Easily Removing End Users from the Local Administrators Group

Easily Removing End Users from the Local Administrators Group: "

In many enterprises around the globe, the organization policy is to add end users to the local Administrators group on their assigned PC. The reason for that is most likely legacy applications which require administrative privileges in order to run correctly.

However, the greatest risk in setting the end users as local administrators is information security. Here is a little scenario that demonstrates how easy it is to get hold of sensitive information when users are set as local administrators:

Imagine yourself an employee that was 'planned' in your organization by a business competitor and was assigned the task of retrieving documents and Emails which belongs to the CFO. This employee has been accepted to work in a legitimate way and was given a user account and a workstation on which he is defined as local administrator.

Now, this employee performs the following simple tasks:

1. Creates a local account named 'Whatever'.


2. Make 'Whatever' a member of the local Administrators group.


3. Login using the new account.


4. Installs a Key-Logger application.


5. Deletes the account and empty the security log.

At this point, all he has to do is create some sort of problem in his workstation, open a support call, shut down the computer and go home.

Once the technician arrives to the workstation, he will log on using his account (which is probably defined as Administrator on all workstations). The key-logger will log his password and now our dear spy has Administrator privileges on all workstations in the organization.

From now on, the malicious user can install a key logger on any workstation he wants and retrieve the credentials of almost every user in the organization.

As you can see, there is no need for some master hacker that will break through your firewalls in order to perform this simple task.

The obvious cure to that weakness is to remove end users from the local Administrators group. It does sound pretty simple, but once you've done that you will discover that it is quite a challenge.

So what happens if I remove users from the Administrators group?

The most likely problems that will happen once you remove the users from the Administrators group are applications that stop function properly, login scripts that suddenly fail and angry users that will give you thousands of excuses why they must have administrative privileges.

Regarding the angry users, the solution is quite simple. Let the IT manager read the first part of this article and he will make sure he is backed up from the upper management.

Regarding the legacy applications that all of a sudden stop function properly, you can take the longest run, the long run and the easy way.

The longest run

The most proper way to deal with the described situation is to have the relevant software vendors upgrade their products and make them function properly for non-privileged users. However, this task can take a very long time to accomplish and might cost a great deal of money to the organization.

The long run

The most common way to overcome the described issue is to find exactly which permissions are required by the legacy applications (you can do it by using Microsoft's PROCMON - download). This process is quite frustrating and you'll probably find yourself spending long days on finding the exact permissions required. After you've done that, you would have to define it through Group Policy Security Settings and distribute the settings to users. Anyhow, assigning these privileges to end users might make those users too 'Strong'; allowing them to do stuff you wouldn't want them to do!

The easy way

MS Windows supports manual execution of processes using an alternative set of credentials. This means that you can take users out of the local Administrators group, let them log in to windows using their non-privileged account and then execute a specific application (or command) using a separate, privileged account. This can be done by right clicking a desktop shortcut and choosing 'Run As…'

You can also use the command line interface 'RunAs'. However, this is not very useful since you have to provide the password of the privileged user to all users (which takes you right back to square one…). If you are a bit more sophisticated, you can use the RunAs command to save the credentials of a privileged user, and then create a shortcut for the users that does not require them to enter the password.

This sounds like the perfect solution, BUT it does have some major disadvantages: First, there is no secure way to distribute the password to all users, meaning that you will have to enter the password yourself for each user (not very practical). Second, once you entered the password for each user, you pretty much stuck with this password and you probably won't be able to change it in the future.

Luckily for us, there are several tools that help us dealing with this situation. Some of the tools are simple CLI utilities that can pipe the password (but you would still have to expose it). Other tools are more advanced and allow you to create encrypted credentials file and use this file to execute the relevant software.

The most feature-rich tool available is a freeware tool I have recently come across called 'RunAsGUI' by Smart-X (www.smart-x.com)

RunAsGUI comes with a very intuitive wizard-like configuration form that walks you through the steps of setting the encrypted configuration file and creating a desktop shortcut that would run a specific application with a specific user account.

Using RunAsGUI you can store the credentials of a domain or local account which is configured as Administrator in encrypted credentials file and store this file on the network.

In order to support laptop computers which are sometime used offline, RunAsGUI has a build-in cache mechanism that caches the credentials and uses them when the machine is offline. This allows you to easily change the privileged account's password at any time.

Another nice feature is creating a desktop shortcut for an application which once launched the user is prompted to enter alternative credentials. This is most useful in domain migration situations when users might have two accounts for a temporary period of time.

You can also use RunAsGUI to run scripts using a privileged account. RunAsGUI allows you to execute processes in a synchronic or a-synchronic manner, define a timeout and let you choose what to do when the timeout elapses. Using this feature you can easily execute specific commands through login script and make sure they don't take too much time to run when the machine is offline.

On the client side, you can choose to install the client-side RunAsGUI locally on each workstation or simply execute it through a network share without any installation on the client side.

You can download RunAsGUI HERE.

"

(Via Clippings.)

In Depth: How to diagnose and fix blue screen crashes

In Depth: How to diagnose and fix blue screen crashes: "

There's nothing worse. You're deep in thought, working on a really important document, when suddenly the screen turns blue, a cryptic error message is displayed and your PC reboots, losing everything. Isn't Windows just great?

These kind of blue screen crashes are usually due to a buggy driver, but even Windows Vista's much improved error tracking system will rarely point you to the right file.

And so most people end up trying to live with an unstable PC, saving their documents regularly and hoping for the best.

But it doesn't have to be this way.

When Windows crashes it normally saves a dump of the affected memory. Install the free Windows Debugging Tools and you can inspect this file, and get a verdict within minutes that could point you directly to the cause of your problems. Here's what you need to do.

