Little known to most, there are many benefits to being a computer geek. In our high-tech society, being a computer guru can be one of the most high paying jobs available. By tapping into your inner geek, you can develop a most useful skill that will be sure to pay off later in life.

1. Learn what hardware is.
2. Learn what software is.
3. Learn the specs (technical specifications) of your computer.
4. Learn to navigate a computer without using the explorer window, only by using the command line. Here are some common commands:
   • cd folder (*nix/Windows) to change the directory to folder
   • ls (*nix) or dir (Windows) to list the files or folders in the current directory
   • rm file (*nix) or del file (Windows) to remove file
   • mkdir name (*nix/Windows) or md name (Windows) to make a directory with a name of name
   • cp origfile newfile (*nix) or copy origfile newfile (Windows) to copy origfile to newfile
   • Note: *nix is any Unix based system such as Linux, BSD, or MacOS X (previous versions of Mac OS are not based off of Unix)
5. Learn to type without looking at the keyboard,
6. Ask. If someone does something on a computer that you would like to know, ask them about it.
7. Learning a programming language is a must-do. HTML is not considered a geeky language, nor CSS, HTML is a markup language and CSS is a presentation language. Python and PHP are excellent programming languages for beginner geeks, while Perl and C should only be learned after grasping the basic “geeky” computer and Internet concepts. If you chose to learn HTML learn XHTML.
8. Start learning basic repair procedures. This can help you out a lot if your or someone else’s computer breaks down, which will also increase your reputation as a computer geek. You may learn the advanced methods, but that may require lessons from an actual computer geek.
9. Work with others with their computer problems. By interacting with other PC users, you may find that they know things that you don’t and vice versa. However as a computer geek wannabe, you’ll want to know more about computer than your friends, at any given time.
10. Help others out with their computer problems. Not only will you build a name for yourself, but it is good practice and can help you learn about situations and problems you have not encountered before.
11. Offer to help others with their computer problems even if they claim they don’t have a problem.
12. Learn to recognize malware(computer viruses, spyware and the other nasty stuff) before running the daily antivirus/antispyware scans.
13. Use a restrictive firewall, that would cause normal people to cry because they don’t understand how to use it. Of course, you should know how to use it!
14. Use an Open Source Operating System
    • Most computer geeks will use an open OS such as BSD or Linux, because it is (usually) free and allows them to do geeky stuff such as programming, running servers and using a command line interface (CLI).
15. Know the expression “Free as in beer or free as in speech” and what it means.
16. Use Firefox and install the NoScript addon.
17. Use Shortcuts.
18. Know the inner workings of the Internet.
19. Remember to keep things simple. Skip overwhelming or overly-complicated ideas. Instead, focus on learning the knowledge and skills you may need to accomplish a big idea in the future.
20. Learn to speak Geek!

Hey folks my pc was always giving this error whenever i start the pc, so went through those steps and it worked , i decided to post this in my blog..enjoy.

What is a rundll error? 

Rundll.exe files are systems process directly related to your computer’s Windows Registry. All Dll files are a part of vast library that contains code and data that is shared by many programs. This helps to produce speed and memory efficiency in your operating system by reusing the same code or file to run many functions by various programs. An error occurs when program aren’t allowed to access this code.
 

Why do you have Rundll Errors?

Windows uses rundll files to load programs, files and applications. If the dll file is missing or corrupted, any application using that file cannot be loaded. This will produce a rundll error. The reason why the file has gone missing is often linked to spyware or a virus. This kind of malware often tries to hijack the files being shared by the rundll file. The other programs sharing the file then do not operate efficiently or wont load at all.

How to Find and Delete Rundll ErrorsSTEP 1: IDENTIFY
The first thing you must do is to identify the specific rundll process. This is not a difficult task; there is a vast online process library in which you can evaluate the validity of the process that is running. When the error dialog box opens make not of the process name. For example if the dialog pops up and shows you the dll error:

Error loading C:WINDOWSsystem32usvdgpo.dll

STEP 2: STOP THE PROCESS
Often you can locate the Run Dll in the exe services. You can open up your services configuration by following instructions below:
1. Open your Start menu.
2. Click Run
3. In the command screen type:services.msc
4. This will bring up the Services Management window. If you drag the mouse to one of the services. It will give you a detailed explanation of the service in question. By right clicking the individual service.
5.Stop the “dll”service immediately.

