First, this article may not be for you.  If you don't know what the hosts.ini file is, skip this one; it can only get you in trouble.  :)

We ran in to this problem today: 

Client used a SonicWall VPN to connect back to the office and specifically his Microsoft Exchange server.  After testing, it didn't matter what device we tried, anything that was in the hosts.ini file would not respond to a PING. 

This was after a nasty malware infection that was cleaned perfectly by our favorite malware/virus product:  Malwarebytes AntiMalware (buy it here).  So we got to thinking about what this booger might have done and came to the conclusion that Windows was not even trying to load the hosts.ini file. 

The solution was surprisingly simple!  We went in to the Device Manager and deleted out the network adapter.  Rebooted, Windows automatically reinstalled the network adapter, rejoined the wireless network (this just happened to be a wifi connection), and presto!  Everything worked perfectly.

Hope this helps!

First a little background.  Another black Dell came in to the office today boogered up.  Customer's son had been helping troubleshoot it but now it won't even let her log in.  Sure enough, as soon as you hit one of the names at the fast log in screen it said "Logging Off" and you were back to where you started.

Upon review, they had run several anti's on it: AVG 7, AVG 8, WinXP AntiSpy, and a couple of others I don't remember. 

What happens when you try to log in is that Windows runs a file called userinit.exe.  It is located at C:\Windows\System32.  There are viruses or spywares that either change that file or change the file that Windows tries to launch.

To fix it, there are a few hoops to jump through.  Safe Mode won't work, period.  It uses the same process to log in to Windows.  Therefore, you have to use a boot CD.  Pick your favorite, there's a million out there.

Get booted up and look in C:\Windows\System32 for the userinit.exe file.  If it isn't there, copy it from another computer.  A couple of malware programs change the registry to look for a different file, most notably wsaupdater.exe.  If that file is there, delete it and copy a good userinit.exe file to have the name wsaupdater.exe.  This way, if malware changed the registry to look for a different file name, that file will exist and you will be able to log in.

Now we'll check the Windows Registry.  If your boot CD allows you to edit the registry, do it there.  If not, try to reboot in to safe mode and type regedit.exe in the Start - Run prompt.

Look for the key:  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
+Software
+Microsoft
+Windows NT
+CurrentVersion
+Winlogon

Look for "UserInit" and check to make sure the file specified is "C:\Windows\System32\userinit.exe," COMPLETE WITH THE COMMA but no quotes.

Reboot again and do a Full Scan with Malwarebytes Antimalware, available from the bottom right of every page on this website.

Ok...i'm starting this post off by noting you need a basic level of computer knowledge to be a decision maker when practicing what i'm about to explain. By the subject of the post I hope you've gathered that it relates to removing unnecessary software from your PC...because it does! It's a common scenario for an Exodus Expert to be sitting in front of a client's computer and immediately notice several programs that we know aren't being used, and probably never have. For example, If you have a cable or DSL high-speed internet connection that's always live, then I can guarantee you'll not be needing programs such as MSN or AOL, which are Dial-Up (unless for some reason you use either of those for Email purposes). Yet you have icons for these programs sitting on your desktop that take up workspace causing clutter.

Let's take a breather before we get into removing programs and think about the best way to go about it. I suggest before you even get into Window's Uninstaller, you compile a list of the programs you have and want to keep, and the ones you know you don't need/use. Any program that you are unfamiliar with and are contemplating it's removal, I'd Google it to check out it's purpose before putting it on your hit list. Now that you have a list and a general idea of what you want gone, let's get to it.

We'll start by opening "Add or Remove Programs" for XP users it's under Start-->Control Panel-->Add or Remove Programs. For Vista users, go into Control Panel-->Programs and Features, and you will see a toolbar at the top that controls the program you have highlighted. Ok this is where you, the reader of this post, get to decide whether or not you are confident enough in removing unnecessary programs. If you are scared at this point then I suggest not moving forward. There is a potential risk that you might remove something important that hinders your PC from working properly. I also suggest that if you do move forward, keep it simple at first, removing programs that you know are unnecessary and will not negatively effect your PC's performance.

Now we're at the meat of the operation. Go through the list and remove anything you've researched and found unnecessary. Just follow each program's uninstall wizard and remove them one by one. Whether it be a game you no longer play, a CD burning software that you never use, or a toolbar attached to your browser that you've lost hair over, go ahead and get rid. Not only will this benefit your PC by freeing up more hard drive space for items you use, but it will allow you to clean up your cluttered desktop and all of its overpopulated icon party you have going on. Removing programs of this nature helps keep your PC alive longer simply by keeping it tidy. So practice this tutorial every so often in order to maintain a clean PC!

Here is how to set your Linksys by Cisco or Cisco Small Business or Sipura or SPA (whatever they call it these days) up correctly with Daylight Savings Time.  This works with the Linksys Voice System, trixbox, asterisk, etc.  Applies to all models: spa921, spa922, spa941, spa942, spa962, and spa901.

To make the new daylight savings time rules work with Linksys phones:

1. Pull up the phone's gui in a web browser, then go to Admin, Advanced. 
2. On the System tab:  enter an NTP server in Primary NTP Server:  (e.g. time.nist.gov).  Secondary NTP Server wouldn’t hurt.
3. On the Regional tab:  Set the Time Zone correctly (GMT-06:00 for Central)
4. Use this for Daylight Savings Time Rule:  start=3/7/7/2:00:00;end=11/1/7/2:00:00;save=1
5. Submit All Changes