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A lot of my clients use the built-in Windows Backup utility to do nightly file backups. The thing that makes me nervous about that is by default, the Windows Backup util will churn out one big backup file and then keep appending/overwriting it from that point on.

The paranoid guy in me goes, “Well what if one night the backup job gets corrupt and THEN the server immediately croaks and has to be rebuilt from the corrupt backup file? Unlikely, but if it happens, I’m screwed!

So after much Googlin’, I’ve hacked together a little script creates a folder with today’s date, changes to the E:\backup directory where the .bkf file gets stored, and then moves it into the folder with today’s date. That way each night of backups gets its own corresponding folder.

Simply replace E: and cd \backup with drives/directories of your choice, then save the file as name-of-script.bat. I recommend running it a few hours after the nightly backup usually completes, just to be safe.

Set MM=%date:~4,2%
Set DD=%date:~7,2%
Set YYYY=%date:~-4%
E:
cd \backup
MD %MM%-%DD%-%YYYY%
move *.bkf %MM%-%DD%-%YYYY%

Maybe this will stop my personal PC peripherals from wandering away from my desk at work anymore.

In my job, I clean malware from PCs almost every day.  I started creating a guide so that I could tackle infections the same way every time.  So far I’ve found these steps to be consistently successful in removing icky stuff from your XP or Vista-based PC. 

This article assumes you have some technical PC experience, and therefore doesn’t go into the how of executing these steps.  But if you need help, just shoot me an email or leave a comment on this post and I’ll get back to you asap.

1. Disable System Restore.
2. Download and run CCleaner.
3. Reboot into Safe Mode.
4. Download Malware Bytes, install it, update it, do a full scan.
5. Allow the program to remove any infections it finds.
6. Reboot into normal mode to let Malware Bytes finish removing infections.
7. Run HijackThis, then copy/paste the log file into the HijackThis.de site for analyzation of any remaining startup items, etc. that may need to be removed.

If you’re a Windows Vista user you might be happy to know that our friends at Norton have developed an alternative UAC to the regular built-in, super irritating one from Microsoft. You can get it here. After trying Norton’s Bloated Piggy Oink-Oink Resource Hog Antivirus (a.k.a. Norton 360) I swore to never again let a Norton product near me or the people I love. But their UAC product seems to be a step towards redemption in my eyes. Plus, it has a cute little icon and is free (at least at the time of this writing)! I’m particularly excited about what Norton says the endgame is for this utility:

The goal of this tool is eventually build a white-list (as well as black-list) database on various administrative actions, and to enable users to make smart decisions without unnecessary prompts, using prompts only as a last resort.

To have the security of UAC without the nag-tastic pop-ups might just make me want to use my Vista machine for more than a booster seat for Cam.

Non-geeks: skip this post! For the rest of us nerds, I got the following error yesterday when starting up iTunes to sync my 30gb video iPod:

“The iPod ‘insert-name-here’ cannot be synced. An unknown error occurred (-50).”

For reference, I’m using iTunes 7.7 and iPhoto 6.0.6. This error was also plaguing my Apple TV. I had recently imported some photos off a CD into my iPhoto library, so I thought that might be the culprit. I intended to stop syncing certain albums on my iPod, but in iTunes, if I highlighted the iPod and then clicked the Photos tab, I noticed my only choice was to sync “All photos and albums.” I couldn’t choose “Selected albums,” as it was grayed out. Gargh! So I unchecked “Sync photos from” and kicked off another iPod sync to clear all photos off the device…this time, no error!

So thus began a long, tedious, frustrating, face-numbing search on the Google to find out what in my iPhoto library was broken. But let me cut to the chase and say what tips I received that were promising but didn’t fix my issue:

• Rebooting.
• Flashing the PRAM.
• Repairing permissions on my drives.
• Restoring iPod to factory settings and synching again.
• Restoring Apple TV to factory settings and synching again.
• Holding Option+Command, clicking iPhoto, and choosing to rebuild everything within the iPhoto database.
• Deleting the last batch of photos I imported, then try synching again.
• Clearing ~/Pictures/iPhoto Library/iPod Photo Cache and try synching again.
• Anger.
• Wishing.
• Thinking.
• Hoping.