1. Download the debugger

Download the Debugging Tools from their home on the Microsoft site. The program works on everything from ancient Windows NT 4 PCs right up to Windows 2008, so you shouldn't have any problems. The debugging tools aren't quite as reliable in the Windows 7 beta, but can work according to our tests, so if you're trying to diagnose problems with the beta then they may be worth a try.

2. Configure your system

You'll need Windows to save your memory when crashes occur to provide information for the debugger, so it's important that Windows is configured correctly. Right-click Computer and select Properties, click Advanced System Settings > Startup and Recovery Settings > and make sure 'Write debugging information' is set to 'Kernel memory dump' or 'Complete memory dump'.

Click Start > All Programs > Debugging Tools > WinDbg, then select File > Symbol File Path. The debugging tools need to download data called 'symbols' from Microsoft to help them make sense of your crash file, and you'll give them the appropriate URL here. Enter

SRV*c:\symbols*http://msdl.microsoft.com/download/symbols

in the box, say, and symbols will be downloaded from msdl.microsoft.com and stored in the c:\symbols folder. Click OK when you're done, then click File > Exit, selecting 'Yes' when asked to save the workspace (which means the symbols path you've just added). And that's it, your setup work is done.

3. Solve your problems

Now wait until a blue screen crash occurs, and your PC has rebooted. Then launch WinDbg again (Windows Vista users should right-click its shortcut and select Run As Administrator), click File > Open Crash Dump, and open the file \Windows\MEMORY.DMP. The program will immediately begin analysing the file.

WinDbg provides very little feedback to tell you what it's doing, unfortunately, and you might think that program has locked up. But be patient. If you're analysing 4 GB of RAM on an underpowered PC then it might take a very long time to complete, even hours, so you might want to leave it running overnight.

Normally you'll get an answer within a few minutes, though, a line near the bottom of the Bugcheck Analysis that says something like 'Probably caused by: thisfile.sys'. If this happens then Google for the file name, and find out where it's originated. If the program has identified software or drivers that you've installed then you might want to try uninstalling or updating them, just to see if that fixes the problem.

Occasionally WinDbg can't name any file at all, or just chooses a core Windows DLL. If this happens then click in the command window immediately above the status bar, type the command

!analyze -v

and press [Enter]. This will deliver a longer and more detailed report that may offer possible clues.

If you're still out of luck then don't worry, debugging is a complicated business, even for experts. Just close WinDbg down and try again after the next crash - that could well deliver better results.

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"

(Via Clippings.)

Planning for Virtualization with Microsoft’s Assessment and Planning Toolkit

Planning for Virtualization with Microsoft’s Assessment and Planning Toolkit: "

Introduction

Although it is usually fairly easy to virtualize a server, the virtualization process is something of an art form. Without the proper planning, the virtualization process can result in a tremendous loss of performance, reliability, or even stability. In the past, I have always used manual assessment techniques to develop a virtualization plan. However, Microsoft has integrated virtualization planning into its latest version of the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit.

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* Installing and Configuring VMware ESX Server

* Security Administration

* Networking Virtual Machines



Daniel Petri, Petri IT Knowledgebase

Check out a free sample of the VMware ESX Server Training Videos here!

In case you're not familiar with the Assessment and Planning Toolkit, it is kind of a catchall tool for helping you to prepare for a number of different deployment scenarios, most of which have absolutely nothing to do with virtualization. For example, if you take a look at Figure A, you can see that one of the things that this tool is designed to do is to help you to find ways of consuming less electricity.

Figure A



Microsoft's Assessment and Planning Toolkit is designed to assist you with various deployment projects.

Acquiring the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit

Microsoft makes the Assessment and Planning Toolkit freely available via Internet download. You can get the toolkit at: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb977556.aspx  Keep in mind that in order to install the toolkit, your computer will need to have some prerequisite software installed, including Microsoft Office 2007 and the .NET Framework. When you run the installation wizard, it will check your computer, and tell you where to get any of the required components that aren’t already installed.

Using the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit

When you run the Assessment and Planning Toolkit for the first time, Windows will display the screen that is shown in Figure A. Click the Select a Database link. When you do, you will be prompted to either create an inventory database, or to use an existing database. Since this is the first time that we have used the tool, choose the Create an Inventory Database option. Enter a name for the new database, and click OK.

You must now tell the toolkit what you want to use it for. Since we are interested in virtualization, select the Prepare Recommendations for Server Consolidation Using Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V or Virtual Server 2005 R2 link from the screen shown in Figure A.

At this point, you will see a message similar to the one shown in Figure B, telling you that before the application can make any recommendations, it needs performance data. Click the Capture Performance Data For Computers in Your Environment link.

Figure B



Before the application can make any recommendations, it needs performance data.

You must now create a simple text file containing the names of the computers that you want to test. You can enter the names in either NetBIOS format, or you can enter fully qualified domain names. Once you have created the necessary text file, enter the path and filename into the wizard, as shown in Figure C.

Figure C



Enter the path and filename of the text file containing your server names.

Click OK, and you should see a message telling you how many of the names on your list are valid. Click OK to clear the message. You will now be taken to a screen that asks you to enter WMI credentials. Essentially, you must use this screen to enter the authentication credentials for an account that is a member of the local Administrators group on the machines that you have specified.

After you have entered the required credentials, click Next. You will now be prompted for a test duration. By default, the test will run for an hour. Click Next, followed by Finish to collect the required performance information. You can see what the collection screen looks like in Figure D.

Figure D



The Assessment and Planning tool must collect performance information about the target computers.

