wildweaselmi

Subdivision located on Belsay and Maple Rd in Grand Blanc and Burton, Michigan

A great free java script editor is attached freejse.zip Or you can use the very nice UltraEdit program but it cost $50 so the free version is okay for me. ue_english.zip Beyond a java script editor you should utilize a text compare tool to validate your changes are the only items that have changed. I have tried the free ExamDiff version edpro50.zip Or if you liked the UltraEdit program, they also provide a compare tool which works very well

A great free java script editor is attached freejse.zip Or you can use the very nice UltraEdit program but it cost $50 so the free version is okay for me. ue_english.zip Beyond a java script editor you should utilize a text compare tool to validate your changes are the only items that have changed. I have tried the free ExamDiff version edpro50.zip Or if you liked the UltraEdit program, they also provide a compare tool which works very well

So what is a PAC file? A PAC file contains some JavaScript code that lets your browser know what route is has to take to connect to different sites on the Internet. For most home users, the browser normally connects directly to a web site. However, it's also possible to have the browser connect to a "proxy" computer that gets the web content and passes it back to your browser. If you connect through a proxy, the proxy can act as an intelligent "man in the middle", blocking pornography and viruses. Sounds great, huh? What's the catch? Well, the companies that control proxy servers usually charge you money to use those proxy servers. That takes all the fun out of it... Wikipedia PAC file definition How to create/edit a PAC file? Utilize a plain-text editor like notepad in Windows or TextEdit in Mac. Here's a few (tame) lines from the PAC file: BadURL_Parts[i++:7deae8fc] = "sex"; BadURL_Parts[i++:7deae8fc] = "porn"; BadURL_Parts[i++:7deae8fc] = "bitch"; You probably have no problem figuring out how to modify those words to suit your own needs. Where does the proxy.pac file get installed? If placed locally then most people who discuss PAC files are kind of vague about where to put them or what to name them. I'm going to be specific. The PAC file should be named "proxy" with no file extension and it should be in the same folder as your "hosts" file. Why? This puts it in a folder normally reserved for system files (which is good, because this is a system file), the lack of a file extension makes it look like all the other files there (so it won't attract attention), and the lack of a file extension makes it difficult for kids to open. The folder we are discussing is located here: XP C:\Windows\system32\drivers\etc\ 2000 C:\WINNT\system32\drivers\etc\ 98/ME C:\Windows\ If using your browser config then in the Internet Explorer menu, select "Tools", then "Internet Options", then go to the "Connections" tab. Click the "Settings..." or "LAN Settings..." button depending on whether you have broadband or a dialup connection. If you aren't sure, you can do both. Check the "Use automatic configuration script" box and enter the location of your PAC file. You must use the "file://" protocol when specifying your file location. It's a little awkward to type in because all the slashes go the "wrong way", but when you get done, you should have something like this: XP file://C:/Windows/system32/drivers/etc/proxy 2000 file://C:/WINNT/system32/drivers/etc/proxy 98/ME file://C:/Windows/proxy Setup a dummy proxy server to test The only reason you may need to do this is if you use this pac file solution on something other than IE, FireFox, or Mozilla. If you do, and if that other application seems to hang, you may need to get a real proxy server. Another reason to set up a dummy server is if you don't like to see error messages in your web pages! The simplest proxy server is "Homer". The great thing about Homer is that it returns a blank image to replace the ad or porn image that might have originally displayed. This stops the error from being displayed and gives you "nothing" in return. It also has a log to show you what URLs are being blocked. Homer.zip pactester-pacparser-1.0.8-1.0.4-win32.zip Usage: ./pactester <-p pacfile> <-u url> ./pactester <-p pacfile> <-f urlslist> Options: -p pacfile: PAC file to test -u url: URL to test -h host: Host part of the URL -c client_ip: client IP address (defaults to IP address of the machine on which script is running) -f urlslist: a file containing list of URLs to be tested. Example: ./pactester -p wpad.dat -u http://www.google.com ./pactester -p wpad.dat -u http://www.google.com -c 192.168.1.105 ./pactester -p wpad.dat -f url_list Below is a very simple example of a PAC file. Use notepad or your preferred text editor to create the file, and save it as proxy.pac. function FindProxyForURL(url, host) { //set the ip address of the proxy into a variable named proxy var proxy = "PROXY 192.168.250.1:8080"; return proxy; } This very simple example of a PAC file will just re-direct traffic out through a proxy server running at 192.168.250.1 on port 8080. This of course is a very simple example but it should work. To test the PAC file drop it onto one of your internal web servers, and point your browser's automatic config file at the URL, e.g. http://webserver1/proxy.pac Once you have set this, as long as the IP and port in the PAC file match yours, you should start using the logic contained in this file. How to distribute the PAC file to clients is discussed later in the article. If that is working, you can now build more into the file to control what happens to certain sites and subnets. One of the most useful things you can do is send different subnets through different proxies. This is very good for multiple sites that each have their own Internet connection. To do this we use a simple if statement to test for the client's IP address, and then set the proxy server based on what is returned, like this: // Test for entire subnets // if (isInNet(myIpAddress(), "192.168.250.0", "255.255.255.0")) // proxy = "PROXY 192.168.250.1:8080"; This statement uses the function IsInNet to determine