Proof that Digg has at least 6 web servers
The Straight p00p: Anyone on the Internet can experimentally determine how many web servers Digg.com has, due to their server configuration. If Digg tweaks their web servers to fix this, they can speed...
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Debugging the Internet Explorer View Source problem with Fiddler and fixing...
Summary: This article shows how to figure out why Internet Explorer's View Source command didn't work on an XML document, how it was debugged using Fiddler, and the ASP.NET fix.You ever try "View...
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Use Remote Desktop to trick Virtual PC and Virtual Server into using USB...
Summary: Microsoft Virtual PC and Virtual Server say that they don't work with USB smartcards, but you can trick it to work by using Remote Desktop.The Microsoft site says the following about Virtual...
View ArticleCTU Newhire Guide to Opening a Socket
NOTE: See this post for information on MySpace Account Hacking.In FOX's 24, whenever Jack Bauer is in a pinch, resident techgeek Chloe O'Brien has to "open a socket" or "open up a socket to the...
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Memory tester software roundup
I recently got 2 sticks of 1GB memory for my system so the first thing I did was test it using some free memory testing software. I'm too paranoid, so I didn't want to rely on a single app, so I tried...
View ArticleSecret Dell hard drive diagnostics in the BIOS
My drive started to fail in my Dell PowerEdge 400SC, so Dell shipped me a new drive. I installed it and Dell Support told me to boot-up and repeatedly press Ctrl-Alt-D. Apparently this runs some sort...
View ArticleSlipstreaming Windows Server 2003 SP1
Here's a good guide on slipstreaming SP1 into Windows Server 2003, making a new CD that will directly install Windows Server 2003 SP1 (which is somewhat different than just installing Windows Server...
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Logon to the Console to use Intel PROSet software in Device Manager
TIP: To use the Intel PROSet software for an Intel Networking Adapter (NIC), logon to the console of the machine. If you're logging in via Remote Desktop (aka Terminal Services), pass the /console...
View ArticleDiagnosing a hung system with Windows Server 2003's Emergency Management...
The other day I setup Emergency Management Services on one of my machines. The idea is that you connect your machine to another machine via their COM ports, using a null modem cable. Then, from the...
View ArticleNewegg's reasonable customer service refunds me $5
The other day I ordered two Seagate 250GB SATA drives from Newegg.com for $79.99 each, but I forgot to use the BUYBARRACUDA discount code which takes $5 off the order. I contacted Newegg Customer...
View ArticleTest your Network Performance with ntttcp
UPDATE: ntttcp is available for download here.This is a short tutorial on how to use the industry-standard ntttcp tool to bandwidth test a machine's network adapter (aka NIC), drivers, etc. I've used...
View ArticleTest your Web Server Performance with WCAT
This is a quick tutorial on how to use WCAT to benchmark a web server. First, get the IIS 6.0 Resource Kit which includes the WCAT Client and Controller. Then, on your client machines that will help...
View ArticleCPU Stress Tool Roundup
When putting together a new machine, it's a good idea to stress test the CPU (including all its cores) and get it to generate as much heat as possible. Here's some tools I've usedCPU Burn-inThis tool...
View ArticleMaking Secure Network Connections with stunnel
Stunnel is a tool that allows one to encapsulate existing protocols in a secure tunnel. This is similar to how one can do port forwarding with ssh. In addition to preventing the tunnel from being...
View ArticleSpeed up your Internet by limiting your upload speed with WinTC
Are you sick of reading bogus "speed up your Internet" tweaking instructions? Instead of bogus instructions, here's some actual free techniques that can be experimentally tested to see that they really...
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Viewing your kernel mode device drivers
Poor quality kernel mode device drivers can cause system instability or crashes. You can view the kernel mode device drivers used on your system by doing the following:Start Menu -> Run ->...
View ArticleNetwork Analyzers and Top Talkers for Windows
When diagnosing networking problems, it can be useful to have two tools on hand:A "Top Talker" tool that will show what connections/hosts are using the most bandwidth. A "Network Analyzer" that will...
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How to block an IP address on Windows Server 2003
Sometimes you may want to prevent a specific IP address from accessing your machine or server. There's a variety of methods with pros and cons:Application LevelIf you really just want to prevent a...
View ArticlePrevent IIS from revealing your web server IP address
If a HTTP client doesn't give a HTTP Host header when communicating with your web server, IIS 6 will output the IP address of your web server in the returned HTTP headers:HTTP/1.1 200 OKContent-Length:...
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Setting UTF-8 character encoding for all static HTML with IIS
NOTE: It is not advisable to follow these instructions for the reasons described in this newer post.If you've done any programming with ASP.NET, you'll notice that by default it outputs this HTTP...
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Save web server bandwidth by fixing IIS ETags
When you request a static file from a web site powered by IIS, IIS will return HTTP headers like the following:HTTP/1.1 200 OKContent-Length: 4835Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8Content-Location:...
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Configure IIS to redirect to your preferred URL
The preferred URL for most web sites includes "www." in the beginning of the URL (i.e. http://www.w3.org/). But sites should still work if you go to the URL without the "www." (i.e. http://w3.org/)....
View ArticleMySpace Account Hacking
After this post, I get a lot of questions like:I think my spouse/SO/etc. is cheating on me. How do I hack their MySpace so I can find out what’s going on?Help, someone hacked my MySpace and took over...
View ArticleSetting charsets via IIS MIME types is harmful
Previously, in this post, I recommended that webmasters tweak their IIS MIME type settings so that static HTML files would specify a charset of UTF-8. It turns out that this causes some problems.The...
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