MS Access Package Solution Wizard is Dead, Now What?

I have seen the same question come up in forums as of late regarding where the MS Access Package Solution Wizard was in 2013? Sadly, this feature was deprecated (removed) in 2013; see: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/access-help/discontinued-features-and-modified-functionality-in-access-2013-HA102749226.aspx (last item at the bottom of the page).

So what is one to do if you wish to distribute a desktop database?

Well, the solution is quite simple, use a third-party packaging solution. Below is a listing of various one that I’ve discussed with fellow MVPs over the past year or so.

InnoSetup
InstallShield
SSE Setup
SamLogic Visual Installer
Advanced Installer
InstallMate
Wix (Windows Installer XML)
InstallAware
NSIS

I would urge you to Perform a Google/Bing search and see what others have said about each product. As always, some are free, open-source and other are not, so that can always be a factor in your selection process.

At the end of the day, I do not think this was a great loss considering the limitation the Packing Wizard had when compared to some of the above mentioned tools!

On a side note, fellow MVP Leigh Purvis, also suggested that if you have a copy of Access 2010, you can still make use of its’ Package Solution Wizard! Something to keep in mind.

Update - Using SSE Setup

I recently ended up, testing, and then purchasing a copy of SSE Setup. I can affirm that for Access projects it is easy to use and does a great job. I created stand alone installation packages for some clients, and then pushed out update packages. Worked like a charm. It took care of things like:

Creating the installation directory
Creating shortcut
Creating a menu in the Start menu
Updating files/folders
and much more

My Experience with the iPad Air

Yes, I ended up purchasing an iPad Air, for my wife. Okay, I won’t lie, I also wanted to have one to use for business purposes (testing apps, websites, getting to know the apple world to be better able to serve my clientele, …). I never thought I would, but I did.

Why?

After always being a PC guy and pushing Microsoft products to clients for over a decade, I made the decision to make the switch for her and below are a few of the reasons for this drastic switch:

when I went into the store to check out tablets, none could do what I wanted at a reasonable price, at which point the associate then showed me low end notebooks (at about, or more than the iPad), so I (not the associate) brought up Apple’s offering. Once we went over the spec vs. cost and compared features, battery life, apps,… the decision was easy.
but the biggest reason is simple, after MS dropped support for Windows XP, leaving all their clients in the lurch to purchase new computers in order to get a new OS (because let’s be realistic, that is basically what is involved here) I didn’t want to go through this again. So if effect, MS decision, has turned me away from MS and onto their competitor. Not only did they stop giving updates, …, but then they went and stopped Microsoft Security Essential (antivirus) on XP. At the end of the day, MS made my decision for me.

The Setup Process

I am a little annoyed! Unlike the ease with which you can start up a PC (a few simple clicks), Apple requires all sort of personal information (date of birth, address, …), you need to create an account, you need an e-mail address, and so on. All I want to is to use the iPad, Apple by no means needs my address or date of birth, this is very invasive and put all this information in the cloud for hackers to work at getting their hands on, but it’s not like you have a choice! At the end of the day, about 20 minutes later I was up and running.

Problems

The only problem I have encountered so far was trying to confirm the account’s backup e-mail address. Apple sends out a confirmation e-mail to validate the e-mail address you supplied for the account that you setup. One MAJOR problem that I came across is their site is incompatible with FireFox?! Seriously. The only solution was to switch and use IE for this task. Very disappointing.

I even tried getting support on the matter and that aspect of their site is also incompatible!

Very poorly designed site if it does support a major, fully compliant browser such as Firefox!!! I don’t care what excuse Apple can give, in 2014, this is inexcusable!

Impressions so Far

Now that it is finally functional, my wife and I are very happy. It is a light, sleek unit. It performs, so far (1 day in), very rapidly. I was able to install free software so she can still review Word documents (she sometimes get some in e-mails from friends and family beyond which I often work with them), access Facebook, get the News and Weather, etc… The Apple App Store is quick and easy. I have a feeling that Microsoft has lost another client due to their own doing! Another beautiful thing is no more worries about viruses and endless patches and updates! Another nice feature is that it boots instantaneously.

I will post back in a month or two with further impressions.

Update 2014-05-21 – More problems found!

Well, 2 more problems to add to the list :

Printers! Both of my printers are incompatible with the iPad. Sadly, unlike Windows machines, it is not as simple as installing a driver. The only solution is to buy a special router (160$) or go out and buy a new printer! Not very impressed by this.
No support for Flash. This is one element I just don’t get with Apple. This past week-end we wanted to use an educational website with our daughter and sadly it wasn’t possible.

To me, both of these issues are pretty major, but the Flash support is a monumental weakness for the iPad considering how widespread Flash is today: website, applications, etc.

Determine if an MS Access Database is Password Protected

Below is a simple function to determine whether or not a database is password protected or not.

'---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' Procedure : IsDbSecured
' Author    : Daniel Pineault, CARDA Consultants Inc.
' Website   : http://www.cardaconsultants.com
' Purpose   : Determine if a database is password protected or not
'             Returns True = Password Protected, False = Not Password Protected
' Copyright : The following may be altered and reused as you wish so long as the
'             copyright notice is left unchanged (including Author, Website and
'             Copyright).  It may not be sold/resold or reposted on other sites (links
'             back to this site are allowed).
'
' Input Variables:
' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
' sDb       : Fully qualified path and filename w/ extension of the database to check
'
' Usage:
' ~~~~~~
' Call IsDbSecured("C:\Database\Test.accdb")
'
' Revision History:
' Rev       Date(yyyy/mm/dd)        Description
' **************************************************************************************
' 1         2014-Jan-02                 Initial Release
'---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Public Function IsDbSecured(ByVal sDb As String) As Boolean
    On Error GoTo Error_Handler
    Dim oAccess         As Access.Application

    Set oAccess = CreateObject("Access.Application")
    oAccess.Visible = True 'False

    'If an error occurs below, the db is password protected
    oAccess.DBEngine.OpenDatabase sDb, False

