All of the links and applications published
below were not created by Tuor Networks Incorporated, and are property of their
respected vendors. Download them at your own risk. In no way will Tuor Networks
Incorporated be accountable for any damaged caused by the programs below - use
all of them with caution.
Updates and Patches
Microsoft Update - Get the
latest updates available for your computer's operating system, software, and
hardware. Windows Update scans your computer to see what updates are required
and provides you with a list of updates tailored just for you. We have seen
issues with updating drivers using Windows Update. Do not update hardware
drivers using this site unless the device is not working at all. Microsoft
Update will scan your computer and determine what updates are required for ALL
Microsoft products, including Microsoft Office, Exchange, SQL 200x, ISA and
other Microsoft software.
Office
Update - Allows you to update Microsoft Office 2000 and higher. If you run
Microsoft Update (above) then you do not need to run this.
Scan for virus, malware and spyware
Windows
Defender - Windows Defender is a free program that helps you stay productive
by protecting your computer against pop-ups, slow performance and security
threats caused by spyware and other potentially unwanted software. Windows
Defender no longer supports Windows 2000 as mainstream support ended in June
2005.
Ad
Aware - This utility will scan your computer for malicious programs. It will
be able to remove these programs by quarantining them. If you are getting popups
on your computer install this program and allow it to scan your computer. Run
the program and select update to get the latest version. You should update the program
every time before program before scanning the computer.
Spybot -
Search & Destroy - In our experience it may sometimes be required to run
Ad Aware and also Spybot to clean some Spyware.
AVG Anti-Malware - This used
to be named ewido anti-spyware. Provides antispyware protection against viruses,
spyware, adware, and malware, AVG Anti-Malware is ideal for home users and small
offices. It offers easy-to-install, easy-to-use, comprehensive protection
against all malware threats. Again we have come across instances where AVG is
able to find spyware that the other software listed above does not.
Symantec
Antivirus - provides a free online scan for known viruses. If any are found
you can usually get removal tools for the particular virus. We highly recommend
that all users have up to date antivirus installed. Click Go and you can scan
for viruses.
Trend
Micro - Another free online scan for known viruses.
Remote Control Tools
Microsoft Remote Desktop -
Microsoft created this utility to allow you to connect to a Terminal Server.
This is the 5.2 version, which allows you to connect to the console of a Windows
2003 Server. To access the console type the servername /console.
VNC Remote Control - This is
version 4.0. This utility allows you to remote control other computers once
installed. It has two components, the server and the client. We recommend that you
only use this with operating systems that do not already have remote control
built in (Windows 2000 and lower). There is NO need to install this on XP or
Windows 2000 / 2003 Server.
Dynamic DNS - Once registered you
can track your network IP address on the Internet.
Microsoft Tools
Core
Configurator - This is a great little utility
that can assist with configuring Server 2008 Core.
Server Core is a version of Windows 2008 that does
not have a GUI and thus requires less patching and
is more secure. This utility is basically a
collection of scripts to simply management.
Microsoft
Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) - This utility will scan your network and
report on any workstations and servers that are missing patches. This version
scans for missing patches from Windows, SQL, Exchange, and Office patches.
Microsoft
Exchange Server Best Practices Analyzer Tool - Is designed for
administrators who want to determine the overall health of their Exchange
servers and topology. The tool scans Exchange servers and identifies items that
do not conform to Microsoft best practices.
Server
2008 Support Tools - For Server 2008 the support
tools are located in support\tools directory on the
Windows Server 2008 CD. Simply extract support.cab
to the directory on your server. Also note that some
Support Tools for Server 2008 are included in
"Remote Server Administration Tools". Go to Add
Features -> Install Remote Server Administration
Tools. .
Server
2003 Support Tools - These tools are valuable for troubleshooting and
diagnosing issues with Windows Server 2003. We recommend they be installed as
part of the initial base server install. They can be found on the Windows Server
2003 CD in the SUPPORT\TOOLS directory, but the link above is to a newer
version. These are still applicable with the release
of Windows 2008 and Windows 2008 R2.
Group
Policy Management Console - In conjunction with Windows Server 2003,
Microsoft has released a new Group Policy management solution that unifies
management of Group Policy. The Microsoft Group Policy Management Console (GPMC)
provides a single solution for managing all Group Policy-related tasks.
Windows
Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools - The Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Resource
Kit Tools are a set of tools to help administrators streamline management tasks
such as troubleshooting operating system issues, managing Active Directory,
configuring networking and security features, and automating application
deployment. These are still applicable with the
release of Windows 2008 and Windows 2008 R2.
Sysinternals Tools - Microsoft
agrees with our love of Sysinternals and have purchased them. The
Sysinternals web site provides you with advanced utilities, technical
information, and source code related to Windows 9x, Windows Me, and Windows
NT/2000/XP/2K3 that you won't find anywhere else. Mark Russinovich and Bryce
Cogswell write and update everything available on the site. Some of their more
famous tools are: process explorer, tcpview, regmon, filemon, pstools, and
autoruns.
Microsoft's
Calculator Plus - Offers conversions between different measurement units for
area, temperature, volume and more. It also includes all the mathematical
functions offered in Microsoft Calculator.
Miscellaneous Stuff
Shutdown - This utility allows
you to shutdown a computer (windows NT or better) remotely from the command
line. It also has a GUI interface.
Windows 98 Boot Disk -
This is a standard Windows 98 Boot disk.
Network Boot Disk -
This disk will work with MOST PCI network adapters and will allow you to boot
up, and connect to a server. It will allow you to logon to a domain. Does not
work with Windows 2003 (by default, removing some of the security features may
allow it to work), but does with Windows 2000. It's a bit dated, but it works.
Kill.exe - This utility allows you to
force terminate a process. Some processes (e.g. services) will not allow you to
'end task' using task manager. Kill.exe allows you to force the process
closed.
OldCmp - This utility is very
handy, allowing you to scan Active Directory looking for old computer accounts.
TuneXP - A great utility for
tweaking Windows XP for better performance. Some of the tweaks can be dangerous,
so please read the associated help file to be sure you understand the
ramifications.
