Monday, 21 July 2014

Adding phpShield to Linux Hosting

SSH into the server
Run:
​​/usr/local/bin/php-config --extension-dir
The result shows the PHP extension directory
/usr/local/lib/php/extensions/no-debug-non-zts-20100525

​Upload the latest version of ixed.5.4.lin to this directory using WinSCP or similar file transfer tool
Find the location of php.ini​
- See more...

Thursday, 26 June 2014

Manually set FreePBX timezone

Check here for the correct timezone: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones​

SSH into the server

Run the following, with the relevant TZ database timezone. In this example, Europe/London

​ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/Europe/London /etc/localtime
Then, edit /ect/sysconfig/clock
nano /etc/sysconfig/clock

Change the line to the correct TZ timezone:

ZONE="Europe/London"

Save the file

Run to check all is now correct:
date

Reboot the server

See More....

Join a wireless network before login

Export the existing wifi setup

​netsh wlan export profile %SSIDName% folder=c:\temp
XML files of the existing connections will be exported to c:\temp. Find the one you want all users to access. You need to modify the to false and enter the wireless key.

You will end up with something like this:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<WLANProfile xmlns="http://www.microsoft.com/networking/WLAN/profile/v1">
<name>Best Network</name>
<SSIDConfig>
<SSID>
<hex>42657374204E6574776F726B</hex>
<name>Best Network</name>
</SSID>
</SSIDConfig>
<connectionType>ESS</connectionType>
<connectionMode>auto</connectionMode>
<MSM>
<security>
<authEncryption>
<authentication>WPA2PSK</authentication>


- See more...

How to reset a network card in Windows

Open Control Panel
Click Hardware and Sound
Click Device Manager

In Network Adapters, find the LAN card you want to reset – this is often something like:
  • Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
  • Broadcom NetXtreme 57xx Gigabit Controller
  • Intel PRO/1000MT Network Adapter
Right click on the adapter and click Uninstall
You will be warned that this will remove the device from the system – ensure that ‘Delete the driver software’ is *not* ticked if this is shown

Note: Clicking OK will disconnect your remote access session if you are connected!

Click OK
The icon will disappear, and the network adapter will be disabled
At the top of the device manager list, the PC name is displayed
Right click this PC name and select Scan for hardware changes

- See more...

cdr_mysql.c:203 mysql_log: Cannot connect to database server localhost


When restoring FreePBX from backup, you may find the CDR database is not updated. This is because the cdr_mysql.conf file is not overwritten by the restore, and so the password for the CDR database is incorrect.

You can resolve it like this:

SSH onto the server
nano /etc/freepbx.conf

Find the lines:

$amp_conf['AMPDBUSER']  = 'freepbxuser';
$amp_conf['AMPDBPASS']  = '3098SADFSLa';​​


Copy the password, quit nano

- See more...

Countdown to End-of-Support for Windows XP

Support for Windows XP ends
On April 8th 2014, Microsoft will end support for its decade-old Windows XP. This means, you will no longer receive security updates, fixes or online technical support for PCs still running Windows XP SP3 and Office 2003. The security and privacy implications of this event could have significant impacts on your business, so if you’re running either of these products you should plan to take action soon.
As a precaution, we would recommend all our clients to consider upgrading to the latest supported operating systems such as Windows 7 or Windows 8.1. Customers migrating to these platforms will benefit from enhanced security, broad device choice for a mobile workforce and higher user productivity.
Why upgrade now?
  1. No support: Microsoft support, including online and phone-based technical support, will end. As a result both Jaytag and any other IT support company will not be able to properly support Windows XP.
  2. Security Risks: Critical security updates will stop, making machines much more vulnerable to viruses. Hackers are waiting to take advantage of this insecurity. If your computer gets a virus your machine will not only not perform properly – it may shut down entirely. Moreover, you are at risk for losing files and having your personal and business information stolen. Anti-virus software will also not be able to fully protect you once Windows XP itself is unsupported.
  3. Compliance: Businesses that are governed by regulatory obligations may find that they are no longer able to satisfy compliance requirements e.g. PCI compliance.
- See more...