My saving grace was this post. It walked me through opening the ~/Pictures/iPhoto Library/AlbumData.xml file in Safari (who’d of thunk?). When I did, the top of the file reported some convoluted error which wasn’t terribly important. The strategy is to scroll to the bottom of the file and ideally there will be a photo or keyword that the XML has barfed on:

In this case, my file ended with the word “Kluvers.” I fired up iPhoto, went to iPhoto->Preferences->Keywords, and low and behold, I saw a keyword called “Kluvers” that I hadn’t added (must’ve gotten imported somehow with my last batch of photos)! I deleted that keyword, quit iPhoto, quit iTunes, and started iTunes again. Happy synching time – and a happy dance by me – commenced, and the “Selected albums” was available to choose again!

 At the end of my life, when people get up to say (hopefully) good things about me, one thing I DON’T want them to call me is a braggart. But I have absolutely no shame in saying that on April 21, 2008, I became the smartest man alive. Why? Because I got my CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) certification. Now, a lot of techs will read this, giggle and say, “Ha! CCNA? That’s super easy! I could get that certification with no legs and a mouth full of tin foil.” Really? Well guess what? It was hard for me, so BACK OFF! Ok, now that that’s out of the way, I wanted to post my studying strategy that finally got me this headache of a certification. It’s my hope that someone will stumble on this and get the extra tip they need to pass this sucker.

CCNA: Cisco Certified Network Associate Study Guide: Exam 640-802

If you were to get one study guide to help you nail this test, this is the book I’d pick for you. Todd Lammle’s writing style is great – he has a real knack for breaking down complicated topics in a way that’s easy to understand. Plus, his tone is very conversational and energetic. He reminds me of that one really smart kid you meet in high school that loves math and wants to show you how much fun long division can be. You really feel like he’s pulling for you to pass the exam! The real home run for me, though, was the Lammle method of understanding subnetting (absolutely vital to passing the test). I learned it three or four crazy ways in the past, and Lammle showed me a much easier way to do it – to the point where I can now easily subnet in my head. If for no other reason, you should buy this book just to learn a great way to subnet.

CCNA: Cisco Certified Network Associate: Fast Pass

This little gem contains basically everything in the book above, but in a “CliffsNotes” format – all subject matter is shortened and presented at a much more accelerated pace. The book assumes you have a pretty good understanding of the CCNA requirements, and are just looking to refresh/reinforce what you already know. I found it to be a perfect companion on the treadmill or during lunch breaks to keep everything fresh in my mind.

Todd Lammle’s CCNA IOS Commands Survival Guide

When learning router IOS commands, I always got confused about what show protocols would show me versus show ip protocols and stuff like that. This book is exactly what it appears to be: an excellent resource if you quickly want to look up what an IOS command does and/or displays.

TestKing practice tests

I used the TestKing practice tests to simulate a real testing environment. The CCNA exam is an hour and a half, 52-question behemoth. There’s no skipping questions, nor can you return to past questions and change your answers. It’s full steam ahead! I did many dry runs of the test using TestKing’s materials, and I’m glad I did, since the first two or three times I ran out of time and failed the exam! On a side note, if you read about TestKing on the Internet, you’ll find a lot of love/hate for it. See, the TestKing site offers study materials that are a little controversial, because many folks have reported that the real CCNA test questions look suspiciously similar to the questions on TestKing’s materials. I have to say that after taking the test yesterday, I found that the type of questions (meaning multiple choice, drag-and-drop, etc.) in the TestKing guide were indeed similar to that of the exam, but not the content itself.

PrepLogic audio training and study guide

Folks, please listen when I say the following to you: DON’T BUY PREPLOGIC STUFF! These are the materials I bought when I originally started studying for the CCNA, and I hate to be blunt, but they are garbage. As I mentioned before, PrepLogic material is vague, lacking in detail and good examples, and in general just not what you need to pass this exam. Particularly the audio CDs. Honestly, you could listen to a Britney Spears album and get a better score on the test than you would with this PoopLogic debris. Now, in their defense, if for some strange reason you don’t want to pass your test, then definitely scoop this stuff up (see, that was punny. I made a poop joke and then talked about scooping it up).

