Peter Ritchie's MVP Blog : Non-development

"Invalid menu handle" Opening Downloaded .ZIP Files (IE6, XPSP2)

PeterRitchie — Tue, 29 May 2007 13:26:00 GMT

I'm working on a new, least-privileges, computer and I ran into a very strange problem yesterday. If I click on links to .ZIP files in IE and select Open,the file downloads but I'm presented with an "Invalid menu handle" message box.

I'm not the person who configured this computer; so, I wasn't entirely sure what the problem could be. I had surmised that it had something to do with least-privileges and compressed (zipped) folders' ability to operate in that type of environment. I tried Save, instead of Open, when clicking the link but had no problems double-clicking the zip file in Windows Explorer.

The computer is configured so some of the user files are stored on a network drive, so I then thought it had something to do with permissions on non-local drives (really least-privileges I guess); but the temporary Internet files are indeed stored on the local drive.

At this point, I was wandering around in the temporary Internet files directory and double-clicked the zip file, and this time it informed me that "This page has an unspecified potential security flaw." With not much to go on, and the fact that I was having problems with *many* .ZIP files, I pressed Yes to continue. Windows Explorer then asked me how to open the file--as if it hadn't associated compressed (zipped) folders with .ZIP files. I was a bit dumbfounded, as that was my first course of action (to try double-clicking a .ZIP file in Windows Explorer and had no problems). At this point I simply clicked compressed (zipped) folders and ensured "Always use the selected program..." was checked and pressed OK. After that, I could then Open .ZIP files after clicking links to them in IE.

I'm not sure how the computer got into that state, or whether it was simply that directory (or the hierarchy it was in); but the problem is fixed.

If you run into the same problem, now you know what to do.

Windows Live Messenger Virus Scanner Settings

PeterRitchie — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 15:46:00 GMT

I recently change to ESET's NOD32 for my virus scanner and realized that I hadn't set my Windows Live Messenger to use it to scan received files. I found this helpful posting that describes the necessary steps: http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?p=910390 And those steps are:

1. Login to Messenger.

2. Click on Tools.

3. Click on Options.

4. Click on “File Transfer”.

5. Place a tick in “Scan files for viruses using:”.

6. Paste the following (including the quotation marks):

"C:\Program Files\Eset\nod32.exe" /selfcheck+ /list+ /scroll+ /quit+ /pattern+ /heur+ /scanfile+ /scanboot- /scanmbr- /scanmem- /arch+ /sfx+ /pack+ /mailbox- /adware /unsafe /ah /prompt /all

7. Click on “Apply”.

8. Click on “OK”.

Dogfooding

PeterRitchie — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 18:36:00 GMT

Dogfooding v. For a company to use the same products that it produces.

With the recent release of Windows Vista Microsoft seems to be doing it's due diligence and everyone at Microsoft seems to now be running Vista. This is great news for future Vista customers; but what does it say about existing customers--loyal customers who have been using, now previous, supported versions of Windows.

That's what I don't get about Microsoft. It's either current or it doesn't exist. Windows XP is now system non grata--it doesn't exist. Although it's "supported" for another 24 months (I haven't seen the official date; but the policy suggest November 2008).

In my opinion Microsoft should be dogfooding all its supported products. Not many companies have the resources to switch from one OS to another arbitrarily (arbitrarily because no one but Microsoft really knows the release date and it certainly isn't made public when most companies are planning work or creating a budget).

Yeah, it sucks to have to use a previous version of an OS when a superior version now exists; but, it sucks to eat dog food too!

Time to replace UPS batteries...

PeterRitchie — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 15:51:00 GMT

After a few recent power outages in my region I decided it was time to replace the battery on my UPS (yes, it was beeping that the battery was old and I simply unplugged it--I hang my head in shame).

I looked into getting a new battery; but, I couldn't seem to track down anyone locally that sold that type of thing. I went online looking for batteries. Of course, the place where I purchased the UPS sold no such thing. (what was *I* thinking). There are a few places that sell the battery I needed but they wanted about $50-60 with shipping (I have a 350VA UPS)! I could buy a new UPS for cheaper than that! I got busy on something else and another couple of outages went by and I decided to force myself to grab some UPS's. Turns out, there was a two-day sale on UPS's (25% off) when I finally found the time to order them, so I upgraded to a 650VA (for the server) and purchased four 350VAs for various other places.

The previous UPS I has was a typical older-style UPS--it had only two backed-up and two surged-suppressed NEMA 5-15 sockets on it, so, I was daisy-chaining with a surge suppressor (for anyone interested, that *does* void the equipment protection warranty of the UPS and then the suppressor's warranty no long applies for the equipment). I grabbed four APC 350 ES's and I upgraded to a APC 650 ES, which had loads of plugs (more than my surge suppressor), so I took the opportunity to reorganize (or organize, depending on your point of view--several pieces of hardware have come and gone since my first re-org) and label all the cables. I now have 12 *spare* NEMA/IEC power cords, that I know of. I also decided to consolidate my other spare cabling like my RJ-11, RJ-14, Cat-5, various D-sub cables (like DB-9 serial) , USB, Coax, and my new collection of UPS/Data-port cables (yes, I'm not using all my UPS's on computers). My spare cabling has never looked so organized (let's see how long that lasts).

No sooner than I installed the UPS's the outages stopped. I apologize to everyone else in the region; Murphy's law, I was the cause of the outages and now the reason they've stopped. (or is that a cargo cult or association to causation logic error...).

My next task is to find a surge suppressor that has RJ-45 suppression.

Thoughts on Some Legal Disclaimers

PeterRitchie — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 14:55:00 GMT

Raymond Chen blogged recently about a disclaimers for a particular prize and it got me thinking about how inane some of these disclaimers are or how inane the circumstances are.

Some disclaimers make sense and should be there: “professional driver on closed course” and “don’t try this at home”. Some examples of the inane disclaimers or circumstances:

“Simulated Image” So, you’re expecting us to accept that your product is so poor that a simulated image on your product (TV, cell phone, etc) in the commercial was necessary?

“Results not typical” Really, you’re bending the truth and concentrating only on the positive superlative results? And people buy into it…

Email disclaimers. There are a special breed of stupid. For example: “This e-mail is intended for the addressee shown. It contains information that is confidential and protected from disclosure. Any review, dissemination or use of this transmission or its contents by persons or unauthorized employees of the intended organisations is strictly prohibited.” If that were truly the case, why did you essentially broadcast the email across the Internet? Do you really think that makes the company devoid of any responsibility? Some of these disclaimers are actually larger than the real content. It would be interesting to see what proportion Internet bandwidth is a result of disclaimers (not including SPAM bandwidth…).