Belarc Advisor (http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html) is free for personal use only. It is designed to provide a detailed report on your software and hardware, but can also be used to find product keys used for software on the system.
Windows Repair (All In One) (http://www.tweaking.com/content/page/windows_repair_all_in_one.html) is free to use. I first found out about it when I saw a technician from Microsoft install and run it while trying to fix Windows Update problems on a support call. The program can help fix a large majority of known Windows problems.
The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) today launched a web page dedicated to cybersecurity (http://www.ffiec.gov/cybersecurity.htm). The website is designed to be "a central repository for current and future FFIEC-related materials on cybersecurity." [more]
As a part of the Press Release announcing the launch of the cybersecurity web page, the FFIEC also noted the launch of the website "coincides with a pilot program at more than 500 community institutions, to be conducted by state and federal regulators, which will be completed during regularly scheduled examinations." According to the press release, the focus of the pilot program will be on:
Users of Microsoft Office 2013 32-bit may experience the following behavior on an RDS server. Each time a user starts Outlook 2013, a window is briefly shown with the message: "Configuring Microsoft Office 64-bit Components 2013." The message appears for restricted users and administrators alike, but there's no apparent effect that Outlook is impaired in functionality. [more]
Solution: To resolve the issue, install the Windows Search Service role. As soon as this role is installed and its services running, the message will no longer appear. A reboot is not required.
Cause: The components it configures are necessary to link the search indexer to the Outlook's data stores (OTS and PST). Because the Search Service is not installed, this part of the configuration process of Outlook fails, and therefore it is re-attempted each time.
Notes: Both XenApp and RDS best practices suggest to disable the Windows Search Service. In fact, the Citrix PVS Target Device Optimizer disables the service when it is run on the server. After installing the service, you might consider setting the service to disabled. This does not cause the message above to reappear; however, when the service is disabled, Outlook will display a message, "The Windows Search Engine is currently disable. Outlook will not be able to provide fast search results using the Instant Search functionality unless this service is running. Do not show this message again."
According to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/251335/EN-US, the default quota for adding computers by a user to a Domain is 10. If you attempt to add more than 10, you will likely get the error message:
"Your computer could not be joined to the domain. You have exceeded the maximum number of computer accounts you are allowed to create in this domain. Contact your system administrator to have this limit reset or increased."
To resolve the problem, you can run adsiedit.msc on the domain controller and from there change the DOMAIN attribute "ms-DS-MachineAccountQuota" from 10 to something larger like 500.
This month, the New York State Department of Financial Services ("the Department") released results from a survey conducted in 2013 on cyber security. 154 institutions completed the survey, representing 60 community and regional banks, 12 credit unions, and 82 foreign branches and agencies. The survey asked questions regarding information security framework; corporate governance around cyber security; use and frequency of penetration testing and results; budget and costs associated with cyber security; the frequency, nature, cost of, and response to cyber security breaches; and future plans on cyber security. [more]
In conclusion, the Department states:
"As part of its continuing efforts in this area, the Department plans to expand its IT examination procedures to focus more fully on cyber security. The revised examination procedures will include additional questions in the areas of IT management and governance, incident response and event management, access controls, network security, vendor management, and disaster recovery. The revised procedures are intended to take a holistic view of an institution's cyber readiness and will be tailored to reflect each institution's unique risk profile. The Department believes this approach will foster smarter, stronger cyber security programs that reflect the diversity of New York's financial services industry."
This report comes on the hills of the FFIEC webinar, Executive Leadership of Cybersecurity: What Today's CEO Needs to Know About the Threats They Don't See in which the FFIEC introduced expectations of new examination procedures.
To read the full Report on Cyber Security in the Banking Sector by the New York State Department of Financial Services can be found here - http://www.dfs.ny.gov/about/press2014/pr140505_cyber_security.pdf
The North American Numbering Plan Administration (NANPA) is in charge of allocating the phone number address space fo the U.S. There are reserved phone numbers for fictitious use, just like there are reserved IP addresses (RFC5737). For example, numbers 555-0100 through 555-0199 are reserved and can be found on the NANPA website at http://www.nanpa.com/enas/form555MasterReport.do [more]
In addition, here are a copule of other countries for international numbers:
For Austrailia: http://www.acma.gov.au/Citizen/Consumer-info/All-about-numbers/Special-numbers/fictitious-numbers-for-radio-film-and-television-i-acma
For UK: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/telecoms/numbering/guidance-tele-no/numbers-for-drama