Has your router been cracked wide open?

linksys router smashed
We have had a number of customers report recently that their internet browsers have been hijacked. Quite simply, this means that when they try to browse to a website, such as google.com they are redirected somewhere else.
These websites that are displayed often ask for Adobe Flash player to be updated, or inform you that a virus scan needs to be completed on the computer.
These sites are not genuine. In fact, the reason that the pages are shown is because the settings on the internet router have been changed by a 3rd party.
More information about this security vulnerability is available here: http://www.isssource.com/routers-hacked-via-email/
This of course is extremely worrying, as it means an outsider has successfully accessed the computer network, and may in future try to infect connected computers with viruses, or otherwise attempt to illegally access data.
- See more...

How Cloud Storage Could Help Your Small Business

Cloud Storage is the term used to describe using an online facility to store your information. These are usually operated by a third party company using data centres and there are a number of different operators providing it such as Dropbox, Skydrive, My Secure Backup, and Google Drive.
Cloud storage is an increasingly popular concept, and many small businesses are embracing it to help them. But how can cloud storage help a small business?
One popular use of cloud storage is to store your important documents such as databases, spread sheets or client projects. By doing this, it doesn’t matter if your computer breaks down, is stolen, or the file is otherwise lost; you will be able to successfully retrieve it from your cloud. You can usually set up an automatic synchronisation, so that when you save a document to a certain folder in your PC, the cloud storage facility you use will pick it up and automatically save it there too. Alternatively if you log onto your cloud storage remotely from a remote device or there web site you can upload/maintain documents and these will automatically synchronise/update on your home computer.
It is also a secure way of storing your information. You can change privacy settings of the documents so that it can only be accessed by yourself, people listed, or people who you pass the link to. This allows you to share it with people if you need it, or stash it away in a private folder if it isn’t something you want to share.
The cost of cloud storage can be considerably lower than other solutions, with many companies offering you a small amount of start-up storage for free, with higher amounts becoming available to you for a small fee, often on a monthly subscription basis.
So lets take a look at the four services I previously mentioned and see what they have to offer:
Dropbox 

Dropbox
Dropbox is a cloud storage facility which comes with an initial 2GB, which can be expanded to fit your requirements.
- See more...

Windows Server updates failing – Error 80072EFD

You may have found that your Windows Server won’t update via Windows Updates Services and the following error message is displayed on screen.

error2 

One issue which causes Windows Updates to fail with error 80072EFD is if the Windows Server is pointing at itself or another Server on the network to find the updates.

To check this click Start > Run > type “regedit”, and accept the UAC prompt to continue.

regedit 

Now navigate to HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate.

- See more...

Wednesday, 25 June 2014

Windows XP Recovery Console – KB310994 download

To manually install the Windows Recovery Console, you have to have the necessary updates. It seems Microsoft have removed the link to the recovery console that used to be linked to from here.

This makes running tools like ComboFix for example, quite difficult.

I’ve sourced the files (at least for SP2 and up) they are mirrored here:

windowsxp-kb310994-sp2-home-bootdisk-enu.exe – For Windows XP Home SP2 and newer.
windowsxp-kb310994-sp2-pro-bootdisk-enu.exe – For Windows XP Professional SP2 and newer.
To install for combofix use, you can download the file to your PC and drag and drop onto the combofix.exe file, as detailed here.

- See more...

Monday, 19 May 2014

Sporttracks v2 – Map problem fixed

 

With Sporttracks v2, there is an issue that the Terraserver map plugin no longer functions correctly. Maps cannot be zoomed, and over time, none of the routemaps appear to display at all. Thankfully, there is a user created plugin called Apply Routes. Apply Routes provides a number of extensions to the SportTracks functionality: It adds a number of MapProviders (google, microsoft, openlayers, geoportail) - See more...

Send test email via telnet

It’s often useful to test an email server manually – to ensure the port is open and redirected properly, and also that the server is delivering messages to the mailbox correctly.
Here is how to send an email manually with telnet:

Open a command prompt on the PC you will send the test email from telnet server.server.com 25​

HELO jaytag.co.uk (response will be 250 OK)

MAIL FROM:dmcmillan@jaytag.co.uk (response should be 250 OK – mail from dmcmillan@jaytag.co.uk)

RCPT TO:james@stephenrjames.com (response should be 250 OK – Recipient james@stephenrjames.com)

DATA (response should be 354 Send data. End with CRLF.CRLF) - See more...

