Welcome to Andrew Z. Tabona's Section

Andrew Z. Tabona (MCSA, Network+, Security+, etc) heads a QA/CRM team at GFI Software (GFI.com), a leading global security and messaging software firm. Prior to this he plied his trade as a Network Administrator and an independent technical trainer. He has written a wealth of articles, manuals, white papers, etc and tries to “bridge the gap” with his easy going style of writing.

Andrew can be contacted at andrew.tabona at windowsnetworking dot com. Please note that due to time constraints he will be unable to answer all of your network support related emails. Please visit our message boards to post your question and have it answered by a fellow security or networking professional.

Thanks, and happy reading!

Andrew Z. Tabona's Latest Contributions

Understanding Advanced TCP/IP Settings in Windows 2003: Date - Jan 24, 2007; Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows 2003; The Advanced TCP/IP settings dialog and its relevant tabs.
Configuring Disk Quotas in Windows 2003: Date - Jan 18, 2007; Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows 2003; What disk quotas are, when they should be used, and how to configure them in Windows 2003.
Windows 2003: Data Backup and Recovery (Part 2) - Windows 2003 Backup Utility: Date - Apr 12, 2006; Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows 2003; In this article we’ll continue where we left off in Part 1 and discuss how to actually backup and restore data using the Backup utility that comes with Windows 2003, as well as take a look at disaster recovery.
Windows 2003: Data Backup and Recovery (Part 1) - A General Overview: Date - Mar 16, 2006; Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows 2003; In this article we’ll take a look at Data Backup and Recovery from a general perspective. We’ll learn about what to consider when planning for backup and recovery, and what backup types and backup media types are available.
Understanding the Windows 2003 Registry: Date - Jan 31, 2006; Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows 2003; In this article we’ll dive into the Windows 2003 Registry and take a quick look at what it is, how you can configure it remotely and how to backup and restore it. This document is intended to be a reference that will help you to understand the core of Microsoft’s later generation operating system.
Wireless Networking - Your questions answered!: Date - Aug 16, 2005; Section - Articles & Tutorials / Wireless Networking; This article is dedicated to answering a selection of the questions I received from WindowsNetworking.com readers by e-mail. Unfortunately I do not have time to answer all of your e-mails individually so I have decided to do so here in the form of an article for everyone's benefit. I have left out all the unnecessary information and just extracted the main points and the question itself, rather than the whole e-mail message.
An Overview of Wireless Network Security: Date - Aug 04, 2005; Section - Articles & Tutorials / Wireless Networking; In this article I will point out what sort of threats there are, give you some considerations when planning for the implementation of network security, and also a list of tips that will help to strengthen the security of your network.
How to: Disable the Shutdown Event Tracker in Windows 2003: Date - Jun 16, 2005; Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows 2003; In this article I will show you how to disable, and enable, the Shutdown Event Tracker in Windows 2003, as well as how to view Shutdown Event Tracker events. The Shutdown Event Tracker is a means of recording why the system was restarted or shutdown, or why it had shutdown without warning. It pops up every time you attempt to shutdown the machine manually via the Start menu or when the system restarted or shutdown unexpectedly; due to a software crash or power failure for example. For reasons of annoyance you may want to disable it.
Wireless Networking in Windows 2003: Date - Jun 09, 2005; Section - Articles & Tutorials / Wireless Networking; In Part 2 of my Introduction to Wireless Networking series I briefly touched on the subject of IAS in Windows 2003. Here we will look at the Internet Authentication Service in a bit more detail and also see what Windows 2003, and SP1, have to offer when it comes to Wireless Networking. I’ll also show you how to setup 802.1X based security in Windows 2003.
Introduction to Wireless Networking Part 3 - Security, General Tips and Tricks: Date - May 12, 2005; Section - Articles & Tutorials / Wireless Networking; Welcome to part three of what was originally meant to be a two part series on ‘An Introduction to Wireless Networking’. We’ll take a closer look at the types of security that wireless networking offers, I’ll give you some general tips and tricks and update you on some of the latest news and statistics.
802.11b vs. Bluetooth: Date - Apr 19, 2005; Section - Articles & Tutorials / Wireless Networking; The match is on! Which technology will come out on top, or will the points be shared? In this article we’ll take a look at 802.11b as opposed to Bluetooth. I’ll give you a background and point out the advantages and disadvantages of each so that you can make a decision for yourself. Once you have read this article you should have a general understanding of which would most suit your wireless networking needs.
