Kurt Shintaku's Blog

Recently malicious QR codes made headlines after being uncovered on a Russian website. The codes were placed on the site telling people they led to an instant messenger app that users should download to their phone. If users downloaded the malware they thought was the messenger app, it then began sending messages to a premium subscriber that netted the cybercriminals between $5 and $10 each.

Following this news, the Tag team was asked if Tag was better suited than current QR services in the market for handling this kind of issue. The short answer is yes. Because all Tags are re-routed through the cloud, there is a means of blacklisting codes that are reported as malicious. Since anyone can create QR codes that link directly to a site instead of being routed through the cloud, the ability to blacklist a link and protect against future scams simply isn’t there.

The concern that has been driving discussions regarding malicious codes is a legitimate one and one that Tag takes very seriously. Our platform maintains a backend process with filters and safeguards that help detect and prevent malicious links from infecting Tags. We want our customers to also be aware of the protections Tag has in place to help protect their security.

To learn more about QR malware and what precautions you can take read the full blog post here.

In case you’re interested in eLearning for your end users, here’s a list of all the eLearning courses available for Windows 7 & Office 2010 for customers that have Software Assurance benefits on their volume licensing contract as of 10/21/11: (Note:  This list changes and grows so check http://www.microsoft.com/learning/sa-vl-catalog/savldefault.aspx for any changes)

• Course Collection 10348 : Skills Training in Microsoft® Project 2010
• Course 10378 : Setting Up Projects in Microsoft® Project 2010
• Course 10379 : Building a Project Schedule in Microsoft® Project 2010
• Course 10380 : Tracking and Managing Projects in Microsoft® Project 2010
• Course 10381 : Customizing and Sharing Projects in Microsoft® Project 2010
• Course Collection 10349 : Skills Training in Microsoft® Access® 2010
• Course Collection 10350 : Skills Training in Microsoft® Outlook® 2010
• Course 10293 : Beginner Skills in Microsoft® Outlook® 2010
• Course 10385 : Advanced Skills in Microsoft® Outlook® 2010
• Course Collection 10351 : Skills Training in Microsoft® PowerPoint® 2010
• Course 10295 : Beginner Skills in Microsoft® PowerPoint® 2010
• Course 10386 : Advanced Skills in Microsoft® PowerPoint® 2010
• Course Collection 10352 : Skills Training in Microsoft® SharePoint® Designer 2010
• Course Collection 10357 : Skills Training in Microsoft® Word 2010
• Course 10294 : Beginner Skills in Microsoft® Word 2010
• Course 10391 : Intermediate Skills in Microsoft® Word 2010
• Course 10392 : Advanced Skills in Microsoft® Word 2010
• Course Collection 10358 : Skills Training in Microsoft® Excel® 2010
• Course 10296 : Beginner Skills in Microsoft® Excel® 2010
• Course 10393 : Intermediate Skills in Microsoft® Excel® 2010
• Course 10394 : Advanced Skills in Microsoft® Excel® 2010
• Course Collection 10359 : What’s New in Microsoft® Office 2010 Applications
• Course 10395 : What’s New in Microsoft® Access® 2010
• Course 10396 : What’s New in Microsoft® InfoPath® 2010
• Course 10397 : What’s New in Microsoft® OneNote® 2010
• Course 10398 : What’s New in Microsoft® Project 2010
• Course 10399 : What’s New in Microsoft® Publisher 2010
• Course 10400 : What’s New in Microsoft® SharePoint® Designer 2010
• Course 10402 : What’s New in Microsoft® Visio® 2010
• Course 10166 : Windows 7 Essentials I
• Course 10167 : Windows 7 Essentials II
• Course 10353 : Beginner Skills Training in Microsoft® OneNote® 2010
• Course 10354 : Beginner Skills Training in Microsoft® Publisher 2010
• Course 10355 : Taking Content Offline using Microsoft® SharePoint® Workspace 2010
• Course 10356 : Beginner Skills Training in Microsoft® Visio® 2010
• Course 10360 : Working with Microsoft® Lync 2010 for Collaboration
• Course 10403 : Beginner Skills Training in Microsoft® InfoPath® 2010

David Anson wrote a tool that will keep your computer awake by disabling Sleep mode as long as the application is on.  It stays in the foreground so you can’t forget about it but it’s a very useful little tool for folks that work at companies with draconian Power Management policies.  (AHEM)

The default power settings for Windows are set up so a computer will go to sleep after 15 to 30 minutes of inactivity (i.e., no mouse or keyboard input). This is great because a computer that’s not being used doesn’t need to be running at full power. By letting an idle machine enter sleep mode, the user benefits from a significant reduction in electricity use, heat generation, component wear, etc.. And because sleep mode preserves the state of everything in memory, it’s quick to enter, quick to exit, and doesn’t affect the user’s work-flow. All the same applications continue running, windows stay open and where they were, etc.. So sleep mode is a Good Thing and I’m a fan.

However, sometimes a computer is busy even though someone isn’t actively using the mouse and keyboard; common examples include playing a movie, burning a DVD, streaming music, etc.. In these cases, you don’t want the machine to go to sleep because you’re using it – even though you’re not actually using it! So most media players and disc burners tell Windows not to go to sleep while they’re running. In fact, there’s a dedicated API for exactly this purpose: the SetThreadExecutionState Win32 Function.

