The other day I was working on a Windows 10 laptop when it started acting erratically and then crashed. One moment I was working as usual and then suddenly I was presented with the nice picture below indicating Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart. Instinctively the first question I asked myself […]
Windows Low Disk Space – Easy Drive Cloning With Macrium Reflect
Recently I had a family laptop that was low on hard drive space and was periodically causing “operational” issues. Family members would be using the computer and then get the Windows Low disk space message and simply closing the notification wasn’t enough. Naturally being the official tech person in our family I would get an […]
sabrent, Windows 10Using C# to Automate Java Keytool Certificate Signing Requests
The Java keytool is a utility to manage public/private key pairs for certificates used in authentication services. Keytool is straightforward to use and runs from the command line. Creating a new certificate at high level involves first creating a keystore to store the private / public key pair, then creating the certificate signing request, and […]
java keytool asp.netUsing C# to Modify Windows Server Environment Variables
Recently I was working on an issue where the path to an application needed to be in the server Path Environment Variable. I didn’t have physical access to the server and needed an easy way to get the path updated so I created a simple Asp.net Windows Form to accomplish this task. Change Windows Environment […]
asp.net, c#, Windows ServerHow to Integrate a Mailchimp Mailing List with WordPress
Having a mailing list is a important aspect to operating a website that is often overlooked. Engaging your audience via email is great way to bring visitors back to your website for a new promotion or updated content. If you have recently looked into setting up a mailing list you’ll know they can be rather […]
Mailchip, mailing listThe Best PayPal WordPress Plugin I Have Ever Used
Have you ever wanted to accept a payment with your web site but didn’t know how to get started? Accepting online payments via real-time credit card authorizations requires an online merchant account, a shopping cart, and payment processor like Authorize.net. And all the monthly fees from these services will substantially increase your overhead before you’ve […]
paypal, Wordpress, wpformsHow to Securely Erase Hard Drives
Recently I found a few old 2.5” laptop hard drives in storage and figured I would try sell them for a few bucks on Ebay but first I wanted to make sure my personal data on them was erased. As an experienced sys admin I am already in the habit of formatting an old PC […]
Secure Erase, Security, vmware, Windows 10Easy USB Drive Mirroring With Windows 10 Storage Spaces
Speaking from experience having a computer hard drive fail is not when you want to discover your backup software didn’t run overnight and you’ve lost some important data. Laptops or a space a saving All-in-One desktop like my Dell XPS 2720 typically only have one hard drive. Hard drive redundancy aka RAID (Redundant Array of […]
Upgrade PHP 7 on Windows Server with WebPI
I was recently working on a Windows Server which hosts a WordPress site that had been upgraded from version 4.x to version 5.3. While reviewing the WordPress Dashboard afterwards to ensure everything was working properly I noticed the warning below about PHP being out of date. It turns out starting with WordPress 5.1 a warning […]
FastCGI, PHP, WebPI, WordpressProtecting a WordPress Contact Form with reCAPTCHA
Having a contact form is one of the most important pages a web site can have. It enables you to receive communication for your audience or customers without having to provide a specific email address. Publishing an email address on your site while simple to implement and low-tech makes it easy for the email address […]
recaptcha, Wordpress, wpforms