How to reset a network card in Windows

Open Control Panel
Click Hardware and Sound
Click Device Manager
In Network Adapters, find the LAN card you want to reset – this is often something like:
Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
Broadcom NetXtreme 57xx Gigabit Controller
Intel PRO/1000MT Network Adapter
Right click on the adapter and click Uninstall
You will be warned that this will remove the device from the system – ensure that ‘Delete the driver software’ is *not* ticked if this is shown Note: Clicking OK will disconnect your remote access session if you are connected! - See more...

Convert plain numbers to MAC addresses with Excel

We use the following formula if you need a – between the octets:
 =MID(c2,1,2)&"-"&MID(c2,3,2)&"-"&MID(c2,5,2)&"-"& MID(c2,7,2)&"-"&MID(c2,9,2)&"-"&MID(c2,11,2)

We use the following formula if you need a :
between the octets:
=MID(c2,1,2)&":"&MID(c2,3,2)&":"&MID(c2,5,2)&":"& MID(c2,7,2)&":"&MID(c2,9,2)&":"&MID(c2,11,2) - See more...

No DAHDI modules on the system. Not starting

You need to retrieve the correct kernel-devel for the kernel of linux you are running, and remake DAHDI from source
SSH onto the machine and run: uname -r
Note the kernel version. then, google for kernel-devel (kernel version) find a suitable download source (i.e. from rpm.pbone.net) then on the machine rpm -ivh ftp://ftp.is.co.za/mirror/centos/6.5/updates/x86_64/Packages/kernel-devel-2.6.32-431.1.2.0.1.el6.x86_64.rpm - See more...

Tuesday, 13 May 2014

GParted – “Bad sectors” Error Message

When using GParted to resize a partition on a hard drive you have cloned you may notice an exclamation mark on the drive.
exclamation mark1

When you attempt to apply the resize it will most likely fail, and you may receive an error message, similar to the one below, stating that there are “bad sectors” on the disk. - See more...

Office365 – Distribution list blank return path

When you are using Office365, you may find that external email addresses in a distrbution list do not recieve mails sent to the distribution list email address.

Many spam filters will block emails with a blank or empty return path, but Office365 sets this blank as default, to prevent email bounce loops.
This is normal behaviour – a large distribution list shouldn’t distribute a bounce/DSN report to the entire membership.
For a single membership list for use with Zendesk, Help Scout or other similar mailbox monitoring applications, it may be necessary. - See more...

Internet Explorer and HMRC – this file could not be downloaded

If you are unable to download P60, CT100 or VAT forms from the HMRC website, you may need to check that Adobe Reader is working correctly. Often, an issue with the installation will mean the PDF file from the HMRC site will not open automatically. The error message will then appear – “this file could not be downloaded”. Here is how to fix the problem: In Internet Explorer, go to Tools (or the small cog icon) then click Internet Options Select the Advanced tab Check the Do not save encrypted pages to disk option is ticked in the security section Click OK - See more...

Session setup failed: NT_STATUS_INVALID_PARAMETER

When trying to link to a Windows Vista, 7 or 8 shared printer from Mac OS 10.6 or newer, you may find that the printer gives this error message.
Essentially, SMB printing from CUPS (the Mac OS printing system) seems broken – it does not pass along the correct user name and password (even when entered manually). The solution is quite long winded… Firstly, ensure that the printer is shared on the Windows machine - See more...

On Hold (Authentication Required) – Mac OSX and Windows printing

The solution to this issue is the same as another error: Session setup failed: NT_STATUS_INVALID_PARAMETER We have detailed the solution here.
Read more...

Monday, 14 April 2014

Windows XP Recovery Console – KB310994 download

Windows XP Recovery Console – KB310994 download

To manually install the Windows Recovery Console, you have to have the necessary updates. It seems Microsoft have removed the link to the recovery console that used to be linked to from here.

