How to Change FreePBX ARI Password

Issue:

On the FreePBX dashboard, you are getting a security warning that says “Action Required: Change ARI Username/Password”.

Solution:

  • From within FreePBX, go to Settings > Advance Settings
  • Set “Display Readonly Settings” and “Override Readonly Settings” to “YES” then submit.
  • If the red Apply button appears, click it to apply changes.
  • Find the “ARI Username” on the settings page.
  • Change both the username and the password to values of your choosing, and then click Submit (and Apply if necessary).
  • Now the security warning should disappear from the Dashboard.

How to Transfer Active Directory FSMO Roles Using Ntdsutil

Introduction

In an Active Directory (AD) environment, the FSMO roles are critical for the proper functioning and maintenance of the domain. When you introduce a new domain controller into an existing domain or need to move these roles to another domain controller, there are several methods you can use to accomplish this. In my experience, the easiest method is to use the ntdsutil program for this taks. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to do that.

Prerequisites

You must have a new domain controller already installed and joined to the domain.
You should be logged in with an account that is a member of the Domain Admins group or Enterprise Admins group.

Step 1: Open Command Prompt with Administrative Privileges

To start the process, open a Command Prompt with administrative privileges on the domain controller to which you want to transfer the FSMO roles.

Step 2: Accessing ntdsutil

Ntdsutil is a command-line tool designed for managing Active Directory. To access it, follow these steps:

Type ntdsutil in the Command Prompt and press Enter.
Type roles and press Enter.
Type connections and press Enter.

Step 3: Connect to the Domain Controller

Now, you need to connect to the domain controller you want to transfer the FSMO roles to:

Type connect to server <NewDomainControllerName> and press Enter.
(Replace <NewDomainControllerName> with the actual name of the new domain controller.)

Type q and press Enter to return to the previous menu

Step 4: Transferring FSMO Roles

With the connection established to the new domain controller, you can now proceed to transfer the FSMO roles. There are five FSMO roles, and we will transfer them one by one. Run each of the following commands, pressing ENTER after each one, and clicking to confirm each one when prompted:

transfer schema master
transfer naming master
transfer rid master
transfer pdc
transfer infrastructure master

Step 5: Verifying FSMO Role Transfer

After transferring all the roles, you can verify the transfer to ensure it was successful. To do this:

Type q and press Enter to exit the FSMO role management.
Type q again and press Enter to exit ntdsutil.

Step 6: Confirm that the roles have been transferred

Now, let’s confirm that the new domain controller has become the owner of the transferred FSMO roles:

Open a Command Prompt with administrative privileges on the new domain controller.
Type netdom query fsmo and press Enter.
This command will display the current FSMO role owners, and you should see the new domain controller listed as the owner for each role.

FreePBX: How to send emails through Office365

If you’ve tried to configure the FreePBX phone system to send emails through a Office365 account, you probably ran into a few roadblocks. There are a number of ways to work around these issues, but this post describes the method I have found to be the easiest.

First, identify an existing Office365 account that will be used to relay the email messages, or create a new one for that purpose. For example purposes, we’ll assume this account has an email address of johndoe@example.com.

Under Admin >System Admin > Email Setup, set the following options:

  • SMTP Server: Use External SMTP Server
  • My Hostname: leave as default (blank is fine)
  • My Origin: leave as default
  • My Domain: leave as default
  • Provider: Office 365
  • Username: johndoe@example.com
  • Password: (enter the password for the email account)

Under Settings > Voicemail Admin > Settings > Email Config, set Server Email option to johndoe@example.com.
Note: this step may or may not be required. The system doesn’t seem to actually honor this setting. If it did, the following steps would not be necessary.

Add these lines to the end of the file /etc/postfix/generic. This is not accessible from the GUI, so you’ll need to do it from the command line. I usually sign in using Putty or WinSCP so you can just modify the text to suit you and then past it in.

root johndoe@example.com
root@localhost johndoe@example.com
root@localhost.localdomain johndoe@example.com
root@freepbx johndoe@example.com
root@freepbx.localdomain johndoe@example.com
asterisk johndoe@example.com
asterisk@localhost johndoe@example.com
asterisk@localhost.localdomain johndoe@example.com
asterisk@freepbx johndoe@example.com
asterisk@freepbx.localdomain johndoe@example.com
vm@asterisk johndoe@example.com

Add the following to the end of the file /etc/postfix/main.cf
smtp_generic_maps = hash:/etc/postfix/generic

Then run these two commands:
postmap /etc/postfix/generic
service postfix restart

That’s it! The FreePBX system now be able to send emails.

