How To Fix Error 80072EFD On Small Business Server 2008

How To Fix Error 80072EFD On Small Business Server 2008

Microsoft Security Essentials

While I don't have time for a full post,  I just wanted to remind anyone visiting today that I only recommend Microsoft Security Essentials for older computers running XP and Vista computers with less than 2GB RAM.  I recommend a combination of Avast! & MalwareBytes installed together, with each set to ignore each others processes, and either pay for MalwareBytes to get the automatic scans, or use my scripts to have it run weekly.

~Matt

Fake Reviews

Just to prove you can't trust anything on the Internet these days,  there is a surge of companies that offer (for a small fee) to spam google, yelp, and other sites with fake positive reviews.  They cater to companies that have garnered a bad reputation from dissatisfied customers, and post so many fake positive reviews about the company, that most people surfing the net would never come across the negative comments.  This is so much as a rant, as a warning to all you internet review searchers.  Take everything you see on the web with a grain of salt.

Home Networking - Wireless-N vs. CAT5e vs. CAT6

With Internet Service Providers cranking up the speeds available to home users, and home media servers becoming more popular, it's starting to become more important in what kind of networking you use at home.   Otherwise you may be paying for speeds you can't even achieve with your hardware.


First off, if you are still using a Wireless G router (54mbps), and have anything better than DSL, it's a pretty safe bet that your wireless device Internet speeds are being held back by your wireless router.  With that being said, prices of Wireless-N type routers have dropped to under $30, so there's really no reason not to upgrade considering you probably pay over $50 a month for your Internet.  Also, while looking over the results, remember that ISP's like Comcast & Verizon are offering internet speeds now of over 150mbps!

I decided to bench test a lower priced wireless-N router, versus hardwired networking connections via a gigabit switch with both CAT5e and CAT6 cabling.  Here is my very non-scientific setup...

Equipment:
Wireless N Router: D-Link DIR-615 w/ newest stock firmware.
Gigabit Switch: Trendnet GreenNet 8-Port
ISP: Comcast 10mbps constant, 36mbps boost
Cabling: CAT5e 350Mhz Rated & CAT6 550Mhz Rated (CCI Bulk with self crimped connectors, used shielded connectors on CAT6) Cables cut to 30 foot lengths.
Hardware: Two i7-920 Desktops with 6GB RAM & Realtek PCI-E Gigabit network controllers. Jumbo frames set to 9K.

Methods:
Used LanBench opensource network speed testing software to take hard drive speeds out of the equation as much as possible.  Ran five 30-second tests of receiving, and sending 100MB packets over 2 connections.
Out of the five tests, I took the average of the top 3 scores.
 

Results (ALL SPEEDS IN MEGABITS PER SECOND UNLESS NOTED OTHERWISE)
D-Link Wireless N Router via WIRELESS (Open view, about 10 feet away from router)
Send: 50.47
Receive: 64.16

D-Link Wireless N Router via WIRED CAT5e (100mbps ports on router)
Send: 60.86
Receive: 93.4

Trendnet Gigabit Switch WIRED via CAT5e (1000mbps full duplex ports)
Send: 886.73
Receive: 939.44

Trendnet Gigabit Switch WIRED via CAT6 (1000mbps full duplex ports)
Send: 890.42
Receive: 945.54

Conclusion
The performance of wireless was all over the place during the tests.  For comparison, I tested a Netgear WNDR3700 wireless N router and did achieve better results, but it also costs 5 times as much.  Overall I don't see wireless as a complete solution.  It's great to have for smart phones, and laptops.  But having a desktop running on a wireless connection just doesn't seem logical.  I know some have issues with location, and that's why they invented PowerLine networking (google it). As for CAT5e vs CAT6,  unless you want to future proof your home network for many many years to come, or the need to have a few 200+ foot runs of cable in your mansion, it just doesn't make sense to pay 50% more in cabling and connectors for CAT6 at this time. 

Importance of Jumbo Frames
For curiosity sake, I attempted the wired gigabit tests with Jumbo Frames set to disabled, and performance took a complete nosedive.  What just got me nearly 950 Mbps, dropped to under 270Mbps, simply by changing that one setting in the NIC card.  The important part of this being, Gigabit cards are set to have jumbo frames disabled by default since some older hardware can't handle it, and enabling them may actually hurt performance.  But it's a simple check in the manual or the website of the manufacturer to find out.

Malware Alert: Whitney Houston Autopsy Virus

A Facebook message, claiming to link to a video of Whitney Houston’s autopsy, takes the user to a page with an embedded YouTube video. When you try to play it, a message comes up saying that Adobe Flash needs to be updated, eventually leading users to a suspicious survey site. The video scam has become viral.

