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Printing monochrome on color laser printers

  
  
  

I have run into many customers who mostly print black and white on color laser printers. This is a very expensive way to use a color laser printer.  This is because there are consumable units that are unique to color laser printers, such as image belts, transfer belts and color cartridges that wear out quickly when printing in monochrome.  There are some modern color laser printers that disengage their color cartridges when not in use, but most do not. All above color laser printer consumables still wear out from rotating when printing monochrome. 

It would be more cost effective to print your monochrome forms on a monochrome laser printer and not have to pay the expense of the color laser printer’s consumables.  If your printing needs are mostly monochrome then a heavy duty monochrome laser printer and a medium duty color laser printer would cover your needs better than a heavy duty color laser printer.

Joe Churma - Hardware Technician


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Is it worth upgrading your computer's warranty?

  
  
  

This week, I just wanted to touch upon something that I get asked about all the time: warranties.

We service a lot of computers, but the majority are laptops.  All laptops come with a warranty, which usually lasts 1 year.  The question that gets posed to me is often "Is it worth upgrading the warranty for my machine?"

The answer tends to vary by machine (and manufacturer).  Your basic warranty usually covers hardware failures, such as a screen going bad or a hard drive failing.  First of all, you can extend that warrany (at a cost) to 2, 3, or 4 years.  The cost is not usually too high and if you intend  to keep the laptop for a while without adding upgrades, then in my opinion it is worth the price. 

You can also upgrade the type of warranty, such as adding onsite repair.  If something goes wrong with your hardware, a technician will come to your site after a quick call!  Some people like this, but I do not know if it makes much of a difference.

The last type I will talk about is accidental damage. Now, for me, this is one I always consider a good investment.  Most of the time it cover spills, which as someone who fixes computers, I can tell you is the number one accidental killer of laptops.  If you have this coverage and you spill coffee, soda, or beer into your laptop, it will be repaired at no charge.  When I have to tell someone that his or her 2 month old laptop is not covered and the system board is $900 to replace, they do not like it and nor do I.

Just something to think about.

Have a great weekend.

Kristen Hewes - Hardware Technician


Give Us a Call 617-731-6319 and Ask a Professional IT Support Technician Any Questions You May Have!

Sincerely, Terminal We Serve All of Greater Boston and Cambridge, MA
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Tipping over the edge.

  
  
  

This week, I'm following up with some more tips and shortcuts.  These are random and can speed things up nicely!

1. Adding Internet Prefixes and Suffixes

You can quickly add the www. and the .com to anything typed in the address bar by pressing Ctrl-Enter! I use this all the time and cuts down on the typing.

2.  The Windows key.

Here are a list of things that the windows key can do!

Win                       Press windows key to open start menu

Win+R                  Apply to open Run dialog box                            

Win+M                  Apply to minimize all opened windows                                

Win+Shift+M         Apply to maximize all opened windows                                 

Win+L                   Press keys to lock keyboard in windows XP                                 

Win+E                   Press keys to open My Computer                                

Win+F                   Apply to open search options                                 

Win+U                  Apply keys to open Utility Manager                                   

Win+D                  To view desktop/minimize all windows                                   

Win+F1                 To view the detail windows help page                                          

Win+Pause            To view the System Properties dialog box                               

Win+Tab               Move through taskbar programs                             

Win+F+Ctrl           Apply to open search for computers

And last but not least:

3.  Browsing Your Computer via the Address Toolbar?

You can open any web page without opening the browser.  Windows will open your browser and open your web page.  You can do this if you put an Address Bar on your Taskbar:

Right click on your system taskbar > go to Toolbars and then click the Address option.  Here you will see a mark on Address option.  After this Address Bar will appear on your system taskbar, you can open any web page by typing the URL name here and press Enter.

You can also browse files and folders on your computer by using the Address Bar. Simply type drive letter like C:\ , D:\ in Address Bar and press Enter.

Have a great weekend.

Kristen Hewes - Hardware Technician


Give Us a Call 617-731-6319 and Ask a Professional IT Support Technician Any Questions You May Have!