NOTE: Sometimes the dll process can not be stopped by this method.
 

STEP 3: LOCATE AND DELETE
You will have to open your Windows Registry File System. This is an extremely delicate process. You may want to use a good registry cleaner This will often fix the dll error in question, eliminate other errors and also speed up your computer. The registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE> SOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersion/RUN
This action will help you speed up your applications load times considerable. Here is how:
1. Click Start
2. Click Run
3. Type regedit
4. Find this registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE> SOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersion/RUN

5. In the right section click:”rusvdgpo” = “%System%undll32.exe %System%usvdgpo.dll, [RANDOM LETTERS]“
6. Delete the value and Restart.

SPECIAL NOTES
rundll.exe is an essential system process. However, it has a large back door vulnerability which makes it prone to malicious purposes by an attacker allowing access to your computer from remote locations, stealing passwords, Internet banking and personal data.

Trojans are usually use this method of attack to share process that invite other malware either more trojans or other forms of spyware. The best defense is to keep your security software up to date and account for the rundll processes on your computer.

Obter informações sobre o Microsoft Office Outlook Connector

O Outlook Connector permite sincronização bidireccional de mensagens de correio electrónico, itens de calendário, contactos, tarefas e notas entre o Outlook e o Windows Live Hotmail.

 Nota   A sincronização do calendário com o Outlook é uma funcionalidade paga, cuja activação requer uma subscrição. Ao efectuar a subscrição do Windows Live Hotmail, poderá sincronizar notas e tarefas, bem como o calendário.

Se não tiver uma conta do Windows Live Hotmail, poderá inscrever-se numa nova conta ou actualizar a sua conta existente do MSN Hotmail para uma conta do Windows Live Hotmail.

Para actualizar do MSN Hotmail para o Windows Live Hotmail, clique na hiperligação Join Windows Live Hotmail quando iniciar sessão na conta. Todas as mensagens, pastas e contactos serão automaticamente apresentados na nova conta. O endereço de correio electrónico não será alterado.

Transferir e instalar o Outlook Connector

1. Saia do Outlook.
2. Transfira o Microsoft Office Outlook Connector.
3. Quando lhe for pedido para abrir ou guardar o ficheiro, clique em Abrir.
4. Quando lhe for pedido para executar o software, clique em Executar. Nota   Poderá ser apresentado um pedido de segurança, consoante o sistema operativo ou browser utilizado. Se esta caixa de diálogo for apresentada, deverá clicar na opção para continuar a instalação.
5. Siga as instruções no ecrã para concluir a instalação.
6. Da próxima vez que iniciar o Outlook, ser-lhe-á pedido para configurar o Outlook Connector. Introduza as seguintes informações:
   • O endereço de correio electrónico
   • A palavra-passe
   • O nome que pretende que seja apresentado na pasta A receber dos destinatários
7. Clique em OK.

Resumo: Este artigo busca apresentar e explicar o funcionamento básico do
Microsoft Active Directory (AD), suas funções, ferramentas e seus objetos
físicos e lógicos.
1. Informações gerais do Active Directory
O Active Directory que neste artigo chamaremos de AD, surgiu junto com o Sistema
operacional Microsoft Windows Server 2000, ele foi desenvolvido de acordo com o
protocolo LDAP e com certeza é um dos principais motivos de sucesso do Windows
2000 Server e Windows 2003 Server.
1.1 Oquê é o AD?
Podemos dizer que o AD é um serviço de diretório que identifica todos os recursos
disponíveis de um ambiente de rede e fornece informações detalhadas sobre objetos
deste ambiente, tais objetos podem ser computadores, usuários, servidores,
impressoras, etc.
1.2 Qual sua finalidade?
Com o AD, os administradores de rede podem gerenciar de forma mais simples e
eficaz os objetos de seu ambiente. E os usuários deste ambiente de rede podem
utilizar e encontrar rapidamente estes objetos.

