WSCC finds updates to utilities (portable version) that are an excellent resource for your flash drive and repairing Windows – Go over to Rick’s to see the full review.
Use WSCC to install, update, execute and organize the utilities from NirSoft and Sysinternals
Recently we had a server that kept trying to install Windows Updates AND it would attempt to do updates IF the you skipped the HDD scan. The updates would fail and the computer would reboot to a login screen.
Here’s how we fixed the computer by deleting what we knew were corrupt update files.
Next we checked to see if pending.xml existed. Often Windows will have this (see post link below) when your computer keeps trying to install updates.
Note: Ours did not but if it had, we would have done this (Credit to Josh Carney for his post in 2013)-
Open a CMD Prompt as an Administrator and typed the following
takeown /f C:\Windows\winsxs\pending.xml
cacls C:\Windows\winsxs\pending.xml /G Username:F
del C:\windows\winsxs\pending.xml
Verify if the SoftwareDistribution folder is empty –
Reboot the computer
Run the check disk and your problems should be gone.
Want a private cloud to sync your files, back up data and have access from outside of your home?
Tonido Software for home is free. The software is around 20+ meg to download and easy to set up. Here’s a list of the top features.
So the easiest thing to do – add a hard drive to your computer. Add files to folders on the drive and use Tonido to share files, backup files, stream music or movies and more.
The basic port you’ll need to open on your router (under port forwarding is 10001) – this port can be changed during/after your configuration.
With the Nagle-Algorithm, Windows takes small packets and packages them in to more manageable and efficient sizes. If you have poor latency, you might try to disable the Nagle-Algorithm. Nagle’s algorithm helps to control congestion when small packets are sent continuously by TCP. When enabled, this helps to prevent a flood of these packets.
More information – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagle’s_algorithm
How to disable Nagle’s algorithm-
Open regedit.exe. Navigate to HKey_Local_MachineSystemCurrentControlSetServicesTcpipParametersInterfaces
Find the interface that has your current IP address (see example below)
Add the following values and make sure they are set to 1.
TcpAckFrequency and TCPNoDelay
This is only a temporary fix for the reduction of some applications on the internet. Once your project or need is fulfilled, you should re-enable the algorithm by deleting the keys and rebooting or changing the values.
Brave browser is an excellent browser for speed and safety.
Speed and Safety
Xirrus Wi-Fi inspector is a free tool you can use to gather information about wi-fi around you. You can also use this tool to locate APs via sound very similar to using radar and sound. Have an AP you need to zero in on? Right Click and locate the AP by using your laptop’s sound. To stop the sound, right click and end the session.
With a Rosewill RNX-N150RT router, you can flash this simple home router to OpenWRT. While there are a few hoops to jump through, the process is easy.
Additional note: You can also load Gargoyle. See the notes here.
Gargoyle
SSH using PuttyGen to generate key and then using Putty to access the router
What about performance? Amazingly this little $14 router wirelessly has been outperforming our AC router. The wi-fi signal stays strong and steady.
Recently we did a certificate request with an IIS server and loaded the received certificates under Enterprise Trust and imported the certificate into IIS.
When we visited the website, we noticed that the newly loaded server did not present a green lock but instead loaded a
Here’s something that will help you – We followed all of the advice above and still received the 
favicon and not the green lock 
we wanted.
Although the site is encrypted, the green lock missing creates a feeling of not being secure.
Seeking more information, we found that if you hit Ctrl-Shift-j in Chrome, you could see what was not secure. We found that our customized 404 error was pointing to our IP and using http.
To fix this, we opened IIS and changed the unsecured reference to our 404 error to https and the FQDN (web address).
Running Ctrl-Shift-j again after visiting the site, it then showed no errors.
Be sure to read A Cipher Best Practice: Configure IIS for SSL/TLS Protocol over at Petri and take a look at SChannel information at Microsoft
Another example of what we thought was a failing HDD, turned out to be a corrupt… Winsock? A non-profit organization called us today and after running diagnostics on the HDD, turns out the computer lock ups and experienced freezing along with poor performance. The problem was the…. network card.
After doing a netsh winsock reset catalog at a command prompt (as administrator), disabling the unused cards on the server after a reboot – the computer acted like a new computer.
Why did this happen? Being a server, the computer was being accessed remotely and locally. The network card caused write latency to the HDD by not delivering packets of data or was ‘hanging’ on a request.
See our other post on when your HDD slows down.