Sincerely, Terminal We Serve All of Greater Boston and Cambridge, MA
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Data Classification Toolkit for Windows Server 2008 R2

  
  
  

The new toolkit from Microsoft allows more control for us (IT admins) to manage and maintain the use of data within a company. This can be done in the following forms:

  1. Policies to shares and folders
  2. Classification of users
  3. Easy to use interface for management
  4. Categorizing your data so your management time of the file server is minimal

File servers are getting larger and larger these days and come with new regulations for organizations to regulate how their data is stored to prevent leaks. This could be done through permissions and policies. The Data Classification Toolkit just makes sense.  Not only will it help drill down on access to files and folders within the office environment, but it will also keep your files and folders organized.  We all know organization is key when it comes to maintaining a healthy IT environment.

Dennis Foote – Systems Engineer


Give Us a Call 617-731-6319 and Ask a Professional IT Support Technician Any Questions You May Have!

Sincerely, Terminal We Serve All of Greater Boston and Cambridge, MA
We hope you have found this information helpful & if so...Please Follow Us on Twitter! or Like Us on Facebook!

There she blows!

  
  
  

We had a big storm this week causing power outages all over Massachusetts.  Some people still do not have power.  With power outages like this, we normally see blown power supplies and system boards.  Well for me, this week was a bit different.

I had a customer come in with his desktop hanging on boot. It made it all the way to the desktop, but once there, you could not do anything except move the mouse pointer.

None of the icons could be clicked; nothing worked at all!!!

Well after a lot of reboots and trial and error, we found that one of the programs he had starting on boot was corrupt and causing havoc.  Once we nailed it down, it started booting fine again.   

I also had a customer bring in two desktops that she told us were dead since the power went out.  I took them in and booted them up fine first time. With a quick call I discovered that they had blown the wall socket the machines were plugged into.  Luckily, they had good surge protectors and the machines were fine.

So, my suggestion for this week is to go grab some surge protectors for your electronics.  They could end up saving you a bundle!!

Have a great weekend.

Kristen Hewes - Hardware technician


Give Us a Call 617-731-6319 and Ask a Professional IT Support Technician Any Questions You May Have!

Sincerely, Terminal We Serve All of Greater Boston and Cambridge, MA
We hope you have found this information helpful & if so...Please Follow Us on Twitter! or Like Us on Facebook!

Configure Exchange with One Certificate for Both Internal and External Connections

  
  
  

Starting with Exchange 2007 and Outlook 2007, client connections to the server are encrypted using SSL technology.  This requires a valid certificate be installed on the Exchange server or the Outlook client will warn the user each time they open Outlook.  By default, Exchange installs a self-signed certificate during installation which will be automatically valid for any Outlook clients connecting from computers within the same domain as the server.  However, if you plan to set up remote users with Outlook using RPC over HTTPS (also known as Outlook Anywhere), the the users internet-facing Client Access Server will require an externally valid SSL certificate.  In situation where a company only has one Exchange server handling all roles, this quickly becomes a problem.  Once the externally valid certificate is installed on the Exchange server, all internal clients on Outlook 2007 or later will receive a certificate error each time Outlook is opened.  This is because the Exchange server is presenting itself to the clients with its valid internal network name (e.g. exchange.company.local), while the certificate shows its valid external name (e.g. mail.company.com).  This conflict is the source of the Outlook warning.

The simplest way to circumvent this issue is to purchase a mutli-domain certificate, which will be valid for both the external and internal name of the server.  There are two major downsides to this, however.  One is cost.  Multi-domain certificates are significantly more expensive than standard, single name certificates.  The second downside is that the certificate will contain the internal name of the server and the certificate will be available publicly for anyone to see.  This can be a security liability, exposing internal network information to anyone who cares to look.

The better solution is to modify the Exchange server to use *only* the external server name when making connections to clients.  This allows a single name certificate to be used to secure all connections made by the server and ensures the server will only ever refer to itself by this chosen external name.  The steps to accomplish this are somewhat complex, but thankfully, some great people have written Powershell scripts which execute the necessary commands for both Exchange 2007 and Exchange 2010.  Using these scripts automatically changes the name used both internally and externally by all virtual directories as well as the SCP on the server.