This makes running tools like ComboFix for example, quite difficult.
I’ve sourced the files (at least for SP2 and up) they are mirrored here: windowsxp-kb310994-sp2-home-bootdisk-enu.exe – For Windows XP Home SP2 and newer. windowsxp-kb310994-sp2-pro-bootdisk-enu.exe – For Windows XP Professional SP2 and newer. - See more...

Office 365 – Set the default domain

When you first setup Office365, Microsoft provides you with a default domain – usually companyname.onmicrosoft.com – for example, the Jaytag domain is jaytag.onmicrosoft.com.


This can cause a small headache – as it’s not obvious when you have added your companies domain where to set this as default – so when you add new users, the primary email address will be emailaddress@companyname.onmicrosoft.com.

To set the default domain to the domain you have added, login to Office365 and click into the adminin - See more...

Turnpike Six v6.07 entire.exe download

Since Demon internet discontinued support for Turnpike, it has been impossible to source a copy of the software – especially since the Demon FTP site has also gone the way of the Dodo.

However, we have sourced a copy of the installer for Turnpike Six v6.07 it is downloadable here:
http://www.jaytag.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/entire.exe
See more...

Installing Ubuntu 8.04 on a Viglen MPC-L

minipc 

The Viglen MPC-L (<– PDF link) is a low powered (both in terms of CPU speed and power consumption) compact computer. They are extremely similar to the Linutop machine (i.e. identical) and are actually an FIC ION 503 under the hood. It comes preinstalled with xubuntu, a version of ubuntu that substitutes the gnome window manager with XFCE. Better still, email Duncan Hargreaves at Viglen (tell them the ubuntu podcast sent you) and you can pick one up for a mere £79. If like us, you are a stickler for utilising similar OS environments for support reasons (including the window manager) then a full install of ubuntu is the way to go. - See more...  

Conficker Virus – Think you have it?

Conficker Virus – Think you have it?

biohazard

The Conficker virus has to be one of the most difficult to get rid of. But how can you quickly diagnose if you have it? There are some well known signs: Windows Update and Automatic Updates are blocked System Restore has been turned off You cannot access anti-virus websites (such as Symantec, McAfee, AVG etc.) There is now also an even quicker way: Click Here Think you might be infected? - See more...

OSX Citrix Client Installation – Auto open ICA files from Safari

 

We have come across an issue recently with the new version of the Citrix online plugin (now called Citrix Reciever). Installation of the Citrix Reciever software from the OSX App store is not sufficient to allow the downloaded ICA file to auto open. The result is, you install Citrix Reciever and login to the Citrix site only for the ICA file to download, but not open. This makes it look like Citrix isn’t working properly.

The fix is simple:
  • First, you have to modify what Safari considers as a “safe” file. Ensure that in Safari’s Preference panel that ‘Open “Safe” files’ is checked. 
  • Next, download this zip file: http://www.jaytag.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Auto_Open_ICA.zip Extract the plist (preferences file) from the downloaded zip file 
  • Drag and drop the file to /Library/Preferences. (On OSX Lion, type \library in the ‘Find’ box and double-click into the preferences folder) 
  • Restart Safari
See more...

A simple MySQL Backup Tool

A simple MySQL Backup Tool 

 

If you administer a website (or indeed a number of websites) you may need a tool which will allow you to simply backup a MySQL database on a regular basis. Although there are a number of tools available online, none quite fit our needs. As a result, we’ve quickly written a simple MySQL backup tool in PHP. Features
  • Tested compatible with PHP version 5.2.14 and MySQL 5.0 
  •  Allows for SQL and ZIP export of a single MySQL database 
  • Lists previous backups made This is version 0.1a – it is no doubt buggy. 
We would appreciate any feedback if you do decide to use the tool. The application is fairly self explanatory in its usage. 
Installation 
  • Extract the Zip file 
  • Copy the contents to a directory on your server 
  • Browse to the directory you saved the files to with your browser 
Features to be added in v0.2a (Release date 4th February 2011) Improved documentation Backup multiple databases Additional security (password for created ZIP files, and password for the utility) - See more... 

Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance. Check back in a minute

Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance. Check back in a minute

 

WordPress Logo

This WordPress error message appears when a plugin update fails half way through. The fix is extremely simple: FTP to your WordPress installation directory Delete the .maintenance file at the root wordpress folder (where wp-config.php lives) Login and retry the plugin operation - See more...

