Paresh Suthar's MSN Weblog

For most Windows operating systems, it is by running 'mstsc /v:[server] /console'.  However, for Vista SP1 you need to execute 'mstsc /v:[server] /admin'.

Spent about an hour figuring this issue out - ugh!

1. Get latest version of Fiddler
2. Run Fiddler and make sure 'File->Capture Traffic' is checked
3. Select 'Tools->Fiddler Options' menu
4. Check the boxes for 'Decrypt HTTPS traffic' and 'Ignore server certificate errors' in the lower right corner
5. For ASP.NET apps, add the following to the web.config file:

   <system.net>
      <defaultProxy>
         <proxy proxyaddress="http://localhost:8888" bypassonlocal="false"/>
      </defaultProxy>
     </system.net>
   

6. Navigate to HTTPS location - you should get an error
7. Open the MMC console by going to 'Start->Run' and type in 'mmc'
8. Select 'File->Add/Remove Snap-In...'
9. Click 'Add' button
10. Select 'Certificates' in listbox, then click 'Add' button
11. Select 'Computer account' radio button, then click 'Finish' button
12. Select 'Local computer' radio button, then click 'Finish' button
13. Select 'Certificates' in listbox, then click 'Add' button
14. Select 'My user account' radio button, then click 'Finish' button
15. Click 'Close' button
16. Click 'OK' button
17. Expand 'Certificates (Current User)' node, then 'Personal' node
18. Select 'Certificates' folder
19. Select the 'DO_NOT_TRUST_FiddlerRoot' entry, then right-click and select 'Copy'
20. Expand 'Certificates (Current User)' node, then 'Trusted Root Certification Authorities' node
21. Select 'Certificates folder
22. Right-click and select 'Paste', then verify that the copied certificate shows up
23. Expand 'Certificates (Local Computer)' node, then 'Trusted Root Certification Authorities' node
24. Select 'Certificates folder
25. Right-click and select 'Paste', then verify that the copied certificate shows up
26. Close the MMC Console - when asked to save settings, click 'No'
27. Close all browser instances, open new one and then navigate to HTTPS location - you should now see captured traffic in Fiddler

Just messing around with HTML and Linked In a little bit. 

My son Chase was born on November 18th at 1:56PM and came in with a a weight of 7lbs 2oz and height of 19.25".  He's got all 10 fingers and all 10 toes, and seems to be a relatively calm baby.

What was interesting this time around was that I used Twitter to keep my brothers/friends aprised of what was going on from the time we left for the hospital to the time we left the hospital.  Yes, I did get in trouble once for texting in the delivery room, but it was only when the nurse asked me if I wanted to hold my son for the first time and I said "hold on one second" as I busily typed away on my phone.

What was cool about this was that my Twitter followers felt as a part of the process, and as soon as I sent the text that Chase was born, word started spreading thoughout my family without me having to call everyone.   I honestly don't believe I could have achieved the same effect via email, especially given that many people don't receive email on their phones - but everyone receives text messages.

Now of course I had to call some folks because that is the 'expected' thing to do, but when you repeat almost exactly the same information to everyone you talk to, you feel like a robot and start think about broadcast approaches...

Between Facebook and Twitter - I seem to have lost interest in writing lengthy articles (for a while).  Plus, it can take quite a bit of time to write something up, which is something I seem to have less of these days.

My wife's parents have been in the digital age for a while - they have had DISH satellete television for the past few years so that they could watch South Asian/Indian programming.  Recently they decided to get more involved in current technologies, like VOIP and high speed Internet access, so they switched over to a bundle package from Cablevision (in NJ) that got them 'hooked up'.  Of course they fact that the South Asian/Indian programming was now available on cable was a great facilitator, without which they'd still be using a POTS phone line and have no Internet access at all.

So after getting 'hooked up', my father-in-law indicated that he needed to buy a computer for his new sizzling fast Internet connection, which currently was no more useful than a night light in the room it was placed.  Being the handyman and tech support guy for my wife's family, I stepped up to the plate and said that I would find him a computer to meet his needs.

