Microsoft Software Licensing - End User License Terms

A quick and easy way of checking the End User License Agreements for Microsoft Software (very useful for checking Microsoft Office) . Click HERE for the Microsoft License Wizard

Claws Mail - SpamAssassin Fails due to SpamD not Running (Ubuntu)

Situation

With the SpamAssassin Plugin loaded Claws Mail reports the SpamD service is not running and thus fails to complete a spam check with SpamAssassin.

Solution
Go to the console and type

sudo nano /etc/default/spamassassin


Check the enabled status
ENABLED=0

Change the value to 1 before saving and exiting. This should resolve the issue.

FlashGot - FireFox Extension

FlashGot provides an easy means to download flash videos to your computer along with other media files contained within a website. (If your media player cannot play .flv files download and install VLC media player which is open source and free)

Blurb
"Download one link, selected links or all the links of a page together at the maximum speed with a single click, using the most popular, lightweight and reliable external download managers. The new "FlashGot Media" command grabs video and audio clips while they're playing, too. Supported download tools are dozens, see http://flashgot.net for details."

Unzip Multiple Zip Files At Once (Via the Shell) - (Ubuntu)

Situation

A directory is full of multiple zip archives and the user does not want to manually extract each one as it is time consuming.

Solution

In the shell change directory to the directory containing all the zip files then type the following command

ls *.zip | xargs -n1 unzip

All the zip files will be extracted to the current directory.

IPBlock - (IP Blocker/Filter) - Ubuntu

IPBlock is an IPblocker for Linux although IPblockers / IPfilters are generally associated with peer to peer filtering they are very useful for filtering out advertising, maleware and other dubious IP ranges with the appropriate lists. Iplist is also available on a variety of Linux Distros however see below for Ubuntu.

The instructions for each version of Ubuntu require their own repository thus you will find a link HERE on the Ubuntu forums providing support for each Ubuntu Version along with instructions on how to install.

SME Server - Adding Extra SaneSecurity Lists

Sanesecurity distribute databases to extend ClamAV and to use them on SME Server you first need to implement the install script before using the below method to use the databases you want on your server.


After installing, to add additional databases you need to edit the file with your favorite editor in the terminal. I use pico

pico /etc/unofficial-clamav-sigs.conf

And comment out the ones you don't want with # or add the additional database names in on a seperate line:

# ========================
# SaneSecurity Database(s)
# ========================
# Add/remove/modify database file names between quote marks as needed.
# To disable any of the SaneSecurity database file downloads, remove
# the appropriate database file name line(s) below. To disable all
# SaneSecurity database downloads, comment out all of the following lines.
ss_dbs="
phish.ndb
scam.ndb
junk.ndb
rogue.hdb
spear.ndb
spamimg.hdb
# lott.ndb - Disabled
spam.ldb
sanesecurity.ftm
"

then reload:
clamdscan --reload

Netgear WGPS606 Configuration (Ubuntu)

Keep loosing the bookmark over at cups noted here for shorter reference.

Configure CUPs to use a printer connected to a Netgear WGPS606 print server

1. Follow the manual's instructions for setting up the print server on the network via the web interface (server defaults: ip "192.168.0.102", netmask "255.255.255.0", uname "admin", password "password").
   Note: You are advised to set a static IP address, otherwise the print server may receive a different address after a power outage.
2. Before proceeding, check your print server's firmware version. You can find this on the status page of the web interface. If the version is V1.0_020 or later, then proceed with setup. If it is not, then go to http://kbserver.netgear.com/release_notes/d102696.asp and follow the directions to upgrade the firmware to V1.0_020 (latest as of August 6, 2005).
3. Now that it's on the network and has firmware V1.0_020 or later:
   1. Unplug its power.
   2. Plug your printer into it.
   3. Turn on your printer.
   4. Plug it back in.
4. Now, in a graphical browser.
   1. Go to http://localhost:631
   2. Click "Administration" in the header.
   3. Authenticate with user: root, password: root's password
   4. Click "Add Printer" in the Printers section.
   5. Fill in at least "Name" and click "Continue"
   6. In the Device Dropdown box, select "LPD/LPR Host or Printer" and click "Continue"
   7. In the Device URI box append ":///L1" or ":///L2". L1 is for the first printer, L2 is for the second. In my case the full URI is lpd://192.168.100.104/L1.
   8. Select your printer's make and click "Continue"
   9. Select your printer's model and click "Continue"
5. And your done, go ahead and send a test page.

Microsoft "Fix It" Tools

Microsoft offer a selection of automated tools under the "fix it" label to scan your system for common problems (no Windows XP support). Not that useful to be honest for techies but for the novice user they might provide some insight and solutions particularly the system maintenance tasks and overall system performance tools.

Your CD/DVD drive cannot read or write media
Automatically diagnose and repair problems with your CD or DVD drive when trying to read or burn media in Windows.

