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Quick Fix If Primary Domain Relationship Fails in Windows 7

OK! So you go to your Windows 7 machine and find that there is a problem which requires you to select the Repair option. After the usual wait, it reboots and presents the login screen after your three finger salute. You attempt to log on when you are presented with the message:

Trust Relationship Between This Workstation And The Primary Domain Failed

A possible cause of this problem is that Windows computers change their internal password every 30 days, and if you have had cause to roll back to a restore point before the last password change, then the local password and the domain password do not match. In this event the computer must re-join the domain. If you not a domain Administrator then you should contact your domain administrator to have the computer’s domain account re-created or re-enabled, as appropriate.

If you are a domain admin and there is a local account on the computer that you can use (it does not have to be an administrator), then there is a quick fix:

  • Log on to the local account
  • Right click on Computer and click Properties
  • Click on Change Settings, next to Computer name
  • Click on Change next to rename the computer or change its domain or workgroup
  • At the Computer Name/Domain Changes dialogue, check the Workgroup radio button and enter anything into the Workgroup textbox
  • Acknowledge the warning about rebooting
  • When back at the Computer Name/Domain Changes dialogue, check the Domain radio button and enter the domain short-name.
  • When prompted enter the domain credentials, then OK your way back to the System Properties page at which point you will be given the opportunity to reboot.
  • After rebooting enter the normal domain name which you would normally use, and Bingo! You are back in business.

There is a Microsoft Support article which refers to a slightly different way to generate this error message, which can be found under Article ID: 976494 – Error 1789 when you use the LookupAccountName function on a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2. If the quick fix does not work for you, you can check out the article by clicking here

Hopefully the repair fixed your problem and as you are back in the domain, you will not see the message “Trust Relationship Between This Workstation And The Primary Domain Failed” for a while

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How to Use Remote Desktop on an iMac

Have you ever wanted to access something on your iMac without going back to your desk? Wouldn’t it be cool to remotely access you iMac and check on your email without even being there? Did you know that Mac OS X comes with Remote Desktop software included, which allows you to connect to your iMac from another machine?

To set this up and try it out for yourself, follow the following sequence on the target Mac:

  • Go into System Preferences
  • Select Sharing
  • Check Remote Management
  • Note down the the IP address of the Mac, you will need this later
  • Click on Computer Settings
  • Check VNC viewers may control screen with password,
  • Enter a suitable password and the click OK

Your Mac is is now ready to receive input from another machine on the network. Now go to the machine you want to use to control your Mac and install a VNC client such as Chicken of the VNC, (for a Mac) or TightVNC (for Windows).

Using Chicken of the VNC

  • Open Chicken of the VNC and at the VNC Login screen check if the target Mac is listed. If not, click on New Server, and enter the IP address you noted earlier and the password, and click Connect. If the Mac is listed, select it and enter the password, then click Connect.

Using TightVNC for Windows

  • Open TightVNC Viewer (for a default Windows installation this will be under Start, All Programs, in the TightVNC folder)
  • In the New TightVNC Connection enter the IP address you noted earlier and Click Connect.
  • At the Standard VNC Authentication dialogue enter the password and click OK

Remember if you want to make a remote connection though a firewall, you will need to set up Port Forwarding, and point port 5900 to the IP address of your machine. You can do this by logging into the router with the administrator name and password.

You can now access your Mac OS X machine across the network as if you were sitting at it. Enjoy!

If you are interested in using your desktop Mac remotely, the links below may be usefull:

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How To Add New Fonts To Your Graphics

While we were experimenting with layouts for a news letter for a project currently in the marketing department, we came upon the need for some additional font options for the headline and titles. While the built in fonts on a Mac are impressive, the headline wanted something more futuristic and stylized than those provided by default. A quick Google search identified that there are several sites which offer free fonts, and as the newsletter must be re-creatable, we wanted a freely available font for the headline on the style guide. After all you don’t want to pay for a custom font which you have to license for every user who may recreate the newsletter in the future.

On a Mac it is simple to install extra fonts. You just download them and then open the Zip or Archive file in Finder and then double click the font so that it opens in Font Book. If the font is what you are looking for just click the Install Font button. OpenType fonts work in Mac OS X, and TrueType fonts work in Mac OS X and earlier versions.

