Online Backup Solutions - Mozy Wins!

A few months ago I ran across a post on lifehacker.com regarding backup solutions. One of the most highly touted products from commenters was Mozy. Mozy has a very simplified interface, allowing just about anyone to choose which files they wish to backup. Once installed and configured, it runs nightly incremental backups quietly in the background. Backups are stored for up to 30 days, which is nice in case you needed something that was changed 20 days ago and not a change from 10 days ago. I'm glad to say I'm very pleased with their service, and would recommend anyone to give it a try before trying anything else. For those that are on a budget, they offer a free 2GB service, and their unlimited plan is only $4.95 a month. That's pretty darn cheap for having piece of mind.

Filesharing Woes: STATUS_REQUEST_NOT_ACCEPTED

If you're having trouble filesharing to a Windows machine and notice the error "STATUS_REQUEST_NOT_ACCEPTED" within a packet sniffer such as WireShark, check that the user limit has not been reached for the share. Run "compmgmt.msc" from the start/run box, navigate to "Shared Folders", "Shares", and check the properties for the share. "Allow this number of users:" may be your culprit if it's selected. Bump up the value to allow more users to the resource if necessary.

Free LiveCD Tools

A "LiveCD" is a CD that can be booted up without a prior Operating System loaded that has certain software on it to get tasks done. For instance, "GParted" is software that allows you to make changes to the partitions on hard drives, and the developers of the software have a LiveCD version which runs the software directly off of the CD. This means there's no need to boot into an OS first.

Below are some useful LiveCD tools:
GParted - Partitioning tool - http://gparted.sourceforge.net/
Knoppix - Full Linux distribution on a CD - http://www.knoppix.net/
INSERT - Geared towards system recovery and network auditing - http://www.inside-security.de/INSERT_en.html
BackTrack - An excellent LiveCD that aims at network penetration testing - http://www.remote-exploit.org/backtrack.html
SystemRescueCD - Data recovery and backup - http://www.sysresccd.org/Main_Page
Austrumi - Reset Windows passwords - http://cyti.latgola.lv/ruuni/index_en.html
Ophcrack - Windows password cracking tool - http://ophcrack.sourceforge.net/

All the above mentioned LiveCDs are free. ERD Commander from Winternals is an extremely useful LiveCD, but it comes at a cost. If you're an IT tech that primarily works on Windows OSes, ERD Commander is a great investment.

Some Interesting Axis Webcam Feeds

There's a search "hack" to find Axis (http://www.axis.com/) webcams. Most of their products display their feed via a page called "/view/view.shtml", thus you can easily search for this within Google and other search engines. I searched for "/view/view.shtml axis" to filter out some junk results. Ideally I'd use "/view/view.shtml intitle:'Axis'" but Google prevents you digging too deep into the results due to worm attacks.

Here are some interesting cameras I've come across:
http://12.154.134.210-214 [range of available cameras] - Some city's traffic cameras
http://209.145.91.66/view/view.shtml - Somebody's office
http://debtclock.durst.org/view/view.shtml - Our Nation's debt
http://ercwebcam.engin.umich.edu/view/view.shtml?newstyle=One&cam=1 - Robotic shop of sorts, controllable
http://jade-cam.dyndns.org/view/view.shtml - Webcam in Bontekai, controllable
http://213.10.227.87:81/view/view.shtml?videos=&size=1 - Workout room

Encrypted Virtual Drives Using TrueCrypt

If you'd like to create encrypted virtual drives that can only be mounted if you have a password (and optional key file), give TrueCrypt a try. TrueCrypt is a free program that allows you to create an encrypted file that can be mounted through the TrueCrypt interface. Different encryption algorithms can be chosen. TrueCrypt is free and runs on most versions of Windows and Linux. Encrypting data is ideal for many reasons, especially if you have a USB thumb drive and are worried about losing it. Visit http://www.truecrypt.org for more information.

Tech Support Available in Gainesville, FL

I've ventured into the tech support consulting field, so if you're in the Gainesville, FL area and need any level of support for your business, please let me know. I've worked in the IT field for 7+ years and since I've worked my way from client support to web design to programming to server administration, I'm well versed in the different aspects of a business's computer support needs. Please e-mail me at techdustin@gmail.com if you have any further questions. Thanks!

Python script to reject invalid senders

I wrote a Python script to reject e-mails where the sending address is invalid, and will work in Visnetic Mail Server (and should in Merak as well). The Python script gets called using a Content Filter, and connects to the mail server(s) responsible for the "MAIL FROM:" address specified. Once a successful connection has been made (lowest priority MX is tried first), and the e-mail address is verified to be valid or invalid, an action can be made using the Content Filter based on the exit code of the script. Directions on how to use the script can be found within the top of the script, and configuration options can be modified directly after the documentation. No additional Python modules are required, although the script will need to be able to execute "nslookup.exe", and Python 2.5 is recommended due to the "operator" module's shortcoming in previous versions.

The script can be downloaded from the following URL:
http://www.exoxe.com/code/validateemail.pys (rename it to .py if you wish after fetching)

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for any rejected/deleted mail if you wish to use my script. Remember to use the CF bypass file for problematic senders (you'd be surprised of the handful of people that send from non-existant e-mail addresses!) You may wish to run this in passive mode, meaning you do not specify the Accept/Reject/Delete action until you've looked over your logs and can determine it's working properly.

If you have any recommendations, please feel free to bug me - dustinPYTHONtravis@gmail.com (remove PYTHON)

msinfo32

Found by default under the Accessories->System Tools->System Information shortcut, msinfo32.exe provides you with some useful information regarding your system hardware and software components such as signed and unsigned drivers.

First Post!

Testing Blogger's posting interface. I've used it in the past, but it's been decades (we'll, we know I'm exaggerating a tad, don't we?).