Error_Handler_Exit:
    On Error Resume Next
    oAccess.Quit acQuitSaveNone
    Set oAccess = Nothing
    Exit Function

Error_Handler:
    If Err.Number = 3031 Then
        IsDbSecured = True
    Else
        MsgBox "The following error has occurred." & vbCrLf & vbCrLf & _
               "Error Number: " & Err.Number & vbCrLf & _
               "Error Source: IsDbSecured" & vbCrLf & _
               "Error Description: " & Err.Description, _
               vbCritical, "An Error has Occurred!"
    End If
    Resume Error_Handler_Exit
End Function

Determine Access Version Build Number and Service Pack Level

It is normally essential to always ensure that Office/Access is up-to-date when troubleshooting problems. Sadly, over the course of the past new releases of MS Office, Microsoft has made finding the version, service pack level of each application difficult to locate, if possible at all. Yet looking back at 2003, 2000 it was available at the click of a button!

Microsoft solution is to tell you to use the Program and Features dialog from the Control Panel to get the build number of MS Office. Now this is not great for a number of reasons, of which:

Not all users can access the control panel due to security restrictions
Even if they can, it normally isn’t a good idea to let users go play around in the Control Panel
Even if they do retrieve this beautiful build number, such as 12.0.6423.0, it means nothing and finding a cross-reference table is next to impossible (unless you are on my site!)

So at the end of the day, what do we do when all we want to know is what version of Access are we dealing with.

Below is a function, which I cannot take credit for and I believe (I could be wrong) that the original author was fellow MVP Tom van Stiphout and that I found a number of years ago while trying to solve this dilemma for myself. All I have done was update it with values for Access 2007 SP 2 and SP3, 2010 & 2013.

Function GetAccessEXEVersion() As String
'Valid for us with Access 2000 or later.
'Original author: Tom van Stiphout (I believe)
'New version information added by Daniel Pineault
 
'SysCmd(715) -> 6606
'Application.Version OR SysCmd(acSysCmdAccessVer) -> 12.0
    On Error Resume Next
    Dim sAccessVerNoNo As String
'    sAccessVerNo = fGetProductVersion(Application.SysCmd(acSysCmdAccessDir) & "msaccess.exe")
    sAccessVerNo = SysCmd(acSysCmdAccessVer) & "." & SysCmd(715)
    Select Case sAccessVerNo
        'Access 2000
        Case "9.0.0.0000" To "9.0.0.2999": GetAccessEXEVersion = "Microsoft Access 2000 - Build:" & sAccessVerNo
        Case "9.0.0.3000" To "9.0.0.3999": GetAccessEXEVersion = "Microsoft Access 2000 SP1 - Build:" & sAccessVerNo
        Case "9.0.0.4000" To "9.0.0.4999": GetAccessEXEVersion = "Microsoft Access 2000 SP2 - Build:" & sAccessVerNo
        Case "9.0.0.6000" To "9.0.0.6999": GetAccessEXEVersion = "Microsoft Access 2000 SP3 - Build:" & sAccessVerNo
        'Access 2002
        Case "10.0.2000.0" To "10.0.2999.9": GetAccessEXEVersion = "Microsoft Access 2002 - Build:" & sAccessVerNo
        Case "10.0.3000.0" To "10.0.3999.9": GetAccessEXEVersion = "Microsoft Access 2002 SP1 - Build:" & sAccessVerNo
        Case "10.0.4000.0" To "10.0.4999.9": GetAccessEXEVersion = "Microsoft Access 2002 SP2 - Build:" & sAccessVerNo
        'Access 2003
        Case "11.0.0000.0" To "11.0.5999.9999": GetAccessEXEVersion = "Microsoft Access 2003 - Build:" & sAccessVerNo
        Case "11.0.6000.0" To "11.0.6999.9999": GetAccessEXEVersion = "Microsoft Access 2003 SP1 - Build:" & sAccessVerNo
        Case "11.0.7000.0" To "11.0.7999.9999": GetAccessEXEVersion = "Microsoft Access 2003 SP2 - Build:" & sAccessVerNo
        Case "11.0.8000.0" To "11.0.8999.9999": GetAccessEXEVersion = "Microsoft Access 2003 SP3 - Build:" & sAccessVerNo
        'Access 2007
        Case "12.0.0000.0" To "12.0.5999.9999": GetAccessEXEVersion = "Microsoft Access 2007 - Build:" & sAccessVerNo
        Case "12.0.6000.0" To "12.0.6422.9999": GetAccessEXEVersion = "Microsoft Access 2007 SP1 - Build:" & sAccessVerNo
        Case "12.0.6423.0" To "12.0.5999.9999": GetAccessEXEVersion = "Microsoft Access 2007 SP2 - Build:" & sAccessVerNo
        'Unable to locate specific build versioning for SP3 - to be validated at a later date.
        '  Hopefully MS will eventually post the info on their website?!
        Case "12.0.6000.0" To "12.0.9999.9999": GetAccessEXEVersion = "Microsoft Access 2007 SP3 - Build:" & sAccessVerNo
        'Access 2010
        Case "14.0.0000.0000" To "14.0.6022.1000": GetAccessEXEVersion = "Microsoft Access 2010 - Build:" & sAccessVerNo
        Case "14.0.6023.1000" To "14.0.7014.9999": GetAccessEXEVersion = "Microsoft Access 2010 SP1 - Build:" & sAccessVerNo
        Case "14.0.7015.1000" To "14.0.9999.9999": GetAccessEXEVersion = "Microsoft Access 2010 SP2 - Build:" & sAccessVerNo
        'Access 2013
        Case "15.0.0000.0000" To "15.0.4569.1505": GetAccessEXEVersion = "Microsoft Access 2013 - Build:" & sAccessVerNo
        Case "15.0.4569.1506" To "15.0.9999.9999": GetAccessEXEVersion = "Microsoft Access 2013 SP1 - Build:" & sAccessVerNo
        'Access 2016
        '   See: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Version-and-build-numbers-of-update-channel-releases-ae942449-1fca-4484-898b-a933ea23def7#bkmk_byversion
        '   To build a proper sequence for all the 2016 versions!
        Case "16.0.0000.0000" To "16.0.9999.9999": GetAccessEXEVersion = "Microsoft Access 2016 - Build:" & sAccessVerNo
        Case Else: GetAccessEXEVersion = "Unknown Version"
    End Select
    If SysCmd(acSysCmdRuntime) Then GetAccessEXEVersion = GetAccessEXEVersion & " Run-time"
End Function

This function will return a string like:

Microsoft Access 2007 SP3 – Build:12.0.6606

I personally incorporate this within my About form, so the user can pull up such useful information at the click of a button without needing to know anything technical or even exiting the active database. IMHO, the way it should be with ALL MS products, but is no longer!

