Invalid resx File in C# .NET Solution on Windows XP Only

If a c# application you've developed that targets the .NET Framework version 4.0 crashes on Windows XP but does NOT crash on Windows Vista through Windows 10, it is most likely due to an embedded resource issue (in one of the .resx files in the solution).  Upon opening the solution of my problematic program in Visual Studio 2010 on Windows XP, I received an error similar to the following:

Invalid resx file. Command completed successfully. Could not load type...

I fixed the issue by deleting one of my icon (.ico) files from the solution that was 256 x 256 pixels and replaced it with the same icon with a size of 255 x 255 pixels.  While a 256 x 256 pixel icon file is perfectly valid in newer versions of Windows, the maximum size of an .ico file can only be 255 x 255 on Windows XP x86 SP3.  I still target XP machines since I have a Netbook with it that will always be running XP.

Installing PeerGuardian on an Ubuntu Server w/out GUI

Install prereqs:

sudo apt-get install libdbus-1-dev zlib1g-dev iptables libnetfilter-queue-dev libnfnetlink-dev g++

Download and unzip PGL Source:

cd ~/Downloads
wget -N "http://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/peerguardian/PeerGuardian%20Linux/2.3.1/pgl-2.3.1.tar.gz" -O "pgl.tar.gz"
tar -zxvf pgl.tar.gz
cd pgl-2.3.1

For Ubuntu 12.04 and Older:

wget -N "http://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/peerguardian/PeerGuardian%20Linux/2.2.4/pgl-2.2.4.tar.gz?r=https%3A%2F%2Fsourceforge.net%2Fprojects%2Fpeerguardian%2Ffiles%2FPeerGuardian%2520Linux%2F2.2.4%2F&ts=1465430792&use_mirror=heanet" -O pgl.tar.gz
tar -zxvf pgl.tar.gz
cd pgl-2.2.4

Configure PGL for Non GUI:

./configure --sysconfdir=/etc --localstatedir=/var --without-qt4 --disable-dbus --enable-lowmem --with-lsb=/lib/lsb/init-functions

For Ubuntu 16.04+:

./configure --sysconfdir=/etc --localstatedir=/var --without-qt4 --disable-dbus --enable-lowmem --with-systemd

Install It:

make
sudo make install

Set it to start on boot:

sudo update-rc.d pgl defaults

Set it to start on boot for Ubuntu 16.04+:

sudo systemctl enable pgl

Edit the blocklists file with entries from iblocklist.com:

sudo nano /etc/pgl/blocklists.list

Update the lists:

sudo pglcmd update

Restart pglcmd:

sudo pglcmd restart

Restart the service:

sudo service pgl restart

Boom, you’re done!

Network Manager Applet NOT Showing in MATE Desktop

If you install the MATE desktop environment on Ubuntu, your Network Manager icon may not show up in the taskbar as shown below:

Without the Network Manager icon showing, you will have a hard time managing and connecting to WIFI networks.  To get it to show up, you will need to edit the following file using nano:

sudo nano /etc/xdg/autostart/nm-applet.desktop

Look for the below line:

AutostartCondition=GNOME3 unless-session gnome

And comment it out like so:

#AutostartCondition=GNOME3 unless-session gnome

Save the file using "Ctrl + O", and then exit nano using "Ctrl + X".  Restart your computer.  The network icon will show up again as shown below:

Note, the actual icon will vary based on the selected MATE desktop theme.  The screenshots above show the icon used in the LUNA theme.

NOT a Robot Recaptcha V2 for phpBB 3.0.14

Download NOT a Robot Recaptcha Version 1.0

Info:

NOT a Robot Recaptcha V2 is a MOD for phpBB 3.0.14.  It integrates Google's Recaptcha V2 (the not a robot test) as an available anti-spam option that can be used during account registration. It prevents spam and forum registration flooding. 

Installation Instructions:

To install NOT a Robot Recaptcha V2 for phpBB 3.0.14, first update your 3.0.x forum to 3.0.14 if you're not currently running 3.0.14.  The AutoMOD mod then needs to be installed (if not already installed) before this mod can be installed.

AutoMOD Installation Instructions:

If you haven't already, please download and install AutoMOD on your forum.  Instructions for installing AutoMOD can be found here.

Installation with AutoMOD:

Login to the Administration Control Panel (ACP).  Click on the AUTOMOD tab at the top of the page.  Under Upload MOD, browse to your downloaded copy of the zipped mod. Upload it. You should now see "Recaptcha V2 NOT a Robot" as a listed mod under AUTOMOD.  Install it.

Once installation is complete, you will need to configure Recaptcha V2 NOT a Robot.  To do so, in the Administration Control Panel (ACP), click on the "GENERAL" tab.  Under "BOARD CONFIGURATION" on the left side, click on "Spambot countermeasures".  Under "Available plugins", next to "Installed plugins:", there is a dropdown.  Select "reCaptcha v2 NOT Robot" from the dropdown and click on "Configure".  Enter your site key and secret key obtainable by registering for free here. Click on Submit.  Reselect "reCaptcha v2 NOT Robot" in the dropdown and click on "Submit".  Your forum is now using reCaptcha v2 NOT a Robot.  When a user attempts to register, he will be shown the "I'm not a robot." captcha that must be completed before registration will be handled.