If you have enabled caching on your HDD in the device manager and defragged your HDD, you may need to try to clone the drive. Look at Macrum Reflect for home or Clonezilla in order to clone the drive. Taking this action may help/save you before the drive fails.
Of course you will optimize your drive, load drivers including chipset drivers or RST for Intel if it applies. You should look at programs along with malware/viruses that may be slowing your drive down. If everything is clean and drivers are loaded, this poor performance may indicate a failing HDD.
We recently had a server slowing down. Drivers were loaded correctly, no malware, drive cache was enabled, startup programs were minimal and the transfer rate was below 50 mbps with HDDTune (free).
After trying to clone with software and using a Kanguru to try to clone the drive, these solutions failed- This is RARE. So what should you be ready to do? Create backups of your programs and files (including your profile) and get ready to install Windows and your programs on a new HDD.
Remember, if your HDD is rated at 7200 rpm or more and has good cache on board, you may have a drive that is failing even though SMART in the BIOS is enabled.
See our other article on how it could be your network card and not your HDD.
Printers either install and work flawlessly or they don’t install or give constant problems. Try these tips.
Start fresh by removing the printer and following the steps below – remember, these tips are NOT just for deleting the printer but for troubleshooting. Often it is best to run through all of these steps and starting over.
Normally removing the printer may stall if their are queued print jobs. Removing the printer by using the above steps and rebooting will normally remove the printer.
Figure 1
Figure 2 (Pro and above) – Using Print Management under Administrative Tools in the Control Panel
Figure 3 (Home Edition) – Running printui /s /t2 from the run line
You may be able to save your USB drive if it stops functioning. Recently I had a USB drive I use to push firmware on DVRs that did not show its full capacity. The USB drive could not be formatted and the Disk Management Utility was of no use.
Warning – IF YOU SELECT THE WRONG PARTITION OR DRIVE LETTER, YOU MAY DELETE DATA. REMEMBER, YOU WILL ERASE WHAT IS ON THE USB DRIVE, BUT IT SHOULD BECOME FUNCTIONAL.
Open a command prompt as an Administrator and type what is in the bold, CHANGING the partition information and drive letter as necessary.
Follow the steps below to fully ERASE and reset the drive –
Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.15063]
(c) 2017 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
C:\WINDOWS\system32>diskpart
Microsoft DiskPart version 10.0.15063.0
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation.
On computer: SERVER
DISKPART> list disk
Disk ### Status Size Free Dyn Gpt
——– ————- ——- ——- — —
Disk 0 Online 465 GB 1024 KB
Disk 1 Online 3750 MB 1026 MB
DISKPART> select disk 1
Disk 1 is now the selected disk.
DISKPART> list partition
Partition ### Type Size Offset
————- —————- ——- ——-
Partition 1 Primary 2722 MB 32 KB
Partition 2 Primary 704 KB 2722 MB
DISKPART> select partition 1
Partition 1 is now the selected partition.
DISKPART> delete partition
DiskPart successfully deleted the selected partition.
DISKPART> select partition 2
Partition 2 is now the selected partition.
DISKPART> delete partition
DiskPart successfully deleted the selected partition.
DISKPART> exit
Leaving DiskPart…
C:\WINDOWS\system32>format /FS:fat32 g:
Insert new disk for drive G:
and press ENTER when ready…
The type of the file system is RAW.
The new file system is FAT32.
Verifying 3.7 GB
2%
Notes: You may have to use the delete partition override if the partition won’t delete
Are you having problems with networking or using the internet? Open a command prompt as an administrator. Run the following commands (or copy and paste into the cmd prompt) –
route -f
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
arp -d
nbtstat -R
nbtstat -RR
ipconfig /flushdns
ipconfig /registerdns
netsh winsock reset catalog
netsh int reset all
netsh int ipv4 reset
netsh int ipv6 reset
Restart your computer
Note: All advice on this site -should be used at your own risk
What the commands do
route -f Flushes route
ipconfig /release Releases IP address
ipconfig /renew Renews IP address
arp -d Flushes ARP cache (association of IP to MAC addresses)
nbtstat -R Purges and preloads of the NBT Remote Cache Name Table.
nbtstat -RR Refreshes NetBIOs names
ipconfig /flushdns Flushes local DNS information
ipconfig /registerdns Registration of the DNS resource records for all adapters of this computer has been initiated. Any errors will be reported in the Event Viewer in 15 minutes.
netsh winsock reset catalog Resets TCP/IP stack
other commands reset registry settings for TCP/IP to defaults
One of the best tools that is currently freeware, Windows Repair Toolkit truly lives up to its name. I discovered the Toolkit over at What’s On My PC and have been testing it over the past several weeks. Deliberately trying to break my computer, infect it and use the Toolkit to ‘fix’ the self-inflicted problems on a test computer.
