Access runtime - "There was an error executing the command"

Trying to use an Access database with the Access Runtime redistributable (2007 + 2010), all switchboard items would give the error message "There was an error executing the command".  The database was provided by an ODBC link to MS SQL Express.  The problem occurs when the ODBC link is defined as a System DSN, adding the same ODBC link as a User DSN solved the issue.

pfSense IPSEC issues

If you have problems getting an IPSEC tunnel to connect using pfSense at one end check the firewall rules.

On the WAN interface there should be rules to pass:
 ISAKMP (UDP port 500)
 NAT-T (UDP port 4500)

This will allow the VPN to connect, additional firewall rules on the IPSEC interface may be required to allow traffic, e.g.:
 Pass TCP * *
 Pass UDP * *
 Pass ICMP * *

Also observed was a problem where the tunnel (Draytek 2700 endpoint) would not communicate until any request was initiated from the pfSense end.  To work around this the following command is added after installing the CRON module:
 ping -c 50 192.168.0.1
(where 192.168.0.1 is the far-end gateway)

eBox LDAP access problem

Using eBox 1.2.3, LDAP is not accessible except using 127.0.0.1.
To make LDAP on port 389 accessible from the LAN it is necessary to edit /etc/default/slapd
as follows, replacing 127.0.0.1 with 0.0.0.0:


# SLAPD_SERVICES="ldap://127.0.0.1:389/ ldaps:/// ldapi:///"
SLAPD_SERVICES="ldap://0.0.0.0:389/ ldapi://%2fvar%2frun%2fslapd%2fldapi/????x-mod=0777"

Note that you can add the individual IP address(es) instead of 0.0.0.0 (listen all), but it is probably better to control access through a firewall.

Debian Linux PXE installation with low memory no HDD

Attempting to install Debian Linux on a VMware guest with low memory (64MB) using PXE boot the installation fails to detect any hard drives.

Tried LSI, Buslogic & IDE drives - all same problem.  Tried increasing to 256MB - same problem.

Needed to attach the Netinst.iso file to the VMware guest and boot from "CD", hard drives are detected as expected.

ZeroAccess trojan rootkit virus removal

ZeroAccess rootkit shows as a process in task manager that is a series of numbers with a colon in the middle, e.g. 1784223:3221239.exe, which cannot be killed.

ESET have a tool that detects and kills the process - requires a reboot.
Kaspersky have the TDSSKiller tool that detects the infection as Sirefef trojan.
MBAM and MSSE are halted when attempting to run a scan.
The trojan/rootkit is active whenever networking is active.
It continues to re-infect via driver files.

To clean the infection use a boot disk such as Parted Magic that contains Clamav - update the clamav pattern files then run a command such as:
 clamscan -r -i /medica/sda1/
(-r = recursive, -i = show infected only)
Delete or overwrite the files as required.

IE8 Remote Desktop ActiveX issue

Fix: need to re-register the mstscax.dll:

%windir%\system32\regsvr32 mstscax.dll


Ref: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/951607

Asus Eee PC Wake from Sleep problem

Asus EeePC 1101HA won't wake correctly from sleep or hibernated mode - the screen stays black and netbook is unresponsive.  Another sympton is an event log entry for Save Dump: bugcheck 0x1000008e (0xc0000005, ...)

Solution: this was caused by using the Intel US15 Poulsbo video driver - reinstalling the Asus supplied video driver fixed the issue.