Quickbooks Enterprise via Remote Desktop - Internet Security Levels Are Set Too High

We still run an old school NT4 domain using Samba 3. We are replacing a domain member server running Windows Server 2003 with one running Windows Server 2012 R2. Our users connect to the server via Remote Desktop. The users run Quickbooks Enterprise 15 in the remote desktop session. The users are not local administrators and by default, users starting the QBES application receive the following error:

 

The users are not administrators and are not able to make changes to their security settings by clicking the "Make Changes" button. We need to make system-wide changes to get our server/users working properly.

First, we need to disable Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration. To do this, login to the server as an administrator, start Server Manager, select Local Server. In the right-pane/right-column, click "On" next to "IE Enhanced Security Configuration".

 In the new window, select "Off' for both Administrators and Users.

Click "OK" to save.

I have seen some reports that this single changes fixed it for some users. This was not the case for me. My guess is that the users that only had to make this change had local administrator privileges.

Next,  make the following registry changes via an administrator account to make system-wide Internet security changes to the server.

This registry value will force all users to only user the security settings that have been set in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, rather then unique settings for each user.

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings]

"Security_HKLM_only "=dword:00000001

For QBES, we need to make changes to the Internet security zone. The  "Internet" zone is zone 3. I set both MinLevel and CurrentLevel to 11000, which is "Medium" security.

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Zones\3]

"CurrentLevel"=dword:00011000

"MinLevel"=dword:00011000

If you prefer other security settings, see this page (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/182569) for details.

This support page (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/833633) from Microsoft is where I found a lot of helpful information.

Netgear GS728TP Web Interface Issues

I just purchased a Netgear GS728TP switch for our new office. We have a Netgear FS728TP switch that has been rock solid for years, so I went with them again. The hardware seems to be solid and the switch is very quiet (especially for one with 24 PoE ports).

One problem: poor browser support.

The web interface does not work in the latest version of Chrome (43), Firefox (38) or Internet Explorer (11). The web interface will load and prompts me for the password. Once I enter, it continues to a new page...but doesn't load the content. I can't see or change any settings.

I finally got it to load by using a computer with Internet Explorer 8 (I believe I had to enable Compatibility View). After logging in with the same process as above, the web interface loaded properly and I was able to make changes. I connected via  few different systems. On other with IE8, everything worked properly...but the VLAN Membership page would never load properly. I found a page on Netgear's website talking about browser compatibility issues with certain firmwares. They suggested installing an old browser (Opera 18, Netscape 9, Firefox 3.5.6). I tried all three browsers, but none of these would load the VLAN page properly.

Ninite Pro Chrome Update Error

We use Ninite Pro to keep applications updated on our workstations (Windows 7 x64). We have a script that runs weekly to update a select group of applications. One user was reporting that Chrome randomly disappeared from their system. This coincided with the day that the script was running. The first time we thought it was odd and reinstalled Chrome, but it happened a few more times. After digging around, we noticed that if we tried to reinstall Chrome by downloading the installer it would work...but if we tried via Ninite, it would fail with this error:

• Chrome : Install failed - Could not verify installation (1), 1603 - 3227

After lots of searching (without finding much) and having this happen a few more times, we finally found a solution in the Microsoft Fix it Program Install and Uninstall Troubleshooter (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/mats/program_install_and_uninstall). This is what worked for us:

• First, uninstall Google Chrome from"Programs and Features" in Control Panel
• After downloading, run the tool.
• Click "Detect problems and let me select the fixes to apply"
• Click "Installing"
• Select  "Google Chrome" from the list
• Follow prompts to uninstall the program and/or fix issues.

Menus Missing After Installing SPSS 23 x64

There is a bug in SPSS 23 64-bit's originally released installer, if you install using a command like...

MSIEXEC.EXE /i "\SPSS64\IBM SPSS Statistics 23.msi" /qb COMPANYNAME="xxx" /norestart

...and don't include an "AUTHCODE" parameter.

You will be allowed to install SPSS and license using the License Authorization Wizard, but when you start SPSS you will only see the "File", "View" & "Custom" menus.

To fix:

• Edit C:\Program Files\IBM\SPSS\Statistics\23\spssprod.inf
• Edit the line with "DaemonHost=" to be "DaemonHost=no-net"
• Restart SPSS and things will work normally.