcoming CloudCamp events in Auckland and Wellington. With the release of Windows Azure, and the ever-evolving Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS), the cloud is going to play an active role in the Microsoft ecosystem in the years to come, not to mention what the other major players are doing.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Visual Studio 2010 Extensibility Walkthrough

Downloading and managing extensions has never been easier. The ability to find and download your favorite extension is now integrated into common dialogs like the New Project Dialog. Configuring, managing and uninstalling extensions is much easier through the new Extension Manager. You can get full access to the large ecosystem of extensions using Visual Studio as well as an online experience using the Visual Studio Gallery.

General Walkthroughs

Editor Walkthroughs

How to...

Visual Studio 2010 Parallel Computing Walkthrough

The Parallel Extensions to the .NET Framework 4 and the Concurrency Runtime for Visual C++ 2010 enable developers to leverage parallel computing. By using these frameworks, developers can write parallel applications that will scale efficiently as the numbers of cores and processors increase. By avoiding the complexities of thread-focused programming models, the new parallel libraries simplify the production of parallel code and enable developers to more easily take advantage of parallel hardware. Visual Studio 2010 RC also provides new debugging and profiling tools to help developers understand and verify the behavior of their parallel applications.

Walkthroughs

How to...

Library

Concurrency Runtime

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Core Coding Experience in Managed Languages Walkthrough

Visual Studio 2010 is an exciting release in managed languages and tools. Visual C# and Visual Basic languages continue to evolve towards feature parity, strive to simplify programming and deployment with the Microsoft Office APIs, and allow easy interop to dynamic languages. Visual F# is a new programming language which combines functional, object-oriented and explorative programming to provide a succinct, expressive and scalable language for .NET. In the tools space, Visual Studio 2010 offers greater support for Test-Driven Development, where tests are written before product code as an iterative approach to software design.

Walkthroughs

How to...

'How Do I' Videos for the Visual Studio 2010 IDE

Silverlight and WPF Data Binding in Visual Studio 2010 Walkthrough

Visual Studio 2010 now offers Drag and Drop data binding for WPF applications. After you add a data source to your project, you can generate data-bound Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) controls by dragging items from the Data Sources window to the WPF Designer.

Walkthroughs

How to...

SharePoint Development in Visual Studio 2010 Walkthrough

Visual Studio 2010 provides an alternative to creating SharePoint applications through SharePoint Designer. Visual Studio promotes rapid SharePoint development by providing such features as advanced debugging tools, IntelliSense, statement completion, and project templates. Visual Studio also takes advantage of advanced .NET Framework-based tools and languages. SharePoint projects can be developed by using either Visual Basic or Visual C#.

Walkthroughs

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Oreilly books and ebooks discount

Book and e-book discounts:

•Print book: 35% off
•E-books: 45% off
•Go to http://oreilly.com/ to purchase. Use code MCTS.
Free shipping on all print book orders over $29.95 in the US.

Safari E-books discount

Safari Library Subscription

$31.99/month for the first six months (regular $42.99/month).

Coupon Code: ALURSZG

Terms: Limited time offer ends March 31, 2010, Available to new subscribers only. Not available in all areas, Discounted price of $31.99 (plus applicable taxes) valid for six consecutive months.

Please click here to obtain the offer.

Cool free SQL Tools out there

Microsoft Source Code Analyzer for SQL Injection
Microsoft Source Code Analyzer for SQL Injection is a static code analysis tool for finding SQL Injection vulnerabilities in ASP code. Customers can run the tool on their ASP source code to help identify code paths that are vulnerable to SQL Injection attacks.

Internals Viewer for SQL Server
Internals Viewer is a tool for looking into the SQL Server storage engine and seeing how data is physically allocated, organised and stored.

SQLQueryStress
SQLQueryStress is a free tool for SQL Server programmers. It is designed to assist with performance stress testing of T-SQL queries and routines. The tool automatically collects metrics to help you determine whether your queries will perform under load, and what kind of resource strain they put on your server.

Simple Talk Prettifier
Online format tool for T-SQL, C# and VB.

SQL DB Tools
SqlDbDiff, SqlDbSearch and SqlDbSize utility

ClearTrace
Imports SQL Server 2000, SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008 trace and profiler files into SQL Server and displays summary performance information. It is designed to provide the same performance summary as Read80Trace but in a graphical environment and for SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008.

SQL Server Sample Database
Project hosting site for Microsoft SQL Server Samples and Community Projects. Projects listed here are official Microsoft samples for SQL Server (released with Service Packs or major releases of SQL Server) and applications developed by MVPs, and the SQL Server community at large.

DTLoggedExec
DTLoggedExec is a tool that allows you to run a Sql Server Integration Services (SSIS) Package producing a full and detailed logging informations of execution status and package runtime data, including dataflow profiling information. In brief it allows to fully log and instrument package execution.

