Best Practice Ezine 173 Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor

Is your server running slowly? Check with SolarWinds ipMonitor.

Get your free evaluation copy of ipMonitor here

IPAM will assist you in managing IP addresses.

To let you into a secret, this utilities is fun to use, even if you don't have a pressing need to calculate your IP address space.

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Six Handy Utilities

This week I am using the spread-shot approach to recommending utilities. I will be astonished if you use all these programs, yet I will be disappointed if you don't find one utility that's just what you are looking for.

VideoLan - Paul DeBrino Says:

I've been having a problem where I cannot rename .MOV files (Apple QuickTime) using Windows Explorer. The very moment I attempt a right-click of any such file, Explorer.exe seems to allocate an indefinite lock on the file. I located several blogs on this happenstance which, apparently, is an integration bug with QuickTime and Microsoft.

Getting to my point ... I researched an alternative and found the following tool. Best of all, it's versatile in that it replaces a variety of other players. It also features a complete streaming server, for those who wish to publish vlogs and such.

WSUS (Windows Server Update Services)

For those who utilize WSUS you can get an upgrade: Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2 RTM is available from September 2009, and you know what say about version 3 of any product, this is when it comes of age.

WSUS 3.0 SP2 supports the latest operating systems, including Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 clients, and it also supports direct upgrades. WSUS 3.0 SP2 is more robust and features significant improvements in client performance, reliability, and increased server usability. Furthermore, every aspect of WSUS 3.0 is backed-up by Microsoft's comprehensive deployment and troubleshooting guides, download WSUS here.

NEW! 3rd party updates! Deploy, manage & report on 3rd party patches & applications with WSUS. Create your own packages to deploy any MSI, MSP, or EXE.

Choose Really Strong Passwords

You may notice more and more news articles about company data and/or email being compromised .. all because their personnel's passwords were "weak".

The tool will assist you in finding a "strong" password, which you should then use to update your personal accounts. Protect your email by choosing a strong password. Otherwise, if someone was to access any of your email accounts, it could be devastating. I hope to encourage you today to test your current password(s) using this online Strong Password tool.

Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor

It's less than a month before Microsoft releases Windows 7, so why not try their free upgrade advisor? At least check where your present machine stands in relation to this potential upgrade. I have used it on 4 different types of machines and have been amazed at how well the advisor anticipates the upgrade process. Its recommendations are both thorough and remarkably accurate. A hidden benefit is when I am troubleshooting either a hardware or software problem in Windows 7, the advisor lets me know if there is a compatibility problem and then points me in the right direction to fix it. Hmmm.... I wondering if the Vista Upgrade advisor would do the same job on Vista? Download the free Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor

Guy Recommends the Orion Network Performance Monitor

What I like about SolarWinds is their mantra of 'built by network engineers for network engineers'. If you get a chance look around their site and seek out the head geek videos. Josh Stephens is that rare geek, someone with network skills, who can also explain lucidly on camera what is going and how to configure the settings. Now I must confess to an impure thought, Josh is so slick on the videos that I wondered if he was in fact an actor, but no, Josh is the real deal, a techie who talks the talk AND walks the walk.

As my website indicates, over the years I have dabbled with tweaking computer performance. However, I regard Orion Network Performance Monitor (NPM) as the 'big tackle'. Big in the sense that has the power to zoom into network trouble spots, and big in the comprehensive range of checks that it manages. If you are reviewing performance monitors, then take advantage of Solarwinds offer to download a free trial of Orion NPM 9.5.

Network Utilities from Tools4Ever

Tools4Ever provide not one but a host of handy network utilities. They have a professional stable of products for example, SpaceGuard Disk quota manager, Self Service Password Reset, and my favourite FreePing. Tools4Ever use the popular internet utility model where we download a trial version, and if we like it, we return and buy the full version. Check out the network utilities from Tools4Ever.

Will and Guy's Humour

This week Will and Guy are breaking new ground by telling Sardar jokes. These days there is a fine line between humor that reflects the difference in nationalities, and unacceptable racist jokes. As ever we seek to amuse but not to offend. In our international section we want to include jokes from as many countries as possible, and Sardar jokes are our latest additions.

Guy's Ezine 173 - Six Handy Utilities