Dillobits Software- Frequently asked questions about InSync, SNTP Service, YATS32, and 4UOnly

General questions - 4UOnly questions - InSync questions
SNTP Service questions - YATS32 questions

General questions

The registration key you sent me doesn't work, why?

Occasionally we receive a complaint from a registered user who has received registration keys but is having trouble applying them. This usually happens because the name and key have not been typed into the registration dialog exactly as shown in the registration EMail. It is important to remember that character case, punctuation, and spaces are significant. We suggest that you cut and paste the name and key directly from your registration EMail to the YATS32 registration dialog. This is the easiest way to avoid problems.

For example, if you received the following in your registration Email:

Then your registration dialog should look like this:

Another common problem is that the user is trying to use a perfectly legitimate key issued for an older version of the product. If you think that you are experiencing this problem, contact us and we will issue a current key. See the upgrade page for details.

Why am I not receiving the Certificate popup when downloading software?

If you are not receiving the Certificate pop-up when a file is downloaded, you will need to enable a setting in Internet Explorer. The setting can be found under: Tools > Internet Options > Advanced > Scroll to the bottom of the list to 'Security' Make sure that the following option is checked: "Check for signatures on downloaded programs".

How do I protect my program settings across disk crashes, operating system installs, etc?

Normally your program configuration is preserved when you upgrade our products. We cannot protect these settings from disk crashes, or operating system installs, and other such major events. You can, however, create backup copies of you current configuration by using a registry maintenance program such as REGEDIT to create import-able exports of the section of the registry where the setting are stored.

Product	Export Registry Key
YATS32	HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Dillobits\yats32
InSync version 6.2.17 and earlier. See InSync section for later versions	HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Dillobits\InSync
SNTP Service	HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Dillobits\SNTPServ

I want to license your product, but I don't have a clear understanding of the term 'user' in the context of your license requirements?

You will require one license per machine that will execute the code. For example: If you install our product on a file server, you need one license per client machine that accesses and uses the executable from that server. On the other hand: If you install a product such as InSync on a file server and execute it only on that file server, then you need only 1 license, regardless of the number and location of the directories synchronized. Our license agreement allows for one special case use of a single license on 2 computers: I your license is for personal use then you can use a single user license on both a personal desktop computer and a personal laptop computer provided they are not used concurrently.

Why are your programs updated frequently?

Unlike larger software development outfits we do not schedule quarterly or annual releases of our software. As a smaller company, one of the advantages we offer you as our customer is responsiveness. If you have a feature you need to better achieve your objectives, or have discovered a bug that prevents from doing so, we will not force you to wait 6 months for the next scheduled release for a fix. We can, and generally do provide what you need in the short term. We get to work on it right away. Some changes requested will fall outside the general function of our products or are beyond our capabilities. In those cases we will inform you immediately.

Does this mean that you need to upgrade to each and every release? Certainly not. We will often release a build number increment that implements a minor function or fixes an obscure bug that affects a tiny percentage of our customers. If your software is working well, then there is probably no need to download and install such a release.

Can I put a link to Dillobits Software from my web page?

Sure, for a simple link like

Dillobits Software - Data and time synchronization solutions

insert the following html into your page:

<a href="http://www.dillobits.com">Dillobits Software - Data and time synchronization solutions</a>

YATS32 questions

I installed YATS32 as a service under Windows^TM NT4/2000/XP, but it doesn't do anything, why?

YATS32 stores program setting and registration information on a per user basis. The NT4 service program settings and registration information is stored globally in a non user specific area.

Up to Version 8.0:
To configure the service parameters, you must configure YATS32 running as an normal Windows application and then configure it the way you want your service to run. Then go to the NT Service options tab, and click 'Save current config as NT Service config'. Before you do this make sure you stop the service using the Windows control panel services applet. Restart the service after you have saved the new configuration.

Version 8.1 or 8.2:
YATS32 service options are now controller using the YATS32 Services applet provided in the control panel.

Version 8.3 or later:
NT4/2000/XP/2003 Service option is not supported.

YATS32 is not able to connect to any Internet time servers from behind a firewall or proxy server. What can I do?

Typically firewalls are not configured by default to allow SNTP protocol messages. This prevents YATS32 from contacting or receiving messages from Internet time servers. In order for YATS32 to operate correctly using the standard SNTP protocol, you will need to get your firewall administrator to allow IP/UDP outbound packets to port 123, and inbound IP/UDP packets from port 123.

The following firewall incoming packet filter rule will allow YATS32 to operate using the SNTP protocol while maintaining the security of your site. Please note that for incoming packets the source refers to the time server, and the destination refers to the machine running YATS32 as a client.

	Source (server)	Destination (client)
Protocol	UDP
IP Address	Any
Port	= 123	> 1023
Action	Permit

If you use a proxy server to connect to the Internet from a LAN, you may have make a configuration change to the proxy server to use YATS32. At the proxy server, map UDP port 123 to an actual Internet time server on port 123. When you use YATS32, use the address or name of the proxy server as the NTP host in YATS32's server settings. This will only allow you to access a single Internet time server.