Always backup your computer and run the software at YOUR OWN RISK.
“Features:
– Download and run “on-the-fly” the best free portable software when it comes to diagnose and solve several kinds of Windows problems. The tools are categorized by their function, and the program will automatically download the correct version for the Windows edition in which you’re working. When you finish, simply uninstall the tool, and all downloaded software it’s also removed. Or you can choose the portable version of Windows Repair Toolbox, and just run it from a pen drive.
– Ability to select several tools to run successively in unattended mode, in order to perform malware removal, system cleaning and repair, and disk defragmentation. A email letting you know that the automatic repair is complete, and containing the logs, can be sent to you.
– Displays relevant information about the computer to be repaired: CPU temperature, name and % of use; amount of RAM installed on the system and % of use; Disk model, capacity, rotation, SATA version, basic health check; amount of free space left in the system partition; Windows edition and install date; System boot time; boot environment.
– Allows you to add your own favorite tools to the program;
– Allows you change the program icon and title bar text;
– Allows you to perform quality assurance tests after the repair is complete;
– Allows you to save notes about the repair process”
– Provides 1-click access to some useful Windows tools.
Did you know that DNS converts your friendly name that you type into your url into an IP address? Did you know ultimately that you can travel the internet using the decimal equivalent?
In other words, you can ping the website that your are going to and use the IP address to navigate the internet to that website. And it can be further broken down to the decimal equivalent to navigate to a website.
CSG Network has a convertor that converts the IP address to a decimal equivalent.
The Decimal number to a website ….
Converts to IP address…
Website is presented to end user…
More information on the step by step process
From and old post
Obfuscation – There’s more to the internet than you know
Obfuscation = bewilderment, confusion
So how is obfuscation used? Obfuscation is primarily used today by spammers and hackers and even people who code legitimately. You see, if you type a simple web address’s friendly name into an address line on a browser, that friendly name understood by humans runs out to your ISPs DNS server. A DNS server is a server that can change your friendly name into an IP address.
In other words, if we went to WordPress.com the scenario above happens. When you hit the enter key on your keyboard after entering it into your webbrowser, your request would go to your DNS server; change to an IP address based on records in the server and take you to WordPress.com.
If you ping wordpress, you’ll see one of the IP addresses is 76.74.254.126. So basically your DNS server will use this number to navigate through the routers on the web and ultimately land on the wordpress servers and return their free blogging site’s homepage to you.
IT personnel use these numbers to program routers and any type of node on a network or on the world wide web.
People don’t realize that the internet is just a little more complex than this simple explanation. The internet also can use hexadecimals, octal, dotless (or less dot) or other formats. You have to remember that ultimately computers work off of binary and they can go to websites using these formats because it is how these marvelous electronic devices work.
So what if we wanted to go to WordPress?
Friendly name-
IP address-
How about a little hexadecimal in your diet?
http://%77%6F%72%64%70%72%65%73%73%2E%63%6F%6D
DWord anyone?
How about that hex address?
Octal work for ya?
So how do you convert to these type of addresses? Here’s a great link with a web convertor that will do it for you. I also can’t forget this great tutorial on exactly how it works.
It’s a good thing to understand how this works. Never click on links that are obfuscated or shortened unless you find out what the links are and where they go. Don’t be fooled by obfuscation….or should I say don’t be bewildered?
Do you monitor webservers or other servers that are online and want to test their security?
IronWASP is an open-source system that test web application vulnerabilities. IronWASP is free and GUI based and allows even novice users to use this powerful scanning engine. Once the scans take place, it can produce HTML or RTF reports.
The scan engine comes bundled with modules such as CSRF PoF Generator, HAWAS, OWASP, SSL Security Checker, WiHawk (checks Wi-Fi router vulnerabilities), XMLChor, IronSAP and more.
IronWASP runs on Windows, Linux and Apple (Mac).
IronWASP also offers a learning center (Youtube videos). Sample below of WiHawk. Go over and check out the learning center.
WiHawk – Wi-Fi Router Vulnerability Scanner.
