Today is Safer Internet Day

Organized by Insafe (a European network of Awareness Centres), Safer Internet Day is held annually on February 9th to promote safe and responsible use of the Internet, especially by children and teens. The topic for 2010 is "Think B4 U Post!"

Speaking of online safety for teens, check out this PSA video by CyberTipline. And for more information about staying safe on the 'web, check out Microsoft's safety website or follow them on Twitter @Safer_Online.

Secrets of the Ease of Access Center

If you are a Windows user without any physical handicaps, chances are you’ve never even looked at the “Ease of Access Center” in the Window 7 control panel. However, there are some interesting things in there!

I find Mouse Keys to be handy from time to time, especially if I’ve been doing a lot of mousing and my hand needs a break. (This isn’t recommended on a laptop with an embedded number pad.) You can find those settings under the Make the mouse easier to use options. There are also different mouse style options than you’d find under the regular mouse settings – good for when you are doing presentations and want to make the mouse easier for others to follow.

Under Use this computer without a display, you’ll find the setting to adjust how long notification boxes stay open. This is adjustable up to 5 minutes. You can also change the thickness of the blinking cursor in the Make this computer easier to see section.

Under Make the keyboard easier to use there is the a couple hidden gems. First, “underline keyboard shortcuts and access keys” can make it easier for you to perform some tasks without reaching for the mouse.

Finally, if you aren’t impressed with the new Aero “Snap” features for docking your windows to the sides and top of the screen, you can turn them of by selecting “Prevent windows from being automatically arranged when moved to the edge of the screen.” For those of you who like shoving windows to the side to take advantage of screen real estate, this gives you that power back.

Not only can you find some interesting options for occasional use, it’s helpful to familiarize yourself with what Windows can do for someone who may need some adjustments in order to use their computer to the best of their abilities.

Terminal Services RemoteApp – Bumps in the Road

This month I’ve been trying to nudge the project of moving to Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services RemoteApp forward at the office. The goal is to get away from using a version of Citrix Presentation Server to access applications over the Internet. The needs of our office have changed and the new features with Terminal Services in Server 2008 make this something we want to adopt instead.

However, nothing is without an occasional bump in the road. Here a couple of ours:

Bump #1 - No way to filter which applications users see on the RemoteApp webpage.

I know this feature was added in Server 2008 R2. Unfortunately, we have to stick with the Server 2008 “classic” due to an important 32-bit application that does not install or run properly under WoW. We debated the importance of filtering the application list and decided it wasn’t a deal breaker. Or we can look at some third-party workarounds.

Bump #2 – Users with passwords set to “enforce change at next logon” can’t get past the TS Gateway.

We have to remember to handle first time password changes for users who only be using RemoteApp by NOT checking the enforcement box and instructing them on how to change there password after they launch an application. (CNTL + ALT + END does the trick from any launched application.)

Bump #3 – No support for Macs with the Mac version of the RDC client.

Ouch. We only have a few employees that use a Mac at home and we’ll have to continue offering GoToMyPC to meet their needs. Not what I’d like to do, but hopefully support for the Mac will come along soon.

Bump #4 – Limitations with multi-monitor support.

Microsoft KB925876 gives some of the details of what type of multi-monitor support is available with Server 2008 Terminal Services and should automatically support spanning if your monitors meeting the configuration requirements. Those rules are: the total resolution on all monitors must be under 4096 x 2048 pixels; the monitors must have the same resolution; the monitors must be aligned side-by-side; and the far left screen has to be the primary one.

This is pretty limiting, especially if you have a laptop connected to an external monitor and want to take advantage of both screens. Or have monitors set up in configuration where one is turned vertically. Or any other number of possible configurations. Windows 2008 R2 improves on this as well, but as noted in #1, we just can't quite use that yet.

So yes, we've got a few bumps, but nothing that would keep us moving forward with the project at this point. Our remote access isn't supposed to be used by someone as a long-term way to work, nor is used with a frequency that demands extra capital expenditures to overcome a few relatively minor issues.

PacITPros February Meeting

Yesterday evening, I gave a short presentation at the monthly Pacific IT Professionals meeting on Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services. Highlights included some of the changes, feature improvements and cavats between Server 2003, Server 2008 and Server 2008 R2. If you attended and would like a copy of my slide deck, click here. Also look for a post tomorrow that covers some of the highlights of the presentation.

There were two other great presentations at the meeting. Ed Horley presented on Network Filtering and Joanie Rhine from Microsoft presented on the most recent Security Intelligence Report. Their presentations will be available on the PacITPros website.

MSI Installer Error: What Advertised Application?

I ran into an interesting error message while reinstalling a custom piece of software on my Windows XP machine recently. The software processes small text files with a custom file extension and uses them to locate a particular document in our document management application. Users can also use the software to generate these custom files to share with others via email, etc.

The program is deployed using a Group Policy software assignment. My computer was handling the files properly from my desktop, but was not working as expected when accessing the same file if it was stored in SharePoint. I had tested the SharePoint functionality previously on another computer and it worked as expected. The MSI Installer includes the option to repair the application, so I attempted to run it again in order to see if that solved my problem. Instead of a successful run, I got the following error message:

"This advertised application will not be installed because it might be unsafe. Contact your administrator to change the installation user interface option of the package to basic."

First, the application is “assigned” not “advertised” with the GPO. Second, I’m a local administrator on my machine, so I thought it was strange I was unable to run it. I pulled our DBA over (who wrote the program) and he confirmed that I should be seeing a “repair” option when the software is run after being installed once before.

A little searching brought us to this post, which recommending running the MSI installer from the command line using the /qb switch. We didn’t bother looking for the “product state value” as Soumitra Mondal suggests in his post, but it appears my PC was a bit confused about the install state of the application and reinstalling with that switch did the trick.