Conclusion

In this article, I have shown you how to get the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit, and how to begin gathering performance information from your servers. In Part 2 of this series, I will show you how to get the toolkit to provide you with a recommendation based on the performance data that you have collected.

"

(Via Clippings.)

Windows Internal Backup Application

Server 2008 has a really nice, efficient, and simple built-in backup application. One of the great things about it is that it creates a de-duplicated backup, meaning it doesn't backup unchanged files. It does have some limitations in that the scheduled backups aren't available to a network drive (only a physically attached drive).

One work-around is to use the command line tools and enable the task scheduler. A good write-up on the process is here.

In Depth: Essential tips to get the best from iTunes

In Depth: Essential tips to get the best from iTunes: "

We find it hard to believe that iTunes is now more than eight years old. And although it has grown to incorporate many new features since its creation, it still looks remarkably similar to the way it did when it first appeared, running on OS 9.

Back then it was just a jukebox, but over the years came developments like CD burning, the iPod, Smart Playlists, the iTunes Store, video support and, most recently, the iPhone.

Apple has gradually turned iTunes into the hub for managing and playing all the music and movies on your Mac and mobile devices, whilst continually adding support for new devices and services like the Apple TV, movie rentals and much more.

In 2003, Apple made the smart move of developing a Windows version of iTunes, opening up the iPod market and the iTunes Store to a much wider audience, and the results speak for themselves. iTunes remains one of Apple's most important applications, and it is capable of far more than just playing music.

Whether it's converting movies to watch on your iPod while out and about, building party playlists, getting album art online, buying music, renting films or backing up iPhones, there's an awful lot under the surface.

Most importantly, many of the tips and tricks we're going to show you will save you time, and maybe even reveal a few things you didn't know you could do. So read on to become an iTunes and iPod expert.

Use Smart Playlists to manage music

As music libraries grow they can become unwieldy. Go to File > Smart Playlists and you can create playlists that display tracks meeting any criteria you enter. If you specify that the playlist should show all songs with the Artist tag 'Rolling Stones', all tracks in your library by that band will appear in the playlist.

You can add further criteria; say, for example, all Rolling Stones tracks you have rated as five stars. By using the match any rule option plus other options you can have playlists that display different sets of tracks.

For example, a playlist where the genre is blues and also rock, plus bit rate is greater than 128. And, best of all, if you check Live updating, the Smart Playlist will watch the library and automatically add any new files that meet the criteria you have set up.

Clean up the clutter & save space

Some people's iTunes libraries get very full with duplicate tracks. You need to know whether you're accidentally copying tracks as you drag them into iTunes.

Go to Preferences > Advanced and see if Copy files to iTunes music folder… is switched on. If it is, it could be that when you're dragging files into iTunes they are being duplicated and so exist in two places on your hard drive.

Select the Music library in iTunes and then choose File > Show Duplicates. Sort the list by clicking on the Name tab and duplicate files will be shown side by side. Be aware that iTunes uses a song's name in this process, so if a song has been imported on two different compilation CDs, for example, it would then show up as a duplicate track.

Before you delete any tracks from your Music library, play them to check if they are actually the same tune. To find a track's location, use the Cmd+[I] Get Info trick, or right-click on a file and choose Show in Finder. You can also use the File > Library > Consolidate command to copy any music that's referenced outside of the iTunes Music folder into it.

• Clean up your iTunes library in 9 easy steps

Use the Genius tool to find new music

With more music than ever available to buy online through the iTunes Store, it can be hard navigating through it to find new stuff that you might like. The Genius feature in iTunes sends information about your listening habits to the iTunes Store and recommends new music based on similar artists and other people's listening habits.

If you select a track from your library and click the Genius button, iTunes will create a Genius playlist for you of other songs from your library that complement your chosen track. If you're after something new, the Genius Sidebar will display songs that it thinks go well with the track you're playing, and you can preview and buy these songs directly from the sidebar.

Since it knows what music is already in your library, Genius won't recommend anything you already have. It's a much better way to find new music than clicking through the iTunes Store at random.

Share your iTunes library

You can duplicate an entire consolidated iTunes library by simply copying the Music folder. But with libraries frequently running into many gigabytes, it's slow and inefficient. iTunes can share your library over a local network, so it can be accessed by anyone on your Ethernet or wireless network.

Go to Preferences > Sharing and you can turn on sharing of the whole library or specific playlists. You can password-protect access, and also tell your iTunes to look for other shared libraries. Since the music is streamed and not copied, it takes up no disk space on the listening machines. It's great for use in the home or an office environment.

Buy or rent movies online

The iTunes Store contains many movies as well as TV series, and recently the quality has been improved so that video looks better both on computer monitors and on televisions through the Apple TV.

In the iTunes Store you'll find Film and TV sections and just like with music, you can get a free preview (in this case a trailer) of the content. If you choose to buy or rent a film or TV show it will download to your Mac and will then be available to transfer to your Apple TV, iPod or iPhone after conversion.

Content is increasingly available in HD and you can 'gift' videos to people as long as they're in the same country. Purchased videos remain playable, whereas rented ones have to be watched within a certain number of days. Still, it's easier than going to the video shop.

Manage playback settings for a better viewing experience

iTunes can display videos from its library in many ways. If you go to Preferences > Playback, you can tell it to play back videos in the small artwork viewer, in iTunes' main window, in a separate window, or full screen. You can have anything from a small, unobtrusive window that lets you continue web browsing, to a full theatre presentation, blanking out additional monitors.

When it's in a floating window, video can be resized during playback, and if you right-click you can select any preset size for playback. If you have more than one screen, move the floating window onto the monitor you want to use; iTunes will make that the main screen. This is handy if you have a digital TV connected as a second screen.

