Thank you everyone who attended my presentation at Infrastructure Saturday #infrasat on Office 365 : Privacy, Compliance and Data Leakage Protection. Fantastic crowd. Great engagement and questions. Feel free to reach out if needed anything.
Here are the slides: http://1drv.ms/1v767mF
Recently our project team developed an application and we intended to host it using an Azure Website, due to its convenience, price and easy of use. It worked well in the local drive and in the local web server..so if we just copy the site to another place it should work, right?
Wrong, if the other site is an Azure Website. If you do, you will note that all accesses to the JSON file will result in a 404 error.
To make short a long story, that's because Azure Websites have a few MIME file types blocked by default and .json is one of them. And for the record, .svg is another one.
Luckily all Azure Websites are really IIS servers running on .Net. If you have some basic knowledge of IIS and .Net you know that we can control these security things via web.config. And that is what you need to do: Place a web.config file that tells IIS to allow the file extension.
To save you the trouble, here's the code to allow json and .svg to be served on Azure Website:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<configuration>
<system.webServer>
<staticContent>
<mimeMap fileExtension=".json" mimeType="application/json" />
</staticContent>
</system.webServer>
</configuration>
Just save this as a web.config and copy to the root folder of your application.
I hope this little trick saved you lots of time!
Cheers,
by Edge Pereira
If you are using a trial version of SharePoint Server 2013 and want to upgrade to a licensed product edition, you can purchase a license and perform the upgrade on the SharePoint Central Administration itself. Below are the steps to upgrade from trial to licensed.
If you have a trial you will see the following options in Central Admin.
Just click it and type the serial key you just purchased and SharePoint will take care of the rest. The whole licensing process should take just a couple of minutes. Suffice to say the server must be connected to the internet.
Here’s a nice trick to get a random value on command prompt: Use the macro %random%
This is pretty useful to setup values not to be known, like for example to set the Administrator password to a unknown value.
net user administrator edge%random%pereira
Quick Summary: We are going to learn how to hack Windows 8 and get administrator rights to anyone without knowing the login information. This was my solution during a hackaton that happened here in Australia some time ago and I decided to share with you guys.
The debugger process takes very high execution precedency in Windows. As a matter of fact, the debugger actually is running at the moment in your windows background and you never realised that.
That’s the same principle here, and to prove the point that the debugger is always running on Windows we will do this cool experiment in 3 Steps:
1) Open RegEdit and find the Registry Key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options
2) Create a new string key called DisplaySwitch.exe. In this key set Name: Debugger, Data:cmd.exe
3) Lock your windows and press WindowsKey+P
Amazing hey! You’re calling the Command Prompt from your windows login screen. How about that for a power show-off with your infrastructure friends
The Debugger process is always running and intercepting all the calls made on windows, even during the login screen, and checking against the list defined in that registry key we talked about at the beginning. Now we only had to find an application, a service or anything that can be executed and send the instruction to the debugger to execute something else for us. That’s where the DisplaySwitch.exe comes into play.
DisplaySwitch.exe is executed when we press WindowsKey+P to allow us to select multiple monitors. The registry entry says “If the DisplaySwitch.exe gets called, call the Debugger instead and pass the parameter cmd.exe”. We are intercepting the keyboard call and making it execute the command prompt. Neat hey!
by Edge Pereira
C:\>sc showsid trustedinstaller
C:\>sc showsid 032789_NSASecretListener
Percentage of women age 15 or up who participate in the labour force, around the world.
The case for recommending a maximum speed of 30km/h within the CBDs.
Nice, clear message from New York city to its residents.
Back in the days when our Windows was slow or crashing we used to press F8 during boot and it would take us to something called “Safe Mode”, which is the minimum set of programs loaded just enough for windows to function. But if you try to do this in Windows 8, it does not work. There is no access to Safe Mode pressing F8. So, how to do it?
Just type “msconfig” in the start menu and when you get to this screen choose these options.
Additionally, by doing this, it allows you to perform a selective boot where you can disable which services should or shouldn’t be started.
Also it is great for PowerShell with enough power to do remote access to someone else’s computer, since you can’t remotely press F8 on other machines.