Below are copies of the scripts for both Exchange 2010 and Exchange 2007.

Brian St. Marie - Sr. Systems Engineer

========================================================

 

Exchange 2007  Credit to Exchange Ninjas (http://www.exchangeninjas.com/set-allvdirs)

 

========================================================

 

# Script to allow you to set all virtual directories to a common name like mail.company.com

 

Start-Transcript

 

# Variables

 

[string]$UMExtend = '/UnifiedMessaging/Service.asmx'

[string]$OABExtend = '/OAB'

[string]$SCPExtend = '/Autodiscover/Autodiscover.xml'

[string]$EWSExtend = '/EWS/Exchange.asmx'

[string]$ConfirmPrompt = 'Set this Value? (Y/N)'

[string]$NoChangeForeground = 'white'

[string]$NoChangeBackground = 'red'

 

Write-host 'This will allow you to set the virtual directories associated with Autodiscover provided services to the name you provide.'

Write-host ''

[string]$base = Read-host 'Base name of virtual directory (e.g. mail.company.com)'

write-host ''

# =======================================================

# Validate if a third party trusted certificate is being used

# because BITS won't use untrusted certificates

[string]$set = Read-host 'Is the certificate being used an internally generated certificate? (Y/N)'

Write-host ''

 

if ($set -eq 'Y')    {

    [string]$OABprefix = 'http://'

}    else    {

    [string]$OABprefix = 'https://'

}

 

# =======================================================

# Build the Autodiscover URL and set the SCP Value

 

Write-host 'Setting Autodiscover Service Connection Point' -foregroundcolor Yellow

write-host ''

 

$SCPURL = 'https://' + $base + $SCPExtend

 

[array]$SCPCurrent = Get-ClientAccessServer

 

Foreach ($value in $SCPCurrent) {

    Write-host 'Looking at Server: ' $value.name

    Write-host 'Current SCP value: ' $value.AutoDiscoverServiceInternalUri.absoluteuri

    Write-host 'New SCP Value:     ' $SCPURL

    [string]$set = Read-host $ConfirmPrompt

    write-host ''

   

    if ($set -eq 'Y')    {

         Set-ClientAccessServer -id $value.identity -AutoDiscoverServiceInternalUri $SCPURL

    }    else {

        write-host 'Autodiscover Service Connection Point internal value NOT changed' -foregroundcolor $NoChangeForeground -backgroundcolor $NoChangeBackground

    }

}

 

# =======================================================

# Build the EWS URL and set the internal Value

 

Write-host 'Setting Exchange Web Services Virtual Directories' -foregroundcolor Yellow

write-host ''

 

$EWSURL = 'https://' + $base + $EWSExtend

 

[array]$EWSCurrent = Get-WebServicesVirtualDirectory

 

Foreach ($value in $EWSCurrent) {

    Write-host 'Looking at Server: ' $value.server

    Write-host 'Current Internal Value: ' $value.internalURL

    Write-host 'New Internal Value:     ' $EWSUrl

    [string]$set = Read-host $ConfirmPrompt

    write-host ''

 

    if ($set -eq 'Y')    {

        Set-WebServicesVirtualDirectory -id $value.identity -InternalURL $EWSURL

     } else {

        write-host 'Exchange Web Services Virtual Directory internal value NOT changed' -foregroundcolor $NoChangeForeground -backgroundcolor $NoChangeBackground

     }

 

    Write-host 'Looking at Server: ' $value.server

    Write-host 'Current External Value: ' $value.externalURL

    Write-host 'New External Value:     ' $EWSUrl

    [string]$set = Read-host $ConfirmPrompt

    write-host ''

 

    if ($set -eq 'Y')    {

        Set-WebServicesVirtualDirectory -id $value.identity -ExternalURL $EWSURL

    } else {

        write-host 'Exchange Web Services Virtual Directory external value NOT changed' -foregroundcolor $NoChangeForeground -backgroundcolor $NoChangeBackground

    }

}

 

# ======================================================

# Build the OAB URL and set the internal Value

 

Write-host 'Setting OAB Virtual Directories' -foregroundcolor Yellow

write-host ''

 

$OABURL = $OABprefix + $base + $OABExtend

 