If you cannot achieve this, but you are able to use a web browser via an HTTP proxy to the Internet, then you could try configuring the YATS32 client to use the DayTime protocol via the proxy. This is more complex to set up, has 1 second resolution, and is subject to timezone errors. To determine if you can access a time server this way, substitute you chosen time server IP address into this URL, http://tycho.usno.navy.mil:13 , and use it in your web browser. If a text timestamp is returned, then you should be able to configure YATS32 to use the HTTP proxy.

Under Windows 95, why can't I display help correctly?

If you are using the HTML Help API with Windows 95 and Internet Explorer 3.x, you must either install DCOM for Microsoft Windows 95, version 1.2 or higher, or install Internet Explorer 4.x. Otherwise, help may not be processed correctly. Click here to download DCOM 1.3 for Windows 95.

How can users be prevented from enabling server functions?

It can be desirable to prevent users from enabing server functions in order to avoid network disruption. Starting at version 8.1 build 28, YATS32 provides a mechanism for doing this. It requires that you modify the registry using a registry editor such as REGEDIT or REGEDT32.

Under key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Dillobits\yats32\AppOptions
Create a DWORD value called ClientServer and give it a value of 0.

YATS32 closes or disappears before I can enter my registration key or change my options!

The most common cause of this problem is that you have accidentally set the following two run options: Set Time at Startup and Close after setting time. With both these set YATS32 will often set the time and close before you have time to do anything. It is precisely to handle this kind of situation that the -noauto command line option was implemented. It tells YATS32 to disable all of its automated features. To use it, invoke YATS32 from a DOS window by issuing the command:

"C:\program files\Dillobits Software\YATS32\yats32.exe" -noauto

If you selected a different install directory at install time, you will have to adjust the above command appropriately. If YATS32 starts up minimized, you can maximize it by clicking on the small clock icon that appears in your task bar tray.

I run YATS32 behind a Microsoft Proxy Server. The proxy is configured such that YATS32 runs fine when invoked as an application, but when I run it as an NT service it can't connect! NOTE: This applies to version 8.2 and earlier only since Windows NT4/2000/XP service support was dropped from later versions.

The Microsoft Proxy server is sensitive to the account of the user trying to pass through its firewall. Since the YATS32 service runs under the system account, you will have to add "SYSTEM" to the proxy server's list of valid users.

Why does YATS32 fail to run as a server or listen for SNTP time broadcasts under Windows XP?

This occurs because, under the Windows XP, the Windows Time service ties up port 123. You can avoid this problem by using the Computer Management console to stop the Windows Time service, and then setting its startup type to 'Disabled'. This will not have any detrimental effect on your system unless your system is a member of a server cluster.

InSync questions

Q:	InSync runs just fine on the desktop, but cannot find it's job definitions when run using a scheduler under Windows NT4/2000/XP
A:	Under Windows NT4/2000/XP, InSync stores registration, job, and profile information on a per user basis so that each user can have his own job definitions. Under Windows NT4/2000/XP a third party automatic scheduler must be able to run InSync under the same user account that was used to define the job to be run, or InSync will not find it. If using the Windows builtin scheduler, you can easily set the userid and password using the Task tab of the scheduled task property. We also suggest that you use the 'Save selection' button to create a .ISY file containing a list of the jobs currently selected. Since the .ISY file type is automatically associated with InSync, a .ISY file can be scheduled directly, and InSync will automatically be invoked to run the selected jobs.
Q:	I want to filter out the RECYCLER and 'System Volume Information' folder since they are always locked anyway, but I can't see then in the folder browser in order to select them for exclusion.
A:	InSync uses the Windows built-in folder browser, therefore it adheres to folder options. To make hidden folder visible open a window where the hidden folder resides, then choose the Tools->Folder Options... menu entry. Then select the View tab and enable the 'Show hidden system files' option and disable the 'Hide protected operating system files' options. Then click Apply. The next time you bring up InSync, all folders will be visible in the browser.
Q:	Why are files copied unnecessarily to or from a SAMBA server file system?
A:	InSync uses file attributes to determine if a file has changed or is different. Samba, in its default configuration, does not support all Windows style file attributes. You can specify Samba configuration options to enable the required support. Three Samba options decide whether the bits are mapped: map archive, map system, and map hidden. These options map the archive, system, and hidden attributes to the owner, group, and world execute bits of the file, respectively. You can add these options to the [data] share, setting each of their values as follows: [data] path = /home/samba/data browseable = yes guest ok = yes writeable = yes map archive = yes map system = yes map hidden = yes create mask = 755 hide dot files = no
Q:	Is it safe to copy locked files?
A:	As of version 8, InSync supports the copying of locked files on NTFS files systems. Be aware however that a locked file is not necessarily in an internally self-consistent state. Some data may be held in buffers by the process owning the file that may not yet have been written out to the file at the time it is copied.
Q:	When dayligh saving day changes, why are files that have not changed copied?
A:	InSync uses file date stamps to determine if a change in the file has occurred. Each operating systems has its own way of storing file timestamps. Some operating systems like Windows 98 store the local time, others like Windows XP store the universal time (Greenwitch mean time). If local time is used then the file's timestamp will appear to change when daylight saving time changes. InSync has no way to determine how the timestamps are stored. If the source and target folders are on hardware whose operating systems use different file timestamping strategies, then the files will appear to have changed whenever the daylight saving time changes.
Q:	Where are InSync configuration options stored?
A:	As of version 6.2.18, InSync options are stored the user specific 'application data' folder for Windows versions that support it, and in a common folder for Windows versions that don't. The file is called InSync.xml and can generally be found in one of the following locations. Under Windows 98 and Me: \WINDOWS\Application Data\Dillobits Software\InSync\InSync.xml Under Windows NT4: *\WINNT\Profiles\USERNAME\Application Data\Dillobits Software\InSync\InSync.xml* Under Windows 2000 and XP: *\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Application Data\Dillobits Software\InSync\InSync.xml* on your boot drive, where *USERNAME* is your logon account. You may have to set the 'View hidden files' folder option to see the files.
Q:	Access is denied error while trying to save a schedule event.
A:	You may be affected by this Microsoft bug, see Article ID: 884573, a possible workaround is provided.
Q:	How are NTFS permissions handled?
A:	InSync will attempt to copy file security permissions if both the source and destination folders support them, such NTFS. InSync itself must of course be running under an account that has sufficient privilege to read permission attributes from the source folder files, and to write target file permission attributes. It would not make sense to copy inherited permissions since there may be differences between the source and destination security contexts. Only non-inherited permissions are copied.