While I probably would have gotten a computer from Dell for myself, I wound up going to the Best Buy this time.  I made my decision based on the worry that if something was wrong with the system, there is a local place to bring it back to (instead of shipping it).  Another factor was that I was only going to be in NJ for a limited time and wanted to have the system up and running before I left.

There are plenty of computer package bundles to choose from at Best Buy.  Initially I was going down the path of most bang for the buck, and started to eye some Acer machines.  Unfortunately these systems have a crappy printer, and the monitor that comes with it was out of stock.  I moved on to HP systems and found an AMD based system that I liked - but it only had 1 Gb of RAM.  I say only because all HP systems are preinstalled with Vista, and from personal experiences I know that it may not be enough.  So I struggled with myself about this system, envisioning what my wife's parents would be doing with it and if 1 Gb was going to work.  After about 10 mins, I just couldn't risk it and had to move to a more expensive Intel based system that had 2 Gb installed. 

You should note that I thought about buying the first system and upgrading the RAM by 1 Gb (for a total of 2 Gb) - but the pattern for entry to mid-level machines seems to be that there are 2 memory slots on the motherboard, and they are both used.  This means that I would have had to buy 2 of the 1 Gb RAM chips, which raised the price about $200 and left me with 2 of the 512 Mb RAM chips that were effectively useless.  What's the point there?  It seems to me that if you want to upsell RAM, you would install 1 of the 1 Gb RAM chips. 

I got the attention of a sales rep at Best Buy and indicated that I wanted the HP Pavilion a6120n bundle.  I told him that I also needed a webcam, power strip and WiFi router. 

For the power strip he suggested that I go to the Home Theater department and find one that I liked.  I went to that section of the store and found the power strips where the cheapest one was $50, and went all the way up to $200!  These are just power strips, granted fancy colored ones, with no UPS - WTF?  I went back to the computer section and told the sales rep that I'll skip it for now and hit Radio Shack on the way home.  When I mentioned this, he indicated that there was a power strip with UPS for $40 one aisle over from where we were, so I justified spending the money on it. 

Next was the WiFi router, and again I looked for most bang for the buck.  The most inexpensive one I found a Linksys router for $50, so I brought it back to the sales rep and he rang it up.  "That'll add another $70 to the overall purchase" he says.  "That router should only be $50" I reply.  "Nope, it's $70 because it has the SpeedBoost feature".  I go back to where I picked up the router and see that they've stocked $70 routers where the $50 routers should be, and the packaging is near identical.  What a scam!  I wonder how many people overpaid without knowing it...

So I'm ready to check out and the sales rep says "do you already have a printer cable at home?"  "No - doesn't the printer come with one?"  I reply.  "No - you have to buy one, and you can find them over there" says the sales rep, pointing to yet another aisle.  I walk over and look for the the cheapest cable - it's $35 bucks!  WTF?  I feel like I'm being nickeled and dimed to death.  Why the hell isn't the cable included?

I'm finally ready to check out.  The sales rep rings up the total and asks if I would like to have help setting up the computer at home.  "We have this group called Geek Squad that can help" he says.  He then goes on to say that most computers come preinstalled with junk software (aka trialware) and that the Geek Squad can help clean it off the machine for the low price of $169.  Are they serious?  They're asking me if I want to pay more money so that the brand new machine I'm getting won't have junk on it.  What are non-technical people expected to do at this point I wonder to myself.   "Thanks but no thanks - I'll remove it on my own. 

"I would like the extended in home warranty" I tell the sales rep.  "Will that be 2 year or 3 year" he quickly responds.  Oh christ - another decision to make.  Will the computer actually make it 3 years? Is it worth it or am I pissing money away?  I settle on the 2 year warranty because my belief is that by the 3rd year, they'll probably need a new machine anyways.

He tallies everything up, applies the appropriate bundle package savings and hands me the bill.  I thought I could get away at about $700 for a modest computer system - I land at $1000.  Ouch.

 My next post will be about the trials and tribulations once I got the computer home...