Windows 8.1 Update 1 is out with a whole bunch of new features that absolutely enhance your productivity and address (more) items which were not so well received by traditional desktop users. During the update process, however, quite a few people are experiencing an error described as "Windows Update Error 80070490”. I've experienced this problem as well and below are the steps I took to get it working on my machine:
DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Scanhealth
DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth
.
If you are deploying a solution to SharePoint Online, at some point you will likely come across the following error: Error occurred in deployment step 'Install app for SharePoint': Sideloading of apps is not enabled on this site.
So...In short, you will not be able to deploy any solution from Visual Studio to SharePoint Online/Office 365 without enabling Sideloading first. I will show you how to fix this and then explain later, so you don’t waste any time looking for the answer. After all, I believe you came here to find the fix first
2-Steps Solution:
1) Download and install SharePoint Online Management Shell
2) Execute the script below. (Note that the Sideloading Feature ID is harcoded in SharePoint, as are many other OOTB features)
#CODE STARTS HERE
$programFiles = [environment]::getfolderpath("programfiles")
add-type -Path $programFiles'\SharePoint Online Management Shell\Microsoft.Online.SharePoint.PowerShell\Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.dll'
Write-Host 'Ready to enable Sideloading'
$siteurl = Read-Host 'Site Url'
$username = Read-Host "User Name"
$password = Read-Host -AsSecureString 'Password'
$outfilepath = $siteurl -replace ':', '_' -replace '/', '_'
try
{
[Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.ClientContext]$cc = New-Object Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.ClientContext($siteurl)
[Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.SharePointOnlineCredentials]$spocreds = New-Object Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.SharePointOnlineCredentials($username, $password)
$cc.Credentials = $spocreds
$site = $cc.Site;
$sideLoadingGuid = new-object System.Guid "AE3A1339-61F5-4f8f-81A7-ABD2DA956A7D"
$site.Features.Add($sideLoadingGuid, $true, [Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.FeatureDefinitionScope]::None);
$cc.ExecuteQuery();
Write-Host -ForegroundColor Green 'SideLoading feature enabled on site' $siteurl
#Activate the Developer Site feature
}
catch
{
Write-Host -ForegroundColor Red 'Error encountered when trying to enable SideLoading feature' $siteurl, ':' $Error[0].ToString();
}
#CODE ENDS HERE
Now off you go. You’re ready to deploy solutions from your Visual Studio straight into Office 365. You can also get a more elaborate code in the MSDN Code Solution Repository.
If you are searching for book recommendations or something new to read, I am sharing here my list of books. Most of them I’ve finished in the kindle version and I am also sharing some of my views about them. I hope you enjoy. Also feel free to share your recommendations with me at edge@superedge.net
In case you’re interested, here’s my reading list from 2013
  | Mindset: How You Can Fulfil Your Potential |
These are books that people recommended to me as good reads.
| The Year When Stardust Fell | Dirt Music | CloudStreet |
| Acres of Diamonds | Tell to Win: Connect, Persuade, and Triumph with the Hidden Power of Story | Ender’s Game |
By Edge Pereira
If you are searching for book recommendations or something new to read, I am sharing here my list of books. Most of them I’ve finished in the kindle version and I am also sharing some of my views about them. I hope you enjoy. Also feel free to share your recommendations with me at edge@superedge.net
In case you’re interested, here’s my reading list from 2012
 | Coraline 05-October-2013 After being wowed by "Stardust" I decided to go for another Neil Gaiman and yet again I found another great story. Gaiman writes great stories for kids, however this one is a bit too much for young hears I think. I love the fact that Coraline is an amazing inspirational tale for young kids. Always polite and always well-mannered. In a flat with 21 windows and 14 doors, one door is locked but this door occasionally opens up to a parallel world like ours where Coraline finds her other mother, other father, and even other neighbors. All look great at the surface but there are horrible things underneath it as she will discover. I took this book to read for my daughter, but soon I realized the content was a bit too strong for a 5yo girl. Yet Coraline is an excellent role model for kids between 8-12 years old. Teaching about courage, love and priorities. |
 | Stardust 15-August-2013 Loved it! Loved it! Loved it! A fantastic story about following your dreams, a falling star who becomes a gorgeous woman, the son of an adventurer with a magic gipsy. Everything Gaiman wrote here takes us to a beautiful world of fairies, dreams, adventure and fantasy. I absolutely recommend, specially if you like to read with your kids. |
 | Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead 16-July-2013 I've seen Sandra's TED presentation and I think it is one of the best ones. She definitely is smart, speak well and direct to the point. Her ideas about female inclusion into the IT workforce certainly resonates with me. When I read this book however I felt disappointed. In the book she has the opportunity to expand her concepts of the TED talk and that's when the challenges become clear. All her ideas are perfect, no problems with that; the issue is that she's not the average working woman/mother/wife. She has vast resources, namely money, that allowed her to fulfill her career. From a "busy mom" point of view she will ask "how come she found time to do this?". Great ideas, but unlikely to be a boiler plate for women to follow. |
 | Transformational Speaking: If you want to change the world, tell a better story 12-June-2013 I started reading this book with 2 assumptions in mind: 1) to develop my public speaking skills 2) to hear from a business perspective how to tell a "better story". Disappointed, the book is not one of the other. From early on you start to see how little practical information is provided and a lot of spiritual talk. A lot of discussion about shamans, inner cure, invisible beings, energy within etc. I do not have absolutely nothing against it, but then the author should have been clear about the purpose of the book. This is misleading readers. Too much talk about mystics and nothing about what we can do to deliver/sell a compelling story. This is not a public speaking book, this is not a business book, this is not a story-telling technique book. This is a spiritual/mystical/religious book. (I put in bold so others don’t fall in the same trap I did) |
 | Lord of the Flies 8-May-2013 Lord of the Flies is not a new book, according to my kindle version its 1st publication was in the 50's. A plane crashes on an island, all the adults die, all the kids survive. The main plot is about these kids stranded in a desert island and how their relations go about. Then the author it goes in a discussion about the human nature, which is supposed to be brutal and ruthless. I can even see a lot of influences from The Hunger Games coming from this book. Whilst I don't agree with that we are that brutal, it is an awesome book which can be told as a morality tale or a parable. If you read the Hunter Games and is ready to go to the next level, or to the deeper roots if I may, I can really recommend. You wont be disappointed. |
 | Caçadas de Pedrinho (Portuguese Edition) I read this when I was a young bloke, now I am reading this book with my kids (5 and 3 years-old) and the story is already a success with them. Highly recommended for adventurous toddlers. Something a few people know is that Monteiro Lobato was one of the most important South-American Philosophers. Food for brain! |
  | The Best You: Managing Your Time 16-Apr-2013 I am a big fan of time-management techniques and I got this book on a free- offer from Amazon. There are a lot of good ideas, but ultimately they fail to sell to the reader the purposes of “why” time management is important. A lot of self-promoting talk and predictable stories. 2.5 stars. |
 | The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs 16-Apr-2013 I've got this book after a friend's recommendation. I was a bit reluctant because most of all I know Steve Jobs was not the best role model out there. Many rated him as a "first class CIO, third class human being". Yet one has to recognize his talent to deliver presentations. (sometimes a bit overrated by the Apple-fans), and that aspect of his life is what I am most interested at the moment. I did not like the book, too many common places and a lot of content repetition. Save your time and money. You can find the same tips from this book by searching the internet. Overrated! |
 | Democratizing Innovation 13-Feb-2013 The premise of this book is that user innovation has a positive impact on social welfare, and the proposition is that government policies should be realigned to eliminate biases against it. The goal is a democratized user-centered innovation system. His research explain a major paradigm shift in innovation where users are displacing manufacturers to become the dominant force of innovation in many fields. It is a very concise book, only 200 pages, and definitely offers a lot of food for thought. It is not an average read; I do recommended for executive drivers and decision makers to enhance their discussion positioning on the topic. |
  | How We Decide 24-Jan-2013 Why do we take the decisions we take? is there a rational process, or emotional, or both? How serial-killers think, entrepreneurs, football players, writers…do they have something in common? There is a very thin line dividing our choices between rational and emotional and this book talks about this line. Excellent read. I recommend. |
  | It’s not a glass ceiling, is a sticky floor 17-Jan-2013 I was recommended this book by a friend who was being coached by a professional. Apparently this book is targeted to women and talks about the barriers stopping the individuals to reach full their potential. Unfortunately the message in this book did not resonate with me, I found the topics too basically, the messages too obvious, the concept too shallow, and one of the things I try to avoid the most: Author self-promotion. |
By Edge Pereira