Sage Accounts

Sage Accounts: Username in use 

Sage Logo

This is a very common issue with Sage – if the program crashes for whatever reason, you are unable to log back into the program. Before you start! I’d always recommend taking a backup of the company files before making any changes to Sage program or data files – just in case! The Sage file database system is a little antiquated and can be temperamental. The fix itself is simple: Browse to the Sage company file directory on your computer (this will vary, although if you check the COMPANY file in your install directory, it will be listed) Open the ACCDATA directory Delete the queue.dta file - See more...

Updating WordPress with 1&1 hosting

Updating WordPress with 1&1 hosting 

Logo for 1&1

WordPress plays nicely with most web hosts, although 1&1 are a little different. If you try to update a freshly installed copy of WordPress on 1&1 hosting without making this change, some functions (mainly the automatic update processes) will not complete successfully. The key is to edit the .htaccess file in the WordPress installation directory: FTP to your WordPress installation directory Download the .htaccess file Edit the file, adding the following line: AddType x-mapp-php5 .php Upload the file to the server, overwriting the old .htaccess file - See more...

Wednesday, 12 March 2014

Blocking browsing to website subdirectories – 1&1

If you are using a webhost like 1&1, you may find that adding additional domains to your hosting package sets the default directory (the ‘home’ directory) as a subdirectory of the main site. Imagine you have two sites: www.abc.com www.newsite.com After adding the newsite.com entry to your list of domains the home directory may be set to www.abc.com/newsite/ – this will allow a user to browse to www.abc.com/newsite and access the new site. Why is this a bad thing? It’s uncertain whether sites like google treat multiple domains pointing to content as a bad thing – there is some information out there, like here, but the situation isn’t 100% clear. The best situation is to have the content isolated properly, so that the new site we have created newsite.com cannot be browsed in this fashion. There are two methods to resolve this issue: Set the home directory of the primary website to a subdirectory
  • Configure abc.com to have a home directory of /http_docs/abc.com (or similar) 
  • Configure newsite.com to have a home directory of /http_docs/newsite.com (or similar)
See more...

Scheduled Tasks – Running Tasks Without A Password in Windows XP

 

If you try to run a scheduled task in Windows XP, it will balk if you don’t enter a password (or if your main account has no password, it won’t let you proceed). There are two potential fixes: Run the task as the administrator (i.e. your-machine-name\administrator) You can then enter the administrators password. You may need to set this in Computer Management first: Right click My Computer Click Manage In the right hand window, click into Users and Groups Right click the Administrator account, and click Change Password Enter a password of your choice. You can then run the task as the system administrator. - See more... 

Enable Telnet Command in Windows 7

Screenshot of the Telnet utility 

Telnet is a simple but extremely popular protocol for exchanging data between two computers. It is often used for testing computer programs. The Telnet utility is included with Windows Vista and Windows 7 computers although it is not enabled by default. Enable Telnet for Windows Vista/Windows 7 If you would like to enable Telnet, follow these steps: 1. Go to Control Panel. 2. Click into Programs and Features. 3. Click Turn Windows Features on or off. - See more...

Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing. (Code 39)

 

This is a common problem with Windows Vista – most typically, the CD-ROM or DVD drive will fail to function correctly. Here are the steps we take to fix the issue (be cautious – you’ll have to edit the registry of the computer) Click the Start button, and then in the search box, type regedit. Press the Enter key. NOTE: If prompted for an administrator password or a User Account Control prompt is displayed, type the appropriate password or click Continue. In the Registry Editor window, in the left pane, double-click the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE folder. - See more...

Sporttracks v2.1

 


Sporttracks is an excellent piece of software if you like to keep a record of your performance, training or fitness over time. Version 3 of the software was released back in September 2010, and it’s very, very good. However, it does cost $35 after a 30 day trial. I’ve been happily using Sporttracks v2 for some time (although the mapping is now quite flaky…). I had to reinstall it recently, and found it hard to find. - See more...