2. Principais recursos do AD?
» Autenticação centralizada: Os usuários cadastrados no AD se autentificam em
todos os computadores da empresa, e é a partir desta autentificação que é aplicado a
permissão de leitura, modificação e etc. Tais permissões são aplicadas de forma
imperceptível ao usuário.
» Nível de segurança controlado: Tratasse de um centralizador de políticas de
segurança, com isso é garantido que toda a rede seguirá as políticas de segurança pré
definidas. Um exemplo: A quantidade mínima de caracteres para uma senha.
» Capacidade de integração com sistemas: É possível integrar o AD com sistemas
de gestão ou outros aplicativos, fazendo com que ao invés de o sistema ter o seu
próprio banco de usuários e senhas, ele use os usuários do AD. Facilitando assim o
dia – a –dia do usuário.

» Administração centralizada das estações: Com as ferramentas que o AD nos
oferece é possível que as estações de trabalho sejam administradas por ele. Por
exemplo, para o setor de engenharia a unidade de CDRW ser bloqueada, ou seja, é
possível personalizar os computadores de acordo com a necessidade ou segurança
necessária a cada setor.

» Tecnologia enxergando a organização da empresa. Com o AD é possível
visualizar a organização da empresa, pois é possível adicionar no AD, a empresa
matriz e suas filiais, por exemplo. Tal visualização nos leva a uma administração
mais simples da rede. Na figura1 vemos todas as plantas da empresa JCI, de diversos
segmentos, que se localizam na América do Sul (SA).

In the first part of this article series, I talked about some basic networking hardware such as hubs and switches. In this article, I want to continue the discussion of networking hardware by talking about one of the most important networking components; routers.

Even if you are new to networking, you have probably heard of routers. Broadband Internet connections, such as those utilizing a cable modem or a DSL modem, almost always require a router. A router’s job isn’t to provide Internet connectivity though. A router’s job is to move packets of data from one network to another. There are actually many different types of routers ranging from simple, inexpensive routers used for home Internet connectivity to the insanely expensive routers used by giant corporations. Regardless of a router’s cost or complexity, routers all work on the same basic principles.

That being the case, I’m going to focus my discussion around simple, low budget routers that are typically used to connect a PC to a broadband Internet connection. My reason for doing so is that this article series is intended for beginners. In my opinion, it will be a lot easier to teach you the basics if I am referencing something that is at least somewhat familiar to most people, and that is not as complicated as many of the routers used within huge corporations. Besides, the routers used in corporations work on the same basic principles as the routers that I will be discussing in this article. If you are wanting a greater level of knowledge though, don’t worry. I will talk about the science of routing in a whole lot more detail later in this article series.

As I explained earlier, a router’s job is to move packets of data from one network to another. This definition might seem strange in the context of a PC that’s connected to a broadband Internet connection. If you stop and think about it, the Internet is a network (actually it’s a collection of networks, but that’s beside the point).

So if a router’s job is to move traffic between two networks, and the Internet is one of those networks, where is the other one? In this particular case, the PC that is connected to the router is actually configured as a very simple network.

To get a better idea of what I am talking about, take a look at the pictures shown in Figures A and B. Figure A shows the front of a 3COM broadband router, while Figure B shows the back view of the same router.

Figure A: This is the front view of a 3COM broadband router

Figure B: A broadband Internet router contains a set of RJ-45 ports just like a hub or switch

As you can see in the figures, there is nothing especially remarkable about the front view of the router. I wanted to include this view anyway though, so that those of you who are unfamiliar with routers can see what a router looks like. Figure B is much more interesting. 

If you look at Figure B, you’ll see that there are three sets of ports on the back of the router. The port on the far left is where the power supply connects to the router. The middle port is an RJ-45 port used to connect to the remote network. In this particular case, this router is intended to provide Internet connectivity. As such, this middle port would typically be used to connect the router to a cable modem or to a DSL modem. The modem in turn would provide the actual connectivity to the Internet.

