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Vol. 11, #18 - May 1, 2006 - Issue #574
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Major Changes In SMS And MOM
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- EDITORS CORNER
- CounterSpy Enterprise Wins 2006 Well-Connected Award
- More About: "What Is Your Record Uptime?"
- The May 2006 Seminars: N'Orleans; Pittsburgh & Ft Lauderdale
- Quote of the Week
- ADMIN TOOLBOX
- Admin Tools We Think You Shouldn't Be Without
- TECH BRIEFING
- All-in-One Guide: AD Backup And Recovery
- Why, When And How To Consolidate SQL Servers
- Active Directory Federation Services Explained
- Is This Thing On? Verifying DPM Status
- An Administrator?s Guide To Exchange Public Folders
- Tip: New Crop Of MS Cert Exams Springs Up In April
- I Was Just Hunting UFOs, Says Pentagon Hacker
- WINDOWS SERVER NEWS
- Major Changes In SMS and MOM
- Microsoft Service Desk Could Be Tough Sell
- WINDOWS SERVER THIRD PARTY NEWS
- Deadline WinIT Pro Readers' Choice 2006: May First!
- NetIQ Sold for $495 Million
- Double-Take Software: MVP Awards Finalist
- Superfast, Super Value, Remote Control
- New Crop Of Holes That Needs To Be Scanned For & Fixed
- WServerNews 'FAVE' LINKS
- This Week's Links We Like. Tips, Hints And Fun Stuff
- WServerNews - PRODUCT OF THE WEEK
- More Security Regulations To Comply With?
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Combat Spam On Several Fronts - with Kerio MailServer
Taking complete approach to spam filtering can be surprisingly
easy with Kerio MailServer. It's a well-rounded package of anti-
spam techniques ranging from directory harvest attack protection
to SPF verification to Bayesian filtering that can turn any PC
into a powerful anti-spam gateway. You can install Kerio MailServer
a Windows or Linux server, making it a powerful anti-spam appliance
for under $500 plus hardware. Continues...
http://www.wservernews.com/060501-Kerio_Mailserver
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EDITORS CORNER |
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CounterSpy Enterprise Wins 2006 Well-Connected Award
Network Computing wrote: "Compliance... zero-day vulnerabilities...
the business case for security ... policy, policy and more policy!
You can't turn around without bumping into one of these topics.
They're important issues, but they're not the best drivers for
security-related deployments. Let's face it: There are few business
cases for security other than avoidance--specifically risk, attack
and litigation avoidance. You need processes and products that solve
the problems you face every day. Security budgets aren't growing by
leaps and bounds. In fact, many organizations' compliance dollars
are going for audits, re-engineering projects and consultants."
And in the section Security Winners - Antispyware they wrote:
Winner: Sunbelt Software CounterSpy Enterprise 1.5
"Getting rid of spyware is a difficult task, but to do it well,
antispyware tools must reduce administrative load. In our tests,
Sunbelt's CounterSpy Enterprise performed remarkably well from an
administrative perspective. This product can be deployed and
updated more efficiently than any other product we reviewed, and
it integrates seamlessly with Active Directory. Policy configuration,
exclusion lists and status reporting were all top-notch."
Here is the link to the Network Computing Winners Page:
http://www.wservernews.com/060501-Winners
Here is the link to the CSE Product Page for a 30-day eval:
http://www.wservernews.com/060501-CounterSpyEnterprise
More About: "What Is Your Record Uptime?"
It looks like quite a few of you have systems running for long
times. But this topic was generating enormous feedback as well.
Many of you sent me email that boiled down to: "Hey, how about
patches and updates? Once a month a reboot is required to keep
my systems secure!" And that is of course a very good point.