[array]$OABCurrent = Get-OABVirtualDirectory

 

Foreach ($value in $OABcurrent) {

    Write-host 'Looking at Server: ' $value.server

    Write-host 'Current Internal Value: ' $value.internalURL

    Write-host 'New Internal Value:     ' $OABUrl

    [string]$set = Read-host $ConfirmPrompt

    write-host ''

 

    if ($set -eq 'Y')    {

        Set-OABVirtualDirectory -id $value.identity -InternalURL $OABURL

    } else {

        write-host 'OAB Virtual Directory internal value NOT changed' -foregroundcolor $NoChangeForeground -backgroundcolor $NoChangeBackground

    }

 

    Write-host 'Looking at Server: ' $value.server

    Write-host 'Current External Value: ' $value.externalURL

    Write-host 'New External Value:     ' $OABUrl

    [string]$set = Read-host $ConfirmPrompt

    write-host ''

 

    if ($set -eq 'Y') {

        Set-OABVirtualDirectory -id $value.identity -ExternalURL $OABURL

    } else {

        write-host 'OAB Virtual Directory external value NOT changed' -foregroundcolor $NoChangeForeground -backgroundcolor $NoChangeBackground

    }

}

 

# =======================================================

# Build the UM URL and set the internal Value

 

Write-host 'Setting UM Virtual Directories' -foregroundcolor Yellow

write-host ''

 

$UMURL = 'https://' + $base + $UMExtend

 

[array]$UMCurrent = Get-UMVirtualDirectory

 

foreach ($value in $UMCurrent) {

    Write-host 'Looking at Server: ' $value.server

    Write-host 'Current Internal Value: ' $value.internalURL

    Write-host 'New Internal Value:     ' $UMUrl

    [string]$set = Read-host $ConfirmPrompt

    write-host ''

 

    if ($set -eq 'Y') {

        Set-UMVirtualDirectory -id $value.identity -InternalURL $UMURL

    } else {

        write-host 'UM Virtual Directory internal value NOT changed' -foregroundcolor $NoChangeForeground -backgroundcolor $NoChangeBackground

    }

 

    Write-host 'Looking at Server: ' $value.server

    Write-host 'Current External Value: ' $value.externalURL

    Write-host 'New External Value:     ' $UMUrl

    [string]$set = Read-host $ConfirmPrompt

    write-host ''

 

    if ($set -eq 'Y') {

        Set-UMVirtualDirectory -id $value.identity -ExternalURL $UMURL

    } else {

        write-host 'UM Virtual Directory external value NOT changed' -foregroundcolor $NoChangeForeground -backgroundcolor $NoChangeBackground

    }

}

Stop-Transcript

 

 

 

========================================================

 

Exchange 2010                  Credit to Barry Martin (http://virtualbarrymartin.me/2009/12/29/how-to-setup-exchange-2010-to-use-a-single-certificate-for-internal-and-external-use/)

 

========================================================

 

# Script to allow you to set all virtual directories to a common name like mail.company.com

Start-Transcript

# Variables

[string]$UMExtend = “/UnifiedMessaging/Service.asmx”

[string]$OWAExtend = “/OWA”

[string]$OABExtend = “/OAB”

[string]$SCPExtend = “/Autodiscover/Autodiscover.xml”

[string]$EWSExtend = “/EWS/Exchange.asmx”

[string]$ECPExtend = “/ECP”

[string]$ConfirmPrompt = “Set this Value? (Y/N)”

[string]$NoChangeForeground = “white”

[string]$NoChangeBackground = “red”

Write-host “This will allow you to set the virtual directories associated with setting up a single SSL certificate to work with Exchange 2010.”