Get video podcasts for a better podcast experience

Not long after regular podcasting had taken off, the improving technology and broadband speeds made video podcasts possible. Now there are plenty of great video podcasts available on the iTunes Store. If you go to the iTunes Store and head for the Podcasts > Video Podcasts section you'll see lots of them available to download for free, on every subject from technology to comedy and special interests.

Once downloaded these appear in the Podcasts section of your iTunes library and can be watched in iTunes or transferred to any of your video-capable iPods. By subscribing to video podcasts – just as you do with regular podcasts – you can automatically get new episodes as they become available.

In the Settings menu you can manage how often iTunes will check online for new content, and how regularly (if at all) it deletes all episodes that have been played. Video uses more disk space than audio, so setting it up to clear out old content automatically can be a good idea.

Convert video for use with iTunes & iPods

iTunes is quite restrictive when it comes to video formats, and even if you have lots of codecs installed on your Mac it still doesn't like AVIs, WMVs or other non-Apple formats. If you have a movie that's already been digitised into one of these incompatible formats, the best course of action is to convert it with QuickTime Pro into an MP4 or M4V file using the File > Export > MP4 or Apple TV options.

You will need to install Perian to enable QuickTime to open the videos in the first place. You should be able to drag the converted movies into your iTunes library, holding the O key if necessary to override automatic copying of the file. Then, you can choose Advanced > Create iPhone, iPod or Apple TV version and iTunes will convert the video using the optimum quality and screen-size settings for the device that you will be viewing the video on.

Make and sync ringtones

iTunes supports ringtones, but there are restrictions. You're only allowed to create ringtones from tracks bought from the iTunes Store. And it doesn't seem to work very well outside of the US. In fact, in many cases it just seems to give an error with no explanation.

One way round this is to use the MakeiPhoneRingtone application. Choose a music file, convert it to AAC format in iTunes (Advanced > Create AAC Version) and drag it to the Desktop.

Drop it onto MakeiPhoneRingtone and it is converted and placed into iTunes' Ringtones playlist. For a more flexible approach – including working with multiple file types and the ability to edit and trim songs, then save directly out as a ringtone – look at Fission.

Download podcasts from your iPhone while on the move

Whilst you can download video and audio podcasts into iTunes and then sync them to your iPod, anyone running the version 2.2 software or higher on an iPhone or iPod touch also has the option to download podcasts on the device. You don't even need to be on a WiFi network or have 3G, as it also works over an EDGE connection, though it will be slower.

There is a limit of 10MB on podcasts that can be downloaded on anything except a WiFi network. In the mobile iTunes Store > Podcasts tab you can navigate or search by category and download as many audio and video podcasts as your device will hold, which is quite a lot.

Once downloaded these appear in your Podcasts playlist in the iPod section, along with a link to get more episodes in the series. Once you've finished listening, quickly slide your finger left to right across the podcast in the Podcast list and you'll see a Delete button. Press it and next time you connect to your Mac, the podcast will be deleted.

Automatic syncing to save time and space

iPods and iTunes have always had the ability to automatically sync with each other – sharing exactly the same music files. For some people this is great, as it maintains an exact copy of your music, photos and contacts on your iPod or iPhone and on your Mac. Others, though, prefer more flexibility.

For example, you may have lots of music on your Mac but not enough room to fit it all on your 4GB iPod nano. With your iPod selected, go to its Summary tab and click Manually Manage Music and Videos.

Then you can add or delete tracks from the iPod's music library by hand. Just drag and drop tracks from your iTunes library to add them. In each subsequent tab you can choose to manually sync contacts, calendars, ringtones, videos, applications and more. This is a great way of syncing some data but not performing a full sync, which can be slow and puts you at risk of overwriting data accidentally.

Manage apps on your iPhone or iPod touch

You can download applications directly onto your iPod touch or iPhone through the App Store, or download them through the iTunes Store on your Mac and then sync them to your device. When you connect the the iPod touch or iPhone to iTunes, it will back up copies of the apps to your Mac, where they will be placed in your Home folder > Music > iTunes > Mobile Applications.

From the Applications tab in iTunes you can view, delete and update all the apps, then sync them back to the device. Or, on your iPod touch or iPhone, use the Updates tab in the App Store to install updates.

Once you have purchased an application, the iTunes Store remembers this so even if you delete it by accident, you can re-download it for free. Applications can be dragged from iTunes to the Desktop, though like DRM-protected purchased music, they are limited to use on your authorised devices.

Prevent iPhoto launching

In many cases, the fact that your Mac recognises devices as you connect them and then automatically opens a helper application is great. Certainly when you connect an iPod, you'll want iTunes to open so you can manage the music, videos and other data on it. Similarly, when you connect an iPhone, OS X also opens iPhoto by default if there are any images in your iPhone's image library.

However, this can actually be more annoying than helpful for some people. OS X recognises the iPhone as a camera device, because of course it has a camera built in, but most people don't want to manage their pictures every time they connect, let alone having to wait for iPhoto to finish opening (which can take a while if you have a large photo library).

The way to stop this happening is to go to Applications > Image Capture, and open the application's preferences. Then choose When a camera is connected, open : No application. Now, connecting an iPhone won't cause iPhoto to open.

If you decide you want to manage your pictures with an iPhone connected you can simply open iPhoto manually at any point and it will detect the iPhone and let you import the images stored on it.

Control iTunes remotely from your iPhone

Many people now have a wireless network in their home and, of course, iPhones and iPod touches have wireless capabilities as well. In fact, if you have one you will almost certainly have it connected to your wireless network.

