I have been accepted to present the following topic at this years MMS.
LW31 Automating Windows System administration using scripting technologiesSpeaker(s): Dan ThomsonSession Level(s): 400This session will demonstrate how to utilize VB Script, WMI, ADSI, and various other toolsets to aid in the configuration and management of Windows Systems.
Also, Ron Crumbaker and I will be presenting the myITforum Code RepositoryLS35 myITforum Code RepositorySpeaker(s): Ron Crumbaker, Dan ThomsonSession Level(s): 400
Posted Friday, January 28, 2005 6:44 PM by dthomson | 1 comment(s)
This was shared on the NT SysAdmin email list today.
The following is an actual question given on a University of Washington chemistry mid-term. The answer by one student was so "profound" that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well.Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic(absorbs heat)?Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant.One student, however, wrote the following:First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different Religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added. This gives two possibilities:
1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.So which is it? If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, "it will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you" and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number 2 must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct...leaving only Heaven thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting "Oh my God"
Posted Friday, January 28, 2005 11:20 AM by dthomson | with no comments
Derek Melber has a brief article series on how to work with and deploy security templates.
Check out his 3 part series:
Posted Thursday, January 20, 2005 6:07 PM by dthomson | with no comments
I have some old books taking up room on my shelf. I figured I'd offer them up for free here before I tossed them out in the trash.
Contact me if you're interested in anything.
Posted Thursday, January 20, 2005 1:37 PM by dthomson | with no comments
Posted Tuesday, January 18, 2005 9:44 AM by dthomson | with no comments
If you're curious of what file types you should be blocking on your email servers, then check out Micheal Espinola Jr's E-mail Block List.
Posted Saturday, January 15, 2005 11:00 AM by dthomson | with no comments
Adobe Photoshop SpeedUp significantly decreases the time it takes to load Adobe Photoshop by disabling the plug-ins that you may not need. There are several options such as whether to load the Adobe fonts, load the presets, and set the memory usage. You may restore to the original settings at any time. Adobe Photoshop SpeedUp is freeware, works with Adobe Photoshop versions 3 through 8.
Below is a link to find more information on the Photoshop SpeedUp tool.
http://www.acropdf.com/products.html(Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the Photoshop SpeedUp tool)
Posted Wednesday, January 05, 2005 3:42 PM by dthomson | with no comments
Speed up your Acrobat Reader to being lightning fast!PDF SpeedUp allows you to significantly speed up the time it takes to load Adobe Reader. If you notice that when the Reader starts it loads many plug-ins which you may or may not need, this program simply disables the plug-ins and loads only the absolute necessary ones so the program starts quickly. It offers several options and you can also manually enable or disable the plug-ins as needed. PDF SpeedUp works with Acrobat versions 3 through 7.
Below is a link to find more information on the PDF SpeedUp tool.
http://www.acropdf.com/products.html(scroll halfway down the page to find the PDF SpeedUp tool)
Posted Wednesday, January 05, 2005 3:35 PM by dthomson | 2 comment(s)
I came across the Microsoft Windows Desktop Deployment Resource Kit recently and had to pick it up for review. All I can say is, this book will prove to be a useful reference for anyone who is planning a deployment of a Windows OS or an application. Jerry Honeycutt has put together a terrific resource.
This book covers the following topics:
Part 1: Planning
Part 2: Configuring
Part 3: Distributing
Part 4: Managing
Posted Tuesday, January 04, 2005 10:23 PM by dthomson | with no comments
I am recently employed by a company named Aspiration Software. Aspiration Software provides a wide range of IT services to government agencies in the Washington D.C. metro area and we are seeking individuals to fill various open positions.
If you have a TS/SCI security clearance and are seeking employment, then please browse over to our web site and review some of the available opportunities. Please contact me if you find yourself interested.
Posted Monday, January 03, 2005 6:11 PM by dthomson | with no comments
As part of the SMS Admin Console Replacement Project, I want to include functionality to repair WMI on clients which seem to have WMI issues. I want to be sure the best methods are included with the toolset and I'd like to hear about your preferred method(s) to fix WMI.Anyone care to share what you do? I've found a few methods at myITforum, ExtendedTools, in the sms email list, and in some newsgroups.Here's a few sample solutions that I've found:
To initiate an auto recovery, run one of the following commands:
Regsvr32 %Windir%\System32\Wbem\wbemupgd.dllorRundll %Windir%\System32\Wbem\wbemupgd.dll, RUNDLLENTRY
To perform a manual rebuild of the repository, run the following series of commands:
To perform a more thorough manual rebuild, then run the following series of commands:
I've never had to rebuild/repair WMI, so I have no idea how well the above samples work.
When replying with your solution, please state what problem(s) your solution(s) fixed (IE: The following solution fixed the problem of not being able to connect via the computer management console).
The feedback/comment feature of the blogs doesn't work for Internet Explorer, so feel free to email me directly with your solution(s).
Your feedback is greatly appreciated.
Posted Saturday, January 01, 2005 4:26 PM by dthomson | with no comments