Write-host “”

[string]$base = Read-host “Base name of virtual directory (e.g. mail.company.com)”

write-host “”

# =======================================================

# Validate if a third party trusted certificate is being used

# because BITS won’t use untrusted certificates

[string]$set = Read-host “Is the certificate being used an internally generated certificate? (Y/N)”

Write-host “”

if ($set -eq “Y”)    {

    [string]$OABprefix = “http://”

}    else    {

    [string]$OABprefix = “https://”

}

# =======================================================

# Build the Autodiscover URL and set the SCP Value

Write-host “Setting Autodiscover Service Connection Point” -foregroundcolor Yellow

write-host “”

$SCPURL = “https://” + $base + $SCPExtend

[array]$SCPCurrent = Get-ClientAccessServer

Foreach ($value in $SCPCurrent) {

    Write-host “Looking at Server: ” $value.name

    Write-host “Current SCP value: ” $value.AutoDiscoverServiceInternalUri.absoluteuri

    Write-host “New SCP Value:     ” $SCPURL

    [string]$set = Read-host $ConfirmPrompt

    write-host “”

  

    if ($set -eq “Y”)    {

         Set-ClientAccessServer -id $value.identity -AutoDiscoverServiceInternalUri $SCPURL

    }    else {

        write-host “Autodiscover Service Connection Point internal value NOT changed” -foregroundcolor $NoChangeForeground -backgroundcolor $NoChangeBackground

    }

}

# =======================================================

# Build the EWS URL and set the internal Value

Write-host “Setting Exchange Web Services Virtual Directories” -foregroundcolor Yellow

write-host “”

$EWSURL = “https://” + $base + $EWSExtend

[array]$EWSCurrent = Get-WebServicesVirtualDirectory

Foreach ($value in $EWSCurrent) {

    Write-host “Looking at Server: ” $value.server

    Write-host “Current Internal Value: ” $value.internalURL

    Write-host “New Internal Value:     ” $EWSUrl

    [string]$set = Read-host $ConfirmPrompt

    write-host “”

    if ($set -eq “Y”)    {

        Set-WebServicesVirtualDirectory -id $value.identity -InternalURL $EWSURL

     } else {

        write-host “Exchange Web Services Virtual Directory internal value NOT changed” -foregroundcolor $NoChangeForeground -backgroundcolor $NoChangeBackground

     }

    Write-host “Looking at Server: ” $value.server

    Write-host “Current External Value: ” $value.externalURL

    Write-host “New External Value:     ” $EWSUrl

    [string]$set = Read-host $ConfirmPrompt

    write-host “”

    if ($set -eq “Y”)    {

        Set-WebServicesVirtualDirectory -id $value.identity -ExternalURL $EWSURL

    } else {

        write-host “Exchange Web Services Virtual Directory external value NOT changed” -foregroundcolor $NoChangeForeground -backgroundcolor $NoChangeBackground

    }

}

# ======================================================

# Build the OAB URL and set the internal Value

Write-host “Setting OAB Virtual Directories” -foregroundcolor Yellow

write-host “”

$OABURL = $OABprefix + $base + $OABExtend

[array]$OABCurrent = Get-OABVirtualDirectory

Foreach ($value in $OABcurrent) {

    Write-host “Looking at Server: ” $value.server

   Write-host “Current Internal Value: ” $value.internalURL

    Write-host “New Internal Value:     ” $OABUrl

    [string]$set = Read-host $ConfirmPrompt

    write-host “”

    if ($set -eq “Y”)    {

        Set-OABVirtualDirectory -id $value.identity -InternalURL $OABURL

    } else {

        write-host “OAB Virtual Directory internal value NOT changed” -foregroundcolor $NoChangeForeground -backgroundcolor $NoChangeBackground

    }

    Write-host “Looking at Server: ” $value.server

    Write-host “Current External Value: ” $value.externalURL

    Write-host “New External Value:     ” $OABUrl

    [string]$set = Read-host $ConfirmPrompt

    write-host “”

    if ($set -eq “Y”) {

        Set-OABVirtualDirectory -id $value.identity -ExternalURL $OABURL

    } else {

        write-host “OAB Virtual Directory external value NOT changed” -foregroundcolor $NoChangeForeground -backgroundcolor $NoChangeBackground

    }

}

# =======================================================

# Build the UM URL and set the internal Value

Write-host “Setting UM Virtual Directories” -foregroundcolor Yellow

write-host “”