My recommended anti-viruses

I'll keep this short and sweet.  I get asked constantly what I recommend for Anti-Virus software.  For the home user, you can't beat this combo, it's $25 total, uses very little memory (RAM), and is what I use personally.

1st: Avast! Anti-Virus (Free Edition) This has been competing head to head with AVG for years, but has one huge edge that a lot of reviewers fail to mention.  The inclusion of a boot-time scan.  9/10 People don't think of making a boot CD until it's too late.  But with Avast!, you simply select a boot-time scan and hit restart, preventing almost all viruses from avoiding the Avast axe.
PRO TIP: After installing, go into the main GUI window and under "Summary" be sure to turn on "Gaming/Silent Mode" to "Permanent", this will prevent the Avast lady screaming your Avast virus database has been updated at 2am over your computer speakers.

2nd: MalwareBytes Anti-Malware.  The current reigning champ for destroying the new trend of malware.  For $25 you get a lifetime subscription, and automatic scanning.  If $25 is out of your price range, there is a free version available, but you better remember to manually scan on at least a weekly basis.

With Avast! searching for the old school virii and trojans, while MalwareBytes looks out for the new threats, I have yet to have one returning customer that had a system crippling virus.

~Matt

Severe Malware Alert 1/21/12 - Be wary of fake Adobe updates & PDF's.

In the past few days I've seen a pattern of infected PC's with the same symptoms.  After doing some digging on the last few machines and asking the owners a few questions, I've confirmed that there has been a very wide spread virus hitting your mailboxes and favorite websites this week.  It is either disguised as an Adobe program update (Flash, Distiller, Acrobat Reader) or is an attached exe on an e-mail with a PDF logo so you think you're simply opening a PDF, (e.g. ESTORNO5540452C.PDF.exe).

To avoid this type of infection,
1) NEVER click a window saying you need to update program xyz, even if it looks legit.  To update that program, you can open it up yourself and have it check for updates directly, usually under the "File" or "Help" menus.  Or go to their website and download the new version.

2) NEVER open an .exe file from ANYONE. Also even if it may look like a word or PDF file because of the icon, it still may be an exe.  Always check the end of the name.

Other than that, keep your Anti-Virus up to date, your Anti-Malware up to date, and your Windows up to date.

~Matthew

25 "Worst Passwords" Of 2011 Revealed

If you see your password below, STOP!
Do not finish reading this post and immediately go change your password — before you forget. You will probably make changes in several places since passwords tend to be reused for multiple accounts.
Here are two lists, the first compiled by SplashData:

1. password
2. 123456
3.12345678
4. qwerty
5. abc123
6. monkey
7. 1234567
8. letmein
9. trustno1
10. dragon
11. baseball
12. 111111
13. iloveyou
14. master
15. sunshine
16. ashley
17. bailey
18. passw0rd
19. shadow
20. 123123
21. 654321
22. superman
23. qazwsx
24. michael
25. football

Last year, Imperva looked at 32 million passwords stolen from RockYou, a hacked website, and released its own Top 10 “worst” list:

1. 123456
2. 12345
3. 123456789
4. Password
5. iloveyou
6. princess
7. rockyou
8. 1234567
9. 12345678
10. abc123

If you’ve gotten this far and don’t see any of your passwords, that’s good news. But, note that complex passwords combining letters and numbers, such as passw0rd (with the “o” replaced by a zero) are starting to get onto the 2011 list. abc123 is a mixed password that showed up on both lists.
Last year, Imperva provided a list of password best practices, created by NASA to help its users protect their rocket science, they include:

• It should contain at least eight characters
• It should contain a mix of four different types of characters – upper case letters, lower case letters, numbers, and special characters such as !@#$%^&*,;” If there is only one letter or special character, it should not be either the first or last character in the password.
• It should not be a name, a slang word, or any word in the dictionary. It should not include any part of your name or your e-mail address.

Following that advice, of course, means you’ll create a password that will be impossible, unless you try a trick credited to security guru Bruce Schneier: Turn a sentence into a password.
For example, “Now I lay me down to sleep” might become nilmDOWN2s, a 10-character password that won’t be found in any dictionary.
Can’t remember that password? Schneier says it’s OK to write it down and put it in your wallet, or better yet keep a hint in your wallet. Just don’t also include a list of the sites and services that password works with. Try to use a different password on every service, but if you can’t do that, at least develop a set of passwords that you use at different sites.
Someday, we will use authentication schemes, perhaps biometrics, that don’t require so much jumping through hoops to protect our data. But, in the meantime, passwords are all most of us have, so they ought to be strong enough to do the job.