Printing problems and printing errors
Automatically diagnose and repair when you cannot print, or for problems installing a printer, connecting to a network printer and related errors.

Diagnose and fix problems with sound and audio
Automatically diagnose and repair problems with sound and audio on your computer or when your computer does not play sound.

Common system maintenance tasks
Automatically detect and fix common maintenance problems such as broken desktop shortcuts, unused icons, disk volume errors, and incorrect system time display.

Problems with overall system speed and performance
Automatically diagnose and fix causes of poor system performance, such as the power saver setting, multiple anti-virus programs running, multiple startup programs running, and too many users logged on to the computer.

Microsoft Security Essentials - Free Virus, Spyware & Malware Protection

If you need a free antivirus then Microsoft Security Essentials is well worth a look particually if you are looking for a lightweight solution thats not going to act like a paperweight on the system. Works for Windows XP. Windows Vista and Windows 7 (32bit and 64bit).

Also do not get any nag screens to buy a professional version that most commerical software companies seem to be keen on throwing at the user with their "free" editions of their antivirus software.

It is free although you will need to sucessfully complete a Windows Geninue Validation before you can install it so microsoft can check you are not running a pirated copy of windows.

Download HERE

Nero BurnLite Free

Nero is a well known cd burning and application suite but if you want basic cd / dvd burning it can be a bit overkill. Luckily Nero offer a cut down version "Nero BurnLite" that will allow you to create data discs and copy discs all for free.

The download page is HERE

Tweak Google Desktop

If you use Google Desktop this is a valuable tool particularly if you want to delete your google index and start over without uninstalling the application or manually deleting the google search index files. Easy to install and use.

TweakGDS

IPhone 3GS Update to iOS 4 and Restore Failure Solution

Situation
Itunes prompted me to download the new update OS4 I did it failed and then the phone went into recovery mode. On attempting to recover it - it failed with a error code 21. Repeated attempts failed.

Tested
Some users report deleting the downloaded file and trying to download it resolves the issue - it did not work for me despite numerous attempts.


Solution

I tracked down a downloadable version of iOS4. (checking the file name matched the file name of the data file in the below location)

Once downloaded I put the file in
C:\Users\Paul\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\iTunes\iPhone Software Updates
(Windows 7 location - delete the file if there is one already there)

I then opened iTunes and again got the "iPhone in Recovery Mode" and upon starting the recovery mode it loaded the file above and I got a phone that was alive and back to factory settings.

I was then prompted if I wanted to restore from a previous backup, which I did. Once completed the phone was back to normal.

Netgear RND4000-100EUS ReadyNAS NV+ - Not Booting

Situation
Four Seagate (Barracuda 7200.11 Firmware SD15 Model Number ST3500320AS )500GB Drives were installed into the NAS and the display stated "booting" but failed to do so after thirty minutes plus. The NAS had a flashing blue power light and nothing else. The drives were known to be working.

Investigation
A little digging around it seems it was the hard drives at fault and a firmware update (to SD1A) is required to get the Netgear RND4000 ReadyNAS NV+ to be able to use the drives.

Solution
Seagate provide the necessary update utility but also on an ISO. Did not use the windows utility but the ISO after installing each drive into a base unit making sure no others were connected and completing the firmware update, I refitted the hard drives to the NAS and after a 3-5 minutes the NAS booted and was accessible remotely using the provided utility on the shipped Netgear CD.

The Firmware update download page is here

SME Server 7.4 - FreshClam Update Failure

Situation
The administrator receives regular notifications stating freshclam is failing to update and your network is not down.

"2010-04-14 15:30:34.030513500 ERROR: Can't download daily.cvd from database.clamav.net
2010-04-14 15:30:34.030587500 Giving up on database.clamav.net..."
2010-04-14 15:30:34.030602500 Update failed. Your network may be down or none of the mirrors listed in /etc/freshclam.conf is working."

Solution

If ClamAV does not fix it itself. Then

cd /var/clamav/
mv mirrors.dat mirrors.dat.old
freshclam -v

You should see a report to the console which contains.

"Database updated (756094 signatures) from db.local.clamav.net (IP: x.x.x.x)
Clamd successfully notified about the update."

Your ClamAV database signatures should now update correctly and the administrator should not receive any further messages.

Spamness - Thunderbird Addon

Simple one this but visually useful when you need to monitor the effectiveness of spam filtering.

Spamness is a Thunderbird Mail plugin which reads spam headers (spam assassin) and provides a visual and / or graphic representation of the spam score. This saves having to view the email headers manually to check a spam score for each message received.

Block A Country by IP

You might have the need to block visitors from a certain country accessing your website, then again you might not, but if you do the website block a country is a handy little tool. Pick a country(or countries holding CTRL down while selecting), click go and wham a .htaccess file is generated to block the IP ranges for the selected country(s). Free and dead easy to use.

