Sep 26 2011

HTTPS IS BROKEN!!!

Warning:  HTTPS is no longer secure.

If possible, set your browser to use TLS 1.2 and undo all other encryption options (SSL3, TSL1.0).

This will break a number of web sites you visit, but you will be secure.

Read all about it here.

Update:  There is quite a bit of talk on the interwebs regarding this issue.  The folks over at openssl claim they have fixed this by inserting empty fragments into their TLS streams (read about it here).  Firefox bug track has some info on it; it looks like they’re working on TLS 1.1 first before 1.2.  Another good discussion going on at ISC about it.  The Register also reported on The Beast tool that exploits this flaw in TLS and SSL.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.brettgorley.com/https-is-broken/

Sep 26 2011

Good Old Weizen- Batch 46

So, Saturday I was brewing with my buddy Rob, originally intending to just hang out and help him brew, but since we had to run to Let’s Brew for supplies I decided to brew a wheat beer.

Rob the Pirate

AARRGGHH!!

So brew we did.  We did Rob’s Scottish ale in my big pot and my wheat beer in one of Rob’s small pots.  Given that Rob had specialty grains and all I had was extract, mine finished first.

My recipe:
7lbs liquid wheat malt extract
1lbs dry wheat malt extract
1.5oz Hallertauer hops (bittering)
.5oz Hallertauer hops (10 minute-flavor)
.25 Hallertauer hops (2 min- aroma)
Packet wheat style yeast

Wheat beer

Wheat beer

Rob's Scottish Ale

Rob's Scottish Ale

Once done we cleaned up the beer mess we spilled all over the floor transferring Rob’s beer into the carboy.  Then after some pizza I went home.  Rob reported to me that he pitched my yeast for me, but no hydrometer reading was taken.  Guess I won’t know the alcohol content on this one.

So, will wait till fermentation is done and somehow manage to find the time to bottle this.

 

 

Permanent link to this article: https://www.brettgorley.com/good-old-weizen-batch-46/

Sep 26 2011

What IT Should Know About Windows 8

Well, if you ask me I’d say skip it and wait till the release after.  For me, it’s an ever-other OS release for me to jump on board.

But, the folks over at Infoworld have this nice little article on the subject, for those of you who may have to adopt sooner.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.brettgorley.com/what-it-should-know-about-windows-8/

Sep 19 2011

IIS and FTP

Using IIS as an FTP server is annoying.  Having issues with people using IE to just download a file.  Firefox works a little better- at least you can authenticate, just can’t view anything.  Filezilla works beautifully- no problems.

So, how do you get your browsers to work?  Easy:  Include the login and password in the URL, like this:

ftp://username:password@ftpsite.com

There you go!  Works like a charm.  Of course, insecure as all get out, but what do you expect from IIS?

My plan is to scrap IIS and use Filezilla server.  I already know my boss won’t approve of Linux.

 

Permanent link to this article: https://www.brettgorley.com/iis-and-ftp/

Sep 16 2011

Windows Server 8 – Looking Good

InfoWorld just did a nice little article on the top 10 features in Windows Server 8.  Problem they had was that there were so many improvements it was hard to pick just 10.

Windows 8 Server Manager

Windows 8 Server Manager

Here’s the summary for all you nerds out there:

10: Server Manager- Improved GUI and multiserver management.  Views are search driven, so they can be saved and GUI can be customized.  Plus, manage everything from context menus, all built on Powershell and and WMI.

9: Server Deployment- They added “Scenario based deployment.”  Install on local machine, remote machine, VM, or VHD with deployment to multiple machines automated through Powershell cmdlets and WMI. Plus, move from Server Core to full server by installing a few components.  You can even install the full Server without the GUI.

8: IP address management- Finally, no 3rd party tools needed anymore.  Server 8 introduces a full-featured IP address manager that combines network discovery, static and dynamic address allocation, DNS and DHCP monitoring, and network auditing capabilities all in one place.  It logs actual usage and keeps an audit trail of changes.  Boy, this feature has been LONG overdue!

7: Dynamic Access Control- This isn’t a replacement for standard ACL’s, this is a layer added on top of ACL’s.  What it allows you to do is define access to files based on broad categories tagged in the files themselves.  So, users can tag files, Office can tag files, and Server 8 can tag files.  Then, regardless of where those files are, you can grant or deny access to those files based on the file itself, and not on the directory structure.
To implement, you create claims definitions and file property definitions in Active Directory, and you can use any AD attribute.  The claim travels with the users token.  Get that Access denied error?  No problem.  Users are given a remediation link so they can contact the Help Desk or Sysadmin if they think they need access.

6: Large Hyper-V Clusters-  This is Microsoft’s stab at VMWare.  Hyper-V will support 63 hosts and 4,000 VMs per cluster.  They’ve also added tools like cluster-aware patching, storage resource pools, thin provisioning, storage offload for data transfers, BitLocker encryption for cluster volumes, data deduplication, and live storage migration.  They’ve also added Fibre Channel support to Hyper-V guests.

5: Flexible Live Migration- You can migrate a VM and a VHD to a new server while running.  All that’s needed is your standard Ethernet connection and both machines to belong to the same domain.  No cap on migrations either, just limited by your hardware.