 

How to disable the lock screen in Windows 10

The following registry patch will disable the lock screen in Windows 10. After applying this patch, your computer will boot directly to the sign-in prompt. The download is a ZIP file, so you’ll need to extract it before you can merge the .reg file into your registry.  This file comes without warranty – use at your own risk.  If you want to disable the background image on the sign-in screen, I’ve created a post about that as well.

Download: Win10_DisableLockScreen.zip

How to remove the sign-in background image in Windows 10

The following registry patch will remove the background image from the Windows 10 sign-in screen. The download is a ZIP file, so you’ll need to extract it before you can merge the .reg file into your registry.  This file comes without warranty – use at your own risk.  If you want to disable the lock screen (the screen that displays before the sign-in screen), I’ve created a post about that as well.

Download: Win10_DisableLoginBackground.zip

 

Registry Tweak: Display standard desktop icons in Windows 10

The following reg file will cause the standard desktop icons to be displayed in Windows 10.  These icons include This PC, Network, Control Panel, and the user’s home folder. You can also configure these icons to display in the Themes settings, but  sometimes when you’re signed in as a domain administrator, you are not able to access those settings. The download is a ZIP file, so you’ll need to extract it before you can merge the .reg file into your registry.  This file comes without warranty – use at your own risk.

Download: Win10_Add_All_Std_Desktop_Icons.zip

Note:  In most cases after applying the registry patch, you must press F5 to refresh the desktop before the icons will appear.  In rare cases a computer restart is required before they show up.

Windows 10: How to fix Error Code 0x800F081F when installing .NET Framework 3.5

Problem

When you select to install .NET Framework in the Windows Features list in the Control Panel, it does not complete. After asking if you’d like to use Windows Update, it then gives you an error code 0x800F081F

Solution

  • Insert Windows 10 installation CD or mount the ISO
  • Open an administrator command prompt
  • Type the following command (substitute correct drive letter)
    Dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:NetFx3 /All /Source:D:\sources\sxs /LimitAccess

Getting USB Drive Redirection to work with LTSP, xFreeRDP, and Windows Server 2012 R2

Problem

You’re using LTSP (Linux Terminal Server Project) and xFreeRDP to allow computers to boot from the network and connect to a server running Windows Server 2012 R2.  You add the parameters in LTS.CONF to allow USB redirection, but you still cannot get the USB drives to show up.

Solution

In my experience, these are the two steps that are often missed:

Step #1: Enable sound redirection

When using LTSP to connect to a server running Windows Server 2012 or later, you MUST enable sound redirection first, or USB direction will not work. This step isn’t necessary in Windows server 2008.

For example, instead of using the following line in LTS.CONF:

           SCREEN_07 = "xfreerdp -f --no-nla --ignore-certificate --plugin rdpdr --data disk:usbdisk:/media/root --
           192.168.11.22

Use this one:

           SCREEN_07 = "xfreerdp -f --no-nla --ignore-certificate --plugin rdpsnd --data alsa -- --plugin rdpdr
           --data disk:usbdisk:/media/root -- 291.168.11.22

Obviously, you’ll want replace the IP at the end of the lines above with the IP of your own terminal server. Keep in mind that if you’re using a newer version of xFreeRDP, the format of the options may be different. There have been changes made in the later versions. More information can be found here

Step #2: Set the policy on the server

You also need to be sure you have the ‘Do not allow drive redirection’ policy disabled on the Windows terminal server. This setting is found in the group policy editor at:

Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Remote Desktop Services\Remote Desktop Session Host\Device and Resource Redirection

Once you take care of these two items, you’re typically good to go!

How to disable registration reminder on Quicken 2003

Problem:

After installation Quicken 2003 nags you to register each time you launch it (see Figure 1), but if you click “Register Now”, it gives you an error (see Figure 2).

Solution:

While holding down the CTRL & SHIFT keys on your keyboard, select the “Online” menu and click on “One Step Update” (see Figure 3).  You’ll get a message saying “You will no longer be prompted for registration” (see Figure 4).

Notes:

This procedure probably works on other versions of Quicken.  If you’ve tried it on another versions and can verify that it works, please let us know so we can update this post.

Figure 1

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 4

 

How to change the Windows 7 logon screen background image to the default

1365011437A lot of computer makers put their own background image on the Windows sign-in screen  Some of them are OK, but in many cases I prefer just the regular Microsoft default.  Here are the steps to change it back to the default:

Warning:  The steps below require editing the Windows registry.  If you mess with the wrong things in the registry, you can cause serious problems with your computer.

  1. Launch the registry editor by clicking Start, typing regedit and pressing ENTER.  Click YES if you see a security prompt
  2. Browse to the following location:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Authentication\ LogonUI\ Background
  3. Double-click on OEMBackground and change value from 1 to a 0
  4. Restart your computer

As an alternative, you can download this reg file and run it to make the changes automatically.  Right-click the link and choose “Save Link As…” to save the file to your computer.