Windows 7 Image Backup Tool

I bought a new laptop and as usual no Windows 7 disc was included. I therefore created my own using the Windows 7 Image Tool rather than seeking out a third party utility just in case my laptop hard drive dies in the future.

1. Open Control Panel, under System and Security open Backup your computer option.

2. In the lift pane, open the link “Create an image backup”.

3. Select the destination drive or Optical drive or network location to store backup files.

4.Click Next to include/exclude drives in the image backup.Note that the disk that Windows is installed on will always be included in the backup.You cannot include the disk that you are saving the backup to.

5.In the next step Windows 7 will give a last chance to confirm the backup settings you have chosen in the last step.Once you are agree with the backup settings just click Start backup button to start backup process.Backup process few minutes to hours depending on the size of the disk.

6.After finishing the backup process Windows 7 prompts you an option to create a recovery CD so that you can restore the created image using the bootable recovery disc.


 

AutoRuns - Windows Auto-Starting Lists

AutoRuns - Works on Windows XP and higher, Windows Server 2003 and higher

Simple terms - view everything that autostarts in your windows operating system

Microsoft blurb
"This utility, which has the most comprehensive knowledge of auto-starting locations of any startup monitor, shows you what programs are configured to run during system bootup or login, and shows you the entries in the order Windows processes them. These programs include ones in your startup folder, Run, RunOnce, and other Registry keys. You can configure Autoruns to show other locations, including Explorer shell extensions, toolbars, browser helper objects, Winlogon notifications, auto-start services, and much more. Autoruns goes way beyond the MSConfig utility bundled with Windows Me and XP.

Autoruns' Hide Signed Microsoft Entries option helps you to zoom in on third-party auto-starting images that have been added to your system and it has support for looking at the auto-starting images configured for other accounts configured on a system. Also included in the download package is a command-line equivalent that can output in CSV format, Autorunsc."

Mozilla Plugin Checker

Mozilla Plugin Checker

Just stumbled upon this. A plugin checker for mozilla / firefox to make sure you are up to date and if not it provides an easy to way to update from the site. Worth adding to your bookmarks as a double check to make sure your plugins are up to date.

Yourls - URL Shortener

Playing with more scripts this time a url shortener package Yourls . The idea is you can run your own url shortener on a domain you own (or run a public one if you want). Hosting your own private url shortener is of course a way of making sure you do not loose your links when a service shuts down.

It's an ongoing project but the code is working and ready to throw up to give you a short url site along with some stats of clicks for links. However, you will need some experience when it comes to coding if you want to add in some anti spam measures for a public site as they are not currently featured.

Ive had a play with the script over at http://snpy.me

Web2ftp - HTTP to FTP

net2ftp

I work on a host of different machines in different locations and on occasions I find I need ftp access but there is no ftp client is installed on the desktop. It is a pain to download and install one for a one hit wonder and thats where net2ftp comes in. Web based is gives full ftp services and extra frills from a web browser and there is not a sausage to install. If you want to run your own net2ftp site it is also very easy to setup and does not require a mysql database (unless you want access restricted to users), it also comes with a whole host of features.

Nice quick and easy. I am playing / testing it over at zrourl.co.uk but I like it, very useful.

Recover Photos from SD /MMC - PhotoRec (Ubuntu Linux)

Christmas Day a time of taking family photos and returning home to load them onto the computer that is until for reasons Santa does not even know, you cannot access the photo files at all. I might have been tempted to take the memory card outside and shoot it after some sobbing and but it down to fate, misfortune and the failings of technology but a quick search via google I found PhotoRec for Ubuntu.

It is a console based program - dont panic :) - but has a easy to use menu interface.

To install
apt-get install testdisk

Insert your misbehaving SD / MMC card then open a console and type
sudo photorec

PhotoRec should then display all your storages disks on the system. Look for the SD / MMC card, select it and proceed.


The next bits are simply menu choices such as

• the partition table type for a SD /MMC select None
• the file system in use on the storage medium
• where you would like the recovered files to be saved
  

Once you have made your choices. PhotoRec will then display the device you are going to attempt recovery from by way of confirmation and if you are happy select Launch to get it underway.

The program will report to the console on how many files it has recovered along with information such as how long it expects to take. Any files it is able to recover will be
saved to the location you picked.

In my case not only did PhotoRec recover a 128 Christmas photos previously lost it also recovered a further 282 photos which had been deleted from the memory card previously.

One thing to note, in my case, the console ceased to report progress after some considerable time (30 mins) despite indicating an estimated 10 minutes to completion. Depending on how bad your SD / MMC is, you might need to stop the program if there is no further progress (like in my case) despite the drive on the SD /MMC flashing. This wont affect any recovered photos since PhotoRec saves the recovered photos as it goes along.