Microsoft SQL Server Database Publishing Wizard 1.1
The SQL Server Database Publishing Wizard provides a way to publish databases to T-SQL scripts or directly to supporting hosting service providers.

Microsoft SQL Server Database Publishing Services 1.1
SQL Server Database Publishing Services can be deployed by shared hosting providers to enable publishing of SQL Server databases over the Internet.

BIDS Helper
A Visual Studio.Net add-in with features that extend and enhance the functionality of the SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008 BI Development Studio (BIDS).

SQLRecon 1.0
SQLRecon performs both active and passive scans of your network in order to identify all of the SQL Server/MSDE installations in your enterprise.

DMVStats
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 provides Dynamic Management Views (DMVs) to expose valuable information that you can use for performance analysis.

PSSDIAG Data Collection Utility
PSSDiag is a diagnostic data collector for Microsoft SQL Server. It can simultaneously collect Perfmon/Sysmon logs, Profiler traces, event logs, SQLDIAG reports, and detailed blocking information. It is commonly used by Microsoft Product Support Services engineers to collect diagnostic data from end-user installations and can also be used by end-users to troubleshoot and monitor their own SQL Server installations.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Hyper-V VM cannot authenticate after applying snapshot or attaching VHD

If you encounter the following and tried dropping the machine from the domain and joining it back, do the following:

1.) First uninstall hidden adapters it will show as Local Area Connection #n. To do that follow the following in this site:
http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/504/how-to-uninstall-hidden-devices-drivers-and-services/
**it seems hyper-v adds 1 or 2 hidden network adapters.
2.) Removed the machine to the domain and add it to a work group
3.) Restart the machine
4.) Join the machine back to the domain

If all else fails create a new VM using a copy of the VHD you’re using. Do steps 1-4.

How to Send perfmon email alerts using sendmail.exe

How to Send perfmon email alerts using sendmail.exe
Download sendemail.exe:http://caspian.dotconf.net/menu/Software/SendEmail/

Create a batch file similar with the similar code below:

C:\sendEmail.exe -f alert_account@mydomain.com -t myemail@mydomain.com -u SUBJECT -m %1 -s localhost:25 -xu login -xp password

Create the alert:
1.) Click on start->Run
2.) Enter perfmon on the Alerts node, right click and select new alert settings
3.) Enter the name of the alert
4.) On the general tabclick the add button to add your counters and adjust the alert value
5.) On the action tab tick on run this program and browse for the batch file you just created
6.) Click Apply

iisapp equivalent in IIS7

Most of you will have used the useful iisapp script on IIS6 to find out which w3wp worker process relates to which Application Pool. In IIS7, this script doesn’t work anymore. There is a replacement though. You can add the command below to a batch file and just call it:

%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd.exe list wp

Powershell Script to Backup VMs in Hyper-V: A Poor Man's Alternative to DPM

The script below was taken from the blog: http://mindre.net/post/Powershell-script-for-snapshot-and-exporting(backup)-Virtual-Machines.aspx . I've tweaked it a bit by adding error handling, making sure that the restoring of the VM state is done prior to processing the next VM and writing the results in the event log:

##
## Create a backup of all the vm's
##

$dest = "F:\Backup"
$VM_Service = get-wmiobject -namespace root\virtualization Msvm_VirtualSystemManagementService
$ListofVMs = get-wmiobject -namespace root\virtualization Msvm_ComputerSystem -filter "ElementName <> Name"

[system.diagnostics.eventlog]::WriteEntry("VM Backup","Back-up Process Started",[system.diagnostics.eventlogentrytype]::Information)
foreach ($VM in [array] $ListOfVMs)
{
$VMReturnState = $VM.EnabledState
$VMName = $VM.ElementName
try
{
if (($VM.EnabledState -eq 2) -or ($VM.EnabledState -eq 32768) -or ($VM.EnabledState -eq 32770))
{
$VM.RequestStateChange(32769)
echo "Saving the state of $VMName"
}
while (!($VM.EnabledState -eq 32769) -and !($VM.EnabledState -eq 3))
{
Start-Sleep(1)
$VM = get-wmiobject -namespace root\virtualization -Query "Select * From Msvm_ComputerSystem Where ElementName='$VMName'"
}
if ([IO.Directory]::Exists("$dest\TmpDir\$VMName"))
{
[IO.Directory]::Delete("$dest\TmpDir\$VMName", $True)
}
echo "Exporting the VM"
$status = $VM_Service.ExportVirtualSystem($VM.__PATH, $True, "$dest\TmpDir")
if ($status.ReturnValue -eq 4096)
{
$job = [Wmi]$status.Job
while (!($job.PercentComplete -eq 100) -and ($job.ErrorCode -eq 0))
{
Start-Sleep(5)
$job = [Wmi]$status.Job
echo $job.PercentComplete
}
}
## Store the files on in a temp directory before moving them to their location and then remove the old files.
if ([IO.Directory]::Exists("$dest\$VMName"))
{
[IO.Directory]::Move("$dest\$VMName", "$dest\$VMName-OldTmpDir")
[IO.Directory]::Move("$dest\TmpDir\$VMName", "$dest\$VMName")
[IO.Directory]::Delete("$dest\$VMName-OldTmpDir", $True)
}
else
{
[IO.Directory]::Move("$dest\TmpDir\$VMName", "$dest\$VMName")
}
$VM.RequestStateChange($VMReturnState)
while (!($VM.EnabledState -eq $VMReturnState))
{
Start-Sleep(1)
$VM = get-wmiobject -namespace root\virtualization -Query "Select * From Msvm_ComputerSystem Where ElementName='$VMName'"
}
echo "Done with $VMName"
[system.diagnostics.eventlog]::WriteEntry("VM Backup","Back-up Virtual Machine $VMName complete",[system.diagnostics.eventlogentrytype]::Information)
}catch [SystemException] {
echo "Error backing-up $VMName"
[system.diagnostics.eventlog]::WriteEntry("VM Backup","Error backing-up virtual machine: $VMName",[system.diagnostics.eventlogentrytype]::Error)
}
}
[system.diagnostics.eventlog]::WriteEntry("VM Backup","Back-up Process Complete",[system.diagnostics.eventlogentrytype]::Information)

