FAQforge provides answers for frequently asked questions for the Linux-, MAC and Windows operating systems.
Windows Automated Installation Kit Error: 0xc1420117 on dism Command
Error: 0xc1420117
The directory could not be completely unmounted. This is usually due to applications that still have files opened within the mount directory. Close these files and unmount again to complete the unmount process.
This error happens when you use another Dism.exe which is located in C:\Windows\System32. The correct application to use is C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\amd64\Servicing\Dism.exe, so you need to direct your command line tool to that location before you run the unmount-command (use cd C:\Path to change directory). Replace amd64 in the path with your architecture or leave it out to go in the Servicing folder inside Tools.
Slipstream Service Packs Into Windows XP Installation Disk
To slipstream (=integrate) MS Windows Service Packs into an existing Windows XP Installation Disk you need an installation Disk, a working copy of Windows, the downloaded Service Pack, a burning software capable of burning bootable images (for example ImgBurn, which is also free), a DVD burner and an empty disk.
First copy all files of the installation disk into a folder on your hard disk (don’t forget any hidden files) and download the Service Packs you need. Then open a command line by typing cmd into a Run… prompt and direct it to the directory the Service Pack you want to integrate is in with the cd (change directory) command, for example like this:
cd C:\Service_Packs
Don’t forget to double-quote the path if there are any Space characters in it. Next, enter the file name of the Service Pack followed by the integrate switch and the path of the installation disk files in the following syntax:
WINDOWSXP-KB936929-SP3-X86-DEU.EXE /integrate:C:\Windows_XP_Install
Windows_XP_Install is the folder where I copied the files of the disk into and is located directly on the <em>C:</em> drive. After the process is done, create an image from the altered installation files and burn it as bootable CD/DVD.
Free Alternative Burning Software for Windows
Nero Burning Rom may be the most used burning software for Windows but despite its high functionality it still is quite expensive. Luckily there are some free alternative burning softwares on the internet which can compete to Nero’s performance, one of them being ImgBurn:
ImgBurn provides you with the crucial burning-processes you will need: writing files, data, and images to a disk. You can copy disks by making images of them or create those from files, making it possible to duplicate your Windows installation disk by copying its files and creating a bootable disk out of it.
Download ImgBurn from its homepage: http://www.imgburn.com/index.php?act=download
Fast-Access Search Results on Firefox with Firejump
It often happens that people use search engines just to access a site they know the url of but are too lazy to type it in with all the dots and slashes, although this adds one step to the process of opening the site.
However there is a Firefox Add-on called FireJump that lets you configure what page is opened when you search for a specific keyword, allowing you to skip the search results and direct the browser right to a specific website.
Download the plugin at http://firejump.net/
Unfortunately it is currently only available in German, but the few buttons are self-explaining.
On the above screenshot you are given the option to either open the default search results or to skip to the FireJump homepage when you search for firejump. The button below saves your choice.
Change Login Screen on Windows 7
While you needed third-party software on Windows XP to change nearly everything but your wallpaper, Windows 7 has made things quite a lot easier. To change your login screen, just create the following two folders:
C:\Windows\System32\oobe\info
C:\Windows\System32\oobe\info\backgrounds
Then open the Windows registry by typing regedit into a Run… prompt and browse the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI\Background key on the left panel. Click it once and change the value of OEMBackground on the right panel to 1 (if the value is not already present, right-click the right panel and select New > DWORD-Value (32 bit)).
Afterwards choose a picture you want to have as your new login screen. It must be in the .jpg format and its size must be under 256 KB. Copy the picture into the created backgrounds folder and rename it to backgroundDefault.jpg.
Your login screen will now have changed upon your next log-off.
Properly Uninstall Software on Windows with Revo Uninstaller
The built-in Windows tool to add and remove software is commonly used to install and uninstall software, in most cases an own uninstaller comes with the program. However, this uninstaller usually does its job quite sloppy, since numerous files, folders and/or registry entries are left behind after installation. This can either be wanted, if the left files serve as configuration preservers for the case of reinstallation of the program or, as it is in most cases, is just taken lightly by the programmers, meaning that the left files are actually only data junk never to be used again.
This data junk, if stored in masses, can slow down your computer over time. While the best method to get rid of it is to format your hard drive and reinstall the operating system from time to time, you may have reasons to not do that, but to look for a more immediate way to get rid of or to prevent such installation leftovers.
One way to uninstall software more effectively as with their own uninstaller is doing so with Revo Uninstaller.
This piece of software provides multiple steps of uninstalling – it first removes the programs with their own uninstaller and then scans the system for the so-called software rot.
If any leftover files are found, they are shown and you are given the option to delete them seperately. Only delete the files that you are sure you won’t need anymore – deleting files you don’t know or recognize can cause severe problems.
Furthermore, Revo Uninstaller comes with a bunch of useful features as emptying browser caches, deleting temporary files, Windows search queries, several histories and erasing all tracks of deleted files.