Wednesday, 19 February 2014

Sporttracks v2 – Map problem fixed

Sporttracks v2 – Map problem fixed 

With Sporttracks v2, there is an issue that the Terraserver map plugin no longer functions correctly. Maps cannot be zoomed, and over time, none of the routemaps appear to display at all. Thankfully, there is a user created plugin called Apply Routes. Apply Routes provides a number of extensions to the SportTracks functionality: 

Windows Virtual PC – IE User

Windows Virtual PC – IE User 

When you start Windows XP from the Windows Virtual PC software, you may be asked for the password to login for the first time.
See more...

Reading Mac OS X Drives from Microsoft Windows


Reading Mac OS X Drives from Microsoft Windows

hero_bootcamp

If you use Boot camp to run Microsoft Windows and Apple OSX on your Mac, you may have discovered that you cannot easily share files between the two systems. There is a technical reason for that – Mac OS X can read and write drives formatted using FAT and FAT32 (like USB thumb drives) and it can read (but not write) drives formatted using NTFS (most Windows hard drives) 

How a laptop DC socket/jack is repaired

How a laptop DC socket/jack is repaired



It shows the exact same process that we go through when replacing a DC (power) socket on a customer’s laptop. As you can see, it’s quite a lengthy process, that involves the removal of the laptop’s motherboard. We normally can carry out work like this for around £40, depending on the price of the socket itself.
See more...



Avast Free Anti-Virus

avast-logo 

Avast Free Anti-Virus 

  We’ve talked about AVG Free Anti-Virus on the blog before. We haven’t talked about Avast however, which is another alternative to the expensive Anti-Virus products from Norton and McAfee. Avast is quickly becoming one of the most popular free anti-virus products on the market. The producers claim that Avast is: The most popular free antivirus with more than 80 000 000 registered users. Perfect for people who send e-mails and surf popular websites, but do not store any sensitive data on their computers. 


Tuesday, 21 January 2014

Windows 7 – Why you should wait

windows_7_logo

Windows 7 is Microsoft’s newest addition to its stable of operating systems. Along with Windows XP and Vista, it will soon be one of the most installed (and used) operating systems in the world.
But – we at Jaytag are of the strong opinion that it is a good idea to wait for Microsoft to iron out the slew of bugs and problems that inevitably go along with a new operating system. We aren’t the only one’s either – Computerworld have an article discussing why you should wait before upgrading.

Our top three reasons:

The reboot bug. Some users have reported that following an upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 7, their computers go into a loop of starting up, then immediately rebooting. There is currently no solution from Microsoft for this issue.
- See more 

Popular Open Source Applications for Small Businesses

From FastUpFront.com comes an extremely useful list of Open Source applications. As the recession drags on, more and more businesses are looking at Open Source software as a way to reduce the amount they are spending on software licensing.
From the article:
Open source applications and online services have been generating a lot of buzz over the past few years. Many of the open source alternatives are formidable contenders to the major liscensed software programs and services out on the market. Depending on the nature and circumstances of your business, bringing in open source apps may be a cheaper and more practical option to shelling out hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars in liscensing fees for the commercial versions.
The list is reproduced here:
Accounting Software
TurboCASH. – A powerful fully-featured, multi-user accounting system.
GnuCash. – A personal and small business accounting software
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
SugarCRM.- Probably the most well-known, and powerful, CRM open source options. It is better suited to bigger businesses, however.
Daffodil CRM.- Full-featured CRM application
ConcourseSuite. – Formally CentricCRM, it is a “front office application suite to integrate Customer Relationship Management (CRM), web content management and team collaboration capabilities into a single, easy to user web application.”
vtiger.- Easy to use CRM software. Good option for smaller businesses.
Office Suite/Word Processing
Open Office. – Full-featured office suite, compatible with all other major office suites including MS Office
The Fifth Element.- Full-featured office suite, compatible with all other major office suites including MS Office
AbiWord.- Word processing software, easy-to-use version of MS Word.
Email
Thunderbird. – Open source, cross-platform email and news client developed by Mozilla
Pegasus Mail. – Less well-known email system, but offers plenty of features and easy-to-use format
Graphics
Photofiltre.- A full-featured image and photo editing program; a good Photoshop alternative
Paint.NET. – A solid image and photo editing program; a good Photoshop alternative
The GIMP. – the GNU Project’s excellent image manipulation program.
Blender 3D.- Richly featured 3D content creation and animation program. Check out the features and gallery section.
Point of Sale Software
Openbravo POS. – Popular Point-of-Sale application designed for a wide range of retail businesses.
NolaPro POS. – A Web-based accounting, inventory, POS, and business management suite.
- See more 