Remote (made by Apple and available on the App Store) is a free application that gives you remote control over iTunes. When started, a unique passcode on your iPhone or iPod touch pairs it with your Mac (and Apple TV, if you have one). You then get an application that looks just like the iPod app on the iPhone, which contains playback, searching and volume controls for iTunes running on your computer!

You can control iTunes in real-time, create Genius playlists and even view album art of your currently playing tracks. And because it works over a wireless network, it works from anywhere in your house – no line of sight required. It's an amazing tool and well worth checking out.

Use iTunes from the menu bar

For some, especially those on laptops, even iTunes' minimised window still occupies too much screen space. Synergy is a €5 (£4) shareware application that sits in your menu bar and lets you control iTunes even when it is hidden.

You can play, pause and skip, and by right-clicking you can switch between playlists, set preferences and in some cases buy albums from Amazon. There are many smaller, useful features like floating album art windows that display briefly then fade away, hot keys for controlling iTunes without using the mouse, and a volume control.

For those who like to leave iTunes running but don't want to see it while they work, Synergy (and programs like it) are a great way to maintain control without using screen space.

Find album artwork that iTunes misses

iTunes and all recent iPods can display album artwork, which is nice to be able to see as you listen to music. iTunes now has the ability to automatically fetch album art online but it isn't always able to find the correct covers if your album is older, obscure or not in the iTunes Store.

The Amazon Album Art widget (on the disc) lives in Dashboard and is a great solution to finding artwork that iTunes can't locate. Simply select all the relevant tracks in iTunes, call up the widget and then press the little iTunes icon. It should then find the art, and you can click to attach to the selected files in iTunes.

If it finds the wrong artwork, click the small box at the top-right to see alternatives it has found. If it still finds nothing, it offers the option to Google for the requested cover. You can type in the text field to refine or change the search terms.

Link up with Last.fm to get free music streamed to your Mac or iPhone

Last.fm is a website that offers free, legal, streaming music. The way it works is to note what you listen to and recommends similar music based on yours and other listeners' habits. To enable this to happen, install iScrobbler, a small application that lives in your menu bar.

Whenever you play a track in iTunes, it sends the name of the track to your Last.fm profile, gradually building up a database of your most listened-to tracks. Using the Last.fm app you can receive new music radio tailored to your existing listening habits.

There's also a Last.fm application for the iPod touch and iPhone, which lets you stream tracks you've played before, or stream recommended tracks whilst on the move. Combine this with an audio-out cable and a hi-fi, and you've got a ready-made radio station to use at parties or other events.

Related Stories

• A quick guide to backups using tar
• In Depth: Clean up your iTunes library in 9 easy steps
• Roxio Easy VHS to DVD

"

(Via Clippings.)

How to find cheap groceries online

I've not yet ordered groceries online yet but I have ordered diapers for my kid from Amazon (tip: use the subscription service from Amazon to save even more!).

How to find cheap groceries online: "If you want to know whether or not buying groceries online is for you, check out this roundup of the top five online grocery destinations."

(Via Cnet.)

'Sleep talking' PCs use 80% less power

While I'm still a skeptic when it comes to Windows being able to properly sleep and wake up based on numerous attempts to make it work reliably, I sure like the idea of this!

'Sleep talking' PCs use 80% less power: "to put computers in a doze could mean energy savings of 60 to 80 per cent, say computer scientists at UC San Diego and Microsoft Research.

"

(Via TechRadar: All latest feeds.)

In Depth: 10 tweaks to make after reinstalling Windows

In Depth: 10 tweaks to make after reinstalling Windows: "

Reinstalling Windows can be a time-consuming job, so why not create an image of your post-reinstall setup using a drive imaging tool like Macrium Reflect Free?

It'll save you time in the long run. What do you need to do before creating the image it? Updating Windows and installing your drivers is a given, but save time by tweaking your new installation now rather than later.

Read on for ten time-saving tweaks.

1. Reinstall again
Fancy a slimline Windows installation? XP users can strip back Windows without reinstalling by using the XPlite tool ($39.95), or you could reinstall Windows again from a customised installation disc. XP users should click here for a guide to creating this disc using nLite; Vista users can click here for a guide to using vLite.

2. Update quickly
Download AutoPatcher to simplify the update process and save time with future reinstalls. It's also the best tool for quickly adding core components to your install, ranging from Microsoft technologies such as the .NET Framework tools to other essentials like Sun's Java runtimes.

3. Set up your desktop
Take the time to tweak your desktop, Start menu and Taskbar so they're set up exactly as you want them – with your chosen icons on the desktop or Quick Launch toolbar for easy access, plus the Start menu set up to provide the shortcuts you want rather than those Windows thinks you want.

4. Force Start menu to sort alphabetically
XP users are probably tearing their hair out at the inability of the All Programs menu to sort itself. After sorting it alphabetically one last time, open Registry Editor and browse to the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER > SOFTWARE > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Explorer >MenuOrder > Start Menu.

Right-click Start Menu and choose Permissions. Click Advanced and untick 'Inherit from parent the permission entries…' Click Copy when prompted followed by OK to close the dialog.

Next, select your username from the list and untick Allow next to Full Control (leave Read ticked) and click Apply. Repeat for the Administrators group. Finally, click OK and close Registry Editor.

5. Speed up virtual memory
If you have a second internal hard drive or eSATA drive permanently attached, move the paging file to this drive to speed things up: open the System Properties Control Panel, switch to the Advanced tab and click Settings under Performance. Select the Advanced tab again and click Change under Virtual Memory. Move the swap file to the least used partition of your second drive for maximum performance gains. XP users should leave a swap file of at least 2MB on the system partition to ensure Windows can boot.

6. Move special folders
Move folders like your My Documents, Desktop or SendTo menu from their original locations to your data drive so they're always up to date, even after a reinstall. Use the Location tab of the folder's properties in Vista, or drag the folder to your data partition using the right mouse button – select Move here when prompted.