There is a little bit more to do in Windows, and you must be an Administrator on the target machine to install or remove fonts.

To install a font in Windows the hard way, follow these steps:

  1. Click Start, and then click Run.
  2. Type the following command, and then click OK:
    %windir%\fonts
  3. On the File menu, click Install New Font.
  4. In the Drives box, click the drive that contains the font that you want to add.

Alternatively, you can also browse to a file in Explorer and then either

  • right-click on the font file, and then select ‘Install’ from the drop-down menu.
  • double-click on the font file to open the font preview and click the ‘Install’ button.

We are installing the new font for embedding in a header graphic, so everyone will see the same result. We tend not to use these custom fonts on web pages as most viewers will not have them installed, and you dont want to lose fancy twirls and long descenders.

A great site to visit is dafont.com where they have an excelent selection of Free, Shareware, Free for Personal Use and Public domain/GNU GPL fonts which will meet most needs. We particularly liked the Sci-Fi selection which includes gems like Star Jedi and terminator! We discounted fonts marked “Free for personal use” as this newsletter is to support a database which is launching in a corporate market.

Why not explore the wonderful world of fonts and give you next newsletter some character?

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Another Trojan Email Is Doing The Rounds

Another Trojan Email popped into the spam basket today, this one entitled Facebook Password Reset Confirmation. The Email, purporting to be from Facebook, claims that the user’s Facebook password has been changed and informs them that the new password can be found in an attached document, which is a zip file.

You may receive a email claiming to be from Facebook Manager titled “Facebook Password Reset Confirmation. Important Message”. The message is a trick designed to fool recipients into installing a trojan on their computer.

Those who open the attached file, Facebook_password_3921.zip in this case, ostensibly to view their new password, will in fact be launching a copy of the Bredolab Trojan. Once downloaded, the virus gives the sender complete control of the target computer, allowing cyber criminals to potentially spy on users of the computer or use it to steal personal information or distribute more spam

As with any such dodgy emails, or unsolicited attachments, the best action is to delete the lot, and think no more about it.

Click here to find out more about the Bredolab Trojan on symantic.com.

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McAfee Security Scan Problems

It was reported by one of our Windows XP users that they were getting a message from McAfee Security Scan® with a request to Check My Security Status. As we protect all of our Windows PCs using McAfee, this message was not out of place, and the user clicked Scan Now. The alarm bells started when the Security Scan reported that there was no anti-virus software installed, which just is not true.

A cursory glance (right click on the Shield in the system tools) shows that VirusScan Enterprise was alive and well on his machine, and the consol showed that the last auto-update was successful. Initial attempts to uninstall the unwanted program using Control Panel, Add or Remove Programs were unsuccessful. Googling the phrase How do I get rid of McAfee Security Scan turned up several suggestions involving booting into Safe Mode or installing anti-malware programs. There were also several suggestions that McAfee Security Scan is downloaded with an update to Adobe Reader, which our user had recently installed.

This is the removal method which worked for us:

  • Run msconfig using the Start, Run dialoge
  • When msconfig has loaded, click on the Startup tab
  • Find the entry for McAfee Security Scan, and uncheck the box
  • Then click on Apply

This will prevent the application from reloading next time you start up. Next you need to uninstall the application:

  • Call up Windows Task Manager
  • Click on the Applications tab
  • Click on McAfee Security Scan then click the End Task button
  • Fire up Control Panel then double click Add or Remove Programs
  • Wait a minute and McAfee Security Scan will relaunch and appear again in Task Manager, just like malware!
  • In Task Manager, click McAfee Security Scan, then End Task again
  • In Control Panel, immediately click Change for McAfee Security Scan, then Remove

If you have found this program installing itself without your conscious intent or consent we suggest that you voice your disapproval to Adobe. If enough people post their disapproval of this forced installation of annoying software to Adobe, they might just change their policy.

To any Adobe directors reading this, let me be the first to admit that you market some brilliant software, which is a credit to your company. Why risk your excellent corporate image with this offensive and shoddy software installation tactic?

For anyone else who is installing or upgrading Adobe Flash or Reader, take special note that there is an optional McAfee Scan listed in the installation that must be unchecked if you do not want to install McAfee Security Scan.