Disabling Windows Defender

I had an issue recently where Windows updates installed Windows Defender automatically, on top of Microsoft Security Essentials on my TS3 server. This caused MSE to disable itself, and Windows Defender didn’t enable itself, causing my TS3 server to be exposed for longer than I would have liked.

Obviously this was a huge problem, and I prefer to use MSE over Windows Defender, but getting rid of it wasn’t as easy as just re-enabling MSE.

So, to disable Windows Defender:

  1. Open Control Panel
  2. Find & open Windows Defender
  3. Within Windows Defender, click Tools
  4. Then Options
  5. Click the last option, Administrator
  6. Un-check the box labelled “Use this program”

Now,

  1. Open up services (Run -> services.msc)
  2. Find Windows Defender in there
  3. Double click on it to open Properties
  4. Set Startup Type to Disabled
  5. Enable MSE and restart the PC

Even if, at this point, MSE hangs. When you log back in again it should  be re-enabled.

Domain controller migration

This weekend I was running through a migration from Server 2008 Hyper-V host to ESXi and Server 2012 as the primary DC in a test environment. All the VMs were backed up and converted to VMDKs beforehand, and the install went off without a hitch.

What I had done with the server, was to install 2012, and connect it to the domain (as a VM) and set it up as a secondary DC to replicate my AD over. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to demote the host DC before taking it offline, and was left with a problem. All the roles were on the root DC.

Because of that, I had to go in and seize the roles from the primary DC before I could use any administrative tools on the 2012 server. Ideally you want to demote the primary DC first so it transfers all the roles to the other DC. In this case, I had to do something a little more long winded.

  1. First, open an administrative command prompt and enter the ntdsutil tool
  2. Type roles, then press enter
  3. Type connections. Press enter
  4. Enter connect to server and then the server name. This is the server you want to transfer the roles to
  5. Enter Q to go back to the previous menu (the Roles menu)
  6. Now you need to seize the roles from the primary DC. These are: pdc, rid master, schema master, infrastructure master

There’s a handy script that’ll clear all the leftover metadata once you’ve done all of the above (it’s a lot easier than doing it all manually). It’s on a Technet in the script center – Metadata removal script. Copy the text out, and paste it into a notepad file. Save it as a .vbs file, then double click to run. It’ll scan the DCs in the domain and ask you which server it should remove metadata for.

Now, you’ll be able to delete the server from Active Directory Sites & Services. Tip: delete the NTDS Settings first, then remove the server.

Media center software – XBMC

A couple of months ago I purchased some new parts from Scan to build myself a Media PC. I went through a lot of different options, weighing up the pros and cons of each and eventually settled on a stripped down version of the Budget PC found in Custom PC Magazine. I have media across multiple drives, and a large factor for me was to have all of a set type of media – TV shows and films – kept together regardless of which drive they were on. I tried a couple of solutions before I settled on my final decision, and for anyone else finding themselves in the same dilemma I faced, here’s a quick rundown of the programs I tried…

Read more

How to set an AFK channel in Teamspeak 3

I have a private Teamspeak 3 server I run for my friends and I when we play online games. I recently found the need to have an AFK channel, and wondered how to make all users have muted microphones while in that channel. The way to do it is pretty simple, as all you need to do is Right click the channel -> Edit Channel and under moderation on the Standard tab, set Needed talk power to 76.

Read more

Why use multiple stylesheets?

It’s tidy

A much cleaner set of stylesheets can be obtained by splitting them into different files. This is known as encapsulation – where each stylesheet only contains the relevant, associated information.

For different media types

Different stylesheets can be used to support different devices. Three of the most popular are:

  • Screen – for display on a monitor
  • Print – for printing a webpage
  • Handheld – for mobile and handheld devices such as the Kindle

Stylesheets catering specifically to handheld users is becoming more popular now, with the boom in the range of smartphones and tablets available since 2011. By using a stylesheet for handheld devices you can omit things such as background images and scale down/compress decorative and informative images further, both to fit on the screen and to reduce the bandwidth needed for a handheld user to view your site.

Read more

Dock your Windows 7 taskbar on the side to increase screen real estate

Lately I’ve taken to using the Windows 7 taskbar on the right side of my screen rather than the bottom. It takes a lot of getting used to – I constantly find myself hovering to the bottom of the screen to bring up a program (muttering “dumbarse” to myself upon realising), but now I’m settling in to the idea of it being on the right. I actually kinda like it. It frees up a lot of space on the screen (especially as I have a 22″ monitor as my main screen now) since there’s more horizontal space than vertical on widescreen monitors.

Try it for yourself for a week and let me know how you get on in the comments below!

Powered by WordPress. Reyl Lite designed by Quema Labs.

Verified by MonsterInsights