WSN-reader Nick Meyer came back with a another important reason
for regular reboots though. Here is what he sent in: "For my part,
I have never been impressed by long uptime stats. It means that you
haven't patched your machine, you've never powered it down, you haven't
tested failover, and just generally have not done your job. The most
memorable incident I had was a service call on was an IBM RS6000 unit
that had run continuously for seven and a half years. They re-arranged
the server room, so they powered the unit down, moved it, powered it
up...and got nothing. 4 hour response time callout. Darn thing had
had a failed drive in a RAID 5 array and wouldn't allow a bootup
without replacing the bad disk. Sensible enough--keeps you from
running a unit in a vulnerable situation. Brought in a SCSI drive
replacement--larger than the original but compatible with the
controller. Fugetaboutit, not allowed. Okay, replace all three
drives and restore from tape. Fugetaboutit, the Unix backup routine
was a sector-by-sector image that could only be restored to the
EXACT same drive array. This was Friday. No air freight service on
Saturday. Got a drive in Sunday evening. No joy. Sourced an acceptable
drive from IBM on Tuesday. Got it Wednesday. In-house IT got the server
running for Thursday morning--but Friday afternoon through Wednesday
afternoon, 214 drafting/design personnel did jack squat. 30 hrs x 214
people x $14.00/hr average = $89880. I never was too impressed with
uptime stats--but after that I was determined that NO server I looked
after would ever go more than a month without a reboot. If I am going
to get an unpleasant surprise, I want it to happen long before it
turns out the hardware I am running can't be replaced or the backup
routine I am using has a big gotcha". Wise words from the guy that
was bitten and literally learned a valuable lesson!
The May 2006 Seminars: N'Orleans; Pittsburgh & Ft Lauderdale
We?d like to invite you to attend the following seminars that we are
hosting in May:
"Winning the War on the Spyware Battlefield" - Join renowned spyware
researcher and Sunbelt's Director of Malware Research, Eric Howes, for
an engaging discussion on the scope of the spyware problem. Hosted at
the Microsoft office in Ft. Lauderdale on Thursday, May 18th. Register:
http://www.wservernews.com/060501-Seminar_FL
"Hurricane Season 2006 ? Protecting Your Data" ? The 2006 hurricane
season starts June 1st ? is your critical business data protected?
Join Sunbelt and Double-Take Software for a disaster recovery seminar
focused on protecting Microsoft Exchange, SQL and other mission critical
applications. Hosted at the New Orleans Marriott at the Convention
Center on Wednesday, May 17th. Register here:
http://www.wservernews.com/060501-Seminar_LA
"What Every IT Manager Should Know About Protecting Microsoft Exchange
and Centralized Backup" ? Join Sunbelt and Double-Take Software as we
discuss strategies for implementing high availability, remote availability
and offsite disaster recovery solutions for Exchange and other mission
critical applications using Double-Take. Hosted at the Microsoft office
in Pittsburgh, PA on Tuesday, May 23rd. Register here:
http://www.wservernews.com/060501-Seminar_PA
Quote of the Week
"You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people
all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time."
-- Abraham Lincoln
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ADMIN TOOLBOX |
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Admin Tools We Think You Shouldn't Be Without
Freeware for Microsoft AD & ADAM. Web Employee Directory + Self Service.
http://www.wservernews.com/060501-Namescape
This time around just two entries in the Admin Toolbox. Because
the second one has 450 tools in it! David Pearson sent this page
to me. It's called "I want a Freeware Utility to ... 450+ common
problems solved. Extremely useful utilities that do specific jobs
really well and save time and money. Now you can spend your weekend
checking out all these cool tools. [grin]:
http://www.wservernews.com/060501-450_Tools
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TECH BRIEFING |
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All-in-One Guide: AD Backup And Recovery
Ensure that your Active Directory remains intact -- even when the
worst happens -- with Chapter 4: Active Directory, the final
installment of SearchWinIT.com?s All-in-One Guides to Windows backup
and recovery. The three AD segments include advice on Backup Basics,
Disaster Recovery, and Replication, including tips outlining methods
of backing up your AD domain controllers, describing how to back
up DNS servers and options for creating a disaster recovery plan.
http://www.wservernews.com/060501-AD_Backup
Why, When And How To Consolidate SQL Servers
This SearchSQLServer.com original e-book introduces DBAs to the
worlds of server and storage consolidation. In Chapter 1: The case
for consolidation, author Hilary Cotter details problems associated
with SQL Server sprawl, defines storage and server consolidation,
and helps you determine if consolidation is right for your outfit.
http://www.wservernews.com/060501-Consolidate_SQL
Active Directory Federation Services Explained
ADFS sounds complicated, but it's not as difficult to implement as
it sounds. Simplify Web application access by extending identity
beyond organizational boundaries. At SearchWindowsSecurity:
http://www.wservernews.com/060501-AD_Federation_Services
Is This Thing On? Verifying DPM Status
The first step in troubleshooting most problems related to Data
Protection Manager is to verify that it is actually operating.
