September 28, 2003
Remote Web Based Data Entry
Editing your database can be quite simple if you are sitting at your workstation. Just open up your database editing application and start...but what happens if you are working remotely?
On several occasions I have been at my favorite coffee shop here in Cambridge and realized that I need to quickly add/edit/remove an entry from our production SQL Server database. Granted that most Internet cafes do not hae SQL Enterprise tools available (though one did in NYC two months ago!), I can quickly login to one of two tools available here at rjsNetworks and on the web.
Our network supports a secure web based SQL Enterprise Manager which is very useful for executing maintainance stored procedures/tasks. Since the SQL Server can execute any operating system command with the right sa rights, the web based manager has been a saviour on several occasions. In addition, the web based version mimiks the application provided by Microsoft...an added benefit since you can jump into a familiar environment right away. Try it here.
The second tool, Table Editor supports any ODBC compliant database. The source code is open and with a few minor hacks/enhancements, this tool can provide multi-user remote access to your databases. This tools allows the administrator to create users with access/edit/delete rights, creating a multi-user environment with roles.
September 22, 2003
Dedicated Hosting Plans
Special rates this month for dedicated servers! We have a brand new line of economical Linux and Windows 2000/2003 servers for dedicated server use. Click here for more information
September 19, 2003
Weekly Worm, new threat Swen.A
A new worm has started to propagate quickly across the Internet. rjsNetworks.com customers have already been protected from incoming and outgoing variants of this worm. The worm travels via email and has a varying subject heading and body. However, an attachment claiming to be from Microsoft is attached. This attachment copies itself into the %WINDOWS% directory and scans for email addresses to infect on the host computer.
September 18, 2003
Windows XP - Fixing File Searching
Have you ever wondered why Microsoft XP does not search for files correctly in Windows Explorer? Looks like Microsoft just wanted to create an irritating and frustrating "feature" that clearly should be enabled by default. Try searching for ASP or ASP.Net files...it won't work. Better still, try searching for words in a file; again it won't work....
Here is a quick and simple fix. Note: this fix is not documented and rjsNetworks.com does not warranty or guarantee this information. Please use regedit at your own risk!
[click to enlarge image]
Change this reg value from 0 to 1.
Reboot, and try to search again.
Note: this fix is not documented and rjsNetworks.com does not warranty or guarantee this information. Please use regedit at your own risk!
September 17, 2003
Need a Faster Site? Running IIS in Turbo Mode
In the past, several large customers required that their web sites preform like MSN.com. Clearly, MSN has tweaked their server configurations with several unreleased and undocumented enhancements. Server load balancing is always a good option to increase the end user experience, however, site compression is probably the fastest, least time consuming addition any server can utilize to enhance network performance.
By combining 3rd Party caching engines with site compression utilities, sites such as http://www.endlessagesportal.com have improved their speed by as much as 40%. In fact, here is a 15 min statistic summary at Endless Ages:
Overall Site Compression Statistics
Total Bytes Saved: 50081931
Bandwidth Percentage Saved: 7.53%
Total Bytes Requested (Pre-Compression): 665351823
Total Bytes Sent: 615269892
Total Compressed Bytes Sent: 12465857
Total UnCompressed Bytes Sent: 602804035
Total Requests Served: 5196
Total Compressed Requests Served: 3445
Total UnCompressed Requests Served: 1751
Total Requests Served from Cache: 1350
Percentage of Requests
Served from Cache: 25.98%
Sites with straight HTML (no dynamic pages such as asp/aspx/php) are enhanced further and retrieve up to 40% faster than the uncompressed standard. For more information and statistics related to Site Compression with Apache or IIS+ please contact sales@rjsnetworks.com
September 16, 2003
Linux Client for Windows Terminal Services
We are currently moving our desktop machines to Linux Red Hat 8. With the combines features of an open source platform and stable reliable desktop, most of us here at rjsNetworks are using the RedHat distribution of the free operating system.
One key feature that was necessary for us was the ability to use Terminal Services/Remote Desktop on our Linux machines. As usual, Linux and the generous open source community delivered providing us with RDesktop.
rdesktop is an open source client for Windows NT Terminal Server and Windows 2000 Terminal Services, capable of natively speaking Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) in order to present the user's NT desktop. Unlike Citrix ICA, no server extensions are required.
By the way, the installation took less than 2 minutes....Penguins are becoming friendlier than dressed up "Windows"....
September 11, 2003
9/11 Remembered...
From everyone here at rjsNetworks.com, we would like to extend our condolences to all the families affected by 9/11/2001. Many interesting sites on the internet will be covering the 2 year anniversary including MSNBC.com, however, a very special site covering the timeline of 9/11 reminds all of us how 9/11/2001 changed the international perspective on terrorist attacks.
September 10, 2003
Statistics for SoBig.F
Well, it finally looks like the SoBig.F virus is coming to an end. According to our first post, the virus was suppose to end on September 10th 2003. We compared our virus stats from yesterday to today, here are our results:
9/9/2003 Virus Report Top 3 Viruses
Inbound Virus Name
15,420 W32/Sobig.F@mm
78 W32/Klez.H@mm
74 W32/Fizzer.A@mm
Percentage of virus email: 22.3027%
9/10/2003 Virus Report Top 3 Viruses
Inbound Virus Name
624 W32/Sobig.F@mm
99 W32/Lentin.F@mm
87 W32/Fizzer.A@mm
Percentage of virus email: 3.0439%
The original post regarding the September 10th destruction of the virus turns out to be correct. For more information regarding our stats, please email support@rjsnetworks.com.
End of SoBig.F?
According to the article posted here on this blog, the SoBig.F virus should stop spreading today September 10th 2003. Even though we are still seeing an influx of the virus on our mail monitors, we should see this virus diminish across the web.
September 09, 2003
Internet Explorer Stats
A new report from webtalkguys.com claims that 94% of Internet users use Internet Explorer. With 90%+ of the market saturated, Microsoft steps up to the plate by releasing the new Windows Media website with new content (note, the site looks terrrible with Netscape!).
Need more info on search engines? Try searchenginewatch.com
September 04, 2003
More Security Flaws From Microsoft
More security flaws are plaging the software giant as three news flaws are disclosed by Microsoft. These flaws reside in Microsoft Office and have been marked as critical flaws. rjsNetworks.com customers should be aware that these flaws have patches released by Microsoft at thier website and are encouraged to download and install them.
More information :
September 03, 2003
Google Calculator: Converting Types
Are you always trying to convert bits per second to gigs per second? Or how about ounces to liters? Here is something small the Google search engine does that makes it stand out against as the leading search engine:
Try: How Many Bytes Are In a MegaByte?
The script in the search engine is intutive and extremly easy to use. No more confusing formulas, google can be your weapon of choice!
Filtering Email Using Server Side Rules
If you are tired of receiving SPAM, or Virus warnings, there is a simple and efficient way of removing these messages from your inbox. Messages can be filtered with server side rules that can be customized for each email address in your organization:
Filtering Email [knowledge base article]
Step By Step Guide - Filtering Email with Server Side Rules [word doc]
Step By Step Guide - Filtering Email with Server Side Rules [pdf doc]
