Ninite – Easy app installs
Dec 17th
I do a lot of re-installs and new installs in a year, and Ninite has really been a great help. For my linux boxes I have automated this with apt but I have been looking for tool to automate this for windows based computers and servers.
Ninite allows you to select from a list of applications like different browsers, runtimes, devtools and lots more. After you are done selecting your apps ninite then gives you a download link to an .exe file. This .exe file starts the automatic web installer.
‘The installer downloads and install the applications for you that was selected from the list. And it does not ask you for any settings. I find this great for runtimes (Ex: Flash, Java and .NET) and other applications where you do not need to define a custom install path etc. You can also share a permanent download link for you intall set. This can then be easily distributed if needed.
Would like to see the option to add a “Prompt for input during install” to each application, so if users have special needs they can be accommodated. Apart from that this is really a great service! And according to their website they will start offering a paid service as well for businesses and advanced users possible features include “local download caching, network share download caching, and a silent mode”.
Be sure to suggest apps you think will be useful on the list!
I think I’ll follow this project for a while so I’ll post back when something new surfaces from the people behind Ninite.
To check out the service go to ninite.com.
Onion Routing on Karmic Koala
Nov 2nd
As I’ve written about Tor before I found it fitting to write about my findings when it comes to Tor on Linux. I installed Tor, Privoxy and Vidalia as I am used to on my Windows based computers. And lastly I install Torbutton plugin from firefox addons. So far all works well, even Vidalia says that I am “Connected to the Tor Network”. As I am slightly paranoid about these things I always check to see if my WAN ip has changed, but for some reason it has not. Both TorButton and Vidalia says that all systems are GO.
It seems that when installing Tor + Privoxi + Vidalia on Ubuntu (from the Tor Repos) it does not setup Privoxy to handle Tor traffic by default. So you should edit the /etc/privoxy/config file to handle the traffic.
Another alternative is to use the Polipo, which is a caching web proxy that does http pipelining well, and therefore is well-suited for the latencies within the Tor network. You can install Polipo from your favorite repo or download it from here.
After installing Polipo you will have to configure it to handle the Tor traffic, you can do so by downloading this configfile, and placing it where Poplio holds it config file (/etc/poplio/config).
Take this as a reminder that Tor does not automatically anonymize and encrypt your traffic.
Tip: To check if you are infact routed through Tor, go to http://check.torproject.net/.
Error in Ahsay OBM Mail Level Backup.
Oct 19th
Error: When creating a MS Exchange mail level backup set, the following error message is received in the OBM console:
“DOMAIN\Administrator” might have insufficient permissions to the mailbox”
The message suggests that OBM had failed to connect to the MS Exchange database via MAPI due to permission issue, but that might not be the case.
Fix 1:
Ensure that the account in concern is mailbox-enabled (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/275636/en-us). Please also ensure that the email address of the affected user is not hidden from the Global Address List.
Fix 2:
If the suggestions above cannot resolve the issue, please also verify if the MAPI profile used by OBM is configured properly. You could do so by following the instructions below:
1. Download the MAPI editor (MfcMapi.exe)
2. Open the MAPI editor
3. Select [Profile], and then [Show Profile]
4. Right click on the [Online Backup Manager] profile
5. Select [Open Profile]
6. Right click on the [Microsoft Exchange Server] entry and then select [Configure Service]
7. Enter the correct information, and then [Apply]
8. Once done, please restart the OBM client
It was “Fix 2″ that did it in my case. But both might be linked to the error message. Leave a comment to let me know which one did it for you!
Enable telnet in Vista
Oct 14th
We both know we should be using SSH for everything now, but sometimes you just need good old telnet. But for some reason Vista installs without telnet available.
Here’s how you enable it:
1. Open ‘Control Panel’-
2. Select ‘Programs and Features’-
3. In the left column, select ‘Turn Windows features on or off’ (Answer the incoming UAC warning).
4. Check the box next to telnet, and wait while Vista thinks for a while.
Thats it.
Might be a late tip with Windows 7 coming out soon, but I guess we will see some “Vista dinosaurs” in the coming years.