If you look at the set of ports on the far right, you’ll see that there are four RJ-45 ports. If you think back to the first part of this article series, you’ll recall that hubs and switches also contained large groups of RJ-45 ports. In the case of a hub or switch, the RJ-45 ports are used to provide connectivity to the computers on the network.

These ports work the exact same way on this router. This particular router has a four port switch built in. Remember earlier when I said that a router’s job was to move packets between one network and another? I explained that in the case of a broadband router, the Internet represents one network, and the PC represents the second network. The reason why a single computer can represent an entire network is because the router does not treat the PC as a standalone device. Routers treat the PC as a node on a network. As you can see from the photo in Figure B, this particular router could actually accommodate a network of four PCs. It’s just that most home users who use this type of configuration only plug one PC into the router. Therefore a more precise explanation would be that this type of network routes packets of data between a small network (even if that network only consists of a single computer) to the Internet (which it treats as a second network).

The Routing Process

Now that I’ve talked a little bit about what a router is and what it does, I want to talk about the routing process. In order to understand how routing works, you have to understand a little bit about how the TCP/IP protocol works.

Every device connected to a TCP/IP network has a unique IP address bound to its network interface. The IP address consists of a series of four numbers separated by periods. For example, a typical IP address looks something like this: 192.168.0.1

The best analogy I can think of to describe an IP address is to compare it to a street address. A street address consists of a number and a street name. The number identifies the specific building on the street. An IP address works kind of the same way. The address is broken into the network number and a device number. If you were to compare an IP address to a Street address, then think of the network number as being like a street name, and at the device number as being like a house number. The network number identifies which network the device is on, and the device number gives the device an identity on that network.

So how do you know where the network number ends and the device number begins? This is the job of the subnet mask. A subnet mask tells the computer where the network number portion of an IP address stops, and where the device number starts. Subnetting can be complicated, and I will cover in detail in a separate article. For now, let’s keep it simple and look at a very basic subnet mask.

A subnet mask looks a lot like an IP address in that it follows the format of having four numbers separated by periods. A typical subnet mask looks like this: 255.255.255.0

In this particular example, the first three numbers (called octets) are each 255, and the last number 0. The number 255 indicates that all of the bits in the corresponding position in the IP address are a part of the network number. The number zero indicates that none of the bits in the corresponding position in the IP address are a part of the network number, and therefore they all belong to the device number.

I know this probably sounds a little bit confusing, so consider this example. Imagine that you had a PC with an IP address of 192.168.1.1 and a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. In this particular case, the first three octets of the subnet mask are all 255. This means that the first three octets of the IP address all belong to the network number. Therefore, the network number portion of this IP address is 192.168.1.x.

The reason why this is important to know is because a router’s job is to move packets of data from one network to another. All of the devices on a network (or on a network segment to be more precise) share a common network number. For example, if 192.168.1.x was the network number associated with computers attached to the router shown in Figure B, then the IP addresses for four individual computers might be:

• 192.168.1.1
• 192.168.1.2
• 192.168.1.3
• 192.168.1.4

As you can see, each computer on the local network shares the same network number, but has a different device number. As you may know, whenever a computer needs to communicate with another computer on a network, it does so by referring to the other computer’s IP address. For example, in this particular case the computer with the address of 192.168.1.1 could easily send a packet of data to the computer with the address of 192.168.1.3, because both computers are a part of the same physical network.

Things work a bit differently if a computer needs to access a computer on another network. Since I am focusing this particular discussion on small broadband routers that are designed to provide Internet connectivity, let’s pretend that one of the users on the local network wanted to visit the www.brienposey.com Web site. A Web site is hosted by a server. Like any other computer, a Web server has a unique IP address. The IP address for this particular Web site is 24.235.10.4.

You can easily look at this IP address and tell that it does not belong to the 192.168.1.x network. That being the case, the computer that’s trying to reach the Web site can’t just send the packet out along the local network, because the Web server isn’t a part of the local network. Instead, the computer that needs to send the packet looks at its default gateway address.

