markwilson.it

This morning I passed the Microsoft Certified Professional exam 70-299: Implementing and administering security in a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 network. Not my best pass rate but it was the first exam I’ve taken for over three years and not a particularly easy one at that.
Microsoft’s non-disclosure agreement prevents me from saying too much about [...]

Last month, I wrote a post in which I commented on the improved TechNet evenings hosted by Microsoft in the UK. A couple of nights back I attended another one and this time the topic was a technical overview of Microsoft Virtual Server 2005, presented by Thomas Lee from QA Consulting.
Enthusiastic and inspirational, Thomas gave [...]

In order to test FTP file transfers across a newly installed network connection, I needed to create some files of a predetermined size (e.g. 512Kb). The easiest method I found was to run a command that writes out six characters each time it loops (plus two more bytes – a carriage return and a line [...]

Another gem gained from my anonymous colleague is the use of the %0 environment variable (which returns the current command name in the same way as %1, %2, etc. return any arguments passed to the command) to avoid using hard coded paths in scripts. For example, %0\..\ refers to the directory in which the file [...]

One of my colleagues (who wishes to remain anonymous) gave me a great tip this morning – how to delete registry keys and values using a .REG file.
To delete a value, set its contents to – in the .REG file, e.g.
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\MyKey]
"MyValue"=-
Or to delete a key, add a – sign after the leading [ in the [...]

This morning, as part of an e-mail migration, I was looking at a scenario where I needed to divert all inbound e-mail messages from one (Exchange Server) mailbox to another (Microsoft Mail) mailbox, unless the message originated from the target mailbox. I couldn’t implement this in Active Directory as it only supports a simple divert [...]

I use Blogger to create and update this blog (because it’s quick and easy, whilst still giving me a level of control over layout etc.).
Unfortunately, the graphical interface in Blogger strips out some non-alphanumeric characters, such as the pipe symbol (|) meaning that a little bit of HTML massage is needed from time to time.
Whilst [...]

I’m working with a client on a Windows XP standard operating environment (SOE) that includes service pack 2 (with Windows Firewall enabled). They use IBM Tivoli for remote control, inventory and software distribution but IBM do not currently support the Tivoli client on SP2 machines and some work was needed to get it working across [...]

“Ctrl-Alt-Delete (kun.trohl-awlt-duh.LEET) idiom. A metaphoric mechanism with which one can reset, restart, or rethink something. -v.”
This, and many more definitions of both everyday and obscure terms may be found at the Word Spy website, which describes itself as:
“Devoted to lexpionage, the sleuthing of new words and phrases. These aren’t stunt words or sniglets, but new [...]

Network scanning tools are a bit of a grey area. For those of us who need to keep systems secure, they are valuable tools. But for those who are unaware of their existence, they are a means for a would be attacker to scan your network in search of vulnerabilities.
The eEye Digital Security website has [...]