SearchWinSystems has the tech how to troubleshoot it.
http://www.wservernews.com/060501-Data_Protection_Manager
An Administrator?s Guide To Exchange Public Folders
Despite speculation on their impending demise, Exchange public
folders are still widely used and Microsoft plans to support them
through the next version of Exchange Server. This new administrator?s
guide to Exchange public folders compiles articles, tutorials, tips,
tools, downloads, and expert advice that will improve your Exchange
public folder management and augment your troubleshooting know-how.
http://www.wservernews.com/060501-Public_Folders
Tip: New Crop Of MS Cert Exams Springs Up In April
Spring is in the air, and more than just the flowers are in bloom.
Career expert Ed Tittel goes over some of the newest Redmond certs
to begin their lifecycles this month.
http://www.wservernews.com/060501-New_Redmond_Certs
I Was Just Hunting UFOs, Says Pentagon Hacker
OK, this is just a fun story, nothing technical at all, except to
show that most supposedly secure systems can still be hacked by
basically an amateur. Here goes: To the U.S. government, Gary McKinnon
is a seriously dangerous man who put the nation's security at risk
by committing "the biggest military computer hack of all time."
However, Mr. McKinnon sees things differently, he was just looking
for UFO evidence. ComputerWorld has the story:
http://www.wservernews.com/060501-UFO_Hunting
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WINDOWS SERVER NEWS |
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Major Changes In SMS and MOM
First off, Redmond announced they acquired asset management house
AssetMetrix and will add its asset management capabilities into
SMS within the next nine months. AssetMetrix inventories more
than 250 hardware features such as CPU and RAM and catalogs more
than 300,000 apps, including version numbers and licensing data.
But second, and a bigger surprise, they changed SMS' name to
"System Center Configuration Manager 2007". Sheesh, SMS becomes
'SCCM' and gets a year tacked on. Oh well. It will ship in 2007.
By adding AssetMetrix you can integrate your Microsoft Licensing
Statements with inventory data to ensure the software you run is
legal. Redmond said their idea was to have this data loaded into
SCCM to beef up its existing basic asset management features.
Also, Redmond will continue to run AssetMetrix as a hosted service,
similar to FrontBridge for e-mail cleaning and Placeware for Web
conferencing.
At the same time, Kiril Tatarinov (Corp VP of Windows and Enterprise
Management) laid out their plans for the management products over
the next 18 months. To start with, he announced products that will
integrate Redmond's management modeling technology which is called
Systems Definition Model (SDM).
Ready for some more change? Well MOM is now SCUM! Ooops, really
'SCOM' but it sounds a lot worse doesn't it? Microsoft Operations
Manager v3 is now called System Center Operations Manager 2007
(SCOM). Sheesh! The first public beta of SCOM 2007 will ship in
late May or early June. The final release will ship before the
end of the year.
Also in 2007, Redmond plans to release System Center Service Desk,
a process workflow engine that ties together their range of
management tools, more about this in the item below.
SSCM will have a simplified GUI that supports drag-and-drop and
advanced task sequencing for complex software and OS deployments.
It will also have "Wake-on LAN" management over the Internet, and
"time change windows." which allows you to wake up powered down
systems and to schedule updates and distributions.
The new SSCM 2007 will also support Network Address Protection
(NAP) when Longhorn (Vista Server) comes out. This will help you
improve security compliance by blocking access to your corporate
network by noncompliant systems. SCCM 2007 will automate the
"remediation process" to bring offending systems up to the required
level. If you want to have a look at Beta 1 of SCCM 2007, go here:
http://www.wservernews.com/060501-SCCM_2007_Beta
Microsoft Service Desk Could Be Tough Sell
Redmond is adding the product, code-named simply "Service Desk,"
in late 2007. It pulls together process and change control logic.
It will be integrated with other System Center tools out-of-the-box.
But even by adding a service desk to its System Center portfolio,
it won't be easy for Microsoft to entice Windows shops that have
already invested time and money in third-party products like MBC,
IBM and Peregrine. Story at:
http://www.wservernews.com/060501-MS_Service_Desk
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WINDOWS SERVER THIRD PARTY NEWS |
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Deadline WinIT Pro Readers' Choice 2006: May First!
Oh, if you have not voted yet, could you? The vote ends May 1!
If you like receiving your weekly WServerNews, and like Sunbelt's
products, I'd be very grateful if you would vote for us!
Windows IT Pro Magazine started their 2006 Readers' Choice awards
voting and it continues through May 1st, 2006. To vote, the only
requirement is a Windows IT Pro registered user or subscriber
account. These accounts are free and require only a valid e-mail
address. If you are not registered, you should. This is a GREAT
Site that I think is in the Top 3 for system admins. Vote here:
http://www.wservernews.com/060501-Vote
And here is the list of direct links of our five products you can
vote for. Thanks a lot in advance!