Apache mod-security installation on Debian 6.0 (squeeze)
Install the apache mod-security 2 module with apt from the Debian repositories
apt-get install libapache-mod-security
Create the folder for the mod-security configuration files
mkdir /etc/apache2/mod-security
chmod 600 /etc/apache2/mod-security
Download and unpack the mod-security rules
cd /tmp
wget http://www.modsecurity.org/download/modsecurity-core-rules_2.5-1.6.1.tar.gz
tar fvx modsecurity-core-rules_2.5-1.6.1.tar.gz
mv *.conf /etc/apache2/mod-security/
ln -s /var/log/apache2 /etc/apache2/logs
Configure apache to load the activated mod-security rules
vi /etc/apache2/conf.d/mod-security.conf
Include /etc/apache2/mod-security/*.conf
To enable mod-security, edit the file
vi /etc/apache2/mod-security/modsecurity_crs_10_config.conf
and remove the # in front of the line:
SecDefaultAction “phase:2,log,deny,status:403,t:lowercase,t:replaceNulls,t:compressWhitespace”
Then reload apache.
/etc/init.d/apache2 force-reload
Mod security will now start to block hack attempts to your websites and log the actions in the file /var/log/apache2/modsec_audit.log.
tail /var/log/apache2/modsec_audit.log
You will see very likely some falsely blocked URL’s. To whitelist them, you can add the ID’s of the rules that should not be used in the whitelist file.
Example:
vi /etc/apache2/mod-security/modsecurity_crs_99_whitelist.conf
SecRuleRemoveById 960015
SecRuleRemoveById 960016
Free Windows Malware Removal Tools
The tools shown here are tools to be used together with a fully functioning anti-virus software and are not meant to replace it. They provide an additional source of security and work by scanning your system for malicious software and other potentially harmful stuff. The three tools I tested were Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware, SUPERAntiSpyware Free Edition (+ Portable Edition) and Spybot Search & Destroy (+ Portable Edition). They all ran on the same system with the same prerequisites. Although, or rather because all their results in scanning differ, it is recommendable to have all of them installed and let them scan your system from time to time.
Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware
Of the three softwares tested, this is the only one that found two trojans on the system. It offers a quick scan and a complete scan option where the quick scan took about 3 minutes and a complete scan took about 45 on 25 GB of data. It removed all found items accurately but unfortunately has no official portable version.
Download Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware here: http://www.malwarebytes.org/
SUPERAntiSpyware Free Edition
Of the two trojans that were found by Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware, SUPERAntiSpyware found one but it also found quite a few adware-tracking cookies which you also might want to get rid of, although they usually are no dangerous objects. Like Malwarebytes, it offers a quick and a complete scan option, which, too, take about 3 and 45 minutes on 25 GB data. Additionally, SUPERAntiSpyware comes with many useful tools that might come handy if you have got a virus disabling critical system functions as re-enabling your task-manager or the system restore service and many more.
There is also a portable version of the software that works perfectly alright and comes with the same functions as the installable free version.
Download all versions here: http://www.superantispyware.com/
Spybot Search and Destroy
In the current test, unfortunately Spybot found none of the items that the others did, although it has proven worthy in previous ones. Spybot offers one scan option which takes about 20 minutes on 25 GB data. It comes with an extra feature called Immunize, which blocks certain malicious websites if activated. Furthermore, Spybot gives you the option to install TeaTimer, a process running in the background that detects malware that tries to make changes in your registry.
Like SUPERAntiSpyware, Spybot offers a portable version which works well from any USB device.
Download Spybot here: http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html
Enable USB Support In Virtualbox (Ubuntu)
Enabling USB Support in Virtualbox means to be able to access USB drives plugged into your physical machine on your virtual machines. To accomplish this, you first need to download the newest version of Virtualbox (4.1.8 at the time of this writing), which is not available in the Ubuntu repositories but on the Virtualbox homepage:
https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads
Uninstall any previously installed version if present and then install the downloaded Debian package with a package installer taking care of dependencies, such as gdebi.
Next, head back to the homepage and install the Virtualbox Extension pack which supports USB 2.0.
Now you have to make yourself member of the vboxusers group. Go to the Users and Groups Settings in your Control Panel and hit Manage Groups. Scroll down to the vboxusers group and hit Properties. Check the box next to your username and click OK.
Last but not least you have to enable USB for the virtual machine. Close it if it is running and enter the Settings window. On the left panel, select USB. Check Enable USB Controller as well as Enable USB 2.0 (EHCI) Controller. Then click the button with the small green plus-symbol and add the USB device you need:
If you run the machine a USB symbol will indicate that USB is enabled and a device is running on virtual machine:
Mac OS X-like Dock for Windows 7
The Dock, main navigation element in Apple’s Mac OS X, is a powerful tool to quickly access your most important files if you tend to use the same pieces of software or the same folders over and over again. Rocketdock is such a dock application designed for Windows:
It works like the original OS X dock and can be placed on every border of the screen, additionally being highly customizable in terms of theme, effects and behaviour:
You can download Rocketdock here: http://www.rocketdock.com