Sample Scan showing some vulnerabilities –
Microsoft’s Attack Surface Analyzer will take a quick snapshot of your computer’s state before and after the installation of software. IT Professionals can asses their organization’s applications. Other IT personnel can use this to look at the risk of software installed. Be sure to read Microsoft’s overview of this software.
Scanning (baseline)
Once this scan is ran, a new scan can be ran to compare the newly installed product changes to your computer.
The Report
Why? The Golden Question
All over the internet you will find information on ‘How to Subnet’. Suddenly you are thrown into a world of bits and binary and given charts of ‘How to Subnet’. But why do you subnet?
Subnets are created to separate areas of your network for security and/or to hold down broadcasts. Computers constantly ‘talk’ to each other. If you have a network of 10 computers, the talking (opening files or programs) or broadcasting packets that are sent out during networking is not much traffic at all. However if you have 10,000 computers talking and passing data, you will have thousands of computers passing data and your network will slow down from all of the information. If you still don’t understand, invite 10 friends over for a get together. It’ll get noisy but you can still hear every conversation. Now, go to a rock concert with 10,000 screaming fans. Get the picture.
Subnetting allows you to divide areas of your network out to prevent this. So here comes the golden question. How can you get them to ‘talk’ when you need to? With the installation of a Layer 3 Switch or a router, these subnets can talk.
And for all of the folks who know a ton of details on the subject, this is just an example for people who are searching why to subnet.
Other Ways to Divide Your Network
Are there other ways to divide your network? You can use VLANs. Devices such as switches allow virtual lans to be set up. By purchasing managed switches, you can separate different areas of your network thus separating areas for security and holding down traffic.
So now I know why – but how and don’t give me binary and all the fuzzy stuff!
The best explaination I have found is at this link. A simple chart with examples!
Here’s my example –
Subnetting allows your network to become more efficient and allows you to separate your network by subnets.
Let’s say your network is on a 192.168.1.x numbering scheme.
How do you know what your network is? Open a command prompt and type ipconfig. See the gateway? That is your starting number for your network. The network allows 254 computers to be in the broadcast domain.
So if you do an ipconfig and see this-
192.168.1.125 – your ip address
255.255.255.0 – your current subnet
192.168.1.1 – your gateway (This is your router or firewall – the point leading to the internet)
Now let’s say you have 20 devices in your network. How can you effectively hold down broadcast and prevent your router from building tables for each device? How can you make it more effective and hold down traffic? Actually without understanding binary, you can do this. Remember this is basics and should help you understand.
You see under the current network, you can have 254 devices in your network. Printers, routers, computers, tablets, netbooks, notebooks, etc. The last set of numbers called an octet only goes from 1-254. But lets narrow this down.
You can use a CIDR calculator online to determine how to tweak your network. A good site is Subnet Calculator. Go there and enter your router’s number in the ip field. Now go down and enter a number close to the number of devices you have on your network. In this example, enter 30.
Did you see where the subnet changed to 255.255.255.224? (Did you notice that 224 + 30 is 254?)
Ok, now open your adapter settings by clicking the network icon at the bottom right corner and selecting Open Network and Sharing Center.
Now click on the adapter settings.
Right click and select properties on your adapter that is active.
Now select Internet Protocol v4
Enter an ip address statically (manually put it in). Put in your new subnet and your gateway. You must also put in your DNS or a public DNS server. You should keep a list of each devices number to avoid any problems. All ip addresses must be different on each device.
The only valid numbers in this broadcast domain now is – 192.168.1.1, 192.168.1.2, 192.168.1.3 continuing until you get to 192.168.1.30 (remember you chose to have up to 30 devices on your network.) If you enter any number above this, you will get an error.
Error screen showing an ip address above what you selected.
If you get the above error screen, you have entered an invalid number.
After you select a number between 192.168.1.1 and 192.168.1.30, click OK and exit all screens by clicking OK.
If you do an ipconfig now, you will see this-
When you change subnets as the above example shows, you have to remember that you may lose connectivity to devices such as routers or network printers. You will need to set devices such as servers and these devices on the same subnet so that whoever is assigned this subnet can communicate with them.
This by no means is a thorough subnetting lesson. It can become much more complex by introducing multiple routers into your network, DHCP servers or other devices. This is a simple how-to that shows you how broadcast domains can be more efficient.
Now one more thing. Want to know how to subnet? You can use the magic number method.
A download link from Microsoft for outdated operating Systems such as Windows XP, Server 2003 and Windows 8.
http://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=KB4012598
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