Thursday, January 26, 2012

My Top 5 SpyWare Utilities

It’s handy to have them all in one place when you have to clean a PC (most likely belonging to a family member or colleague)

Download these 5 and go to town…

  • RKill by BleepingComputer (Kills known spyware processes)
  • TDSKiller from Kaspersky (RootKit detector)
  • Ad-Aware from LavaSoft (Spyware cleaner)
  • The free version of AVG Antivirus from AVG (Free Anti-Virus)
  • MalwareBytes (Another Spyware cleaner)

Use another computer and download these 5 utilities. Save them on a thumb drive. Boot the computer that’s having problems. I would NOT connect it to a network or the internet yet.

Run the RKILL utility first. Then install and run each of the other utilities as they are. If you have to reboot for some reason, run RKILL again before you start running the others after it boots up.

Connect the computer to the internet and update and rerun each of the applications again.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Changing Unit of Measure Schedules in Dynamics CRM when integrated with Dynamics GP using the Connector

Environment: Dynamics CRM 2011 / Dynamics GP 2010 / Connector for Microsoft Dynamics

Recently a client changed the base unit of measure from Box to Each for one of their unit of measure schedules. The connector, of course, wouldn’t properly integrate the new mapping because it had already been assigned to product lists. The sequence to get it changed is as follows -

GP is the master for the Unit of Measure schedule, so start there.

  • In GP, find any products that are using the Unit of Measure schedule you want to change and switch them to another schedule. Note that you’ll be warned that you will have to recreate the price lists and purchasing options for this product.
  • Run the Price Level to Price List map in the Connector. After it runs, verify that your products in CRM are switched to the new Unit Group
  • Delete the Unit of Measure schedule in GP
  • In CRM, deactivate and then delete the old Unit Group
  • In GP, create the new Unit of Measure schedule with the correct Base Unit
  • Run the Unit of Measure Schedule to Unit Group map and check the log to verify that the change was brought over successfully.
  • In CRM, verify that the new unit group is available.
  • In GP, change the products to the correct Unit of Measure schedule
  • Recreate the Price Lists and Purchasing options for those products
  • Run the Price Level to Price List map in the Connector. After it runs, verify that your products in CRM are switched to the new Unit Groups.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Unit of Measure Schedule Troubleshooting with CRM Connector for GP

When running the CRM Connector for GP, one of the maps that integrates the two systems is a UofM Schedule to Unit Group map that transfers the GP Unit of Measure schedules into CRM.

One of the requirements for the map to run successfully is that the UoM schedules in GP can’t have repeating values in the schedule. Take for example the situation below.

Schedule for Gallon    
Unit Name Quantity Equivalent
Gallon 1.000 Gallon
Gallon 0.018 Drum
Drum 55 Gallon
Schedule for Drum    
Unit Name Quantity Equivalent
Drum 1 Drum
Drum 55 Gallon
Gallon 0.018 Drum

A limitation of CRM is that a Unit Group cannot contain the unit name more than once. During the map’s integration, only the first 2 lines of each schedule would be integrated, the connector stops processing with the first duplicate is detected.

Finding those duplicates can be a little tricky though. You’ll be able to see them in the log for the map in the Connector for Dynamics mapping client. However, this isn’t very descriptive. Here’s an example of an error message.

[UofM Schedule to Unit Group] has encountered an error while processing key [GAL]. A Unit named GAL already exists in the specified Unit Group which may or may not have the same Base Unit.  Microsoft Dynamics CRM does not currently permit Units to have the same name when they belong to the same Unit Group.

Once you do find the U of M schedule that’s causing problems, it’s sometimes challenging to find the duplicates. It would also be handy to know if there’s going to be any problem rows before you Activate the map.

I’ve written a script to help you find (and mark) the problem rows before you even start the integration.

Search for Duplicate UofM Schedule Rows

SELECT (RTRIM(UOMSCHDL) + '-' + RTRIM(UOFM)) AS DIST
FROM IV40202
GROUP BY (RTRIM(UOMSCHDL) + '-' + RTRIM(UOFM))
HAVING (COUNT(RTRIM(UOMSCHDL) + '-' + RTRIM(UOFM)) <> 1)

Return all the rows from IV40202 that are duplicates

SELECT *
FROM IV40202 WHERE (RTRIM(UOMSCHDL) + '-' + RTRIM(UOFM))
IN (
SELECT (RTRIM(UOMSCHDL) + '-' + RTRIM(UOFM)) AS DIST
FROM IV40202
GROUP BY (RTRIM(UOMSCHDL) + '-' + RTRIM(UOFM))
HAVING (COUNT(RTRIM(UOMSCHDL) + '-' + RTRIM(UOFM)) <> 1)
)

To make the records easier to find in GP, we can use the Long Description field for the row as an indicate.
NOTE: THIS WILL OVERWRITE THE LONG DESCRIPTION FIELD FOR ANY RECORD THAT’S A DUPLICATE!!

Update Long Description to indicate problem rows

UPDATE IV40202
SET UOFMLONGDESC = 'Duplicate'
WHERE (RTRIM(UOMSCHDL) + '-' + RTRIM(UOFM))
IN (
SELECT (RTRIM(UOMSCHDL) + '-' + RTRIM(UOFM)) AS DIST
FROM IV40202
GROUP BY (RTRIM(UOMSCHDL) + '-' + RTRIM(UOFM))
HAVING (COUNT(RTRIM(UOMSCHDL) + '-' + RTRIM(UOFM)) <> 1)
)

Now, if you open the Unit of Measure Schedule in the GP client and pull up one of the problem schedules, you should be able to expand the rows and see the lines that are causing or will cause problems.