whether or not the client's IP address matches the one you specify. In the above code if you are any client on the 192.168.0.0 subnet, the function will return true and set the proxy variable to be 192.168.250.1:8080. You can also use a similar block of code to send individual clients to a certain proxy instead of the entire subnet. This could be useful if certain people are heavy Internet users and have a dedicated proxy. // Test for individual clients if (isInNet(myIpAddress(), "192.168.250.25", "255.255.255.255")) proxy = "PROXY 192.168.250.242:8080"; Of course if you want to use this on certain clients, they will have to have a static IP address. Directing Traffic based on URL Next we will test for a certain site URL, and if we find the user wants to access that URL we will send them down yet another proxy. if (url.substring(0, 24) == "http://www.microsoft.com") proxy = "PROXY 192.168.250.242:8080"; This function tests the URL string passed into the PAC file for the website address. The 0, 24 parameters tell the function to start at position 0 from the left hand side of the string, and count 24 characters. If the string matches the function returns true and the proxy variable is set. As we are using the Substring function, we can not only test for a specific web site, but specific protocols as well. For instance you might want all of your FTP traffic to go out over a different link from your normal HTTP and HTTPS traffic. if (url.substring(0, 4) == "ftp:") proxy = "PROXY 192.168.250.241:8080"; Now that we have got this far, we are almost ready to send the user to the correct proxy. The only thing we have not done yet is make sure that, if they are trying to access a site on your internal network, they go directly and do not use the proxy. This is done like so: if (isInNet(host, "192.168.0.0", "255.255.0.0")) { return "DIRECT"; } else { return proxy; } The first part of the IF statement is the IsInNet function again, this time on the IP address of the destination passed into the PAC file. If it is in the IP scope specified, then the user is sent directly to the site. At this point the logic of the PAC file concludes and the user is sent to the site. If the IF statement returns false, then the user is sent to the proxy server that is currently held in the proxy variable. Put it all Together Now that we have all the building blocks, we can create our PAC file. If we wish, we can also set it up so that, instead of using the IP address of the proxy, it points to a DNS entry. This is useful if you have backup proxies. In that case, if the main one goes offline you can change the DNS entry to the backup and the clients will be re-directed, without you having to alter the PAC file. We use this in our final completed example. function FindProxyForURL(url, host) { //Set a default proxy if non are returned below var proxy = "PROXY 192.168.0.244:8080"; // Test for Prestons subnets if (isInNet(myIpAddress(), "192.168.1.0", "255.255.255.0")) proxy = "PROXY proxy_preston:8080"; if (isInNet(myIpAddress(), "192.168.2.0", "255.255.255.0")) proxy = "PROXY proxy_preston:8080"; // Test for Londons subnets if (isInNet(myIpAddress(), "192.168.3.0", "255.255.255.0")) proxy = "PROXY proxy_blackpool:8080"; if (isInNet(myIpAddress(), "192.168.4.0", "255.255.255.0")) proxy = "PROXY proxy_blackpool:8080"; //Now direct the user out through the proxy if not internal site if (isInNet(host, "192.168.0.0", "255.255.0.0")) { return "DIRECT"; } else if (url.substring(0, 24) == "http://www.microsoft.com") { return "PROXY 159.180.13.52:3128"; } else if (url.substring(0, 5) == "http:") { return proxy; } else if (url.substring(0, 4) == "ftp:") { return proxy; } } Now that you have your PAC file, you need to get your users to start using it. There are a couple of ways you can accomplish this, apart from the obvious one of getting them to do it themselves. Please note that all the options discussed below are for use with Internet Explorer; they won't affect FireFox, Opera, Safari etc. If you have any way of setting up these browsers send them to me and I'll attach them as a comment to this article. Hacking the Registry The IE home page is just a simple setting in the registry. It is specific for each user profile on the machine and lives in HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionInternet SettingsAutoConfigURL So if you use VBS login scripts you could have a function in them that writes down your config file, something like this: 'Create shell objext Set objwsh = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell") 'Assign the PAC file Const PROXY_LOC = "http://webserver1/proxy.pac" objwsh.RegWrite "HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionInternet SettingsAutoConfigURL", PROXY_LOC, "REG_SZ" Using a Group Policy If you are running in an active directory domain, this is probably the best way to control it. By using this method you can not only set the location of the PAC file, but disable the option in Internet Explorer so that the user can't go in and change it. Open up (or create) a Policy file that will hold the settings for your users. The options you need are all in the USER section under Windows Settings/Internet Explorer Maintenance/Connection. To use your PAC file, open up the Automatic Browser Configuration option. In here tick the Enable Automatic Configuration box, and then in the bottom text area named Auto-proxy URL, put the address of your PAC file in. For example, http://webserver1/proxy.pac. You can also set a time in minutes that will reload the PAC file. If you leave this blank the PAC file is just re-read every time you reload the browser. Going Forward As the language of the PAC file is JavaScript-based, there are a lot more functions you could build into it, such as re-directing the user to one site if they try to visit a page they shouldn't be visiting. There are also various other options for distributing the PAC file. One of the most interesting is using DNS and DHCP to implement the Web Proxy Autodiscovery (WPAD) protocol. Homer.zip pactester-pacparser-1.0.8-1.0.4-win32.zip freejse.zip ue_english.zip edpro50.zip proxypacfiletest.txt