SNTP Service questions

I installed the SNTP service on my NT terminal server but the SNTP control panel does not appear in the control panel!

Some customers have found that if the server is put into 'install mode' prior to starting the installation, the control panel applet is incorrectly installed. Leave the server in 'execute mode' then run the installation and the control panel applet will be correctly installed.

There are a couple of alternate ways to start the control panel applet.

	From then command line enter: CONTROL SNTPSERV.CPL
	Open a folder window at c:\wtsrv\system32 double click the sntpserv.cpl file icon.

What are the minimum requirements for installing the SNTP Service under Windows NT4?

	Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) CORE 1.5 (download from www.microsoft.com)
	Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 SP2 or later (download from www.microsoft.com)

Can the SNTP Service coexist with the W32Time service?

It is possible to start W32Time without conflict but the synchronization functions of W32Time must be turned off. This avoids problems with applications that require the W32Time service (ie. Cluster Server or Domain Controllers). The synchronization functions continue to be implemented by the SNTP Service. Normally the Windows Time service startup can be disabled when SNTP Service is running except if the system is running Cluster Service or is a Windows 2000 or later Domain Controller.

The SNTP Service will automatically adjust the appropriate W32Time registry entries at install time if it detects that Cluster Services are present. After installing on a Domain Controller (DC) you can use the SNTP Service control panel applet to disable W32Time time synchronization functions. In either case you should disable the SNTP Service server function. After doing this you must restart both the W32Time service and the SNTP Service.

Do not use the NET TIME /setsntp command on a system that is running both the SNTP Service and the W32Time service, since it will automatically re-enable W32Time clock synchronization functions.

After following these procedures on Domain Controllers or Cluster Servers please check the SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\Parameters TYPE variable in the system registry to make sure it is set to NOSYNC

4UOnly questions

Q:	What encryption methods are used.
A:	We use the RC4 encryption algorithm built-in to your operating system. Standard encryption uses 56 bit keys. Enhanced encryption uses 128 bit keys. We recommend that you use enhanced encryption if that choice is available on your system and portability is not an issue. Be aware, however, that not all versions of Windows support enhanced encryption, and that a password list encrypted using enhanced encryption will not be accessible on a system that does not support it.
Q:	My windows account was deleted and recreated and now I can't view my password list!
A:	This is why it is critical that you specify a password the first time you save a 4UOnly password file. When a Windows user account it is created, it is assigned a unique secret security fingerprint. That fingerprint will never be the same regardless of whether the account is recreated with the same userid. 4UOnly needs this fingerprint to decrypt your password file. If that fails it will resort to using the password you provided.
Q:	I have lost the password to my password list. Can you help me recover my password list?
A:	One of the requirements of strong security is that only the owner of a resource controls access to it. We are no more capable of decrypting your password list than anybody else. Please make sure that you do not lose your 4UOnly password list master password.
Q:	4UOnly complains of "unexpected file format" when I try and access my password file - what could be the problem?
A:	Couple of reasons this could happen, all related to some change occurring in your account setup. Are you trying to open the file under an account that is different from the one used when it was created? Are you trying to open the file on a different computer? Was your account deleted and recreated? In all of these cases the security token of your Windows account has changed and the only way to open the file is to provide the master password specified when it was created.
Q:	My password list file is all of a sudden asking for a password before it will open (it has never asked for one before). I don't have a password. How do I get around this?
A:	This can happen if you are trying to access you passwords from a Windows account different from the one under which it was created. In this circumstance the only way to decrypt and access your password is to provide the master password. This is why it is so important to specify a master password when you first create your password list. If you do not have the master password then your passwords are lost! We are no more able to decrypt the file for you than anybody else.