7. Quick and easy shortcuts
Add shortcuts to various context menus to speed up access to your PC: click here for CopyTo/MoveTo shortcuts, or here to add Device Manager to My Computer's context menu.

8. Set up your Favorites bar
Take the time to create shortcuts to your favourite folders in Vista by dragging the folder on to the Favorites bar; XP users can tweak the basic Places Bar that appears in many Open/Save dialogue boxes with the TweakUI PowerToy.

9. Tweak Windows more
Take the time to tweak other hidden parts of your system: Vista users should try the Ultimate Windows Tweaker; XP users the aforementioned TweakUI PowerToy or Tweak 'n' Tune.

10. Future-proof browser settings
If you're using IE, Firefox or Safari, install the free Xmarks add-on, which enables you to synchronise your bookmarks and passwords between multiple computers and - crucially in this instance - your Windows installations.

Related Stories

• PC shipments down in first quarter of '09
• In Depth: Buyer's guide: gaming PC head to head
• Government PCs part of Ukrainian botnet

"

(Via Clippings.)

10 ways leaders can get crucial feedback

10 ways leaders can get crucial feedback: "

If you’re going to successfully lead your team members through these rocky times, you need to listen to their ideas and understand what they’re dealing with- and that requires a dedicated effort on your part. These strategies will help you keep your finger on the pulse of your IT group.

---

Most leaders tell me that they know what’s going on in their organizations. They don’t.

In demanding times like these, it’s particularly important for leaders to get feedback. But precisely when they need to be considering all options and opinions, they may not hear many of them.

One reason for this sorry state is that some leaders don’t really care. They’re so certain of themselves (or their talent, or skill, or brainpower, or whatever) that they truly don’t think anyone else can tell them anything new. Most won’t admit it, however, because they think you won’t understand. So they say things like,’ I’m open to any ideas or suggestions that will make us better.’ And when feedback is offered, they may even appear to appreciate it. But action speaks louder than words — and that’s how you can tell just how sincere those words were. Kind of like all those companies that proclaim, ‘Our most important asset is our people’ and then at the first sign of trouble, start layoffs so they can keep other activities in place.

Here are some field-tested ideas I’ve seen used successfully in various situations to elicit valuable information. I used the first one myself when, as a leader of a large, just-acquired company, I oversaw the layoffs of 1,300 people.

Note: This article originally appeared as an entry in our IT Leadership blog. It’s also available as a PDF download.

1: The anonymous hotline

Nowadays, hotlines can be e-mails, phones, or paper tools. However you do it, put something into place that allows people to provide candid, honest feedback or ask questions without fear of getting busted. I used a mailbox, kind of a ‘Dear John’ thing, where people could ask questions or sound off and I’d reply to them.

2: Public communication tools

If you have a newsletter, use it to keep folks aware of what’s going on and to deal with rumors, which are harmful. Publish Q & A’s, based on questions you’ve heard through other means, such as your anonymous hotline.

3: Ombudsmen

Someone in your organization should be accessible to anyone who wants to make a point, ask a question, or sound off without fear of reprisal. Employees should know that what they say will be relayed to the head honcho. In some organizations, this is the HR person; in others, it may simply be someone who is trusted and respected by all involved. Just identify someone and let that person know that you need him or her to keep you in touch with things.

4: Anonymous surveys

As long as employees have no fear of being ‘caught,’ surveys are great tools for getting your fingers on the pulse of the organization. But don’t over think them. They should be done quickly and fairly frequently. And have the guts to make the results public afterward. That shows the employee base that you’re aware of their concerns. If you can’t provide a fix, at least let them know that you care about the problem and will try to deal with it when you can.

5: Lunch with the leader

Periodically, have a lunch meeting with folks from all levels of the organization. Make it clear that there will be time at the end of it for a question-and-answer session if the group consists of more than 12 individuals. If the group is small, make a point to sit beside any quiet ones and encourage them to open up.

6: Visits to other departments, offices, or locations

The best way to open up communications is to show that you’re accessible and interested. I don’t care how often someone says they care about what’s going on in other locations. If they’re never there, they won’t hear enough.

7: Social events

Many people will tell you that there’s no such thing as a social / work event. They characterize the Holiday Party or the Summer Picnic as political affairs, and they’re probably right in many companies. But such events don’t have to be heartburn-inducing activities. If you use them as ‘skip-level’ affairs, you’ll probably enjoy yourself and learn a ton about what your team members are really feeling. Make it a point to spend time with those at least two levels below you, tell your direct reports to do the same thing, and then compare notes back in the office.

8: Contrarian perspectives

When leaders allow themselves to hear only what they want to hear, people figure it out pretty quickly and clam up. If you show that you appreciate a healthy debate, you’re more likely to get differing ideas thrown about.

9: Playfulness

One of the founding senior execs at DIRECTV was famous for throwing Nerf footballs with anyone still in their cubes after 6pm or on Saturdays. It was a kind of jock thing, but even those less-than-jock types could throw the little soft football around. Sending a few lateral passes allowed time for a bit of bonding conversation and built trust between the leader and the team.

10: MBWA

Tom Peters coined the term MBWA — ‘management by walking around’ — back in the 80s. If you’re serious about wanting to encourage honest feedback and candid comments, read his writings. The premise of MBWA is that if you expose yourself to enough people enough of the time, you’ll hear things you might not otherwise have come across.

You need to know

For many reasons, people will hold back or shelter the boss from certain information. It’s not healthy and makes it tougher to be as good as possible. People who really want to know what’s going on in their organizations do the things listed above. Those who don’t, probably don’t really want to know.