Troubleshooting Wireless Network Connections: Date - Mar 29, 2005; Section - Articles & Tutorials / Wireless Networking; In this article we will look at how to tackle some common wireless network problems that people come across. This document will outline the steps you should take if you encounter one of the mentioned issues.
Windows 2003 DFS (Distributed File System): Date - Aug 04, 2004; Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows 2003; This document will explain what the distrubuted file system is and how to set it up in Windows 2003. After having read it you will have a general idea of why it is used and why you might want to consider making use of it in your organization.
An Introduction to Wireless Networking (Part 2) - Requirements and Setup: Date - May 28, 2004; Section - Articles & Tutorials / Wireless Networking; Welcome to the second of a two part series on wireless networking. In this section we will look at the what and how to of setting up a wireless network, as well as what Windows 2003 has to offer in this sector.
An Introduction to Wireless Networking (Part 1) - 802.11 Overview: Date - May 20, 2004; Section - Articles & Tutorials / Wireless Networking; This article will act as the first of a two part series on wireless networking. In part one we will look at the basics and get a general overview of what wireless networking involves.
NAT in Windows 2003: Setup and Configuration: Date - Apr 29, 2004; Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows 2003; This article will describe how to setup and configure NAT in Windows 2003. NAT, or Network Address Translation, is a widely used IP translation and mapping protocol that works on the network layer (level 3) of the OSI model. It is sometimes referred to as a routing protocol because of the way it allows packets from a private network to be routed to the Internet.
Windows 2003 Performance Monitor: Date - Mar 29, 2004; Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows 2003; This article will focus on how the Windows 2003 performance monitor utility can be used to monitor the performance of your network. Apart from this, we will also take a look at why it should be used as well as an introduction to this tool that gives you a background of what is involved.
Windows 2003 Terminal Services (Part 2): Date - Mar 18, 2004; Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows 2003; Welcome to part two of my Windows 2003 terminal services article. This section will be of interest to terminal server administrators and clients. It includes a step-by-step guide of how to logon to a terminal server, troubleshooting common logon problems, and a tips section.
Windows 2003 Terminal Services (Part 1): Date - Mar 08, 2004; Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows 2003; Terminal Services, known to some as an Admin’s best friend, uses RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol), relies on TCP/IP, and falls under the application layer of the ISO 7-layer model. It has been improved by offering more features, greater reliability and scalability in Windows 2003.
Setting up & managing a file server in Windows 2003: Date - Jan 22, 2004; Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows 2003; A file server is a computer responsible for the storage and management of data in a central location. Network clients can access these files, therefore saving them from having to physically transfer data from one computer to another. Users are able to access files and applications at the same time. This will serve as a step-by-step guide on how to setup a file server in Windows 2003.
Setting up a DHCP server in Windows 2003: Date - Jan 15, 2004; Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows 2003; "Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is an IP standard designed to reduce the complexity of administering IP address configurations." - Microsoft's definition. A DHCP server would be set up with the appropriate settings for a given network. Such settings would include a set of fundamental parameters such as the gateway, DNS, subnet masks, and a range of IP addresses. Using DHCP on a network means administrators don't need to configure these settings individually for each client on the network. The DHCP would automatically distribute them to the clients itself.
Setting up a client based VPN connection via PPTP: Date - Dec 29, 2003; Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows 2003; A VPN (or Virtual Private Connection) allows the connectivity of remote users to the organizational network. By means of a secure, encrypted "tunnel" to the private network, a user is able to dial into a server and become a member of that network, as if that user was directly linked to the network itself.
A quick look at the Windows 2003 support tools: Date - Dec 23, 2003; Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows 2003; The Windows 2003 support tools are a collection of resources with the aim of assisting administrators to simplify management tasks. These include: troubleshooting operating systems, configuring networking and security features, managing Active Directory, and automating application deployment. With the use of these tools, the user is able to pin-point problematic issues with the system and will therefore be able to find a solution more easily.
An Introduction to the Windows 2003 POP3 Service: Date - Dec 11, 2003; Section - Articles & Tutorials / Windows 2003; This document is intended to give the reader a brief introduction to the Windows 2003 POP3 service - just one of the many new features offered by the Windows 2003 Server family.