Software should be simple! Why MS has hidden such important information, which used to be so easily accessible, I will never understand! Oh well, at least we can come up with a solution.

Getting the Full Version Information

As pointed out by Andrew Reed (in the comments below) the above does not return the full application version number. So I quickly put together the following to get the full version information for any application registered in the registry. So all Office Application, and more. So if you truly need those last 4 digits, this should do the trick.

'---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' Procedure : GetVerInfo
' Author    : Daniel Pineault, CARDA Consultants Inc.
' Website   : http://www.cardaconsultants.com
' Purpose   : Get the FULL file version of an application (Access, Excel, Word, ...)
' Copyright : The following is release as Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
'             (CC BY-SA 4.0) - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
' Req'd Refs: Uses Late Binding, so none required
'
' Input Variables:
' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
' sExe      : The EXE file to check
'               Accesss -> msaccess.exe
'               Excel -> excel.exe
'               Word -> Winword.exe
'
' Usage:
' ~~~~~~
' MsgBox GetVerInfo("excel.exe")
'   Returns: 15.0.5007.1000
' sVer = GetVerInfo("msaccess.exe")
'   Returns: 15.0.4963.1000
'
' Revision History:
' Rev       Date(yyyy/mm/dd)        Description
' **************************************************************************************
' 1         2018-02-13              Initial Release
'---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Function GetVerInfo(sExe As String)
    On Error GoTo Error_Handler
    Dim oWSHShell             As Object
    Dim oFSO                  As Object     'Scripting.FileSystemObject
    Dim sExePath              As String

    Set oWSHShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
    sExePath = oWSHShell.RegRead("HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\" & sExe & "\")
    Set oFSO = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
    GetVerInfo = oFSO.GetFileVersion(sExePath)

Error_Handler_Exit:
    On Error Resume Next
    If Not oFSO Is Nothing Then Set oFSO = Nothing
    If Not oWSHShell Is Nothing Then Set oWSHShell = Nothing
    Exit Function

Error_Handler:
    MsgBox "The following error has occurred" & vbCrLf & vbCrLf & _
           "Error Number: " & Err.Number & vbCrLf & _
           "Error Source: GetVerInfo" & vbCrLf & _
           "Error Description: " & Err.Description & _
           Switch(Erl = 0, "", Erl <> 0, vbCrLf & "Line No: " & Erl) _
           , vbOKOnly + vbCritical, "An Error has Occurred!"
    Resume Error_Handler_Exit
End Function

SPAM from Ricky Alexis, Rick Barry, Erica Semente and Lex Jones

The Problem

I have recently started, out of the blue, to receive daily SPAM. I have had my e-mail address for 10+ years and had extremely rarely received any. Yet, in the past couple of weeks, I started getting multiple items every day. Each e-mail was coming from different domains and pushing all sorts of products (that I have 0 interest in and never looked at or signed up for in any manner).

So I started digging and was entertained to find out that 99% of the SPAM e-mails were coming from the same individuals:

Ricky Alexis
1612 N Academy Blvd
Denver, CO 80909
Telephone: +1.7166948781
E-mail: ricky.alexis@aol.com

Rick Barry
8387 NE 10th PL
Orlando, FL 83274
Telephone:+1.838487474
E-mail: rick@yahoo.com

Erica Semente
11395 SW 79TH ST
MIAMI, FL 33173
Telephone:+1.3052658748
E-mail: ericasemente1@gmail.com

Lex Jones
AD GURUS INC.
8374 S BAYSHORE POINT
NEW YORK, NY 10010
Telephone:+1.2123879758
E-mail: lex_jones@aol.com

Also a protected registration
WHOISGUARD PROTECTED
WHOISGUARD, INC.
P.O. BOX 0823-03411
PANAMA, PANAMA
Telephone:++507.8365503

My gut tells me this are fictitious registrations, I have checked a couple of their supossed address and gotten empty fields, street not found, etc. So Enom sure isn’t doing much to validate the registrant information from my perspective.

Below is a summary of the SPAM received between 2014-Apr-03 and 2014-May-04:

	Domain	Subject	Sender’s E-mail	Sender’s Name	Date Received	Registrant
1	net.bridgesnetworks.com	Old Windows Running up your Energy Bill? Replace Them And Save	CheapWindows@net.bridgesnetworks.com	Replace Your Windows	2014-May-04	WHOISGUARD PROTECTED
2	port.bridgeportassociation.com	87% of women think size matters	SizeMatters@port.bridgeportassociation.com	Nitroxin	2014-May-03	WHOISGUARD PROTECTED
3	sci.colibrisciences.com	Want to meet singles over 50?	OurTime@sci.colibrisciences.com	OurTime	2014-May-03	WHOISGUARD PROTECTED
4	in-pullman.com	Strange New “Girlfriend Trick”	GirlfriendActivationSystem@in-pullman.com	GirlfriendActivationSystem@in-pullman.com	2014-May-02	ERICA SEMENTE
5	microsoftprojectexpertise.com]	Microsoft Project 2010 workshop in Canada with 45 PDU’s	David Williams [david.williams@microsoftprojectexpertise.com]	David Williams	2014-May-02	BestCareerLeap
6	tjsbigcup.com	What this group of scientists did is genius	Oceansbounty@tjsbigcup.com	Oceansbounty@tjsbigcup.com	2014-May-02	ERICA SEMENTE
7	sefaceupdate456.com	Economical ConcreteSteel and Wood Coating	surface-protection-plus@sefaceupdate456.com	Surface Protection Plus	2014-May-01	WHOISGUARD PROTECTED
8	drmcapitolgroup.com	We have Best SuperProduct for WegihtLoss	@@@@@@@.@@@@@@@drmcapitolgroup.com	Food and Health Communications, Inc.	2014-Apr-28	DOMAIN PRIVACY SERVICE FBO REGISTRANT
9	filenova.net	Fidelity Life Direct: Up to $499,000 Coverage, No Physical	Fidelity_Life@filenova.net	Fidelity_Life@filenova.net	2014-Apr-27	LEX JONES
10	holyshows.com	You will be happy when you lower your house payments with HARP	Harp_Direct@holyshows.com	Harp_Direct@holyshows.com	2014-Apr-25	LEX JONES
11	youtubester.com	Shop for quality flooring materials now & save	FlooringMaterials@youtubester.com	Flooring Materials	2014-Apr-25	LEX JONES
12	bank.environmentalbanker.com	Improve your life. Get better sight.	Lasik@bank.environmentalbanker.com	LASIK Vision Institute	2014-Apr-24	WHOISGUARD PROTECTED
13	whootery.com	Find Deals in Your Area	oil.change@whootery.com	Oil Change	2014-Apr-23	WHOISGUARD PROTECTED
14	imgmatic.com	Flooring for less	FlooringMaterials@imgmatic.com	Flooring Materials	2014-Apr-23	LEX JONES
15	vant.advantageadvantage.com	Have you seen this? 36 U.S. cities just ‘dumped’ the dollar!	BitcoinRevolution@vant.advantageadvantage.com	Bitcoin Revolution	2014-Apr-23	WHOISGUARD PROTECTED
16	likesareus.com	Get great deals on flooring for any room today	FlooringMaterials@likesareus.com	Flooring Materials	2014-Apr-23	ERICA SEMENTE
17	br.bridgessupply.com	Want to meet singles over 50? See photos	OurTime@br.bridgessupply.com	OurTime Dating	2014-Apr-22	WHOISGUARD PROTECTED
18	facweboo.com	Want to upgrade your flooring?	FlooringMaterials@facweboo.com	Flooring Materials	2014-Apr-22	ERICA SEMENTE
19	baybanko.com	Replace that old flooring with something new	FlooringMaterials@baybanko.com	Flooring Materials	2014-Apr-22	ERICA SEMENTE
20	grapevineim.com	Need new flooring in your home?	FlooringMaterials@grapevineim.com	Flooring Materials	2014-Apr-22	WHOISGUARD PROTECTED
21	cwgnr.com	Imagine Putting Fewer Calls on Hold	BusinessPhoneSystem@cwgnr.com	Business Phone System	2014-Apr-21	ERICA SEMENTE
22	assistantpeculiar.com	Call now to save over $700 on Cable	cable-installation-s@assistantpeculiar.com	Cable Installation S	2014-Apr-21	SHANE GOSLINGA
23	upforsale.org	Search for Smoking Business Phone System Bargains Here	BusinessPhoneSystem@upforsale.org	Business Phone System	2014-Apr-21	WHOISGUARD PROTECTED
24	kyemedia.com	Do more than just answer calls with a new phone system	BusinessPhoneSystem@kyemedia.com	Business Phone System	2014-Apr-20	ERICA SEMENTE
25	mzansihub.com	Stunning Flooring Options	FlooringMaterials@mzansihub.com	Flooring Materials	2014-Apr-20	ERICA SEMENTE
26	hype.haecces.us	Grow fresh, giant blueberries at home	GiantBlueberries@hype.haecces.us	Giant Blueberries	2014-Apr-20	Rick Barry
27	trongtansan.com	Get the latest business phone systems	BusinessPhoneSystem@trongtansan.com	Business Phone System	2014-Apr-20	ERICA SEMENTE
28	aroundicewatch.com	Find a new credit card now	approvalmatch@aroundicewatch.com	ApprovalMatch	2014-Apr-20	HANK SILVERMAN
29	smearthefat.com	Search business phone system deals	BusinessPhoneSystem@smearthefat.com	Business Phone System	2014-Apr-20	ERICA SEMENTE
30	mcxfactions.com	You Could Make an Amazing First Impression with Your Phone System	BusinessPhoneSystem@mcxfactions.com	Business Phone System	2014-Apr-19	ERICA SEMENTE
31	macrdubai.com	President Announces HARP Extension! Respond	ObamaHarpDirect@macrdubai.com	ObamaHarpDirect@macrdubai.com	2014-Apr-19	ERICA SEMENTE
32	themeroad.net	Find quality business phone systems for less	BusinessPhoneSystem@themeroad.net	Business Phone System	2014-Apr-19	ERICA SEMENTE
33	safe-box.org	Get the Facts on Reliable Business Phone Systems	BusinessPhoneSystem@safe-box.org	Business Phone System	2014-Apr-19	ERICA SEMENTE
34	tattopmedia.com	Find a Business Phone System that Delivers Reliable Service	BusinessPhoneSystem@tattopmedia.com	Business Phone System	2014-Apr-18	WHOISGUARD PROTECTED
35	treblegames.com	Full service business phone systems for less	BusinessPhoneSystem@treblegames.com	Business Phone System	2014-Apr-18	WHOISGUARD PROTECTED
36	oilsave26.com	Save On Oil Changes In Your Area	oil-change-deal@oilsave26.com	Oil Change Deal	2014-Apr-18	WHOISGUARD PROTECTED
37	onlinenyc.com	from girl with hope	cannondd@onlinenyc.com	Alexia	2014-Apr-18	On-Line Computers
38	modsone.com	Answers on What to Look for in Your Phone System	BusinessPhoneSystem@modsone.com	Business Phone System	2014-Apr-18	ERICA SEMENTE
39	pentabit.com	Learn What to Look for in a Business Phone System	BusinessPhoneSystem@pentabit.com	Business Phone System	2014-Apr-18	ERICA SEMENTE