---

Finally: 10 Things… the newsletter!

Get the key facts on a wide range of technologies, techniques, strategies, and skills with the help of the concise need-to-know lists featured in TechRepublic’s 10 Things newsletter, delivered every Friday. Automatically sign up today.

"

(Via Clippings.)

In Depth: Clean up your iTunes library in 9 easy steps

In Depth: Clean up your iTunes library in 9 easy steps: "

Your digital music collection is a mess. How do we know? Because everyone's digital music collection is a mess!

There are lots of tools to help you delete duplicates, rename your files and update your artwork - but most clean-up tasks can be achieved within iTunes without much hassle.

So, in a crusade to purify our reader's iTunes libraries, we take you through 10 simple steps that will get things back on track.

1. Back up your library
In case things go wrong, back-up your iTunes library first. Go to 'File > Library > Consolidate Library' to copy all data files to your iTunes Music folder. Next, copy the folder to an external drive or another folder on your machine. By default Windows users will find iTunes Music in \Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music

2. Good riddance to bad rubbish
Now delete the music you don't want; a long job if you have to do it manually, but quick if you've been star rating your tunes. Choose 'Music' in iTunes Library section, hit CTRL SHIFT + 3 to go to List view and click the 'Rating' column twice to order your tunes from least to most liked. Select all your one and two star tunes, then hit CTRL and DELETE.

3. Remove duplicates manually
Go to 'File > Show Duplicates' then manually delete the songs you don't need. A power tip: 'Show Duplicates' matches tunes by title and artist only. Holding down SHIFT changes the command to 'Show Exact Duplicates' - and iTunes will match tracks by length too.

5. Bulk duplicate removal
If you have a large library, you may need to enlist some software to help you out. For $34.95 Dupe Eliminator scrubs Windows machines clean of duplicate tunes, while Mac users have Dupin for just $15.

6. Remove orphans
Sometimes, deleted files remain listed in your library. We love this ingenious. smart playlist tip from blogger Paul Mayne. Alternatively, use Songbird's The Exorcist plugin to do the deed if you want to download that.

7. Backup and convert to MP3
Now that your Library is free of clones and ghosts, back it up again using the method outlined above. You may, optionally, convert that back-up to MP3. The quickest way is to use Switch - a free tool available for Mac and Windows.

8. Fix metadata
Working with your new back-up, use the freeware tool Picard Tagger to fix any erroneous song titles, album info and other embedded meta data. It connects to the user-generated music database MusicBrainz, analysing tracks by length, title and 'acoustic fingerprint'. We recommend fixing one album or artist folder at a time and saving over your back-up - but only when Picard Tagger gets it right. Any songs it gets wrong or misses, you'll have to edit the ID3 tags manually when you rebuild your library.

9. Rebuild Your library
This penultimate step will fully rebuild your iTunes library - but do make sure your fixed back-up from the previous step is complete. Here's why: you'll have to shut down iTunes and delete the original old music files in your iTunes Music folder. Next, go up one folder and delete all the iTunes library files. Restart iTunes - go to 'File > Add Folder to Library' and locate your clean and tagged back-up. iTunes will import the files and rebuild your library.

10. Update your album artwork
iTunes should recognise your albums and update your cover artwork automatically. If it doesn't, select individual tracks and choose 'Advanced > Get Album Artwork'. If your selection has the wrong artwork, right click on the track and choose 'Clear Downloaded Artwork', then download again.

Related Stories

• Roxio Toast 10 Titanium Pro
• Bash tips for power users
• Roxio Creator 2009
• In Depth: 10 best free Windows clipboard replacements
• A quick guide to backups using tar

"

(Via Clippings.)

A quick guide to backups using tar

A quick guide to backups using tar: "

Though tar is widely used for archiving it is rarely used for daily backups because it has no incremental capability - or at least, most people don't think it has.

In fact, the GNU version of tar has a perfectly good mechanism for creating and restoring incremental archives; it just isn't very well documented on the man page and you have to hunt around to find a proper description.

It works by storing additional metadata in a separate file called a snapshot file.

Full article

Related Stories

• Roxio Toast 10 Titanium Pro
• Bash tips for power users
• Roxio Creator 2009
• In Depth: 10 best free Windows clipboard replacements
• In Depth: Clean up your iTunes library in 9 easy steps

"

(Via Clippings.)

10 ways leaders can get crucial feedback

10 ways leaders can get crucial feedback: "

If you’re going to successfully lead your team members through these rocky times, you need to listen to their ideas and understand what they’re dealing with- and that requires a dedicated effort on your part. These strategies will help you keep your finger on the pulse of your IT group.

---

Most leaders tell me that they know what’s going on in their organizations. They don’t.

In demanding times like these, it’s particularly important for leaders to get feedback. But precisely when they need to be considering all options and opinions, they may not hear many of them.

One reason for this sorry state is that some leaders don’t really care. They’re so certain of themselves (or their talent, or skill, or brainpower, or whatever) that they truly don’t think anyone else can tell them anything new. Most won’t admit it, however, because they think you won’t understand. So they say things like,’ I’m open to any ideas or suggestions that will make us better.’ And when feedback is offered, they may even appear to appreciate it. But action speaks louder than words — and that’s how you can tell just how sincere those words were. Kind of like all those companies that proclaim, ‘Our most important asset is our people’ and then at the first sign of trouble, start layoffs so they can keep other activities in place.

Here are some field-tested ideas I’ve seen used successfully in various situations to elicit valuable information. I used the first one myself when, as a leader of a large, just-acquired company, I oversaw the layoffs of 1,300 people.

Note: This article originally appeared as an entry in our IT Leadership blog. It’s also available as a PDF download.

