Recently in Network News Category

Amazing. AOL spams is everywhere now. One of my users got this NDR (Non Delivery Report) message today when attempting to send an email to an AOL user:

Anyone know if there is an add-on to Exchange to manage external mailing lists? (i.e. when you send am email to news@domain.com - it sends an email to 125 different external email addresses on the mailing list; the email addresses are all outside of your exchange/active directory membership; need subscribe/unsubscribe pages)

There has to be a way ... I've done a few searches and links are broken on the add-on's that I actually found.

Could we write a script that would basically check an external database for email addresses ... hmmm ... there HAS to be a way. Everyone has mailing lists these days - and you know a lot of them are running Exchange.

I've got Veritas Backup Exec 8.0 running on Server A ... I installed Veritas Backup Exec 8.5 Accelerator Agent on Server B (so that I can backup Server B files with Server A's tape drive).

It allows me to enter the serial number for the Agent ... and even allows me to select the files I want to add to the backup job ... but the job fails every single time. If I only backup files on Server A - it works perfectly.

Could the 8.5 Agent be incompatible with the 8.0 version that is just a half version down?? :banghead: I'm off to the veritas site to see if that's the problem. If so ... :thumbsdown: to them for having a half version not be compatible.

Found via Christie's site ... I am having too much fun with this. Here's what I'm going to start sending to all the KCU^TM around here who call me about every single thing in their inbox that looks freaky. They can't just delete it -- they have to call or email me with all the details. Or worse -- they forward it to me.

Our office has been over-flowing with bagles this week. No, not the delicious cinnamon-crunch bagles, the vicious email virus bagles. On Tuesday I found 700, yes seven hundred, infected files on one of our ministers computers. He can't imagine how he got infected ... He just sat there baffled as the scanner kept popping up file after infected file. He can't imagine how this happened! He's only got a million spyware programs and yahoo messenger and all sorts of other wonderful wide open backdoors. Of course I try to explain this to him. But we all know how that conversation goes .... "But I didn't download a virus. I don't open those attachments from people I don't know. Yes ... I do have a few programs intalled - but wouldn't it ask me first before putting files on my computer?"

:censor: Breathe.

A new mail server has been put in place this week ... and anyone who wants to send us mail now has to meet all these new qualifications. Its a good system - but its going to be a pain in the beginning because all these people with email addresses from domains who aren't properly setup as FQDM are going to get bounced. (All reputable ISP's send mail from their FQDM ... but some people have domains and email set up through small crappy little companies and so those emails are bouncing all over the place.) Trying to explain this to a group of people who don't even know what a domain is, much less how spam can be managed and prevented ... well ... it's a headache. :headache: Heads start exploding so you try to not tell them more than they need to know.

Sigh. Do I get paid enough to deal with this stuff? (Quick answer ... definitely not.)

My phone rings the other day. I see on my caller id that it's one of my Known Clueless Users^TM. I wasn't too busy at the moment and decided to actually answer the phone instead of just letting it go to voicemail.

Me: Hey, what's up?

KCU^TM: My printer isn't working.

Me: What exactly is it not doing?

KCU^TM: Well the paper feeds through all crinkly like and then it comes out with junk on it.

Me: And it just suddenly started doing this?

KCU^TM: Yes. It wasn't doing this yesterday.

Me: Ok, well I'll come take a look at it.

Walks over to KCU^TM's office. Upon opening the top of of the printer I immediately diagnose the problem.

Me: It was tough, but I think I've figured out what your problem is. Somehow, this LEGO made its way into your printer.

KCU^TM: Wow, a lego, huh? I wonder how that got in there.

Note to Self: must keep inside thoughts inside

Me: Yeah well, you should be all fixed and ready to go now. See ya later.

Todays' funny: What a great comic!!!

:pi: Ok, so I think I've discovered two design flaws in the Dell Optiplex GX240 model. We have approximately 35 of those machines running here on the network, and at least once a week I'm having to fix someone's CD drive. Why, you might ask?

First problem -- They unplug themselves. I know, it sounds impossible. But I can't count how many times one of the users has called me to say their CD drive has disappeared. I go, open up their mini-tower and sure enough the plug is just kinda laying off to the side. The first few times it happened, Dell actually sent us a replacement CD drive. But it kept on happening. I think they just haven't designed the junction tightly enough. These aren't like full-CD drives anyway with the separate cables -- everything runs through one connector and it's less than an inch long. Sacrificing secure connections isn't a good idea just to keep everything smaller for the mini-tower workstation.

Second problem with the CD drive is that CD's often "disappear" inside them. You have to open up the computer, pop out the CD drive, and the CD is trapped between the drive and the side of the computer. It's bizarre. Again, I bet I do this for a user at least once a week.

:pc: This adds up to quite a bit of time fixing something that shouldn't even be a problem in the first place. I'm trying to get in contact with our Dell representative to see if they can remedy the situation somehow (maybe give me 35 brand new machines!! I know. I'm dreaming!!).

Thank goodness we have nice full-size Dell's at home where all the parts are the right size and haven't been downsized to fit a teeny tower. I :heartbeat: my dell.