40	mill.greenfieldpublications.com	Sinfully fresh coffee – free sample & gift	Amora@mill.greenfieldpublications.com	Amora Coffee	2014-Apr-17	WHOISGUARD PROTECTED
41	farilead.com	Discount Business Phone System Suppliers Are Just Clicks away	BusinessPhoneSystem@farilead.com	Business Phone System	2014-Apr-17	WHOISGUARD PROTECTED
42	vizvizoyun.com	Reliable business phone systems and services	BusinessPhoneSystem@vizvizoyun.com	Business Phone System	2014-Apr-17	ERICA SEMENTE
43	itsawarmday.com	Compare these business phone systems	BusinessPhoneSystem@itsawarmday.com	Business Phone System	2014-Apr-16	WHOISGUARD PROTECTED
44	promoby.us	Efficient and reliable business phone systems	BusinessPhoneSystem@promoby.us	Business Phone System	2014-Apr-16	Ricky Alexis
45	avicii.findyourcar.us	EAT THIS, NEVER HAVE JOINT PAIN AGAIN	Aquaflexin@avicii.findyourcar.us	Aquaflexin	2014-Apr-16	anna karenina
46	datinggoo.com	Here are some online doctorate education options	OnlineDoctorate@datinggoo.com	Online Doctorate	2014-Apr-15	WHOISGUARD PROTECTED
47	johnnycdepp.com	Earning an online doctorate could start here	OnlineDoctorate@johnnycdepp.com	Online Doctorate	2014-Apr-15	WHOISGUARD PROTECTED
48	mac.gasumin.us	Powerful Age-Defying Discovery	Omega3@mac.gasumin.us	Oceans Bounty	2014-Apr-15	Rick Barry
49	backwardground.com	Economical Concrete Steel & Wood Coatings	surface_protection_plus@backwardground.com	Surface Protection Plus	2014-Apr-14	AAMLAND MIXON
50	zeugmas.com	Exciting options for online doctorate education programs	OnlineDoctorate@zeugmas.com	Online Doctorate	2014-Apr-14	RICKY ALEXIS
51	ultrazmedia.com	Flexible class times with an online doctorate education program	OnlineDoctorate@ultrazmedia.com	Online Doctorate	2014-Apr-14	WHOISGUARD PROTECTED
52	kiltcowfabric.com	The Concrete Steel andWood Coatings	surface.protection.plus@kiltcowfabric.com	Surface Protection Plus	2014-Apr-14	CEGIELSKI JAROSLAW
53	fastmail.fm	Invitation for exciting Webinar tonight – LUVO Opportunity	monika@fastmail.fm	Monika Niedbalski – Sloane Capital	2014-Apr-14	Gandi SAS
54	opfinders.com	You could study a variety of online doctorate education courses	OnlineDoctorate@opfinders.com	Online Doctorate	2014-Apr-13	RICKY ALEXIS
55	curteagora.com	Review online doctorate education programs	OnlineDoctorate@curteagora.com	Online Doctorate	2014-Apr-13	RICKY ALEXIS
56	bestcattoys.org	Information on earning a new degree awaits.	OnlineDoctorate@bestcattoys.org	Online Doctorate	2014-Apr-12	Ricky Alexis
57	loh.focusfinances.com	1 Tip To Avoid Heart Attacks	HeartHealth@loh.focusfinances.com	CardioCore	2014-Apr-11	WHOISGUARD PROTECTED
58	rich-double.org	Families can vacation in Cabo for less	CaboSanLucas@rich-double.org	Cabo San Lucas	2014-Apr-11	Ricky Alexis
59	mydomainz.us	Online doctorate education programs	OnlineDoctorate@mydomainz.us	Online Doctorate	2014-Apr-10	Ricky Alexis
60	non.blueriverfinances.com	Are your cords becoming a tangled mess?	SideSocket@non.blueriverfinances.com	The Side Socket	2014-Apr-10	WHOISGUARD PROTECTED
61	tetra.backve.us	Pedophile Alert in your area	KidsLiveSafe@tetra.backve.us	Sex Offender Alerts	2014-Apr-10	Rick Barry
62	alpha.adareli.us	Get Better Sleep The Safe Way!	LunarSleep@alpha.adareli.us	Lunar Sleep	2014-Apr-09	Rick Barry
63	wyw.us	Learn How to Choose the Right Surveillance System	SurveillanceCamera@wyw.us	Surveillance Camera	2014-Apr-09	Ricky Alexis
64	first-ranksolution.org	Huge Number Of Customers For Your Business	Grayson@first-ranksolution.org	Grayson@first-ranksolution.org	2014-Apr-09	Rahul Sharma
65	tri.auraresources.com	Is your child’s financial future secure?	Gerber@tri.auraresources.com	Gerber Life Partner	2014-Apr-09	WHOISGUARD PROTECTED
66	wrathofcon.net	Great culinary and cooking schools.	CookingSchool@wrathofcon.net	Cooking School	2014-Apr-09	RICKY ALEXIS
67	cartuneupnow.com	Find Deals on Car Tune Ups	car.tune.ups@cartuneupnow.com	Car Tune Ups	2014-Apr-09	WHOISGUARD PROTECTED
68	tew.us	Upgrade your Internet to reliable DSL service	DSL@tew.us	DSL	2014-Apr-08	Ricky Alexis
69	anketix.com	i want to say u it’s so nice to meet you	anketix@anketix.com	Sveta	2014-Apr-08	?
70	promoazon.com	You Could Reach Your Customers with an Email Campaign	EmailMarketing@promoazon.com	Email Marketing	2014-Apr-08	RICKY ALEXIS
71	bankofdoge.com	Businesses could find competitive rates for credit processing	CreditCardProcessing@bankofdoge.com	Credit Card Processing	2014-Apr-07	RICKY ALEXIS
72	nutemplate.com	A small business loan can help your company grow	SmallBusinessLoan@nutemplate.com	Small Business Loan	2014-Apr-06	RICKY ALEXIS
73	romanatwood.net	Want to get started in an HR career? Earn an online degree.	HumanResourcesCareer@romanatwood.net	Human Resources Career	2014-Apr-05	RICKY ALEXIS
74	bistepual.com	Apply for a business grant online	BusinessGrants@bistepual.com	Business Grants	2014-Apr-05	RICKY ALEXIS
75	gamezbase.com	How to find the best flag selection online	Flag@gamezbase.com	Flag	2014-Apr-04	RICKY ALEXIS
76	volttwear.com	Get Breaking News on Amazing Ways to Treat Sleep Apnea	SleepApnea@volttwear.com	Sleep Apnea	2014-Apr-04	RICKY ALEXIS
77	tentogo.net	Check out the latest on home security technology	HomeSecurity@tentogo.net	Home Security	2014-Apr-04	RICKY ALEXIS
78	newrest.net	Replacement Windows to last years	ReplacementWindows@newrest.net	Replacement Windows	2014-Apr-04	RICKY ALEXIS
79	passboss.com	Explore popular bad credit mortgage options	BadCreditMortgages@passboss.com	Bad Credit Mortgages	2014-Apr-03	RICKY ALEXIS
80	vectordunia.net	A laptop gives you endless possibilities.	Laptopsvmadmincom@vectordunia.net	Laptops	2014-Apr-03	RICKY ALEXIS

