Microsoft

While using Outlook 2010 a user would get an immediate Undeliverable message when sending to one specific address. The diagnostic information contained the code of:

#550 5.4.4 ROUTING.NoNextHop; unable to route ##

First you should send a test email to the same address, but this time using Outlook Web Access or OWA for short. If the message sends okay that way, then the issue resides with Outlook’s cached email address.

This may have been caused by the user clicking a mailto URL in someones mail signature. If the person’s mailto URL is set up incorrectly, it may have the email address composed incorrectly and not use SMTP.

To fix this issue it is not as easy as just deleting Outlook’s cached copy of that single address. It takes the removal off the entire auto complete address cache inventory to resolve the issue.

From the Start menu search box or Run…, type Outlook /cleanautocompletecache

While I have not tested this, but I suspect if you are using Outlook 2007 you can just delete the .NK2 file that stores the cached addresses. (%appdata%\microsoft\outlook\*.nk2)

For the sake of security, IT admins sometimes need to block certain applications from running on their company PCs. iTunes, Dropbox, Limewire, BitTorrent, etc. can easily pose threats to your network. Some applications like Dropbox, which are somewhat secure, can pose a headache just because your company data can easily end up in the wrong hands. Or what if the person leaves the company? It is not something IT can easily manage. Apps like that are best not to be installed, but if they are how do you prevent them from running?

Group Policy helps solve this problem. In my example I block at the Computer level rather than the User. See this TechNet guide on Software Restriction Policies for more information.

The following software restriction GPO works on Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7:

Computer Configuration\Policies\Windows Settings\Software Restriction Policies\Additional Rules\Path Rules: (right-click, choose New Path Rule…)

%AppData%\Dropbox\bin\*.exe (Disallowed)

Block Dropbox

Note there will be some default rules that the GPO will create automatically for normal applications to run unrestricted.

After you show the Status bar, IE 9 no longer displays the site zone assignment at the bottom. To find the zone you must right click on the web page and choose Properties. There you will see the Zone and protection mode statuses.

If the machine is running Windows XP you may want to install a program for someone without having to log them off. A simple way is to use the “runas” command line utility to invoke the Control Panel applet Add Remove Programs.

Start > Run… > cmd > runas /user:Administrator cmd (this will prompt you for the local Administrator password and open a new elevated command prompt window)

In the Administrator command prompt window perform the following: control appwiz.cpl (this will open the Add Remove Programs GUI interface)

It is at this point you may uninstall a program or use the GUI to add a program and browse to the installer file.

Note: If you simply want to install the app via command line you can do that as well. Instead of running the control panel applet just execute the installer via the command line. You will get the same results.