Duck Bytes

If you want to connect to your LCB network drive (I: drive) from home, here are the steps:

1. If you connect to the Internet via a service provider other than the UO (e.g. Comcast, QWest), then you need to download and install the VPN (virtual private network) software available from http://micro.uoregon.edu/getconnected/ or obtain a duckware CD from computing services in the McKenzie building (room 151). You do not need to run the VPN software if you are connecting through the UO wireless network.

2. Each time you want connect to your I: drive from home, first run the VPN software. The VPN software does two things. It sets up a secure tunnel between your computer and the UO network and it gives you a UO IP address.

3. Open up any window (e.g. My Documents)

4. In the address bar, type in \\lcb1\undergrads\yourusername or \\lcb1.uoregon.edu\undergrads\yourusername (see attached screen shot). If you can't see the address bar, go to View --> Toolbars --> Address Bar. For MBA students replace the undergrads with MBAs.

5. You will be prompted for a username and password. The username is in the LCB\yourusername format. The password is the password you use to logon to the computers in the Chiles computer lab.

5. You will now see your I: Drive files.

Note that it won't be called "I: drive" on your computer unless you map your directory to your I: drive (not required though). To do this:

1. Go to Tools --> Map Network drive.

2. Change the drive to I: drive.

3. The folder is \\lcb1.uoregon.edu\undergrads\yourusername 

4. Click on Connect using a different user name.

5. Type in your username (LCB\yourusername) and password.

6. Click on OK then Finish.

Note that you will often see a "Cannot reconnect" error message when you turn on your computer after mapping your I: network drive. This error occurs because you are not connected to the VPN when you first login.

For Mac Users:

1. In Finder, go to Go --> Connect to Server

2. Type in smb://lcb1.uoregon.edu/undergrads/yourusername

3. Enter your LCB username and password when prompted (you don't need the LCB\ in front of your username)

4. For MBA students replace undergrads with MBAs at step 2.
 

You can change the location of my documents to any folder that you like. For example, if you are a LCB student or faculty member, you might want to point your My Documents folder to your I: Drive so that it is accessible from any computer at work or home. Here are the steps:

1. Right click on your My Documents folder.

2. Click on properties

3. Click on the Move button

4. Select the folder in which you want to store your files (e.g., your I: Drive)

5. Click OK

To access your I: Drive from home, see my blog posting on the topic: Connecting to I: Drive from home

If you want to make your documents available offline so that you can still work with your files even when you can't connect to your I: network drive, see my blog post: Making files available offline.

Many programs, including MS Word, allow you to send personalized e-mails to any number of people. So instead of having to send a general e-mail to (for example) "Dear customer" you can send it to "Dear John Smith" and "Dear Jane Jones".

The basic steps are:

1. Create a normal Word document that contains your standard e-mail content.

2. Create a database of names, e-mail addresses, and other personalized content. The data could be in Access, Excel, Outlook or many other formats.

3. With your e-mail document open in Word, go to Tools --> Letters and Mailings --> Mail Merge.

4. Select e-mail messages as the document type.

5. Complete the wizard steps at the bottom right of the screen to send your e-mail.

Use MS Word help for more information. The preferable e-mail format is HTML because otherwise MS Outlook may prompt you before sending each e-mail (as a security measure).

The following software is used in the Lundquist College of Business. The list describes where to obtain the software cheaply (or for free) and its compatibility with Windows and Apple operating systems. This list is not yet complete. Please post comments with additional software that you use in your LCB courses or with corrections if you know of less expensive and legal alternatives.

SQL Server 2005 has enhanced security that prevents it initially from serving data for web pages. Here are the configuration settings to check before trying to create database driven web pages in Visual Studio, Dreamweaver, or any other web design application. Note that some of these settings reduce the security level of SQL Server 2005.

SURFACE AREA CONFIGURATION

1. Go to Programs --> Microsoft SQL Server 2005 --> Configuration Tools --> SQL Server Surface Area Configuration
2. Click on Surface Area Configuration for Services and Connections
3. Expand Database Engine and Click on Remote Connections
4. Select local and remote connections and TCP/IP and named pipes.

FIREWALL CONFIGURATION

1. Make sure your firewall allows TCP port 1433.

WIRELESS ROUTER CONFIGURATION (if you have one!)

1. Go to port forwarding and forward port 1433 to the internal IP address of the machine running SQL Server 2005 (e.g. 192.168.1.1).

SQL SERVER CONFIGURATION

1. The simplest (but not most secure) method of authenticating a web page query to a database is to use SQL Server authentication. This requires your server to allow Mixed authentication. The more secure method of authentication is windows authentication. For an excellent description on how to set up and use windows authentication with ASP.NET 2.0, visit http://www.spaanjaars.com/QuickDocId.aspx?quickdoc=395. If you want to use mixed authentication: 

2. Open Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio
3. Authenticate in the usual way (usually Windows Authentication)
4. In the Object Explorer, right click on the name of the server and select properties.
5. Click on the security page and select SQL Server and Windows authentication.

CREATE A NEW SQL SERVER LOGIN (if using SQL Server authentication)

1. Open Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio
2. In object explorer, expand the security folder and right-click on Logins.
3. Select New Login
4. Type in your new username and select SQL Server authentication.
5. Type and confirm a password.
6. [Optional] Uncheck enforce password policy and User must change password at next login.
7. Choose the default database.
8. Click OK
9. In the object explorer, click on the name of your database, expand the folder, and expand the security folder.
10. Click on users and if the user you created is not listed, right-click on users and select new user.
11. The login name needs to be the user you just created (click on ... to select a user from a list of users). The username can be the same if you wish.
12. Select the relevant database roles (e.g. db_datareader and db_datawriter).
13. Click OK

Hope this helps!
Grant