What I have noticed while trying to put this information together is that the registrant information seems to change. Originally, their were more domains registered to Rick Barry, yet today while actually compiling the above list, he seems to be disappearing.

There is a clear pattern at work here. 99% (I think that 2 are not) of the domains are Registered through enom.com and hosted by namecheap.com. They reuse the same sender name over and over: Online Doctorate, Business Phone System, Flooring Materials, and so on.

I also question their registrant information as I have looked up a couple on Google Maps and by doing online searches and one has lead me to a restaurant?!, others to what would appear to be vacant lots and even non-existent streets?

What I have been more disappointed about, regardless of people like this exploiting multiple domains to send SPAM, is that e-mailing the Domain’s ABUSE contact, abuse@enom.com, was returned as undeliverable because my e-mail was flagged as SPAM by Google! Their exact message was: “Our system has detected that this message is likely unsolicited mail”. So let’s get this straight, they allow domains to send out mass SPAM e-mails, but block someone trying to report them for their actions! Way to go Google! Ironic to say the least.

I followed up by using Google’s contacts form for such issues, including all the relevant information (e-mails, headers, …), but have yet to hear back from Google in any manner (I’m not holding my breath).

There is a reason why SPAM is still so popular when companies like Google, and many others, protect the abusers and make it impossible to actually report them, little alone do anything to stop them.

There is simply no reason why the hosting companies aren’t putting a stop to this when in one case I am referring to the registrants has 1000s of domains of which he is rotating through sending out SPAM e-mail with only hyperlinks (always the same format) and always using the same Sender Name and same pattern for the Sender E-mail Address. These patterns can be detected and thus could be stopped. Furthermore, when you see this type of thing, such registrants should have all their domains frozen, and they should be fined on a per SPAM e-mail basis (say $99/e-mail). This is why a registrar/hosting company such as GoDaddy.com is much better IMHO. They have decided to fight SPAM by taking the bull by the horn and directly fining abusers. Quite a contrast …

I’m also curious where the various governments are in all of this. I find very little is being truly done to contain this problem. I know Canada is so far behind in online laws, that it isn’t even funny.

Where is the ICANN in all of this? No where to be found. They refer anyone with SPAM to contact the domain registrar and hosting company. Why are they not taking proper ownership of the issue. They should be welcoming complains, quantifying these to be in a position to revoke registrars licenses based on the generated KPIs.

What Can You Do To Put A Stop To This

Whatever you do, DO NOT reply to the e-mail in any manner or click on any of the links, even the unsubscribe link. All this will do is confirm to these malicious people that they have a valid e-mail address and you will get even more SPAM!

Add the domain to your SPAM filter’s list of Blocked Senders (for what it is worth – not too much since they use a different domain for every mailing).

You may also wish to increase your Junk Mail’s filter security level, but note this can be a double edged sword as valid e-mails may get filtered as SPAM. So you will need to check you junk mail folder more often to ensure that you aren’t ignoring valid e-mails. If you go this route make sure you add your contacts to the Safe Sender listing to minimize any chance of their e-mails being treated as junk in the first place.

Please note each SPAM e-mail received must be analyzed to determine who the Registrar and Hosting company are, as this can vary from e-mail to e-mail. That said, in the case of these recent SPAMmers, they always seem to be coming from the same companies as indicated below.

In any event, you can look up the sender’s e-mail address using the following link:

http://whois.domaintools.com/

and looking for the Registrar’s information, specifically the ABUSE information, such as: Registrar Abuse Contact Email

Then you can copy the first Name Server entry (at the bottom) and performing a whois lookup on that to get the hosting companies information. These should be your 2 main points of contact for reporting abuse.

Contact Their Domain Registrar

Well, although the abuse@enom.com e-mail address falls on deaf ears, well gets returned as undeliverable, I checked out enom.com and found that they have a report abuse page with a form to submit such complaints. So I have started sending them a complaint every time I receive an e-mail. Let me tell you they will either deal with the problem or get very annoyed with me very rapidly considering the ever increasing frequency of SPAM e-mails I am receiving from their domains! For anyone else looking to complain, here is the link to the report abuse page.

http://www.enom.com/help/abusepolicy.aspx

Contact Their Hosting Company

Further analysis of their domain registrations, we learn that they host their domain through NAMECHEAP.COM. So I contacted NAMECHEAP.COM, using their chat tool, and was informed we should open a ticket by using the following link:

https://support.namecheap.com/index.php?/Tickets/Submit

and selecting the Department ‘Domains — Legal and Abuse’. I was also told we can submit multiple domains in one single ticket so as to not have to submit dozens and dozens of tickets.