The default gateway is a part of a computer’s TCP/IP configuration. It is basically a way of telling a computer that if it does not know where to send a packet, then send it to the specified default gateway address. The default gateway’s address would be the router’s IP address. In this case, the router’s IP address would probably be 192.168.1.0.

Notice that the router’s IP address shares the same network number as the other computers on the local network. It has to so that it can be accessible to those computers. Actually, a router has at least two IP addresses. One of those addresses uses the same network number as your local network. The router’s other IP address is assigned by your ISP. This IP address uses the same network number as the ISPs network. The router’s job is therefore to move packets from your local network onto the ISPs network. Your ISP has routers of its own that work in exactly the same way, but that route packets to other parts of the Internet.

Conclusion

As you can see, a router is a vital network component. Without routers, connectivity between networks (such as the Internet) would be impossible. In Part 3 of this article series, I will discuss the TCP/IP protocol in more detail.

In this article series, I will start with the absolute basics, and work toward building a functional network. In this article I will begin by discussing some of the various networking components and what they do.

This article will be the first in a series targeted toward novices. In this article series, I will start with the absolute basics, and work toward building a functional network. In this article I will begin by discussing some of the various networking components and what they do.

Network Adapters

The first piece of hardware that I want to discuss is a network adapter. There are many different names for network adapters, including network cards, Network Interface Cards, NICs. These are all generic terms for the same piece of hardware. A network card’s job is to physically attach a computer to a network, so that the computer can participate in network communications.

The first thing that you need to know about network cards is that the network card has to match the network medium. The network medium refers to the type of cabling that is being used on the network. Wireless networks are a science all their own, and I will talk about them in a separate article.

At one time making sure that a network card matched the network medium was a really big deal, because there were a large number of competing standards in existence. For example, before you built a network and started buying network cards and cabling, you had to decide if you were going to use Ethernet, coaxal Ethernet, Token Ring, Arcnet, or one of the other networking standards of the time.  Each networking technology had its strengths and weaknesses, and it was important to figure out which one was the most appropriate for your organization.

Today, most of the networking technologies that I mentioned above are quickly becoming extinct. Pretty much the only type of wired network used by small and medium sized businesses is Ethernet. You can see an example of an Ethernet network card, shown in Figure A.

Figure A: This is what an Ethernet card looks like

Modern Ethernet networks use twisted pair cabling containing eight wires. These wires are arranged in a special order, and an RJ-45 connecter is crimped onto the end of the cable. An RJ-45 cable looks like the connector on the end of a phone cord, but it’s bigger. Phone cords use RJ-11 connectors as opposed to the RJ-45 connectors used by Ethernet cable. You can see an example of an Ethernet cable with an RJ-45 connector, shown in Figure B.

Figure B: This is an Ethernet cable with an RJ-45 connector installed

Hubs and Switches

As you can see, computers use network cards to send and receive data. The data is transmitted over Ethernet cables. However, you normally can’t just run an Ethernet cable between two PCs and call it a network.

In this day and age of high speed Internet access being almost universally available, you tend to hear the term broadband thrown around a lot. Broadband is a type of network in which data is sent and received across the same wire. In contrast, Ethernet uses Baseband communications. Baseband uses separate wires for sending and receiving data. What this means is that if one PC is sending data across a particular wire within the Ethernet cable, then the PC that is receiving the data needs to have the wire redirected to its receiving port.

You can actually network two PCs together in this way. You can create what is known as a cross over cable. A cross over cable is simply a network cable that has the sending and receiving wires reversed at one end, so that two PCs can be linked directly together.

The problem with using a cross over cable to build a network is that the network will be limited to using no more and no less than two PCs. Rather than using a cross over cable, most networks use normal Ethernet cables that do not have the sending and receiving wires reversed at one end.

Of course the sending and receiving wires have to be reversed at some point in order for communications to succeed. This is the job of a hub or a switch. Hubs are starting to become extinct, but I want to talk about them any way because it will make it easier to explain switches later on.