4: Virtual Networking – Microsoft has matched VMWare’s vSwitch feature for feature.  Port ACLs, private VLANs, per-vNIC bandwidth reservations, QoS, metering, OpenFlow support, VN-Tag support, network introspection – and all without extra hardware.

3: Hyper-V Replica- The clunky process of setting up Hyper-V replication has been replaced by a wizard.  Your replica will be no more than 5 minutes behind your live machine, and failover and failback are supported.

2: SMB for server apps- So, you want to share your VHD’s and SQL databases on a commodity file server?  It’s now supported.  You can run your VHD off a SMB2 file share, no specialized storage requirements needed.  This is a big boost for small businesses.  You can create SMB2 clusters as well for inexpensive failover.

1: Simplified Virtual Desktop Infrastructure.  Tired of the pain of Citrix? Server 8 simplifies VDI tremendously.  Remote connections are much lighter weight than R2 (10% of R2’s in Microsoft’s demos.)  Admins have it easier for Terminal Server (Remote Desktop). They have a single admin tool for full deployment, as well as a single unified way to deploy RDSH sessions, pooled (stateless) virtual desktops, and personalized (stateful) virtual desktops.  There are also new virtual hard disks, VHDX files, that store user personalizations, and Microsoft is promising better performance than previous roaming profiles.  I hope so, as user profiles are an issue in my environment.

Well, there ya have it.  Looking forward to more development in this area.

 

 

 

Permanent link to this article: https://www.brettgorley.com/windows-server-8-looking-good/

Sep 14 2011

Normal Tech Support Call

Had this one today: IT Croud

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p85xwZ_OLX0[/youtube]

[youtube]p85xwZ_OLX0[/youtube]

%video%http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p85xwZ_OLX0%video%

 

 

Permanent link to this article: https://www.brettgorley.com/normal-tech-support-call/

Sep 14 2011

End Users (aka. Other Reasons I Drink)

  • By in IT

  • September 14, 2011

Just had an end user manage to reboot our terminal server through a control panel item I thought was blocked, but wasn’t. Kicked off a dozen users, cost everyone at least 10 minutes of work time, plus screwed up the screen font size for everyone, forcing me to have to reboot the server again later today to fix this.

Let’s just say there is a reason the LART was invented….

Permanent link to this article: https://www.brettgorley.com/end-users-aka-other-reasons-i-drink/

Sep 12 2011

Software Restriction Policy on Terminal Server

So, due to certain pieces of custom software requiring elevated rights, we had to loosen up on user rights in our terminal server environment. But, in an effort to avoid too much damage, we instituted Software Restriction Policies, so users cannot run any executable other than what we specify.

Needless to say, it has been a pain in the rear.

Currently I’m fighting with a remote app that is attempting to launch a Word doc. Problem is, the remote app server has a different version of Office installed, and none of the old Office app paths are in our SRP. Rather than add the numerous dozens of office executables, I’m simply installing the latest version on our app server. The paths for Office 2010 already exist in our SPR, so that should take care of it.

Hopefully as we keep moving on software developers will start being smarter when they design software so I won’t need to go through these gymnastics just to make things work and be secure.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.brettgorley.com/software-restriction-policy-on-terminal-server/

Aug 18 2011

Beer Conversion Chart

You have an all grain recipe you want to convert to extract?  You have an extract recipe you want to convert to all grain?  Well, my friend, here is your answer.  Just use this chart below and convert what you need.

By the way, this assumes a pretty good extraction ratio on your all grain.  If your extraction ratio sucks, use more grains than this calls for.

Pounds of Grain Pounds of Extract
Liquid Dry
=1.33x liquid =1.25x dry =.8 of liquid
=1.66x liquid =.75x grain =.6x grain
1 0.75 0.6
1.5 1.13 0.9
2 1.5 1.2
2.5 1.88 1.5
3 2.25 1.8
3.5 2.63 2.1
4 3 2.4
4.5 3.38 2.7
5 3.75 3
5.5 4.13 3.3
6 4.5 3.6
6.5 4.88 3.9
7 5.25 4.2
7.5 5.63 4.5
8 6 4.8
8.5 6.38 5.1
9 6.75 5.4
9.5 7.13 5.7
10 7.5 6

Permanent link to this article: https://www.brettgorley.com/beer-conversion-chart/

Jul 29 2011

BJ’s Belgian Ale- Batch 45 bottled

BJ's Belgian Ale

BJ's Belgian Ale

Tonight with the help of my friend Rob, I was finally able to bottle my Belgian BJ’s Millennium Ale clone.

Final gravity on that bad boy was 1.022, giving me an alcohol content of 9.45%.  Holy guacamole!  If you don’t count the mead, that’s the strongest beer I’ve brewed.

I got 46 regular bottles and two 22oz bottles out of it.  Rob took 4 home.  The taste was wild.  You definitely get the ginger and the orange from the aroma, and the hint of honey in the taste offsets the bitters from the orange peel and the hops.  It’s nice and strong, light with a good thick body.  Can’t wait till it’s done carbonating.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.brettgorley.com/bjs-belgian-ale-batch-45-bottled/