- Security: Spyware Blocker - CounterSpy Enterprise
- Messaging: Antispam Mail/Server - iHateSpam for Exchange
- Network Management: Network Analyzer - LanHound
- Security: Vulnerability Assessment Scanner - Sunbelt Network Security Inspector
So, if you have been reading WServerNews for a while and would like
to thank me for your weekly windows news roundup, I would highly
appreciate your vote. Go here:
http://www.wservernews.com/060501-Vote
NetIQ Sold for $495 Million
Client Server News reported today that AttachmateWRQ is buying
NetIQ, who did their IPO in 1999 and - up against Microsoft - for
all intents and purposes hasn't made money since then. However,
NetIQ has about $192 million in the bank so the price is more
like $300 million. AttachmateWRQ creates software that integrates
desktops with mainframes. On the same day the acquisition was
NetIQ, posted losses of $1.14 million, or three cents a share,
on revenues down 10% to $46 million for the March quarter. If you
work in our Windows/Linux industry and want to get the inside scoop
early, you should consider a subscription to Client Server News:
http://www.wservernews.com/060501-Client_Server_News
Double-Take Software: MVP Awards Finalist
More great news - Double-Take has been selected as a "Data Protection
Software" finalist for the Storage World MVP Awards! These awards
recognize the "best of the best" of storage networking products
in the industry, as determined by storage end-users. The nomination
was reviewed by a board of storage industry experts (including
representatives from InfoStor Magazine and the ASNP). Similar to
the ACE awards, end-users vote on the winner, voting ends May 5.
http://www.wservernews.com/060501-Double-Take_Finalist
Superfast, Super Value, Remote Control
Sunbelt Remote Administrator has everything you need, and nothing
you don't. A user called it a "pcAnywhere killer"! Sunbelt Radmin
is a complete and secure remote control tool especially designed
for-and-by busy system admins. (but if you are a normal telecommuter
it will work great for you too) The truly crucial features are all
there: superfast remote control, file transfer, NT security, telnet
and multilanguage support. It has a very small, tight footprint and
is blisteringly fast. The price is ridiculously low. This is one
sweet little tool that comes with Sunbelt's industry strength tech
support and resources. Version 3.0 is in beta and expected soon:
http://www.wservernews.com/060501-RAdmin
New Crop Of Holes That Needs To Be Scanned For & Fixed
Sunbelt Network Security Inspector (SNSI) version 1.6.56.0 released
April 26, 2006). To update from within the SNSI console, select
Settings, enter your full registration key and click on Check Now
button. New vulnerability updates for this release include:
ID Name
L1119 Groff temp directory race condition - MDV
L1120 Kernel multiple vulnerabilities - MDV
L1121 Bluez-hcidump l2cap.c vulnerability - MDV
L1122 Libtiff malformed BitsPerSample tag - MDV
L1123 Mplayer multiple vulnerabilities - MDV
L1124 Mozilla Thunderbird WYSIWYG security bypass - MDV
L1125 Freeciv packet.c negative compression error - MDV
L1126 Xorg-X11 Init.c logfile and configure error - MDV
L1127 GNOME Evolution Cairo content-disposition - MDV
L1128 PHP html_entity chunk return - MDV
W2757 Firefox Privilege Escalation Vulnerabilities
W2758 Mozilla SeaMonkey Privilege Escalation Vulnerabilities
SNSI extended to support more OS versions: Mandriva
SNSI uses the latest Mitre Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE)
list of computer incidents. It also contains the latest SANS/FBI
top 20 vulnerability list. SNSI also uses the latest CERT, CIAC
Microsoft and FedCIRC (Department of Homeland Security) advisories.
Get a 30-day eval at:
http://www.wservernews.com/060501-SNSI
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WServerNews 'FAVE' LINKS |
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This Week's Links We Like. Tips, Hints And Fun Stuff
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WServerNews - PRODUCT OF THE WEEK |
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More Security Regulations To Comply With?
Your organization needs to comply with more and more security
regulations. A good example is the new Credit Card Security
Standard. If your outfit takes credit card sales online, you
need to comply! Windows IT Pro Magazine readers chose SNSI as
their Best Vulnerability Scanner in the September 2005 issue.
Earlier reviews gave SNSI got 4 out of 5 stars, and they said:
"Excellent vulnerability descriptions and remediation instructions;
low cost... user-friendly." 30-day eval here:
http://www.wservernews.com/060501-Security_Regulations
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