joeware - never stop exploring... :)

I haven’t gotten AdFind/AdMod converted over to Visual Studio yet so I am performing another update using CodeGear C++ Builder (formerly Borland C++ Builder).

I have been having a lot of difficulty finding free time to work on joeware stuff the last 18 or so months since I moved to a new role in my "real" job and have working mad hours on it but have made a promise to myself to find more time to, amongst other things, work on joeware. I really really want to get AdFind/AdMod moved to VS so I can start compiling x86 and x64 versions of it for folks. However that has been rather challenging and time consuming and of course I as I go into functions I haven’t looked at for a decade I think of better ways to handle them so get distracted doing that.

Anyway… As of 1AM EST this morning it has begun!

//* V01.48.00  2014.0112      o 1/12    Added Win2012R2 decode strings      *
//*                                     Fixed bugs with reporting of funct  *
//*                                       modes for forest and DC for 2012  *
//*                                     Decodes for > 2012r2 in place       *

I have several new shortcuts I want to put in, several bug fixes, and some new 2012R2 functionality I want to work out and put into AdFind/Mod. If you have thoughts and/or ideas of things that, let me know!

I have already found two bugs in Windows Server 2012 R2.

The first is that they forgot to add a new supportedCapabilities OID for Windows Server 2012 R2.

>supportedCapabilities: 1.2.840.113556.1.4.800 [LDAP_CAP_ACTIVE_DIRECTORY_OID]
>supportedCapabilities: 1.2.840.113556.1.4.1670 [LDAP_CAP_ACTIVE_DIRECTORY_V51_OID]
>supportedCapabilities: 1.2.840.113556.1.4.1791 [LDAP_CAP_ACTIVE_DIRECTORY_LDAP_INTEG_OID]
>supportedCapabilities: 1.2.840.113556.1.4.1935 [LDAP_CAP_ACTIVE_DIRECTORY_V60_OID]
>supportedCapabilities: 1.2.840.113556.1.4.2080 [LDAP_CAP_ACTIVE_DIRECTORY_V61_R2_OID]
>supportedCapabilities: 1.2.840.113556.1.4.2237 [LDAP_CAP_ACTIVE_DIRECTORY_W8_OID]

So now you can’t use supportedCapabilities exclusively to determine OS level of the AD which may impact some apps and people who use that in scripts.

The second is in the ADAM and is simply a typo that I found when installing it and it asked which schemas I wanted:

I didn’t have time to test the 2012R2 beta and see what happens?? A couple of things  I would have found and reported to them in the first 30 minutes after installing the OS.

   joe

My DVD burner in my Dell Studio 1749 failed so I had to replace it. I figured, this should be easy. I looked online and found a cheap drive on eBay for $17, it got to me in a couple of days.

Replacing DVD drives is something I have done in previous HP laptops quickly and easily, in fact I just replaced the DVD burner with an extra hard drive in my HP work laptop a couple of months ago.

Not so easy with the Dell Studio 1749. I effectively had to tear the entire laptop apart to replace the DVD drive including disconnecting every cable internally (major pain with those tiny connectors) and pull out the wireless and subwoofer wires from the palm rest so that I could lift it from the main body. I do not recommend doing this.

It is focused on web site code but free is free!

• jQuery
• JavaScript
• PHP
• Python
• Ruby
• API coding of things like YouTube, Twitter, SkyDrive, any many more….

http://www.codecademy.com

Edit: Fixed URL

VIRUS/MALWARE ALERT: As always do not click on files that you get in email unless you know who it is from and you are expecting it and it is exactly what you expected.

This is always the case but there is malware running around right now that we are actually seeing hit people that will ENCRYPT your files and ask you for $300 to get them back. Effectively you will LOSE YOUR FILES. Make sure you have backups on any machine that you read email on or browse the web on.

Visualize your corporate network shares all being encrypted. This doesn’t require any high level rights, if someone can change a file they can encrypt it.

http://www.geek.com/apps/disk-encryptiing-cryptolocker-malware-demands-300-to-decrypt-your-files-1570402/

I am starting to look around for servers to replace Super Fast Virtual Mofo (SFVM) which hosts all of my virtual machines. I haven’t looked seriously at hardware in many years, actually since I built SFVM in 2007. As you may have noticed by how quiet it has been around here I have been exceptionally busy the last few years with work. I intend to force some time to start working on stuff because I want/need some updates to several utilities and have a ton of ideas for other utilities and the creativity is about to blow out my brain if I don’t let it out.

So with that info… What should I be looking at now for hardware? As with SFVM I expect to be building it from the MOBO up unless there is something really good, flexible, and reasonably priced that doesn’t require me to go to a single place for parts and upgrades.

I am thinking of spending between $1000-$5000 on hardware, between 2-4 servers I think not including storage. I have a QNAP TS-469L-US that I intend to use for backend disk if it can stand up to the load and expect to have an SSD for boot and system. I am not overly concerned about graphics capability as I haven’t sat and looked at the actual console of SFVM but maybe 20 times since first building it in 2007. Memory, CPUs, and reduced power reqs but high perf are going to be my focus unless someone says no you idiot… You need to think about X.

The use of this new hardware will be to set up a cluster that can run a bunch of virtuals. As a general rule I tend to have one one small set of of 3-4 virtuals that I run all of the time that run basic functions for my environment and then I have pools I fire up and run as needed for various testing (W2K forests, K3 forests, K12 forests, mixed forests, really big forests, etc.) and would like to have the ability to run more at once.

I expect it will desktop/tower style but I do have 4 or 5 old PDP-11 racks in the pole barn I can leverage if needed – well I would leverage one, I don’t see needing all 4-5 of them LOL. I would have to increase my cooling capacity if that were the case.

So tell me what you think!

    joe

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2008.12.proxy.aspx