There are different types of hubs, but generally speaking a hub is nothing more than a box with a bunch of RJ-45 ports. Each computer on a network would be connected to a hub via an Ethernet cable. You can see a picture of a hub, shown in Figure C.

Figure C: A hub is a device that acts as a central connection point for computers on a network

A hub has two different jobs. Its first job is to provide a central point of connection for all of the computers on the network. Every computer plugs into the hub (multiple hubs can be daisy chained together if necessary in order to accommodate more computers).

The hub’s other job is to arrange the ports in such a way so that if a PC transmits data, the data is sent over the other computer’s receive wires.

Right now you might be wondering how data gets to the correct destination if more than two PCs are connected to a hub. The secret lies in the network card. Each Ethernet card is programmed at the factory with a unique Media Access Control (MAC) address. When a computer on an Ethernet network transmits data across an Ethernet network containing PCs connected to a hub, the data is actually sent to every computer on the network. As each computer receives the data, it compares the destination address to its own MAC address. If the addresses match then the computer knows that it is the intended recipient, otherwise it ignores the data.

As you can see, when computers are connected via a hub, every packet gets sent to every computer on the network. The problem is that any computer can send a transmission at any given time. Have you ever been on a conference call and accidentally started to talk at the same time as someone else? This is the same thing that happens on this type of network.

When a PC needs to transmit data, it checks to make sure that no other computers are sending data at the moment. If the line is clear, it transmits the necessary data. If another computer tries to communicate at the same time though, then the packets of data that are traveling across the wire collide and are destroyed (this is why this type of network is sometimes referred to as a collision domain). Both PCs then have to wait for a random amount of time and attempt to retransmit the packet that was destroyed.

As the number of PCs on a collision domain increases, so does the number of collisions. As the number of collisions increase, network efficiency is decreased. This is why switches have almost completely replaced hubs.

A switch, such as the one shown in Figure D, performs all of the same basic tasks as a hub. The difference is that when a PC on the network needs to communicate with another PC, the switch uses a set of internal logic circuits to establish a dedicated, logical path between the two PCs. What this means is that the two PCs are free to communicate with each other, without having to worry about collisions.

Figure D: A switch looks a lot like a hub, but performs very differently

Switches greatly improve a network’s efficiency. Yes, they eliminate collisions, but there is more to it than that. Because of the way that switches work, they can establish parallel communications paths. For example, just because computer A is communicating with computer B, there is no reason why computer C can’t simultaneously communicate with computer D. In a collision domain, these types of parallel communications would be impossible because they would result in collisions.

Conclusion

In this article, I have discussed some of the basic components that make up a simple network. In Part 2, I will continue the discussion of basic networking hardware.

Em tecnologia/informática/segurança, quais as atitudes que a empresa deve evitar? Há menos de uma década, bastavam um cadeado, correntes reforçadas no portão e um cachorro feroz para manter a empresa e seus dados protegidos dos gatunos. Hoje, com a maior parte das informações digitalizadas, é preciso ir além. Não dá para deixar de investir em softwares de segurança e no treinamento dos funcionários para preservar os segredos da empresa. E não são poucas as ocorrências de espionagem industrial. A maioria dos “piratas” conta com a ajuda dos funcionários da área de informática. Com bons conhecimentos técnicos, facilitam a vida da concorrência por meio da entrega de dados confidenciais da casa. Veja abaixo quais são os sete pecados capitais da área de tecnologia e confira se sua empresa comete alguns deles:

1. ORGULHO - Os administradores de rede acreditam que apenas os firewalls (softwares que barram a entrada e saída de e-mails) e os tradicionais antivírus são capazes de garantir total segurança aos arquivos da empresa. Descartam qualquer outra ação preventiva.
2. INVEJA - Profissionais que baixam programas espiões (spyware), usam brechas de segurança na rede para roubar dados confidenciais da empresa.
3. GULA - Os funcionários não resistem à fartura de banda e baixam arquivos pesados de vídeo e de música, possibilitando que a rede de acesso à Internet fique mais lenta.
4. LUXÚRIA - A combinação do acesso a sites de pornografia, à banda larga e à rede ponto-a-ponto facilita a captura de imagem para o computador pessoal. E, conseqüentemente, facilita também a troca de arquivos entre os funcionários, deixando vulnerável o acesso a informações sigilosas.
5. IRA - Ceder aos apelos dos momentos de fúria e cometer ataques à rede interna pode provocar perdas de dados e desperdício de recursos.
6. COBIÇA - A tentação de encher o computador do trabalho com arquivos em MP3 e DVDs funciona como uma porta de entrada para vírus e programas espiões (spyware).
7. PREGUIÇA - Ficar pendurado nos programas de mensagens instantâneas, jogos interativos e eventos de esportes ao vivo no ambiente de trabalho gera custos e mau uso do tempo.

“90% dos gerentes de tecnologia da informação usam apenas
antivírus para a proteção da rede”

Guys!

Many ppl find that in their windows Tools -> Folder Options is not visible, they also can’t access it from the Control Panel. I hv seen so many ppl facing this problem, so I decided to post this tutorial, in this tutorial I’ll tell the reasons which can cause this problem and their solutions:

1.) You can enable Folder Options by simply editing the Windows Registry! Just type regedit in RUN dialog box and it’ll open Registry Editor, now goto following keys:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

And in right-side pane, check whether a DWORD value named NoFolderOptions exists or not? If it exists then either change its value to 0 or delete it.

In the last few parts of this article series, I talked a lot about what the Active Directory is, and how it works in regards to your network’s domain controllers. You already know from the previous articles in this series that the Active Directory is essentially a database containing various objects such as user accounts and computer accounts. In this article, I want to continue the discussion by showing you how the Active Directory is structured.

If you have ever used Microsoft Access or SQL Server, then you are probably used to being able to open the database and view it in its entirety. However, none of the primary administrative tools used for managing the Active Directory will allow you to see the entire Active Directory database. Instead, Microsoft provides you with a variety of management tools that each focus on a specific area of the database. As a new administrator, the administrative tool that you will probably use the most often is the Active Directory Users and Computers console.

You can access the Active Directory Users and Computers console from any Windows Server 2003 domain controller by selecting the Active Directory Users and Computers command from the server’s Start / All Programs / Administrative Tools menu.  The console itself looks something like what you see in Figure A

Figure A: The Active Directory Users and Computers console is the primary administrative tool for managing Active Directory objects.

I will later discuss the process of creating or editing Active Directory objects, meanwhile I wanted to go ahead and show you this console because it reveals a little bit the structure of the Active Directory.  If you look at Figure A, you will notice that there are a number of containers, each of which correspond to a specific object type.  Every object in the entire Active Directory is assigned an object type (known as an object class).  Each object also has a number of attributes associated with it.  The specific attributes vary depending on the object type.

For example, the Users container is filled with user accounts, which are all classified as user objects as shown in Figure B. If you were to right click on one of these user objects and choose the Properties command from the resulting shortcut menu, you would see the user objects’ properties sheet, as shown in Figure C.

Figure B: The Users container is filled with user accounts, which are all classified as user objects.

Figure C: When you right click on a user object and select the Properties command from the resulting shortcut menu, you will see the user’s properties sheet.

If you look at figure C, you will see that there are fields for various pieces of information such as first name, last name, telephone number, etc.  Each of these fields corresponds to a specific attribute of the individual object.  Although the majority of the fields shown in the figure are not populated, in a real life situation these fields could be used to create a corporate directory.  In fact, many applications are designed to extract information directly from the Active Directory. For example, Microsoft Exchange Server (Microsoft’s e-mail server product) creates a global address list that is based on the contents of the Active Directory. This global address list is used when sending e-mail messages to other users in the company.

If you look at Figure D, you can see a screen in which I performed a search on the name Hershey (my cat’s name in case you are wondering), and Outlook returned all of the Global Address List entries that contain the name Hershey. Not surprisingly there is only one result. If you look at the results portion of the window though, you can see where Outlook would display the user’s title, business phone number, and location had these fields been populated. All of this information was extracted from the Active Directory.