$UMURL = “https://” + $base + $UMExtend

[array]$UMCurrent = Get-UMVirtualDirectory

foreach ($value in $UMCurrent) {

    Write-host “Looking at Server: ” $value.server

    Write-host “Current Internal Value: ” $value.internalURL

    Write-host “New Internal Value:     ” $UMUrl

    [string]$set = Read-host $ConfirmPrompt

    write-host “”

    if ($set -eq “Y”) {

        Set-UMVirtualDirectory -id $value.identity -InternalURL $UMURL

    } else {

        write-host “UM Virtual Directory internal value NOT changed” -foregroundcolor $NoChangeForeground -backgroundcolor $NoChangeBackground

    }

    Write-host “Looking at Server: ” $value.server

    Write-host “Current External Value: ” $value.externalURL

    Write-host “New External Value:     ” $UMUrl

    [string]$set = Read-host $ConfirmPrompt

    write-host “”

    if ($set -eq “Y”) {

        Set-UMVirtualDirectory -id $value.identity -ExternalURL $UMURL

    } else {

        write-host “UM Virtual Directory external value NOT changed” -foregroundcolor $NoChangeForeground -backgroundcolor $NoChangeBackground

    }

}

# =======================================================

# Build the ECP URL and set the internal Value

Write-host “Setting ECP Virtual Directories” -foregroundcolor Yellow

write-host “”

$ECPURL = “https://” + $base + $ECPExtend

[array]$ECPCurrent = Get-ECPVirtualDirectory

foreach ($value in $ECPCurrent) {

    Write-host “Looking at Server: ” $value.server

    Write-host “Current Internal Value: ” $value.internalURL

    Write-host “New Internal Value:     ” $ECPUrl

    [string]$set = Read-host $ConfirmPrompt

    write-host “”

    if ($set -eq “Y”) {

        Set-ECPVirtualDirectory -id $value.identity -InternalURL $ECPURL

    } else {

        write-host “ECP Virtual Directory internal value NOT changed” -foregroundcolor $NoChangeForeground -backgroundcolor $NoChangeBackground

    }

    Write-host “Looking at Server: ” $value.server

    Write-host “Current External Value: ” $value.externalURL

    Write-host “New External Value:     ” $ECPUrl

    [string]$set = Read-host $ConfirmPrompt

    write-host “”

    if ($set -eq “Y”) {

        Set-ECPVirtualDirectory -id $value.identity -ExternalURL $ECPURL

    } else {

       write-host “ECP Virtual Directory external value NOT changed” -foregroundcolor $NoChangeForeground -backgroundcolor $NoChangeBackground

    }

}

# =======================================================

# Build the OWA URL and set the internal Value

Write-host “Setting OWA Virtual Directories” -foregroundcolor Yellow

write-host “”

$OWAURL = “https://” + $base + $OWAExtend

[array]$OWACurrent = Get-OWAVirtualDirectory

foreach ($value in $OWACurrent) {

    Write-host “Looking at Server: ” $value.server

    Write-host “Current Internal Value: ” $value.internalURL

    Write-host “New Internal Value:     ” $OWAUrl

    [string]$set = Read-host $ConfirmPrompt

    write-host “”

    if ($set -eq “Y”) {

        Set-OWAVirtualDirectory -id $value.identity -InternalURL $OWAURL

    } else {

        write-host “OWA Virtual Directory internal value NOT changed” -foregroundcolor $NoChangeForeground -backgroundcolor $NoChangeBackground

    }

    Write-host “Looking at Server: ” $value.server

    Write-host “Current External Value: ” $value.externalURL

    Write-host “New External Value:     ” $OWAUrl

    [string]$set = Read-host $ConfirmPrompt

    write-host “”

    if ($set -eq “Y”) {

        Set-OWAVirtualDirectory -id $value.identity -ExternalURL $OWAURL

    } else {

       write-host “OWA Virtual Directory external value NOT changed” -foregroundcolor $NoChangeForeground -backgroundcolor $NoChangeBackground

    }

}

Stop-Transcript


Give Us a Call 617-731-6319 and Ask a Professional IT Support Technician Any Questions You May Have!

Sincerely, Terminal We Serve All of Greater Boston and Cambridge, MA
We hope you have found this information helpful & if so...Please Follow Us on Twitter! or Like Us on Facebook!
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