But what about those times when the computer is busy doing something and the relevant program doesn’t suppress the default sleep behavior? For example, it might be downloading a large file, re-encoding a music collection, backing up the hard drive, or hashing the entire contents of the disk. You don’t want the machine to go to sleep for now, but are otherwise happy with the default sleep behavior. Unfortunately, the easiest way I know of to temporarily suppress sleeping is to go to Control Panel, open the Power Options page, change the power plan settings, commit them – and then remember to undo everything once the task is finished. It’s not hard; but it’s kind of annoying…

…

Read more here:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/delay/archive/2009/09/30/give-your-computer-insomnia-free-tool-and-source-code-to-temporarily-prevent-a-machine-from-going-to-sleep.aspx

• DOWNLOAD:  Insomnia – Executable + Source Code
  http://cesso.org/Samples/Insomnia/Insomnia.zip

Information Week did a study of the effectiveness of search engines and look at what turned up?

Bing Beats Google On Search Effectiveness

Microsoft’s "decision engine" more likely to lead users to a Web page than searches through rival Google, study finds.

By Paul McDougall – InformationWeek
August 12, 2011 10:57 AM

While Google may control the lion’s share of the search market, queries made through Microsoft’s Bing search engine lead users to click on a Web page at a significantly higher rate than queries made through Google, according to data released Thursday.

The success rate for Bing searches in the U.S. in July was 80.04%, compared to 67.56% for Google, according to Experian Hitwise. The market watcher defines "success rate" as the percentage of search queries that result in a visit to a website. Searches made through sites owned by Yahoo, which farmed out search to Bing under a deal struck in 2009, were also more efficient than Google. Those searches yielded a success rate of 81.36%.

…

Read the full article here:

• NEWS: Bing Beats Google On Search Effectiveness
  http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/microsoft_news/231400134

This has been available for the last few months but it’s worth repeating that we have a 480 page eBook available entitled “Understanding Microsoft Virtualization” that’s been updated for Windows Server 2008 R2 and goes into both server virtualization & Virtual Desktop Infrastructure.

There are over 6 massive chapters, with topics including:

• Performing P2V Conversions
• Automating V2V Conversions from VMware to Hyper-V
• Implementing Business Continuity for Hyper-V
• Using the Self Service Portal
• Understanding usage scenarios for App-V for RDS
• Private Cloud Architecture & Implementation
• …

It is provided in .PDF and .XPS format.  Please download it before it gets taken down!

• https://profile.microsoft.com/RegSysProfileCenter/wizard.aspx?wizid=f4747d4a-eceb-4c4a-a8c1-07045bea9dd5&lcid=1033%20

Ever get “Trying to connect…” in Outlook?

Try opening a command window and typing:

tasklist –m olmapi32.dll

This should be empty.  If it’s not, take a look at the list of processes that are in there and kill the ones that are blocking your connection, using task manager.

Alternatively, you can follow the instructions here for using the HIDDEN “Connection Status…” menu item in Outlook to reset/reconnect the session between Outlook and Exchange.

• HOWTO: Reset Outlook’s connections to the Exchange Server without restarting
  https://kurtsh.com/2008/12/22/howto-reset-outlook%e2%80%99s-connections-to-the-exchange-server-without-restarting/

The Visual Studio 11 Developer Preview Training Kit includes hands-on labs to help you understand how to take advantage of the variety of enhancements in Visual Studio 11 and the .NET Framework 4.5, how to support and manage the entire application lifecycle and how to build Windows Metro style apps.

• BETA: Visual Studio 11 Developer Preview Training Kit October 2011 Release
  http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=27738
• RESOURCES:  Visual Studio 11 Developer Preview Information
  http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/hh127353

This is pretty sick.  Here’s the Walmart Black Friday ads for Los Angeles.  Look up page 8-9 for walk-in store deals (non-Internet):

Do you see it?  Xbox 360 4GB + Kinect & “Kinect Adventures” for $199.
For the uneducated, that’s $100 off easy.  That’s CRAZY.

If that’s not enough for you, check out what’s right below it:  If you already own an Xbox 360, get a Kinect sensor + “Kinect Adventures” + “Gunslinger” + “Fruit Ninja Kinect” all for $99. 
That’s at least a full $50 off, not including the value of all the game titles.

• DEAL:  Walmart Black Friday Deal – Xbox 360 4GB + Kinect
  http://localad.walmart.com/Walmart/Entry/Flash?forceview=y&promotioncode=LA_Walmart-111121A 

Here’s a quick inventory of Microsoft technology posters that you can print out for your wall.

Windows Server Posters

• Windows Server Remote Desktop Services Architecture Poster:
  http://www.microsoft.com/download/
  en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=3262
• Windows Server 2008 R2 Feature Components Poster
  http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=7002
• Windows Server 2008 Active Directory and Features posters
  http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=17881
• Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V Component Architecture
  http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=2688

Exchange Server Posters

• Exchange Server 2010 Architecture Poster
  http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=5764
• Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Transport Server Role Architecture Diagrams
  http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=21987

Lync Server Posters

• Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Protocol Workloads Poster
  http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=6797

SharePoint Posters

• EVERY SharePoint Diagram & Poster Known to Mankind
  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc263199.aspx
• Microsoft Business Connectivity Services Model
  http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=2847
• PowerPivot Client / Server Architecture Poster
  http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=12958

Posters for IT professionals that are in charge of the deployment, planning, and management of an Office 2010 rollout.  Nuff said?

• POSTER: Preparing Users for an Office 2010 Deployment
  http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=26827
• POSTER: Deployment Options for Microsoft Office 2010
  http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=9312
• POSTER: 64-bit Client Installation of Microsoft Office 2010
  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=600c2142-abc3-4fea-9271-0c326c45dc8f
• POSTER: Deploy Multilanguage Packs for Microsoft Office 2010
  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=c37047c3-c7ee-4946-8927-1b2c3ca5f510
• POSTER: Office 2010 Developer Map
  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=E92D8703-342E-4BD6-8877-D22B888FF29B&displaylang=e&displaylang=en
• POSTER: Volume Activation of Microsoft Office 2010
  http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=18154