So what is a PAC file? A PAC file contains some JavaScript code that lets your browser know what route is has to take to connect to different sites on the Internet. For most home users, the browser normally connects directly to a web site. However, it's also possible to have the browser connect to a "proxy" computer that gets the web content and passes it back to your browser. If you connect through a proxy, the proxy can act as an intelligent "man in the middle", blocking pornography and viruses. Sounds great, huh? What's the catch? Well, the companies that control proxy servers usually charge you money to use those proxy servers. That takes all the fun out of it... Wikipedia PAC file definition How to create/edit a PAC file? Utilize a plain-text editor like notepad in Windows or TextEdit in Mac. Here's a few (tame) lines from the PAC file: BadURL_Parts[i++:7deae8fc] = "sex"; BadURL_Parts[i++:7deae8fc] = "porn"; BadURL_Parts[i++:7deae8fc] = "bitch"; You probably have no problem figuring out how to modify those words to suit your own needs. Where does the proxy.pac file get installed? If placed locally then most people who discuss PAC files are kind of vague about where to put them or what to name them. I'm going to be specific. The PAC file should be named "proxy" with no file extension and it should be in the same folder as your "hosts" file. Why? This puts it in a folder normally reserved for system files (which is good, because this is a system file), the lack of a file extension makes it look like all the other files there (so it won't attract attention), and the lack of a file extension makes it difficult for kids to open. The folder we are discussing is located here: XP C:\Windows\system32\drivers\etc\ 2000 C:\WINNT\system32\drivers\etc\ 98/ME C:\Windows\ If using your browser config then in the Internet Explorer menu, select "Tools", then "Internet Options", then go to the "Connections" tab. Click the "Settings..." or "LAN Settings..." button depending on whether you have broadband or a dialup connection. If you aren't sure, you can do both. Check the "Use automatic configuration script" box and enter the location of your PAC file. You must use the "file://" protocol when specifying your file location. It's a little awkward to type in because all the slashes go the "wrong way", but when you get done, you should have something like this: XP file://C:/Windows/system32/drivers/etc/proxy 2000 file://C:/WINNT/system32/drivers/etc/proxy 98/ME file://C:/Windows/proxy Setup a dummy proxy server to test The only reason you may need to do this is if you use this pac file solution on something other than IE, FireFox, or Mozilla. If you do, and if that other application seems to hang, you may need to get a real proxy server. Another reason to set up a dummy server is if you don't like to see error messages in your web pages! The simplest proxy server is "Homer". The great thing about Homer is that it returns a blank image to replace the ad or porn image that might have originally displayed. This stops the error from being displayed and gives you "nothing" in return. It also has a log to show you what URLs are being blocked. Homer.zip pactester-pacparser-1.0.8-1.0.4-win32.zip Usage: ./pactester <-p pacfile> <-u url> ./pactester <-p pacfile> <-f urlslist> Options: -p pacfile: PAC file to test -u url: URL to test -h host: Host part of the URL -c client_ip: client IP address (defaults to IP address of the machine on which script is running) -f urlslist: a file containing list of URLs to be tested. Example: ./pactester -p wpad.dat -u http://www.google.com ./pactester -p wpad.dat -u http://www.google.com -c 192.168.1.105 ./pactester -p wpad.dat -f url_list Below is a very simple example of a PAC file. Use notepad or your preferred text editor to create the file, and save it as proxy.pac. function FindProxyForURL(url, host) { //set the ip address of the proxy into a variable named proxy var proxy = "PROXY 192.168.250.1:8080"; return proxy; } This very simple example of a PAC file will just re-direct traffic out through a proxy server running at 192.168.250.1 on port 8080. This of course is a very simple example but it should work. To test the PAC file drop it onto one of your internal web servers, and point your browser's automatic config file at the URL, e.g. http://webserver1/proxy.pac Once you have set this, as long as the IP and port in the PAC file match yours, you should start using the logic contained in this file. How to distribute the PAC file to clients is discussed later in the article. If that is working, you can now build more into the file to control what happens to certain sites and subnets. One of the most useful things you can do is send different subnets through different proxies. This is very good for multiple sites that each have their own Internet connection. To do this we use a simple if statement to test for the client's IP address, and then set the proxy server based on what is returned, like this: // Test for entire subnets // if (isInNet(myIpAddress(), "192.168.250.0", "255.255.255.0")) // proxy = "PROXY 192.168.250.1:8080"; This statement uses the function IsInNet to determine whether or not the client's IP address matches the one you specify. In the above code if you are any client on the 192.168.0.0 subnet, the function will return true and set the proxy variable to be 192.168.250.1:8080. You can also use a similar block of code to send individual clients to a certain proxy instead of the entire subnet. This could be useful if certain people are heavy Internet users and have a dedicated proxy. // Test for individual clients if (isInNet(myIpAddress(), "192.168.250.25", "255.255.255.255")) proxy = "PROXY 192.168.250.242:8080"; Of course if you want to use this on certain clients, they will have to have a static IP address. Directing Traffic based on URL Next we will test for a certain site URL, and if we find the user wants to access that URL we will send them down yet another proxy. if (url.substring(0, 24) == "http://www.microsoft.com") proxy = "PROXY 192.168.250.242:8080"; This function tests the URL string passed into the PAC file for the website address. The 0, 24 parameters tell the function to start at position 0 from the left hand side of the string, and count 24 characters. If the string matches the function returns true and the proxy variable is set. As we are using the Substring function, we can not only test for a specific web site, but specific protocols as well. For instance you might want all of your FTP traffic to go out over a different link from your normal HTTP and HTTPS traffic. if (url.substring(0, 4) == "ftp:") proxy = "PROXY 192.168.250.241:8080"; Now that we have got this far, we are almost ready to send the user to the correct proxy. The only thing we have not done yet is make sure that, if they are trying to access a site on your internal network, they go directly and do not use the proxy. This is done like so: if (isInNet(host, "192.168.0.0", "255.255.0.0")) { return "DIRECT"; } else { return proxy; } The first part of the IF statement is the IsInNet function again, this time on the IP address of the destination passed into the PAC file. If it is in the IP scope specified, then the user is sent directly to the site. At this point the logic of the PAC file concludes and the user is sent to the site. If the IF statement returns false, then the user is sent to the proxy server that is currently held in the proxy variable. Put it all Together Now that we have all the building blocks, we can create our PAC file. If we wish, we can also set it up so that, instead of using the IP address of the proxy, it points to a DNS entry. This is useful if you have backup proxies. In that case, if the main one goes offline you can change the DNS entry to the backup and the clients will be re-directed, without you having to alter the PAC file. We use this in our final completed example. function FindProxyForURL(url, host) { //Set a default proxy if non are returned below var proxy = "PROXY 192.168.0.244:8080"; // Test for Prestons subnets if (isInNet(myIpAddress(), "192.168.1.0", "255.255.255.0")) proxy = "PROXY proxy_preston:8080"; if (isInNet(myIpAddress(), "192.168.2.0", "255.255.255.0")) proxy = "PROXY proxy_preston:8080"; // Test for Londons subnets if (isInNet(myIpAddress(), "192.168.3.0", "255.255.255.0")) proxy = "PROXY proxy_blackpool:8080"; if (isInNet(myIpAddress(), "192.168.4.0", "255.255.255.0")) proxy = "PROXY proxy_blackpool:8080"; //Now direct the user out through the proxy if not internal site if (isInNet(host, "192.168.0.0", "255.255.0.0")) { return "DIRECT"; } else if (url.substring(0, 24) == "http://www.microsoft.com") { return "PROXY 159.180.13.52:3128"; } else if (url.substring(0, 5) == "http:") { return proxy; } else if (url.substring(0, 4) == "ftp:") { return proxy; } } Now that you have your PAC file, you need to get your users to start using it. There are a couple of ways you can accomplish this, apart from the obvious one of getting them to do it themselves. Please note that all the options discussed below are for use with Internet Explorer; they won't affect FireFox, Opera, Safari etc. If you have any way of setting up these browsers send them to me and I'll attach them as a comment to this article. Hacking the Registry The IE home page is just a simple setting in the registry. It is specific for each user profile on the machine and lives in HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionInternet SettingsAutoConfigURL So if you use VBS login scripts you could have a function in them that writes down your config file, something like this: 'Create shell objext Set objwsh = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell") 'Assign the PAC file Const PROXY_LOC = "http://webserver1/proxy.pac" objwsh.RegWrite "HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionInternet SettingsAutoConfigURL", PROXY_LOC, "REG_SZ" Using a Group Policy If you are running in an active directory domain, this is probably the best way to control it. By using this method you can not only set the location of the PAC file, but disable the option in Internet Explorer so that the user can't go in and change it. Open up (or create) a Policy file that will hold the settings for your users. The options you need are all in the USER section under Windows Settings/Internet Explorer Maintenance/Connection. To use your PAC file, open up the Automatic Browser Configuration option. In here tick the Enable Automatic Configuration box, and then in the bottom text area named Auto-proxy URL, put the address of your PAC file in. For example, http://webserver1/proxy.pac. You can also set a time in minutes that will reload the PAC file. If you leave this blank the PAC file is just re-read every time you reload the browser. Going Forward As the language of the PAC file is JavaScript-based, there are a lot more functions you could build into it, such as re-directing the user to one site if they try to visit a page they shouldn't be visiting. There are also various other options for distributing the PAC file. One of the most interesting is using DNS and DHCP to implement the Web Proxy Autodiscovery (WPAD) protocol. Homer.zip pactester-pacparser-1.0.8-1.0.4-win32.zip freejse.zip ue_english.zip edpro50.zip proxypacfiletest.txt