I was drafting up a note in Gmail when I noticed my spam count looked a little suspicious…

Time to put on my geek hat for a second! If you’re a Windows user that works with ISO images a lot, you might like to know that M$ has a little-known tool that lets you mount/unmount ISO images. It’s called VCD Control Panel, and you can get it here. Microsoft warns that it’s unstable and unsupported, however, one might argue that all Microsoft software is unstable, so proceed at your own risk .

Pardon if this sounds snotty, but I’m going to give myself a brief pat on the back for passing my first test (70-294) towards the MCSE (pat-pat). Ok, self-flattery is over. I really wrote this post so I could make a quick recommendation – and then talk about something that is the opposite of a recommendation – when it comes to study materials I used.

This little gem was my primary study tool. I’d say it did a fairly decent job of laying out the critical information, as well as highlighting specific “this will be on the test” items. There was also two great practice tests at the end of the book with questions that looked quite similar to those on the real exam. My only real criticism is that weren’t enough practical examples to really drive home some of the key concepts that I struggled with, but then again, my elevator doesn’t quite go to the top, so take that for what it’s worth.

Now here’s the real real reason I wrote this post. I beg of you to not, for any reason, use the study guide or lecture CD from PrepLogic (I’m not even providing a link to their Web site, but look at the picture above with the weird mannequin wearing headphones, and stay away from anything that looks like it!). I don’t know how to articulate my distaste for what is essentially high-priced toilet paper. In fact, if it weren’t so logistically challenging, I would use the study guide and CD to wipe Cam’s tush if it would make you listen to me.

I should try to be a little bit fair. The PrepLogic study guide at least kind of gives you a framework for what is on the exam, but it just glosses over everything and never gives you enough detail on anything! The lecture CD series is the real lemon when it comes to this. It should be advertised as:

“A great study tool for people who want to hear a narrator talk about technical concepts at a high level, but do not want to learn enough to understand the material, and certainly don’t want to pass the exam!”

Where other books might dedicate a chapter to talking about tools related to manipulating elements of Active Directory, the lecture CD sums up like so: “It’s important to know how to do stuff in Active Directory.” Ok, slight exaggeration, but I think you get my point. Oh, you haven’t? Ok, well if I had the choice between dying by hanging or getting beat to death with PrepLogic study materials, I’d start tying the noose right then and there…just so I wouldn’t have to see that scary mannequin wearing headphones anymore.

I’ve been in the IT field for a few years, yet have already had the privilege of working with some extremely sharp techs who have helped my knowledge base grow more than I ever could have imagined. I’ve also been able to work with folks who offer a different perspective on technology. And for whatever reason, I wasn’t able to attach “labels” to this folks until I sat down and really thought about it a while. Here’s a list I’ve started to come up with – I hope you tech geeks find it amusing, and feel welcome to add your own titles in the comments section.

The Waiter: “You think it’ll take about a day to fix my laptop? No problem. I’ll just sit behind you and breathe down your neck until it’s done. Mind if I sit on your lap?”

The Wants-to-Help: “Hey, if it matters at all, I am NOT having the issue that Bob just reported.”

The Conspiracy Theorist: “Did you just say some people reported a problem with email? It’s probably just latency from the government copying all our mail to their servers.”

The Concluder: “So our company Web site went down briefly last night? That might’ve been because I installed a new screensaver a few weeks ago.”

The Used-to-be-in-IT Guy: “I remember when I had to do all the stuff you did. It was crazy times. Craz-y. We were running Windows NT back then. Do we run that here?”

The Uses-Tech-Terms-in-Wrong-Context Person: “My Adobe Acrobat is loading a little slow – are we having any VLAN problems? Someone should look at the VLAN.”

The Everything-Works-At-Home-So-Why-Doesn’t-It-Work-Here Guy: “Bizarre. I use Comcast cable at home and never have these problems.”