The application has failed to start because its side-by-side configuration is incorrect

Error Message: “The application has failed to start because its side-by-side configuration is incorrect.”

Received this error after submitting an application written in C++ to the Microsoft HPC Server 2008 cluster.  To fix it, simply install the Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package on the compute nodes.  I recommend you install both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions as you may have some users compiling their applications in 32-bit and some in 64-bit.

Reference: http://docs.hp.com/en/BA683-90006/ch13s08.html

Downloads

• Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package (x86)
• Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package (x64)

My Favorite WordPress Code Highlighter Plugin

If you’re wondering what I used for the code highlighter in my previous post, it’s the SyntaxHighlighter Evolved plugin.  It’s just like the Google Syntax Highlighter plugin but much easier to use.  I’ve tried a bunch of other ones such as the WP Advanced Code Editor, Developer Formatter, and WP-Codebox and this one is the best in my opinion.

To use it you just put your code between these tags: “[language] …code goes here… [/language]” where “language” is the programming language (i.e. python, java, sql, etc.).

Here are some examples of what the code would look like:

Python

import shutil

class Copy:
    '''
    Copy files.
    '''

    def __init__(self):
        '''
        Nothing to see here.
        '''

    def copyFile(self, src, dst):
        shutil.copy2(src, dst)
        print "I don't know why I'm printing this."

SQL

SELECT * FROM cool_websites
WHERE domain = 'calazan.com'
AND ranking IS NOT NULL

Java

public class HelloVisitors {

	public static void main(String[] args) {
		// Just saying hello
		System.out.println("Hello visitors!");
	}
}

Core FTP Mini SFTP Server: A Free SFTP (Secure FTP/SSH FTP) Server

Here’s a nice free little Secure FTP server from Core FTP called Mini SFTP Server.  I use it from time to time at work when people from other departments need to send me files and company policy requires them to use a secure (encrypted) medium.

It’s not a fully featured SFTP server but it’s very easy to use and doesn’t require installation.  Simply double click the executable, set the username and password, set the upload path, click start and your computer will start accepting connections on port 22!

Official Download Site: http://www.coreftp.com/server/

Download From This Site: Core FTP Mini SFTP Server

Free Open Source FTP Client with SFTP Support: FileZilla

RSA SecurID 3.0.2 for BlackBerry

My colleague informed me earlier that RSA just released this new version of their SecurID software for BlackBerry sometime last month.  I installed it right away on my BlackBerry 8330 with OS v4.5.0.131 and it finally worked!!!  I’ve been trying to get their software to work on my BlackBerry since last year but my OS wasn’t supported.

This new version also now supports RIM OS version 4.7, so if you have a BlackBerry Storm this should work.

You can download the software from here: http://www.rsa.com/node.aspx?id=1165

Untangle 6.1 Beta Now Available

The biggest change in 6.1 is it’s now based on Debian Lenny (kernel 2.6.26).  Here’s the full changelog.  You can download the beta here.

Untangle Network Gateway

Another great open source software. 

Untangle is basically a Unified Threat Management (UTM) solution designed for SMBs (up to about 300 users, although there are people who have successfully deployed it in much bigger environments, like this one, for example, with 1600+ users).  Untangle packaged all these great open source security software together and then provided a really nice and very intuitive user interface for them simplifying installation and management.  They also have commercial add-ons and provide live support for a fee.

Here’s the product overview.

Open Source and Free

• Firewall – Just like most firewalls, nothing really special.  You can add a description to each rule (yes, I had to mention this because our current SonicWALL firewall at work doesn’t have this option!!!).
• Web Filter – 14 categories.  Uses a local database with data downloaded from URLBlacklist.com.  I asked in the forums how often it gets updated and someone mentioned he thinks it’s every 6 hours but I haven’t confirmed it.
• Spam Blocker – Uses SpamAssassin.  Gets updated every hour.
• Phish Blocker – Based on ClamAV engine and phish signature database which gets updated every hour.
• Spyware Blocker – I really like this one.  Seems to be blocking a lot of stuff.  Sometimes you’ll see websites with just a big white section somewhere where an ad used to be .
• Virus Blocker - Based on ClamAV.  Signature gets updated every hour.
• Protocol Control – Uses “L7-Filter Netfilters to classify protocols based on OSI layer 7 data, regardless of port or port-hopping.”  Let’s say you want to block AIM, but AIM has the option use a different port, like port 80 for example, so blocking just the default AIM port on the firewall won’t work.  With Protocol Control, it doesn’t matter which port AIM is using, it can detect it based on its signature.
• Intrusion Prevention System – Uses Snort signatures.
• Attack Blocker – Blocks attacks .  This prevents DoS attacks.
• OpenVPN – Well, just like what the name says, it uses OpenVPN.  They made it really easy to set up.  You can also control which network to give a user access to and override DNS settings.
• Untangle Reports – I love this one.  Gives you  a nice summarized and detailed report (Daily, Weekly, and Monthly).

Commercial Add-ons

• Active Directory Connector – Uses a logon script that tells the server what IP a user is using.
• Policy Manager – Lets you create multiple custom racks and assign them to certain users or IP addresses.
• Branding Manager – Lets you change the look of the block pages.
• eSoft Web Filter – A better web filter with 53 categories.  It also allows you to block https.  It’s a bit pricey though.
• Kaspersky Virus Blocker – Adds another layer of protection.
• PC Remote
• Remote Access Portal

You can deploy Untangle as a router, a transparent bridge, or a re-router.  I’ve been using it at home in router mode (virtual machine) for over a month now (I started with v5.4 and I just upgraded today to v6.0.2) and it’s great so far.  Very stable and seems to be doing its job.  You can manage everything using the web interface (Java is no longer required starting with v6.0).

We’re actually planning on using this at work to replace our old SonicWALL firewall (which we’ve been planning on replacing since last year but kept getting pushed back due to budget cuts) and this would save us thousands of dollars from buying a commercial UTM appliance.

New version of P4A (3.2.0) finally released!

Wow, it’s been a while since the developers updated this framework.  I thought this project was about to die because it used to be very active.  We’re actually still using v2.0 at work (which is working very well) but with the changes in this release, I think it’s time to upgrade .

Here are the major changes (from the developer’s website, the one I’m most excited about is the P4A_Grid widget):

1. P4A is now released under LGPL 3. This means more flexibility for developers and customers.
2. A new widget, the P4A_Grid, has been added to fast table data editing.
3. P4A_Simple_Edit_Mask has been added to quickly create a simple mask to edit a database table.

You can view the entire changelog here.

Download P4A 3.2 from here: http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=98294&package_id=105252&release_id=647599

How to send syslog messages to a remote syslog server in Fedora 9

I have a virtual machine set up running Fedora 9 on my home network which I mainly use for SSH tunneling and I just realized that this version of Fedora now uses rsyslog as its default syslog daemon.

I wanted to send a copy of the syslog messages for SSH to my central syslog server so I can easily keep track of login attempts to my server from the outside.

Here are the steps:

1. Open /etc/rsyslog.conf and  add this line:

   • authpriv.* @remote_server_ip_address

2. Restart the rsyslog service: /etc/init.d/rsyslog restart

Change “authpriv.*” to “*.*” if you wish to send a copy of all the syslog messages to the remote server.