Instead of today (Monday) I went in on Friday and did the whole sfc /scannow which took about a full 30 minutes an prompted for the XP Professional CD a lot but didn't appear to resolve anything. When finished, the progress bar just goes away. Also checked for startup registry entries and programs, looking for something unusual or that may be causing an issue and found nothing. Installed pagedefrag and smartdefrag to keep the system free of fragments seeing how when the system goes to a black/blank screen during bootup, the only option is to hold the power button in until it shuts down and then start it back up again. This causes some serious fragments on the drive. It could be a bad block on the drive which a chkdsk would discover. It could also be bad software... I am just starting to think it could be Powerchute software since no APC is plugged in, it may be looking for the backup unit during bootup. The best approach is to remove any not required software from the system and see if that resolves the issue. Per the second post in this thread it mentions service pack 3 could be corrupt but I thought the sfc /scannow would of resolved that issue (maybe not). So I could also try and uninstall and reinstall of service pack 3.

Instead of today (Monday) I went in on Friday and did the whole sfc /scannow which took about a full 30 minutes an prompted for the XP Professional CD a lot but didn't appear to resolve anything. When finished, the progress bar just goes away. Also checked for startup registry entries and programs, looking for something unusual or that may be causing an issue and found nothing. Installed pagedefrag and smartdefrag to keep the system free of fragments seeing how when the system goes to a black/blank screen during bootup, the only option is to hold the power button in until it shuts down and then start it back up again. This causes some serious fragments on the drive. It could be a bad block on the drive which a chkdsk would discover. It could also be bad software... I am just starting to think it could be Powerchute software since no APC is plugged in, it may be looking for the backup unit during bootup. The best approach is to remove any not required software from the system and see if that resolves the issue. Per the second post in this thread it mentions service pack 3 could be corrupt but I thought the sfc /scannow would of resolved that issue (maybe not). So I could also try and uninstall and reinstall of service pack 3.

This issue I am troubleshooting doesn't appear to be the external drive as it was unplugged and the system was still hanging at the blank screen after forcing a shutdown (by holding the power button down) four seperate times before the PC came up. Monday I am going to go onsite and do: winver (note version of xp... Home or Professional and current Service Pack) sfc /scannow (will take approx 30 minutes which will check to see if all necessary files are present. NOTE: may prompt for XP CD) insert Hiren BootCD v10.1 and run the following programs looking for what is starting up with Windows Autoruns 9.56, Silent Runners Revision 60, Startup Control Panel 2.8, and HijackThis 2.0.2

This issue I am troubleshooting doesn't appear to be the external drive as it was unplugged and the system was still hanging at the blank screen after forcing a shutdown (by holding the power button down) four seperate times before the PC came up. Monday I am going to go onsite and do: winver (note version of xp... Home or Professional and current Service Pack) sfc /scannow (will take approx 30 minutes which will check to see if all necessary files are present. NOTE: may prompt for XP CD) insert Hiren BootCD v10.1 and run the following programs looking for what is starting up with Windows Autoruns 9.56, Silent Runners Revision 60, Startup Control Panel 2.8, and HijackThis 2.0.2

When troubleshooting on a Cisco IOS based switch I utilize the show command a lot and found these filters helpful. show append Redirects the output of any show command and adds it to the end of an existing file show exclude show arp | exclude 10.5. Filters show command output so that it excludes lines that contain a particular regular expression. show include show running-config | section include interface Filters show command output so that it displays only lines that contain a particular regular expression. show redirect Redirects the output of any show command to a specified file.

When troubleshooting on a Cisco IOS based switch I utilize the show command a lot and found these filters helpful. show append Redirects the output of any show command and adds it to the end of an existing file show exclude show arp | exclude 10.5. Filters show command output so that it excludes lines that contain a particular regular expression. show include show running-config | section include interface Filters show command output so that it displays only lines that contain a particular regular expression. show redirect Redirects the output of any show command to a specified file.

Very strange but unplugging the external drive seems to work. The external drive is USB and is only used for backup by the Backup Software called Cobian? Ever hear of this? It sounds like the backup software may have made a copy of the entire drive to include the Master Boot Record and if the PC's BIOS has USB as a bootable device before the hard-drive then this could possibly be an issue. Which makes we wonder, is the Windows XP splash screen from the PC running off the external drive and of course it can't go any further? I believe what needs to happen is, verify/examine the external drive and also make sure the DELL BIOS doesn't have USB as a bootable device before the internal hard drive.

Very strange but unplugging the external drive seems to work. The external drive is USB and is only used for backup by the Backup Software called Cobian? Ever hear of this? It sounds like the backup software may have made a copy of the entire drive to include the Master Boot Record and if the PC's BIOS has USB as a bootable device before the hard-drive then this could possibly be an issue. Which makes we wonder, is the Windows XP splash screen from the PC running off the external drive and of course it can't go any further? I believe what needs to happen is, verify/examine the external drive and also make sure the DELL BIOS doesn't have USB as a bootable device before the internal hard drive.