You can use notepad or PowerGui to modify PowerShell Scripts

Learning Snax: Covering Index using Included Columns

This video will show how to use included columns in a non-clustered index in optimizing a query.

Download the video:

http://cid-9f717af2a2401f0f.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Webcast/Covering%20Index%20using%20Included%20Columns.mp4

MCP Virtual Business Cards

Demonstrate your technology expertise and skills while expressing your virtual personality by creating your own, unique virtual business card and profile page to highlight your Microsoft certifications.

https://www.mcpvirtualbusinesscard.com/

Backup My Locations in Garmin Mobile XT

There's a time that you want to backup the My Locations in Garmin Mobile XT because you want to hard reset your WinMo phone or install a new ROM. Unfortunately, Garmin Mobile XT does not have the feature to export the contents of My Locations. Below are simple steps on how to backup My Locations folder in Garmin Mobile XT:

In the root folder our of your device backup the Garmin folder
Also backup the same folder found in the root of your storage card
Once everything has been ok after the restore of your WinMo phone, copy the two folders to their original folder
Copy Storage Card\Garmin\Apps\WM\QuePPC and paste it as a shortcut in My Device\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

Fix GPS lag for HTC Touch Diamond 2

For Builtin GPS:
A. With Advanced config 3.2
1.disable A-GPS2.disable GPS logging3.logfile name must be empty4.old logfile name must be empty5.maximum size of logfile must be 06.delete the files :\windows\GPSLogFile.txt and \windows\GPSLogFileBack.txtWith those changes car usage will be quite perfect

B. Then edit registry with TotalCommanderUnder: HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\GPS Intermediate Driver\

•Drivers\GpsOneDevice\PollInterval -> 100 (default is 1000)
•Drivers\InputBufferSize -> 512 (default is 4096)
•Drivers\OutputBufferSize -> 512 (default is 4096)
•Drivers\SleepOnNoData -> 100 (default is 1000)
•Multiplexer\MaxBufferSize -> 512 (by default not present, you have to create it)With those tweaks pedestrian usage will be much better but not perfect.

Tools that you need to do this:
- Registry Editor such as total commander
- Advanced Configuration Tool 3.3
- .NET Compact Framework 3.5

For Bluetooth External GPS:
- Download GPSGate 2.6- Run GPS Gate and select the Wizard Button
- Make Sure that Wireless Bluetooth GPS is ticked
- Click on Next Button (>)
- It will search for you Bluetooth GPS, once found click on yes
- Make sure that Share with NMEA Applications is only ticked
- In Windows Mobile Go to System Settings->External GPS
- Under Programs tab, make sure that GPS Program Port is set to None
- Under Hardware tab, make sure that GPS Hardware Port is set to none
- Under Access tab, make sure that Manage GPS Automatically is set

Now to Test It:
- Fire Garmin Mobile XT- Go to Tools (wrench icon)
- Settings->System->Remote GPS
- If you're using internal GPS, select Use GPS Intermediate Driver
- If you're using external bluetooth gps, select COM1: Franson COM1

**NOTE:
This was tested using the following:
- HTC Touch Diamond 2 with Stock ROM WM 6.5
- QStarz BT-818x- Garmin Mobile XT

You must also close GPS Gate and turn-off bluetooth once you're done using it to conserve battery life

Microsoft Second Shot is Back!

This will now replace the discount vouchers that I’m issuing:

To request a voucher send the following info to vmaceda@hotmail.com:

Number of Vouchers:
Country to Take the Exam:

Virtual Business Card

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Friday, June 18, 2010

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Method 1: Disable the loopback check

Method 2: Specify host names

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

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Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Friday, February 26, 2010

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

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