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Operational Tips : Password parameter changes in Group Policy

I am planning on sharing some of the “Ahh.. we should have thought of that” moments on this site as I run into them. First is to remind of me of my past mistakes, so that I can avoid them in future, and two is help other folks out. Here’s my first one..

We decided to change the password parameters in our companies group policy recently. The password expiration was changed to 60 days from 120 days and password complexity was enabled.  We thought this was a pretty straight forward change and wouldn’t get the helpdesk swamped with calls, since the new policy will take affect as the current passwords expire..

Wrong!!! AD checks the last time your password was changed and compares it to the password expiration time frame in group policy. And you could just imagine, the look our helpdesk folks gave the engineers when they got swaped with people calling them that they are being forced to change passwords and all the ones they used before don’t work.

Morale : Decrease the password timeout in intervals. i..e in our case, we should have decreased the expiration date 10 days at a time. That way, you minimize the impact the change.

September 9, 2007 by Technology Uncategorized Windows 0

HOW TO : Configure wireless NIC on Fedora 7.0

I decided to play around with Fedora to brush up on my Redhat skills. I have been using Ubuntu for some time, but wanted to see what the newly released Fedora 7.0 offers. With each new release, Linux is coming closer to becoming an operating system that a normal user can install and start using right away. Gone are the days of plowing through config files to get everything working. Thats why, I was pretty surprised when the wireless card in my laptop didn’t work with the default install. Here’s how I got the card to work in Fedora, using ndiswrapper (An opensource project that enables the usage of Windows drivers in Linux).

  • Install kernel headers by running “yum –install kernel-devel”
  • Install gcc (compiler) by running “yum –install gcc”
  • Download ndiswrapper from http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net (make sure to download the latest version)
  • Unpack ndiswrapper and run the following commands
    • make uninstall
    • make
    • make install
  • Download the windows drivers (.inf and .sys files) for your wireless card and copy them to a location on your harddrive
  • Change the working directory to the folder where the windows drivers have been saved
  • Install the drivers by running the following commands
    • ndiswrapper -i driver_file_name.inf
    • ndiswrapper -l
      • This command should show that the device has been installed and enabled. My output looks like this
        net5416 : driver installed
        device (168C:0024) present
  • Configure an alias for the wireless card by editing the /etc/modprobe.conf file and adding the line
    • alias wlan0 ndiswrapper
  • Configure NetworkManager to startup automatically by running
    • chkconfig –level456 NetworkManager on
  • Restart your machine and you can start using the wireless card by using the “NetworkManager” applet that starts when you log into the GUI.
June 3, 2007 by Linux Technology Uncategorized 0

HOW TO : Delete exchange account on a Windows Mobile device

I use a T-Mobile Dash as my phone and mobile messaging platform. For those that are not aware, you pull e-mail from any Exchange 2003 server with SP2 from a Windows Mobile device over the air, using direct connect. The management features are not as robust as Blackberry for managing Windows Mobile devices, but it is a free feature :).

I have been trying to figure out for the last few weeks, how I can switch the exchange server that my DASH has been configured for. Finally, a lot of googling revealed the following steps.

On your mobile device,

  • Go to Start -> Active Sync
  • Click  Menu – >  Options
  • Choose Microsoft Exchange
  • Click on Menu-> Delete

NOTE : This will delete all your e-mail, contacts and calendar entries that were synchronized using the old exchange server.

May 13, 2007 by Networking Technology Uncategorized Windows 18

WordPress 2.1.x and FAlbum issues

I use the FAlbum plugin for WordPress to display pictures from my Flickr account on this site. When I upgraded WordPress (the publishing platform that powers this blog) to v.2.1.3 from v.2.0.9, I noticed that I couldn’t see pictures from my Flickr account on the site anymore. On further digging, I saw an error message in the admin page for FAlbum that the Flickr Key was not valid any longer. I tried to reauthorize FAlbum on Flickr, but that didn’t work either. Googling for the error message “( [stat] => fail [code] => 100 [message] => Invalid API Key (Key has expired)” didn’t turn up any useful pages. So, I tried something I haven’t done for a while :), I visited the support forums for FAlbum and found the issue right on the first page. It looks like Flickr had expired FAlbums Key for some reason without any explanation. The author suggested using a new key and I was up and running in a few minutes. Just a reminder, that Google is still not the omni persent God :).

Now, you can go back to enjoying “My Pictures” :).