To capture data based on destination run tcpdump -nnvvXSs 1514 dst mywiseguys.com (you could use IP address instead if you want) Many of us will capture to an output file like tcpdump -w mwgoutput.pcap You can view the file using tcpdump tcpdump -nnr mwgoutput.pcap If you look at this file in notepad or wordpad you probably won't make much sense of it so convert it to txt file by running tcpdump -nnr mwgoutput.pcap > mwgoutput.pcap.txt If you want a detailed (ascii and hex) output you will use tcpdump -nvvXSs 1514 dst mywiseguys.com > mwgtest.txt A pretty common capture with a filter on destination tcpdump -nnvvS dst mywiseguys.com 19:03:56.725037 IP (tos 0x0, ttl 128, id 22285, offset 0, flags , proto TCP (6), length 40) 0.0.0.0.49778 > 74.220.207.116.80: Flags , cksum 0x3837 (correct), seq 1400, ack 5393, win 32768, length 0 19:03:56.725046 IP (tos 0x0, ttl 128, id 22285, offset 0, flags , proto TCP (6), length 40) 0.0.0.0.49778 > 74.220.207.116.80: Flags , cksum 0x3836 (correct), seq 1401, ack 5394, win 32768, length 0[/code] tcpdump_trial_license.zip

To capture data based on destination run tcpdump -nnvvXSs 1514 dst mywiseguys.com (you could use IP address instead if you want) Many of us will capture to an output file like tcpdump -w mwgoutput.pcap You can view the file using tcpdump tcpdump -nnr mwgoutput.pcap If you look at this file in notepad or wordpad you probably won't make much sense of it so convert it to txt file by running tcpdump -nnr mwgoutput.pcap > mwgoutput.pcap.txt If you want a detailed (ascii and hex) output you will use tcpdump -nvvXSs 1514 dst mywiseguys.com > mwgtest.txt A pretty common capture with a filter on destination tcpdump -nnvvS dst mywiseguys.com 19:03:56.725037 IP (tos 0x0, ttl 128, id 22285, offset 0, flags , proto TCP (6), length 40) 0.0.0.0.49778 > 74.220.207.116.80: Flags , cksum 0x3837 (correct), seq 1400, ack 5393, win 32768, length 0 19:03:56.725046 IP (tos 0x0, ttl 128, id 22285, offset 0, flags , proto TCP (6), length 40) 0.0.0.0.49778 > 74.220.207.116.80: Flags , cksum 0x3836 (correct), seq 1401, ack 5394, win 32768, length 0[/code] tcpdump_trial_license.zip

Have you ever been in the situation where a ping and traceroute doesn't show any issues with the network and yet users are complaining an application or site is slow. An option you can use for Windows is a program called WinDump (this is similar to tcpdump, Wireshark or Ethereal but no installation, just running the windump.exe file) Pre-Req is the WinPcap installation The command line looks as follows; windump [ -C file_size ] [ -F file ] [ -i interface ] [ -m module ] [ -M secret ] [ -r file ] [ -s snaplen ] [ -T type ] [ -w file ] [ -W filecount ] [ -E spi@ipaddr algo:secret,... ] [ -y datalinktype ] [ -Z user ] [ expression ] tcpdump_trial_license.zip

Have you ever been in the situation where a ping and traceroute doesn't show any issues with the network and yet users are complaining an application or site is slow. An option you can use for Windows is a program called WinDump (this is similar to tcpdump, Wireshark or Ethereal but no installation, just running the windump.exe file) Pre-Req is the WinPcap installation The command line looks as follows; windump [ -C file_size ] [ -F file ] [ -i interface ] [ -m module ] [ -M secret ] [ -r file ] [ -s snaplen ] [ -T type ] [ -w file ] [ -W filecount ] [ -E spi@ipaddr algo:secret,... ] [ -y datalinktype ] [ -Z user ] [ expression ] tcpdump_trial_license.zip

You may also want to try from the Windows Recovery Console OR ALSO TRY and Boot into Safe Mode to see if you can get past the blank screen Access safe mode by pressing the F8 key just before Windows XP begins to boot (you may have to press F8 repeatedly). Upon doing so, the Windows boot menu will be displayed, which gives you several different boot modes to choose from. Below is a brief explanation of each of these modes: Safe Mode -- Safe Mode boots Windows using a minimal driver set and without loading any startup applications. Safe Mode with Networking -- This option does the same thing as Safe Mode, except that it also loads the drivers and services necessary for network access. Safe Mode with Command Prompt -- This option is similar to Safe Mode, except that the system boots to a command prompt rather than to a GUI. This option is most useful for repairing GUI-related problems. Enable Boot Logging -- If you select this option, Windows will create a diagnostic log of the boot process. You can use this log to figure out where the process is breaking down. The log file is named NTBLOG.TXT and is located in the %SYSTEMROOT% folder. You can use boot logging in conjunction with any of the safe mode boot options except for the Last Known Good Configuration option. Enable VGA Mode -- The Enable VGA Mode option is intended for use when the correct video driver is installed, but Windows was accidentally configured to use an incompatible display resolution. The Enable VGA Mode option boots Windows using the current video driver but uses a 640 x 480 resolution. This gives you the opportunity to reset the display resolution. Safe Mode and Safe Mode with Networking also use a decreased screen resolution but do so by using the VGA.SYS driver rather than the video driver that was specifically designed for your video card. Therefore, the Enable VGA Mode is the option of choice for resetting the display resolution. Last Known Good Configuration -- When Windows boots successfully, it makes note that it was able to boot successfully by marking the configuration as "good." If you make a configuration change that renders Windows unbootable, you can select the Last Known Good Configuration option to boot Windows using a known good configuration. Directory Services Restore Mode -- Although this option appears on Windows XP's menu, it is only valid for Windows Server machines that are acting as domain controllers. Debugging Mode -- This option is an obsolete leftover from Windows NT. The option allows you to send debugging information over a serial port (COM2) to another computer that is running a debugger. However, modern computers are no longer equipped with traditional serial ports. Disable Automatic Restart on System Failures -- This option prevents Windows from automatically rebooting when a blue screen error occurs. It is useful for troubleshooting when a machine mysteriously reboots itself in the middle of the night. Start Windows Normally -- This option causes Windows to load in the normal way. Reboot -- Use this option to reboot the machine. Return to OS Choice Menu -- Selecting this option takes you to a screen that lets you choose which of the installed operating systems you want to boot. Unless you are running a dual boot or a multi-boot configuration, Windows XP will be the only choice. Once logged in via safe mode, check these registry keys to see what is being started during bootup Windows differentiates between processes that are only run during the next reboot and those that are configured to run every time Windows is started. Calls to processes that are run only after the next reboot can be found beneath the following registry locations: Finding calls to processes that run each time Windows is booted is a bit trickier. Here are the primary locations where these calls are stored: SOMETHING ELSE TO TRY Insert Hiren BootCD 10.1 with Windows XP running and try the following tools to show which programs are launching during startup Autoruns 9.56 Displays All the entries from startup folder, Run, RunOnce, and other Registry keys, Explorer shell extensions,toolbars, browser helper objects, Winlogon notifications, auto-start services, Scheduled Tasks, Winsock, LSA Providers, Remove Drivers and much more which helps to remove nasty spyware/adware and viruses. Silent Runners Revision 60 A free script that helps detect spyware, malware and adware in the startup process Startup Control Panel 2.8 a tool to edit startup programs Startup Monitor 1.02 it notifies you when any program registers itself to run at system startup HijackThis 2.0.2 a general homepage hijackers detector and remover and more