So, What Has Happened?

Nothing much, sadly! I have been submitting every single SPAM e-mail I receive to both enom.com and namecheap.com.

Sadly, enom reports:

Please note that due to the volume of complaints received, unless we need additional information, you will not receive a reply or update from us. Please be assured that we take abuse very seriously and investigate every incident that is reported.

so we’ll never know what, or if, they actually do anything at their end. You’d think they’d want a form of follow-up to know if they successfully dealt with the problem. This is basic quality assurance!

On the other hand, namecheap.com opens tickets that you can follow. More than 12, 24, 36, 48 hours later, and every single ticket is “Awaiting Staff Response”. So although they have a nice automated system, I have yet to see any remedy to this ongoing situation. Not impressive. If this is how they treat HIGH priority (their classification, not mine) legal domain abuse tickets, we are in trouble. In comparison, tickets to both my registrar and hosting companies are handled within hours and I receive follow-up by e-mail (and have even been contact by phone in the past).

Let’s just say I’m not holding my breath! I don’t expect much from either company based on what I have seen so far and what I have read online in different discussion forums…

Update 2014-04-24

I finally received a follow-up to one of my tickets from namecheap.com. So firstly, we can see that they do actually look into complaints, thank you. Sadly, however, they informed me, contrary to the information I can gather performing a WHOIS on the name server, that they are not the domain’s host and thus cannot help. I have since followed-up with the information I gathered and asking for clarification. I will post back when they reply. If they aren’t the host, then I am hoping they can illuminate me as to who is, so I can redirect my energies on the proper SPAM culprits.

This goes once again to the heart of the matter and to the fact that this information is so hard for the average person to piece together, hence no one can actually lodge complaints.

Update 2014-04-29

I just received 2 e-mails from namecheap.com stating: “This is to inform you that the following domains were nullrouted and locked for spam” with a listing of 7 domains.

This is a good start, but far from resolving the issue as these SPAMmers seem to use a domain, send out SPAM and then move on to another domain. So the only true solution is to ban the registrant altogether from owning any domains.

At least we can see that namecheap.com is looking into the matter and trying to help. As always, we don’t know what else is going on. They could be looking into further sanctions. I for one, sure hope they are.

Thank you namecheap.com.

Conclusion as of 2014-05-10

Not much to say. Enom never replies (and I question that they actually doing anything based on their numbering system…). NameCheap is slow, seems to deal on a case by case, rather than banning registrants who clearly abuse repetitively! I have gotten more than 100 SPAM e-mails in the past month (were I receive 14 in the either year). 96% came through Enom and NameCheap websites. So there is something going on, are they involved? Do they make it easy for SPAMmers to utilize their services? Do they truly want to put a stop to registrants like these that buy in bulk domain and hosting packages? I have my serious doubts. One things is for sure from my perspective is that they are very much reactive rather than proactive. As I indicated above, they could easily be dealing with such SPAMmers, limiting the amount of e-mails per hour/or day, financially penalizing people caught SPAMming, Freezing all domains from SPAMmers, blocking SPAM e-mails containing high volume hyperlinks (they can easily scan for known patterns and block these from ever being sent out and then freeze the offending domain), and so very much more…

Microsoft Windows Updates

Last week I was working on a clients PC and this is what happened when I rebooted the computer (in this instance Windows 7).

I believe this image speaks louder than any words ever could.

How can any company, little alone one like Microsoft, be releasing software that requires 135 updates? Definitely something seriously wrong with this picture.

Some will argue this demonstrates Microsoft’s commitment to improving the user experience. I put forth that this clearly illustrates their commitment to profit by releasing software that clearly is not ready for the mass market.

I’d also like to know how Microsoft expects users without high-speed internet connection to be able to download and install these updates. This is simply unrealistic! This puts them at even greater risk of being hacked, infected by viruses, malware, … and simply being exploited.

You be the judge!

PS: Another reboot installed even more updates?!

Microsoft VISTA and Microsoft Office 2013

I normally don’t waste my time ranting, no real point, but today has seen me just get truly frustrated with Microsoft.

I was working a client’s network, trying to clean things up, bring them up-to-date and standardize their operations. After other frustrations with Microsoft, reformatting PCs, getting everything operational (networked, printers, …) I was finally at the point to install MS Office. I managed to convince the powers at be to purchase Office365 and went to install it and received a nice error message indicating that it was incompatible with Windows VISTA?! Say WHAT!?

Let me get this straight. Windows VISTA which is officially still a fully supported OS (until Apr-11-2017) is not supported as far as Office 2013/Office365 is concerned. Talk about dumbfounded! I have seen stupid, but this is just MORONIC!!!

So I ask Microsoft, since one can no longer find Office 2010 in-store, or on the Microsoft website and since 2013 is incompatible, what is someone supposed to do exactly?

Talk about screwing over your clientele yet again!

Ever wonder why people end up going down the pirated software route, maybe because it is easier than trying to do things properly. Not an avenue I will explore, but just saying…

I don’t understand this logic (well I personally cannot believe there is logic behind this type of setup) and if I were in any position of power in the Microsoft organization, I would seriously be making heads roll and correcting this situation. I also, would be having the Microsoft store fixed to include selling older versions of software, since it is clear, just by this situation, that they are still required (not optional)! They are missing such a huge potential market of client, I am dumbfounded.

I just don’t get it.

Update 2013-04-08Since I needed an immediate solution, and I’m sorry upgrading the OS is not a solution (this is what MS offers as the solution, seriously?!) in my books and the client is tired of never ending issues with windows. I have converted the entire office (7 computers) over to OpenOffice. In their down season, I will be reformatting all the PCs and installing Ubuntu.