April 15, 2007 by Technology Uncategorized Web 0

Internet Radio : As you like it

Tired of listening to Radio stations that might or not play what you want to hear? Try Pandora (www.pandora.com). Pandora claims it’s sole mission to be “To help you discover new music you’ll love”. The founders of Pandora have analyzed more than 60 years of music and created a sophisticated taxonomy of musical information. If you specify an artist or song, Pandora creates a unique radio station based on a Musical Genome of the song/artist/band. And to top it all off, it is completely free :). I love the sleek and simple flash interface too. I would love to take a look at how they keep up with streaming all that content across the Internet.

Update : Some Googling lead me to this article in Computerworld which speaks about some of the technology used to power Pandora.com. Looks like they use OpenLszlo.The programming approach is as elegant as the site :).

April 10, 2007 by Fun Uncategorized Web 1

Project PresidentFeed

I came across a new project by one of my old colleagues, Tim O’Brien, called PresidentFeed.com when I saw another colleague mention it in his blog. Tim is one of the smartest people I have come across in my career. Not only is he a great technologist but he also takes an interest in politics (which more and more people seem to do less and less of 🙂 ). He built this new website, that aggregates information on all the 2008 presidential candidates and also lets you cast your vote for them. Obama has the largest number of votes and highest approval ratings.. Go Obama!!! . Get your mouse over to this site and take part in shaping the free world :).

April 8, 2007 by Fun Politics Technology Uncategorized Web 0

Podcast about management

I am always looking for people, books, sites, podcast that can make me a better person to work with. There are quite a few sites out there that have help for managers, but the one I found that has the most relevant and interesting information is Manager-Tools.com. It is a weekly podcast by two management consultants (Mark Horstman and Michael Auzenne) with practical advice that can used in our day to day life. Mark and Mike provide an fresh insight into business advice, management consulting and personal coaching. Highly recommend it to anyone thinking of moving into management.

April 8, 2007 by Management Uncategorized 4

Mac : Enhance your Apple Remote

While I am on a Mac spree :), here’s an app that can really enhance the apple remote that comes with all the new macs. The default functionality you get with the Apple Remote is pretty basic. You can only control Front Row and put your Mac to sleep. I am trying “Remote Buddy” from IOSpirit and have been pretty impressed with all the apps you can control with your apple remote now. And you cannot argue with the 9.99 Euro cost either :).

April 6, 2007 by Mac Technology Uncategorized 0

HOW TO : View Chat logs in Adium

Adium is a multi protocol instant messaging application for the Mac OS X. I have been using it on my MacBook for a while now and think it is a fantastic example of how powerful open source can be. I was trying to figure out how to look at the chat logs on Adium. Some Googling helped me figure it out.. :). To view the chat logs on Adium, you can type “Apple Button + l” or click on “Contact -> View Chat Transcripts” in the menu.

April 4, 2007 by Mac Technology Uncategorized Web 0

RECIPE : Chepala Pulusu

Recipe for fish curry (AKA Chepala Pulusu in Telugu). Credit goes to my Athayya (mother-in-law). Lakshmi and I learnt a lot of new dishes during her brief visit to Chicago.

Ingredients

  • Cat Fish : 3Lbs
  • Onions : 3 (large)
  • Thai Chill : 6
  • Tamarind : 10 gms (or use 2 table spoon of tamarind paste) : 6i
  • Ginger Garlic Paste : 3 table spoons
  • (sambar) Chili Powder : 3 table spoons
  • Curry Leaves : 5
  • Cumin Seeds : 1 tea spoon
  • Mustard Seeds : 2 tea spoons
  • Turmeric : 1 tea spoon

Preparation

  • Skin the cat fish, cut out the fins and tail.
  • Cut the fish into medium size pieces and wash with turmeric and salt (this takes out the fishy smell).
  • Pour 5 table spoons of oil in a broad pan and let it heat for ~2 minutes.
  • Add mustard and cumin seeds and let them sizzle for ~30 seconds (this is known as thalimpu in Telugu).
  • Add curry leaves and let them sizzle for ~20 seconds.
  • Add the chillies and onions and fry them.
  • Add 1 table spoon of salt to soften the onions.
  • Add turmeric powder.
  • When onions start to brown, add the tamarind water.
  • Add the chili powder and let the contents simmer for a few minutes.
  • Lay the fish pieces on the mixture evenly (after this point, don’t move the fish pieces since they can fall apart).
  • Cover the pan with a lid and let the contents boil for 15 minutes.
  • Serve hot with white rice and enjoy :).

Visuals

March 31, 2007 by Food Uncategorized 2