You may also want to try from the Windows Recovery Console OR ALSO TRY and Boot into Safe Mode to see if you can get past the blank screen Access safe mode by pressing the F8 key just before Windows XP begins to boot (you may have to press F8 repeatedly). Upon doing so, the Windows boot menu will be displayed, which gives you several different boot modes to choose from. Below is a brief explanation of each of these modes: Safe Mode -- Safe Mode boots Windows using a minimal driver set and without loading any startup applications. Safe Mode with Networking -- This option does the same thing as Safe Mode, except that it also loads the drivers and services necessary for network access. Safe Mode with Command Prompt -- This option is similar to Safe Mode, except that the system boots to a command prompt rather than to a GUI. This option is most useful for repairing GUI-related problems. Enable Boot Logging -- If you select this option, Windows will create a diagnostic log of the boot process. You can use this log to figure out where the process is breaking down. The log file is named NTBLOG.TXT and is located in the %SYSTEMROOT% folder. You can use boot logging in conjunction with any of the safe mode boot options except for the Last Known Good Configuration option. Enable VGA Mode -- The Enable VGA Mode option is intended for use when the correct video driver is installed, but Windows was accidentally configured to use an incompatible display resolution. The Enable VGA Mode option boots Windows using the current video driver but uses a 640 x 480 resolution. This gives you the opportunity to reset the display resolution. Safe Mode and Safe Mode with Networking also use a decreased screen resolution but do so by using the VGA.SYS driver rather than the video driver that was specifically designed for your video card. Therefore, the Enable VGA Mode is the option of choice for resetting the display resolution. Last Known Good Configuration -- When Windows boots successfully, it makes note that it was able to boot successfully by marking the configuration as "good." If you make a configuration change that renders Windows unbootable, you can select the Last Known Good Configuration option to boot Windows using a known good configuration. Directory Services Restore Mode -- Although this option appears on Windows XP's menu, it is only valid for Windows Server machines that are acting as domain controllers. Debugging Mode -- This option is an obsolete leftover from Windows NT. The option allows you to send debugging information over a serial port (COM2) to another computer that is running a debugger. However, modern computers are no longer equipped with traditional serial ports. Disable Automatic Restart on System Failures -- This option prevents Windows from automatically rebooting when a blue screen error occurs. It is useful for troubleshooting when a machine mysteriously reboots itself in the middle of the night. Start Windows Normally -- This option causes Windows to load in the normal way. Reboot -- Use this option to reboot the machine. Return to OS Choice Menu -- Selecting this option takes you to a screen that lets you choose which of the installed operating systems you want to boot. Unless you are running a dual boot or a multi-boot configuration, Windows XP will be the only choice. Once logged in via safe mode, check these registry keys to see what is being started during bootup Windows differentiates between processes that are only run during the next reboot and those that are configured to run every time Windows is started. Calls to processes that are run only after the next reboot can be found beneath the following registry locations: Finding calls to processes that run each time Windows is booted is a bit trickier. Here are the primary locations where these calls are stored: SOMETHING ELSE TO TRY Insert Hiren BootCD 10.1 with Windows XP running and try the following tools to show which programs are launching during startup Autoruns 9.56 Displays All the entries from startup folder, Run, RunOnce, and other Registry keys, Explorer shell extensions,toolbars, browser helper objects, Winlogon notifications, auto-start services, Scheduled Tasks, Winsock, LSA Providers, Remove Drivers and much more which helps to remove nasty spyware/adware and viruses. Silent Runners Revision 60 A free script that helps detect spyware, malware and adware in the startup process Startup Control Panel 2.8 a tool to edit startup programs Startup Monitor 1.02 it notifies you when any program registers itself to run at system startup HijackThis 2.0.2 a general homepage hijackers detector and remover and more