Fixed Problem – Mozilla Thunderbird with Lightning


If like us, you try to keep the majority of the software you use open source, then Mozilla Thunderbird (with the Lightning add-on) might just be the perfect solution to your PIM (personal information manager) needs.
We use Thunderbird exclusively within our organisation for email, and with the Lightning add-on, for task and calendar management.
Recently, we have come across an issue with Ubuntu 9.04 (Jaunty Jackalope) whereby the New Event and New Task buttons were greyed out or disabled – making adding calendar entries impossible.
This was fixed by uninstalling the add-on, closing Thunderbird and running the following command in a terminal session:
sudo apt-get install libstdc++5
Reinstalling the add-on after libstdc++5 was installed fixed the issue – the calendar portion worked as it should. It appears that this prerequisite was not installed on the machine we were using.
- See more 


Skype Crashes After Upgrade to Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx


After upgrading your desktop or laptop to Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx you may experience the following symptoms:
  • Reduction in audio quality (jittery calls)
  • Crashing after receiving an Instant Message
  • Crashing when trying to send an Instant Message
  • Slow program functionality
All of the above issues can be resolved by removing Skype and ensuring that the newest version is installed (2.1.0.81 at time of writing)
- See more 

A simple MySQL Backup Tool

If you administer a website (or indeed a number of websites) you may need a tool which will allow you to simply backup a MySQL database on a regular basis.
Although there are a number of tools available online, none quite fit our needs. As a result, we’ve quickly written a simple MySQL backup tool in PHP.
Features
  • Tested compatible with PHP version 5.2.14 and MySQL 5.0
  • Allows for SQL and ZIP export of a single MySQL database
  • Lists previous backups made
This is version 0.1a – it is no doubt buggy. We would appreciate any feedback if you do decide to use the tool.
- See more 

Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance. Check back in a minute

WordPress Logo

This WordPress error message appears when a plugin update fails half way through.
The fix is extremely simple:
  • FTP to your WordPress installation directory
  • Delete the .maintenance file at the root wordpress folder (where wp-config.php lives)
  • Login and retry the plugin operation
The issue should be resolved.
- See more 

Updating Office 2000


If like us, you still encounter Office 2000 out in the field, you may find it needs updating from time to time. Sadly, the necessary updates are not all available from Microsoft.
Hope this helps all of you out there still using/supporting Office 2000.
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Free alternatives to Norton Internet Security and McAfee Internet Security


Both Norton Internet Security and the McAfee Internet Security suite are excellent products for ensuring your PC is protected while online. Both offer anti-virus tools, spyware blockers, trojan detection etc. However, the fees associated with keeping them up to date (often £20-30 annually) can be prohibitive.
There is an alternative in the world of anti-virus however, and this comes in the form of AVG.
The AVG free edition is just that – free. It does have a few limitations:
  • Less protection – AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 8.0 provides only base level protection against viruses, spyware and safe searching. It does not provide safe surfing (drive-by download protection) nor protection from crackers, keyloggers, spam, phishing attacks and malicious file downloads that can come through instant messaging and attachments from seemingly friendly sources. This protection is only available in the commercial versions of AVG products.
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Learn the 5 Mistakes Most Everyone Makes…

Watching the net have made an interesting post about making the mistakes that everyone makes with their computer – but shouldn’t!
All of the points made are accurate, and we would recommend making the changes discussed.
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Free alternative to Norton Ghost and Acronis True Image


Norton Ghost is an extremely useful utility that allows you to duplicate one hard drive to another. In How to install/replace a PATA (IDE) hard drive we shared a video showing how to physically replace an ATA or IDE hard drive.
But what about your old data? Well, you can copy this from your old hard drive with a number of utilites, Norton Ghost and Acronis True Image being some of the more popular commerical programs.
You can use a nifty utility called Clonezilla to do this for free.
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