1: The anonymous hotline

Nowadays, hotlines can be e-mails, phones, or paper tools. However you do it, put something into place that allows people to provide candid, honest feedback or ask questions without fear of getting busted. I used a mailbox, kind of a ‘Dear John’ thing, where people could ask questions or sound off and I’d reply to them.

2: Public communication tools

If you have a newsletter, use it to keep folks aware of what’s going on and to deal with rumors, which are harmful. Publish Q & A’s, based on questions you’ve heard through other means, such as your anonymous hotline.

3: Ombudsmen

Someone in your organization should be accessible to anyone who wants to make a point, ask a question, or sound off without fear of reprisal. Employees should know that what they say will be relayed to the head honcho. In some organizations, this is the HR person; in others, it may simply be someone who is trusted and respected by all involved. Just identify someone and let that person know that you need him or her to keep you in touch with things.

4: Anonymous surveys

As long as employees have no fear of being ‘caught,’ surveys are great tools for getting your fingers on the pulse of the organization. But don’t over think them. They should be done quickly and fairly frequently. And have the guts to make the results public afterward. That shows the employee base that you’re aware of their concerns. If you can’t provide a fix, at least let them know that you care about the problem and will try to deal with it when you can.

5: Lunch with the leader

Periodically, have a lunch meeting with folks from all levels of the organization. Make it clear that there will be time at the end of it for a question-and-answer session if the group consists of more than 12 individuals. If the group is small, make a point to sit beside any quiet ones and encourage them to open up.

6: Visits to other departments, offices, or locations

The best way to open up communications is to show that you’re accessible and interested. I don’t care how often someone says they care about what’s going on in other locations. If they’re never there, they won’t hear enough.

7: Social events

Many people will tell you that there’s no such thing as a social / work event. They characterize the Holiday Party or the Summer Picnic as political affairs, and they’re probably right in many companies. But such events don’t have to be heartburn-inducing activities. If you use them as ‘skip-level’ affairs, you’ll probably enjoy yourself and learn a ton about what your team members are really feeling. Make it a point to spend time with those at least two levels below you, tell your direct reports to do the same thing, and then compare notes back in the office.

8: Contrarian perspectives

When leaders allow themselves to hear only what they want to hear, people figure it out pretty quickly and clam up. If you show that you appreciate a healthy debate, you’re more likely to get differing ideas thrown about.

9: Playfulness

One of the founding senior execs at DIRECTV was famous for throwing Nerf footballs with anyone still in their cubes after 6pm or on Saturdays. It was a kind of jock thing, but even those less-than-jock types could throw the little soft football around. Sending a few lateral passes allowed time for a bit of bonding conversation and built trust between the leader and the team.

10: MBWA

Tom Peters coined the term MBWA — ‘management by walking around’ — back in the 80s. If you’re serious about wanting to encourage honest feedback and candid comments, read his writings. The premise of MBWA is that if you expose yourself to enough people enough of the time, you’ll hear things you might not otherwise have come across.

You need to know

For many reasons, people will hold back or shelter the boss from certain information. It’s not healthy and makes it tougher to be as good as possible. People who really want to know what’s going on in their organizations do the things listed above. Those who don’t, probably don’t really want to know.

---

Finally: 10 Things… the newsletter!

Get the key facts on a wide range of technologies, techniques, strategies, and skills with the help of the concise need-to-know lists featured in TechRepublic’s 10 Things newsletter, delivered every Friday. Automatically sign up today.

"

(Via Clippings.)

'70s Cars We'd Just As Soon Forget

And for a re-hash of a familiar subject but fun to read on a Friday nonetheless.....

'70s Cars We'd Just As Soon Forget: "Was there a darker time in the history of the auto industry? We run down some of the worst of the worst. Add your suggestions to our hall of shame.

"

(Via Wired: Top Stories.)

Opinion: What does your OS say about you?

Opinion: What does your OS say about you?: "

The Linux Foundation has finally chosen the winning entry for their 'We're Linux' video contest. And the result is some coloured squiggles with a European accent telling us how awesome freedom is.

Well yes, we all like freedom, as an abstract concept. But it's (a bit) like the abortion 'debate': are you Pro Choice or Pro Life?

Boiled down to that level, it's hard to say. I like choices but I also like life. I wouldn't like to live without any choices at all but I wouldn't like to die, either.

Isn't there a third option? Of course there is! There are millions of options - as many as there are people to express them, in fact.

Apple chooses to characterise the desktop computer debate as 'cool and stylish' vs 'dull and nerdy'.

Microsoft counters that it's actually about 'honest and down to earth' vs 'pretentious and snobby'. Now Linux wants us to believe the choice is really between freedom and… what? Enslavement?

The 'freedom' to hack the source code of your operating system to make it do whatever you want, isn't the kind of freedom I'm interested in. I want the freedom to run whichever operating system I like on whichever hardware platform I choose. And guess what? I pretty much have that already.

In trying to influence our platform choices, the operating system manufacturers have to use a pretty broad brush. If they want market share, they need to claim values that everyone wants.

So far we know that OS X is cool, Vista is down to earth and Linux embodies freedom. What does that leave for the rest? Here are some ideas:

Symbian loves its children

BeOS believes in democracy

OpenVMS is irresistible to the opposite sex

AmigaOS has great teeth

RISC OS has never been tested on animals

Windows CE helps to halt climate change

Related Stories

• Nokia's new netbook takes a step closer
• We'll be number one in PCs in a year, says Acer
• Spam's carbon footprint equal to 3.1m cars
• Packard Bell over-enthused by PB rebrand
• Packard Bell brings new laptops and notebooks

"

(Via Clippings.)