The culprit is the installation of a Windows Service Pack. If the installation of a Windows Service Pack was interrupted for any reason, then you will get these Windows XP hangs during bootup (usually 1 out of 10 tries). If you can, use System Restore to roll-back to a date prior to the installation of the Service Pack being installed. Once rolled back has completed successfully, then reinstall Service Pack -- this time wait until the Service Pack states it has finished. Updating the video drivers will not work and you will be wasting your time trying to find another fix To determine which service pack is currently installed on your computer, follow these steps: Click Start, and then click Run. Copy and paste, or type the following command and then click OK: winver (A dialog box displays the version of Windows and the service pack that is currently installed on your computer) Here is an article on how to uninstall service pack 3 Method 1: Use the "Add or Remove Programs" item in Control Panel Click Start, and then click Run. Copy and then paste the following command in the Open box, and then press ENTER: appwiz.cpl Click to select the Show Updates check box. Click Windows XP Service Pack 3, and then click Remove. Click Finish to restart the computer after the removal process is complete. Method 2: Use the hidden $NtServicePackUninstall$ folder Click Start, click Run, type c:\windows\$NtServicePackUninstall$\spuninst\spuninst.exe in the Open box, and then click OK. When the Windows XP Service Pack 3 Removal Wizard starts, click Next. Follow the instructions on the screen to remove Windows XP SP3. Method 3: Use the System Restore process Note Before you use System Restore, make sure that you have restarted the computer at least one time after you installed Windows XP SP3. By restarting the computer, you allow for any remaining servicing processes to finish. Click Start, and then click Run. Copy and then paste the following command in the Open box, and then press ENTER: %systemroot%\System32\restore\rstrui.exe Click Restore my computer to an earlier time, and then click Next. Click the date on which you installed Windows XP SP3, and then click Installed Window XP Service Pack 3 in the Restore Point box. Click Next, and then follow the instructions on the screen to remove Windows XP SP3. Here is an article on how to obtain the latest service pack for xp

The culprit is the installation of a Windows Service Pack. If the installation of a Windows Service Pack was interrupted for any reason, then you will get these Windows XP hangs during bootup (usually 1 out of 10 tries). If you can, use System Restore to roll-back to a date prior to the installation of the Service Pack being installed. Once rolled back has completed successfully, then reinstall Service Pack -- this time wait until the Service Pack states it has finished. Updating the video drivers will not work and you will be wasting your time trying to find another fix To determine which service pack is currently installed on your computer, follow these steps: Click Start, and then click Run. Copy and paste, or type the following command and then click OK: winver (A dialog box displays the version of Windows and the service pack that is currently installed on your computer) Here is an article on how to uninstall service pack 3 Method 1: Use the "Add or Remove Programs" item in Control Panel Click Start, and then click Run. Copy and then paste the following command in the Open box, and then press ENTER: appwiz.cpl Click to select the Show Updates check box. Click Windows XP Service Pack 3, and then click Remove. Click Finish to restart the computer after the removal process is complete. Method 2: Use the hidden $NtServicePackUninstall$ folder Click Start, click Run, type c:\windows\$NtServicePackUninstall$\spuninst\spuninst.exe in the Open box, and then click OK. When the Windows XP Service Pack 3 Removal Wizard starts, click Next. Follow the instructions on the screen to remove Windows XP SP3. Method 3: Use the System Restore process Note Before you use System Restore, make sure that you have restarted the computer at least one time after you installed Windows XP SP3. By restarting the computer, you allow for any remaining servicing processes to finish. Click Start, and then click Run. Copy and then paste the following command in the Open box, and then press ENTER: %systemroot%\System32\restore\rstrui.exe Click Restore my computer to an earlier time, and then click Next. Click the date on which you installed Windows XP SP3, and then click Installed Window XP Service Pack 3 in the Restore Point box. Click Next, and then follow the instructions on the screen to remove Windows XP SP3. Here is an article on how to obtain the latest service pack for xp

So whats the difference? hosangit.example.com. CNAME mywiseguys.example.com. mywiseguys.example.com. A 192.168.2.23[/code] When an A record lookup for hosangit.example.com is done, the resolver will see a CNAME record and restart the checking at mywiseguys.example.com and will then return 192.168.2.23.

So whats the difference? hosangit.example.com. CNAME mywiseguys.example.com. mywiseguys.example.com. A 192.168.2.23[/code] When an A record lookup for hosangit.example.com is done, the resolver will see a CNAME record and restart the checking at mywiseguys.example.com and will then return 192.168.2.23.

if you are running Vista and get the error It's a Vista issue From Microsoft Microsoft solution is to give them more money for the upgraded Operating System to fix the issue with Vista. Proof that Microsoft is forcing Vista users to upgrade because they will not support an OS that sux like Vista does.

if you are running Vista and get the error It's a Vista issue From Microsoft Microsoft solution is to give them more money for the upgraded Operating System to fix the issue with Vista. Proof that Microsoft is forcing Vista users to upgrade because they will not support an OS that sux like Vista does.