Update:

In the above example tables, you’ll encounter errors when you try to delete the duplicate rows. GP doesn’t want you to have the base unit of measure in the schedule more than once, even though it allows you to enter it. In this case, you’d have to remove the extra row from the SQL table. Beware, modifying data directly in SQL is NOT supported by Microsoft.

CounterPoint v7 Gift / Credit Card Expiration

One of the applications I support is Radiant’s CounterPoint Point of Sale software. In the v7 version of the product, we had an incident where a customer had a gift card that had an available balance and an expiration date in 2020.

When swiped, the card would read properly, then come back with a ‘Card Expired’ error.

The answer is a little obscure, but it’s a work-around that was done to make the product Y2K compliant. Since CounterPoint v7 is written in COBOL, it maintains only a 2 digit year record. To get around this, it also maintains a ‘current century’ setting that defines to the system what years fall within the current century. By default, that is set to 1920 – 2020. So with the card expiring after 2020, the system thought it was reading 1920 and errored out.

To resolve, click through to Setup / System / Company / Option #7 is the current century.

Update to some time before company opened (eg: 1980 - 2080)

Done!

Monday, January 2, 2012

Sideloading the Kindle Fire

Amazon’s app store for the Kindle Fire is woefully incomplete. The Facebook ‘app’ is just a link to the mobile facebook site, there’s no Youtube client and the built-in browser is…well, clunky is a good description.

There is, however, a way to get other apps onto the Fire by going around the Amazon Market. It involves installing the apps on an Android device with full access to the Google Market, then backing up the applications and copying them onto the Kindle.

I’m providing a shortcut for the first part and have published a .ZIP file containing a few of the apps that I use. I’m only including apps that are not available already in the Amazon Market. Follow the steps below to load the them onto your Kindle Fire.

If there’s an app you want that’s not included, let me know and I’ll see if I can get it to work.

Requirements

  • Kindle Fire – available here if you don’t have one.
  • PC – available here.
  • USB Cable (USB to Micro-B USB) available here.

Sideload steps

  • On the Kindle Fire, download and install the Easy Installer app from the Amazon Market.
    • Go to the Apps tab, click the Store link and then search for Easy Installer.
  • On your PC, download the application zip file from my FTP site using the link below in the Current App List section.
  • Connect your Kindle Fire to your PC using a USB cable.
  • After a few minutes, the Kindle should show up as an attached drive with a drive letter.
  • Copy the files from the zip file you downloaded in step 2 above into the X:\Downloads folder on the Kindle (where ‘X’ is the drive that your computer assigned to the Kindle)
  • Note that you have to have the Kindle powered on and unlocked in order for it to show up.
  • After the files are copied on, give it about 15 seconds to finish up and then unplug the Kindle.
  • Launch the Easy Installer app that you installed in step 1 above.
  • The Installer app will scan your Kindle for new install files. Put a check mark by the apps you want to install and then hit the Install Selected Apps button at the bottom of the page.
  • As each application installs, click the Done button after it installs and you’ll be taken to the install screen for the next app.
  • If something messes up after the install, just go back and run the installer again and reinstall.

Current App List

I have pulled together a few apps that work (mostly) and have eliminated a few that don’t. If you have something you want me to try, let me know and I’ll probably be able to try it out. They have to be FREE apps in the Android market because there’s no authentication mechanism on the Kindle Fire.

Download here - APKPack.zip

Working Apps (included in the .ZIP file download)
  • Daily Office / Mission St. Clare (1.0)
  • Dice Bag (v5.2.2)
    • Manage your dice and auto-roll
  • Dolphin Browser (v7.3.0)
    • Alternate web browser
  • Facebook (v1.8.2)
  • Firefox Browser (v10.0) 
  • Go Launcher X (v2.7.1)
    • Alternative to the Amazon home screen – makes it look like a regular tablet
  • Google Maps (v6.0.3)
  • Network Tools (v1.1.6)
    • Server monitoring via ping
  • Screen Filter (v1.2)
    • Lets you really dim the screen for reading at night and for improved battery life
  • Spellbook for D&D 3.5 (v2.0.5)
    • Because I’m a geek and I like keeping my list of spells for D&D handy
  • Spotify (v0.4.12.180)
    • Kind of works, the player controls are hidden by the Fire’s bottom navigation menu
    • You have to quit the app to stop it from playing
  • WatchESPN (v1.3.1)
    • Doesn’t work for Insight Broadband, but might work for you if you’re a Time Warner customer.
  • XKCD Viewer (v3.0.2)
    • Because the one in the Amazon Market is crap
  • Youtube v2.3.4)
    • So much better than viewing in the crappy Amazon browser
Failed Apps (Tested and won’t install or don’t run right)
  • Android Marketplace
  • Gmail client
  • Google+
  • Google Listen
  • Google Music
  • Louisville Mobile
  • US Bank
  • WeatherBug

Uninstalling Apps

If you decide you don’t like one of the apps you installed, go to the app screen, long press on the app icon and choose Remove from Device.

Not all the apps showing up in the Installer?

The Installer doesn’t rescan every time it runs. To force it to rescan, click the Menu button and choose Settings, then Clear Cache.

Version History

APKPack.zip

Dolphin Browser (v7.2.1) / Facebook (v1.8.1) / Go Launcher X / Google Maps (v6.0.3) / Screen Filter (v1.2) / Spellbook for D&D 3.5 (v2.0.5) / Youtube v2.3.4)

APKPack2.zip

Added Dice Bag (v5.2.2) / Network Tools (v1.1.6)/ Spotify (v0.4.12.180) /WatchESPN (v1.3.1) / XKCD Viewer (v3.0.2)

Acknowledgements

This process was based in part on this article by PC Mag -

How To Run Almost Any Android App On the Kindle Fire