Renjith Kumar: 2009

Monday, December 28, 2009

How to Remove Failed DC object from ADS

At the command line, type Ntdsutil and press ENTER.

C:\WINDOWS>ntdsutil
ntdsutil:

1. At the Ntdsutil: prompt, type metadata cleanup and press Enter.

ntdsutil: metadata cleanup
metadata cleanup:

2. At the metadata cleanup: prompt, type connections and press Enter.

metadata cleanup: connections
server connections:

3. At the server connections: prompt, type connect to server , where is the domain controller (any functional domain controller in the same domain) from which you plan to clean up the metadata of the failed domain controller. Press Enter.

server connections: connect to server server100
Binding to server100 ...
Connected to server100 using credentials of locally logged on user.
server connections:

Note: Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 eliminates the need for the above step.
4. Types quit and press Enter to return you to the metadata cleanup: prompt.

server connections: q
metadata cleanup:

5. Type select operation target and press Enter.

metadata cleanup: Select operation target
select operation target:

6. Type list domains and press Enter. This lists all domains in the forest with a number associated with each.

select operation target: list domains
Found 1 domain(s)
0 - DC=dpetri,DC=net
select operation target:

7. Type select domain , where is the number corresponding to the domain in which the failed server was located. Press Enter.

select operation target: Select domain 0
No current site
Domain - DC=dpetri,DC=net
No current server
No current Naming Context
select operation target:

8. Type list sites and press Enter.

select operation target: List sites
Found 1 site(s)
0 - CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=dpetri,DC=net
select operation target:

9. Type select site , where refers to the number of the site in which the domain controller was a member. Press Enter.

select operation target: Select site 0
Site - CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=dpetri,DC=net
Domain - DC=dpetri,DC=net
No current server
No current Naming Context
select operation target:

10. Type list servers in site and press Enter. This will list all servers in that site with a corresponding number.

select operation target: List servers in site
Found 2 server(s)
0 - CN=SERVER200,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=dpetri,DC=net
1 - CN=SERVER100,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=dpetri,DC=net
select operation target:

11. Type select server and press Enter, where refers to the domain controller to be removed.

select operation target: Select server 0
Site - CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=dpetri,DC=net
Domain - DC=dpetri,DC=net
Server - CN=SERVER200,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=dpetri,DC=net
DSA object - CN=NTDS Settings,CN=SERVER200,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=dpetri,DC=net
DNS host name - server200.dpetri.net
Computer object - CN=SERVER200,OU=Domain Controllers,DC=dpetri,DC=net
No current Naming Context
select operation target:

12. Types quit and press Enter. The Metadata cleanup menu is displayed.

select operation target: q
metadata cleanup:

13. Type remove selected server and press Enter.

metadata cleanup: Remove selected server
"CN=SERVER200,CN=Servers,CN=Default-First-Site-Name,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=dpetri,DC=net" removed from server "server100"
metadata cleanup:

You will receive a warning message. Read it, and if you agree, press Yes.

Active Directory confirms that the domain controller was removed successfully. If you receive an error that the object could not be found, Active Directory might have already removed from the domain controller.

For more details check here

Monday, December 14, 2009

Eraser

As most IT pros know, when you delete a file from a Windows system, it doesn’t take the time to wipe all the data from that file on the disk. Instead, it simply erases the first letter of the file name and marks the cluster as free space. This capability is great for performance, but it also leaves open an alarming opportunity: If someone can access the drive, either physically or via a different user account, they can scrape your disks for sensitive information.

If you really want to wipe clean a disk or file—you need a tool to help you do the job right. Eraser is one such tool.

Eraser is free, open source and released under the GNU General Public License.
Once you’ve installed Eraser, you can launch it from its system-tray icon or use the right-click context menu-extensions in Internet Explorer as well as the normal start-menu launch. The context menu gives you options to securely delete or move the target file or directory (moving files can leave imprints of their contents on the file system in the same way that deleted files do).

General preferences for Eraser include whether statistical and error reports or logs should be generated, what to do with locked files, which shortcuts you want in your context menu along with what erasure technique should be used as a default, and whether the scheduler should run at Windows startup.

So whether you need help with regulatory compliance or just want to protect your old, “deleted” sensitive information from prying eyes, you might want to consider adding Eraser to your toolbox.

http://eraser.heidi.ie/

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Five Years of Firefox

Five Years of Firefox

Posted using ShareThis

Friday, October 16, 2009

Exchange 2010 !!!

Exchange 2010 coding part almost finished and ready for rock, most probably this month we can expect this product. Microsoft is already using Exchange 2010 to power its Live@edu service for schools and universities. There are lots of additional and modified features included in this version. Here u can find some of them-

1.New Administration Functionality in the EMC

• Add Exchange Forests to the console tree
• Customer Feedback start tab
• Community and Resources
• Exchange Management Shell command logging
• Property dialog command exposure
• The EMC is RBAC aware
• Exchange help is now online

2.New Administration Functionality in the Exchange Management Shell

• Remote administration .
• RBAC integration
• Administrator audit.
• Improved multiple-valued property syntax
•
3.New Transport and Routing Functionality

• Shadow redundancy
• MailTips
• Moderated Transport
• Federated delivery
• Latency SLA management
• End-to-end message tracking
• Incremental EdgeSync
• Transport rules integration with AD RMS.
• Transport Dumpster improvements
• Transport database improvements

4.New Messaging Policy and Compliance Features

• New Messaging Retention Management (MRM) functionality to apply message retention policies
• User Archive feature to provide users with online archive mailboxes and help eliminate PST files
• Mailbox search features for cross-mailbox search with AQS support
• New transport rules predicates and actions