Works with All Themes

This plugin should work with all themes.  However, since this plugin is using a template not previously found in the base theme, you may want to customize how it looks in your installed custom themes. To do so, copy the "captcha_recaptcha.html" file in your themes "template" folder and rename the copy to "captcha_recaptcha_v2.html".  Open "default/template/captcha_recaptcha_v2.html" and copy the code section into "captcha_recaptcha_v2.html" within the theme you're working on. You just need to copy the entire <table> section from "default/template/captcha_recaptcha_v2.html" and paste it in to your theme's "captcha_recaptcha_v2.html" file. 

So basically, in your theme's "captcha_recaptcha_v2.html" file, replace:
 

                <script type="text/javascript">
                // <![CDATA[
                var RecaptchaOptions = {
                    lang : '{LA_RECAPTCHA_LANG}',
                    theme : 'clean',
                    tabindex : <!-- IF $CAPTCHA_TAB_INDEX -->{$CAPTCHA_TAB_INDEX}<!-- ELSE -->10<!-- ENDIF -->
                };
                // ]]>
                </script>
                <script type="text/javascript" src="{RECAPTCHA_SERVER}/challenge?k={RECAPTCHA_PUBKEY}{RECAPTCHA_ERRORGET}" ></script>
                <script type="text/javascript">
                // <![CDATA[
                <!-- IF S_CONTENT_DIRECTION eq 'rtl' -->
                    document.getElementById('recaptcha_table').style.direction = 'ltr';
                <!-- ENDIF -->
                // ]]>
            </script>
            <noscript>
                <iframe src="{RECAPTCHA_SERVER}/noscript?k={RECAPTCHA_PUBKEY}{RECAPTCHA_ERRORGET}" height="300" width="500" frameborder="0"></iframe><br />
                <textarea name="recaptcha_challenge_field" rows="3" cols="40"></textarea>
                <input type="hidden" name="recaptcha_response_field" value="manual_challenge" />
            </noscript>

With:

<table style="width:100%; border:0;">
        <td style="width:30%;">
            <p>{L_GV2_CONFIRM_CODE}:<br /><span>{L_GV2_CONFIRM_EXPLAIN}</span></p>
        </td>
        <td style="width: 70%; text-align: right;">
            <script type="text/javascript">
            // <![CDATA[
            var RecaptchaOptions = {
                lang : '{LA_RECAPTCHA_LANG}',
                theme : 'clean',
                tabindex : <!-- IF $CAPTCHA_TAB_INDEX -->{$CAPTCHA_TAB_INDEX}<!-- ELSE -->10<!-- ENDIF -->
            };
            // ]]>
            </script>
            <script type="text/javascript" src="{RECAPTCHA_SERVER}"></script>
            <script type="text/javascript">
            // <![CDATA[
            <!-- IF S_CONTENT_DIRECTION eq 'rtl' -->
                document.getElementById('recaptcha_table').style.direction = 'ltr';
            <!-- ENDIF -->
            // ]]>
            </script>
            <div style="display: inline-block;">
                <div class="g-recaptcha" data-sitekey="{RECAPTCHA_PUBKEY}"></div>
            </div>
        </td>
</table>

Screenshots:

Sellzum Computer Parts Test Gallery

Please do NOT actually buy any of these items.  It was just an embedded test for Sellzum functionality.

Showing Off DragNDropz

Save iptables Rules on Shutdown, Restore on Boot

When your server shutsdown (halts), reboots, or enters runlevel 1, your iptables configuration is automatically wiped and reset.  Packages such as iptables-persistent supposedly help with this problem, but unless you save your rules manually, the rules are never saved automatically when the system reboots. 

I've wanted to truly persist my iptables, so I decided to change their package to always save the iptables rules when the system reboots, halts, or enters runlevel 1 automatically.  The rules are then restored when the system boots to runlevels 2-5.  This means that your iptables configuration will persist forever.  This may not be desired, but if I ban an IP address permanently, I always want it to be banned.

If you'd like to use this modified version of iptables-persistent so that your rules are automatically saved on shutdown, you can install it by running the below commands:

sudo apt-get remove iptables-persistent
sudo dpkg -r iptables-persistent
wget http://dinofly.com/files/linux/iptables-persistent_0.5.8_all.deb
sudo dpkg --install iptables-persistent_0.5.8_all.deb

Use at your own risk.  If you do something stupid, it will persist until you can clear it!

The above package was tested in Ubuntu 12.04 x86, Ubuntu 12.04 x64, Ubuntu 14.04 x86, Ubuntu 14.04 x64, and Ubuntu 15.04 x64.  Should work on other debian operating systems as well.

Modifiying the Source of a Package and Creating a New Deb Binary

In order to download the source code of an existing package, first install the prerequisites:

sudo apt-get install build-essential debhelper

To get the source code of a package, run the following command:

apt-get source {name_of_package_interested_in}

Make changes to the source using an editor like geany or via terminal through nano.  Edit the changelog file and add a record of your changes to build a new revision number.  After you have made the changes, run the following commands to build the package which should include your changes.

dpkg-source --commit
dpkg-buildpackage -b

The updated package has been built.  To install the package, simply use the below commands:

sudo dpkg --install {name_of_new_deb_file}

To remove the software:

sudo dpkg -r {name_of_package [NOT NAME OF DEB FILE]}

Now you can release it!