Performing a System Image Backup on a Windows 8 System

Microsoft Windows 8 comes with a utility that will you to perform a system image backup of a system running Windows 8, but the process for performing an image backup under Windows 8 isn't readily apparent. To do so, you can follow the steps here.

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Adding a Printer by IP Address to an OS X System

To add access to a printer over the network using the Line Printer Daemon (LPD) protocol, take the following steps:

1. Cllick on the Apple icon at the top left-hand corner of the screen.
2. Select System Preferences.
3. Select Print & Fax.
4. Click on the "+" underneath the list of printers to add a new printer.
5. Click on the IP icon in the toolbar at the top of the Add Printer window.
6. Leave the Protocol value set to Line Printer Daemon - LPD and put the IP address of the printer in the Address field, e.g. 192.168.0.100. You can leave the Queue value blank to use the default printer queue. The Name field will be given the IP address by default. You can change it to something else, if you like, to make it more recognizable to you. You can also identify the location, if you like, e.g. "Xerox area". You can specify the print driver to use, if you wish or use a generic print driver. E.g., if the printer supports postscript printing, you could opt for Generic PostScript Printer in the Print Using field. Or you could choose the Select Printer Software option for Print Using and then pick the appropriate printer from the list presented, e.g. "Xerox 700 Digital Color Press, 2.35.0".
7. Click on the Add button. If you are presented with an Installable Options window, choose any options you know are installed then click on Continue when finished.

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SSH Access to an OS X System

To allow SSH access to an Apple OS X system take the following steps:

1. Click on the Apple icon on the top left hand corner of the screen, which will display a menu of options.
2. Select System Preferences
3. Under the Internet & Network grouping, click on Sharing
4. Click on Remote Login, which is under the Services section.
5. You will have the choice of permitting SSH access for "All users" or "Only these users". If you select the latter, specify the accounts for which you wish to grant SSH access by clicking on the "+" beneath the two options and then selecting the accounts that will have SSH access.
6. Close the window by clicking on the "X" in the upper left-hand corner of the window.

When logging in by SSH, use the "short name" for the account, which can be found by going to System Preferences, Accounts, then clicking on the lock icon, and then selecting the account.

Note: written for Mac OS X 10.5.8, but will apply to other versions as well.

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Printing to a Shared Windows Printer from OS X

If you need to print from a Mac system running OS X 10.5 or later to a printer that is shared over a network from a Microsoft Windows system, you can take these steps.

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Using Firefox Cookies with Wget

If you need to use wget to access a site that relies on HTTP cookies to control access to the site, you can log into the site with Firefox and use the Firefox add-on Export Cookies to export all of the cookies stored by Firefox to a file, e.g. cookies.txt. After installing the add-on, restart Firefox. You can then click on Tools and choose Export Cookies. Note: you may not get the cookie you need, if you put Firefox in private browsing mode.

You can then use the cookies file you just exported with wget. E.g. presuming the cookies file was named cookies.txt and was in the same directory as wget, you could use the following:

wget --load-cookies=cookies.txt http://example.com/somepage.html

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Creating a Filter to Display HTTP Cookies

To create a filter to display HTTP cookies in Wireshark, take the following steps:

1. Open Wireshark and click on Analyze.
2. Select Display Filters.
3. Click on New.
4. For filter name, type HTTP cookie or whatever name you would like and for filter string type http.cookie.
5. Click on OK. You should then see only the packets containing HTTP cookies displayed.

Note: written for Wireshark 1.8.4, but should apply to other versions as well.

References:

1. cookie and query strings
   Wireshark Q&A

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Installing Wireshark 1.8.4 and WinPcap 4.1.2 on a Windows 8 System

I installed Wireshark 1.8.4. When I started it, I was informed that I hadn't specified an interface on which to perform a capture. When I tried specifying an interface, I was informed there were no interfaces on which a capture could be done. I saw "(Unable to load WinPcap (wpcap.dll); you will not be able to capture packets."

I needed to install WinPcap in order to utilize Wireshark, so I downloaded WinPcap 4.1.2. When I ran the installation program, a Program Compatibility Assistant window opened stating "This program has compatibility issues." There were two options: (1) Get help online and (2) Run the program without getting help. I chose the latter. That resulted in a WinPcap 4.1.2 Setup window opening with the message "This version of Windows is not supported by WinPcap 4.1.2. The installation will be aborted."

To resolve the problem, the following steps can be taken.

1. Right-click on the installation file, WinPcap_4_1_2.exe and select Properties.
2. Click on the Compatibility tab.
3. Check the box next to "Run this program in compatibility mode for" and select "Windows 7".
4. Check the box for "Run this program as an administrator" under Privilege level.

   

5. Click on the OK button.
6. Run the installation program again and allow it to make changes to the system.
7. When the Program Compatibility Assistant window opens informing you that "This program has compatibility issues", select "Run the program without getting help". The WinPcap 4.1.2 Setup window should then open allowing you to proceed with the installation.

   

References:

1. [Winpcap-users] Windows 8
   By Andrew Stewart
   Date: July 6, 2012
   WinPcap
2. Installing WIRESHARK/WinPCap on Windows 8 RTM
   By Kaushal Kumar Panday
   Date: August 7, 2012
   Unleashed

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Creating Application Groups in Windows 8

Windows 8 has a new "metro" user interface which puts applications on the desktop in tiled groups instead of using groups under Programs or All Programs as in prior versions of Windows. When you have a lot of programs installed on a system, finding what you want within one large group may be difficult. You can group tiles in categoris of your own making with Windows 8, however.

[ More Info ]

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