5.New Outlook Web App Features

• Favorites in the Navigation Pane
• Search folders
• Message filtering
• The ability to set categories in the message list
• Options in the Web management interface for Outlook Web App
• A side-by-side view for calendars
• Multi-client language support
• The ability to attach messages to messages
• Expanded right-click capabilities
• Integration with Office Communicator, including presence, chat, and a contact list
• Conversation view
• The ability to send and receive text (SMS) messages from Outlook Web App
• Outlook Web App mailbox policies

6.New Unified Messaging Features

• Call answering rules
• Additional language support including in Outlook Voice Access
• Enhancements to name lookup from caller ID
• Voice mail preview
• Messaging Waiting Indicator
• Missed call and voice mail notifications using text messaging (SMS)
• Protected voice mail
• Incoming fax support
• Addressing to Groups (Personal Distribution Lists) support
• Built-in Unified Messaging administrative roles

7.New Text Messaging Features

• Missed call and voice mail notifications
• Calendar and agenda updates
• Send and receive text messages through Outlook Web App and Outlook 2010.
• Synchronize text messages with a mobile phone

8.New Web Management Interface

• Text messaging (SMS) integration
• Voice messaging integration
• Mailbox Search
• Additional proxy addresses for mailboxes
• Moderation and approval for distribution list submission

9.New Exchange Store and Mailbox Database Functionality

• Storage groups are deprecated.
• Mailbox databases are no longer connected to the server object.
• Extensible Storage Engine (ESE) has many improvements for high availability, performance, and database mobility.
• The Exchange Store schema has been flattened.
• Enhanced reporting with Public Folders

10.New Mailbox and Recipient Functionality

• Users can share information such as calendar free/busy and contacts with users who reside in a different organization
• Scheduling and configuring resource mailbox calendar processing has been improved
• You can now move a mailbox while the end user is still accessing it
• New parameters have been added to the distribution group cmdlets to allow users to create and manage their own distribution groups in Outlook Web App and Outlook 2010
• You can manage folder-level permissions for all folders within a user's mailbox
• Bulk recipient management has been expanded to allow you to bulk manage recipient properties
• You can send mail to recipients from the EMC

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Microsoft Tag Reader For Digital World

Microsoft tagging system connects you to more information and entertainment without typing long URLs or texting shortcodes.It's actually a great system to visually direct people to a URL, free text, a vcard, or a dialer. Companies can create their own "tags" for their products but consumers can create them too, which they can then affix to an object like a business card.

With the Microsoft Tag application, a snap of their smartphone's camera transports mobile users to linked mobile content, videos, music, retailers, contact nformation, maps, social networks, promotions, and more. Nothing to type, no browsers to launch!

To learn more about Microsoft Tag visit http://www.microsoft.com/tag today

The application can be accessed by visiting http://Gettag.mobi using your mobile phone browser ,install it your windows mobile and just try this tag

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Install Windows 7 to VHD from DVD

With Windows 7, you now have the option to boot the OS from a VHD, a virtual disk file, instead of a partition. This way, you don't have to reconfigure your hard drive partitions.

Limitations: Hibernate is not supported.

Here are the simplified instructions:
1) Start Windows 7 installation from DVD.
2) Press Shift+F10 to start the command prompt.
3) Start diskpart.
4) Use the "create vdisk file=D:\Win7.vhd maximum=xxxxx" to create a virtual hard disk. Choose your drive and filename accordingly. xxxxx is in MB.
5) Type "select vdisk file=D:\Win7.vhd".
6) Type "attach vdisk". You will get a confirmation that it was attached.
7) Type "exit" to exit diskpart. And then close the command prompt.
8) Click on "Install Now" and install as you would normally by clicking on "Custom Install". Choose your attached vdisk as the location.

The installation takes care of adding the boot option to bcd. You don't have to do anything

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

My Small Vishu Kani

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Web Server Hardening Methods

A web server administrator can do many things to harden a server (increase its security).
The following are ways to increase the security of the web server:

1.Rename the administrator account, and use a strong password.

2.Disable default websites and FTP sites.

3.Remove unused applications from the server, such as WebDAV.

4.Disable directory browsing in the web server’s configuration settings.

5.Add a legal notice to the site to make potential attackers aware of the implications of acking the site.

6.Apply the most current patches, hotfixes, and service packs to the operating system and web server software.

8.Perform bounds-checking on input for web forms and query strings to prevent buffer
overflow or malicious input attacks.

9.Disable remote administration.

10.Use a script to map unused file extensions to a 404 (“File not found”) error message.

11.Enable auditing and logging.

12.Use a firewall between the web server and the Internet and allow only necessary ports(such as 80 and 443) through the firewall.

13.Replace the GET with POST method when sending data to a web server

Vista Areo

In XP, the desktop theme was called 'Luna', whereas in Vista, the equivalent new desktop, shell and GUI is called AERO. Yet, Windows AERO is more than a shop window for the operating system's shell, in fact AERO defines, creates and expresses the whole user experience. Perhaps you have flirted with XP's themes? For example, you have tested the Aquaria, Earth views, or even tried the humble Wheat. Superficially, the AERO effect is an extension of such Themes. However, the extra dimension that AERO brings is a glass, see-though effect. If you take the redesigned Recycle bin as an example, when you delete a file you can see how the AERO graphics change to show a screwed up paper balls in the bin. Moreover, the bin chameleon like as it subtly changes its color when you alter the background.