How to Compile VBA Code

Creating an Execuatble File

In all VBA programs (Access, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, …) compiling does not translate into creating a standalone executable file (exe). Compiling is a process which performs a minimal validation on the code to ensure it is “problem free” (I use that term very loosely!).

An extremely common question or subject brought up by many answerers on countless forum thread always comes back to compiling your VBA code.

Continue reading →

List subforms within another form – MS Access – VBA

I was recently needing to breakdown a very complex form and amongst other things, I needed to extract a list of the subforms contained within it for further analysis. Below is a simple function I wrote which will return to the immediate pane a listing of the subform names.

Function ListSubFrms(sFrm As String)
On Error GoTo Error_Handler
    Dim ctl             As Access.Control
    Dim frm             As Access.Form

    DoCmd.OpenForm sFrm, acDesign
    Set frm = Forms(sFrm).Form
    For Each ctl In frm.Controls
        Select Case ctl.Properties("ControlType")
            Case acSubform    ', acListBox
                ' ctl.Name 'Will return the given name of the control, not necessarily the actual object name
                ' ctl.Properties("SourceObject") 'Will return the object name
                If ctl.Properties("SourceObject") = "" Then
                    Debug.Print ctl.name
                Else
                    Debug.Print ctl.Properties("SourceObject")
                End If
        End Select
    Next ctl

Error_Handler_Exit:
    On Error Resume Next
    DoCmd.Close acForm, sFrm, acSaveNo
    Set frm = Nothing
    Set ctl = Nothing
    Exit Function

Error_Handler:
    MsgBox "The following error has occurred." & vbCrLf & vbCrLf & _
            "Error Number: " & Err.Number & vbCrLf & _
            "Error Source: ListSubFrms" & vbCrLf & _
            "Error Description: " & Err.Description, _
            vbCritical, "An Error has Occurred!"
    Resume Error_Handler_Exit
End Function

Public Mobile Review

It has been a couple years now that I have been a Public Mobile customer. Over the past 2-3 years, I have been largely quite pleased with Public Mobile.

Useless Website Support

My biggest complaint with Public Mobile is the fact that if you need support, you must do so in person or by phone. Although their website has a support e-mail, every time I have tried to use it, I have received a reply back (days later) stating I need to call them. This kinda defeats the purpose of the Contact Form, NO!

Also, their phone support is during standard business days/hours. So no support on week-ends or late at night

One thing I will say though is that whenever I have gone to a Public Mobile booth and needed any assistance the employees have always been very helpful and have always resolved my problem immediately!

Recently however, I am sad to say I have noticed ongoing problems. I don’t know if this is due to Public Mobile sold to Telus, regardless.

3G vs 1x vs no Service

For years, my connection/service has been excellent. That said, in the past months, I have been experiencing continuous connection/service problem. At my home, where I always had 3G service, I now am getting 1x service, or worse yet no service at all!

Unlimited vs 1GB limit

Public Mobile whole sales pitch over the years has always been No Limits! Unlimited Data, Texts, Telephone! This is the main reason I originally turned to them. I didn’t want to worry about limits (not that I actually use my cell phone a lot – 300-500MB total per month on a busy month). It was simply nice to know I could do anything I wanted without ever having to worry about surprise bills showing up!

I am sad to say that these days are gone. Public Mobile, I guess I should now say Telus, has unilaterally changed it’s unlimited plans and imposed a 1GB limited to all.

I was not impressed by the way they announced it by sending a simple text!

To me by doing this, they just lost their competitive edge!

Also, as a side note, I also find it very odd that on regular interval, I get Denied Access (should be Access Denied) when trying to access the Public Mobile page! Talk about irony!!!

Now, I have also started getting proxy errors when trying to surf the web (not just the site below, but any site, even Google for instance)!

Update 20130317

Over the course of the week-end, I started getting the following error whenever I tried to launch Public Mobile’s Siren music?!

Disappointing. Not a good sign of things to come. While under Public Mobile, I never had any issues. But in the months since Telus took over, there seems to be a steady decline!!!

Update 20130326

Now I am being advised in their What’s New page (after being sent a text message to check it out) that not only are their plans changing, but I will have to buy a new phone and their payments options are also changing, so no more automatic payments/withdrawals (see the highlighted sections in the image below)!?

Darren Entwistle (Telus) is truly doing a horrible job vis-à-vis his Public Mobile clientele. Forcing people to buy new phone and spend hundreds of dollars after having already done so is despicable! Also, once again, the approach taken to advise their clients of these changes is disgusting, a text, really!

Conclusion

Time will tell, but as of late, I am noticing kinks in Public Mobile’s armor. I truly think this recent abolition of their Unlimited plans ends up killing what made Public Mobile, Public Mobile! Now they are a standard Cell phone company like every other cell phone company!

I know that with my recent service problems and now this abolition of their unlimited plans, I do believe I will be looking over what other options are at my disposition. There is no longer any reason to stay!

I think we are starting to see Telus’ true character come out. They are shafting their existing clients: abolishing unlimited plans, obliging them to buy new phones, changing payment options, … Makes you wonder if they aren’t just trying to kill Public Mobile altogether? Well, apparently I am right: see: Telus’s decision to shut Public Mobile angers consumers. No doubt now that Telus doesn’t give a crap about Public Mobile or their customers since they bought it to shut it down. Here are two more articles on the subject: Telus to close down Public Mobile’s network and move customers to main network and Public Mobile phones will be doorstops: Roseman. What I also love is that they are offering promotional pricing on their new phone to existing offers, but apparently people are finding the same phones cheaper, through TELUS, with no contract that with the promotion. So lots of hot air and screwing of their clients it would appear.

I also find it amazing how the Canadian Government & CRTC have allowed this all to go down. No one is remotely looking out for the Canadian consumer, it is all again about money and power! Lots of talk, but once again no one actually does a thing!

What a mess!