Figure D

If you wanted to see even more information about the user, you could right click on the user’s name and choose the Properties command from the resulting menu. Doing so would display the screen shown in Figure E. Keep in mind that this is not an administrative screen. This is a screen that any user in the company can access directly through Outlook 2007 in order to find information about other employees.

Figure E: You can view Active Directory information directly through Microsoft Outlook.

It is easy to dismiss the significance of what I just showed you. After all, Outlook is a Microsoft product, so it only makes sense that Outlook would be able to extract information from the Active Directory which is a part of another Microsoft product.

What a lot of people do not realize though, is that it is fairly easy for anyone with the appropriate permissions to extract information from the Active Directory.  In fact, there are countless third party products that are designed to interact with the Active Directory. Some are even capable of storing data in dedicated Active Directory partitions.

The reason why it is possible for you or for third party software vendors to interact with the Active Directory is because the Active Directory is based on a well known standard. The Active Directory is based on a standard called X.500. The X.500 standard is basically just a common way of implementing a directory service. Microsoft is not the only company to create a directory service based on this service. Novell originally created the NetWare Directory Service based on this standard.

There is also a standard way of accessing directory service information. In an Active Directory environment, accessing directory information involves using the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, otherwise known as LDAP. The LDAP protocol runs on top of the TCP/IP protocol.

The first thing that you need to know about the LDAP protocol is that whoever named it must have been on crack, because there is nothing lightweight about it (although it is more lightweight than the original directory access protocol, which was not designed to take advantage of the TCP/IP protocol stack). Entire books have been written on LDAP, and an in depth discussion is not really appropriate at this point in the article series.

What I will tell you is that every object in the Active Directory is refered to by a distinguished name (often abbreviated as DN). The distinguished name is based on the object’s position within the directory hierarchy. There are many different components that can go into a distinguished name, but some of the more common ones are a common name (abbreviated as CN) and a domain name (abbreviated as DC). For example, suppose that the Contoso.com domain contained an account named User1, and the account was located in the Users container. In such a situation, the distinguished name for the user account would be:

CN=User1, CN=Users, DC=Contoso, DC=com

The Open System Interconnect (OSI) reference model is a model, developed by the International Standards Organization (ISO), which describes how data from an application on one computer can be transferred to an application on another computer. The OSI reference model consists of seven conceptual layers which each specify different network functions. Each function of a network can be assigned to one, or perhaps a couple of adjacent layers, of these seven layers and is relatively independent of the other layers. This independence means that one layer does not need to be aware of what the implementation of an adjacent layer is, merely how to communicate with it. This is a major advantage of the OSI reference model and is one of the major reasons why it has become one of the most widely used architecture models for inter-computer communications.

The seven layers of the OSI reference model, as shown in Figure 1, are:

• Application
• Presentation
• Session
• Transport
• Network
• Data link
• Physical

Figure 1: Diagram of the OSI reference model layers, courtesy of catalyst.washington.edu

Over the next few articles I will be discussing each layer of the model and the networking hardware which relates to that layer. This article, as you have probably guessed from the title, will discuss layer 1; the physical layer.

While many people may simply state that all networking hardware belongs exclusively in the physical layer, they are wrong. Many networking hardware devices can perform functions belonging to the higher layers as well. For example, a network router performs routing functions which belong in the network layer.

What does the physical layer include? Well, the physical layer involves the actual transmission of signals over a medium from one computer to another. This layer includes specifications for the electrical and mechanical characteristics such as: voltage levels, signal timing, data rate, maximum transmission length, and physical connectors, of networking equipment. For a device to operate solely in the physical layer, it will not have any knowledge of the data which it transmits. A physical layer device simply transmits or receives data.

There are four general functions which the physical layer is responsible for. These functions are:

• Definitions of hardware specifications
• Encoding and signaling
• Data transmission and reception
• Topology and physical network design

……. To be continued….