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Vol. 11, #39 - Sep 25, 2006 - Issue #595
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Some Laptops Face Airline Ban
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- EDITORS CORNER
- Spyware, Bots, Rootkits Flooding Through IE Hole
- Take A Minute And Vote For CSE And Ninja?
- Now Toshiba Recalls Batteries
- Quote Of The Week
- ADMIN TOOLBOX
- Admin Tools We Think You Shouldn't Be Without
- TECH BRIEFING
- Some Laptops Face Airline Ban
- Microsoft Announces HD-DVD Drive for Xbox 360
- Step-by-Step Guide: Hacking File Servers
- Restoring A Database From Another SQL Server
- IT Admins Get Help In Minding Remote Users
- Microsoft Outlook Email Encryption Simplified
- Defragmentation: Performance-sapping Bogeyman Or Best Practice?
- WINDOWS SERVER NEWS
- Crimeware Sites Grow Tremendously
- Mark Minasi: "Enable Vista Admin From Command Line"
- WINDOWS SERVER THIRD PARTY NEWS
- Public Counterspy V2.0 Beta Invitation
- CounterSpy V2.0 Also Has Rootkit Protection
- "Trend Scan-Mail To Ninja" 50% Competitive Upgrade Offer
- WServerNews 'FAVE' LINKS
- This Week's Links We Like. Tips, Hints And Fun Stuff.
- WServerNews - PRODUCT OF THE WEEK
- BOOK: Hands-On SQL Server 2005 Integration Services
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Raxco Software's New PerfectDisk 8.0 Defragmenter: Everything Faster.
New PerfectDisk 8 disk defragger from Raxco with new management
console. Winner of Windows IT Pro & Redmond Readers' Choice, PC
Mag Editors' Choice awards and many more. V8 raises the bar for
defrag: patented optimization strategy, AutoPilot Scheduling to
automate everything, Space Restoration Technology, and much more.
Join IBM, Microsoft, Gibson Guitars, Subway restaurants, and many
more. PerfectDisk - the world's number 1 defragger. Everything faster.
http://www.wservernews.com/060925-PerfectDisk
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EDITORS CORNER |
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Spyware, Bots, Rootkits Flooding Through IE Hole
Sunbelt researchers discovered the latest zero-day flaw in IE, which
is being used to dump a massive collection of bots, Trojan downloaders,
spyware and rootkits on infected Windows machines. Been all over the
news but eWEEK summarized it nicely:
http://www.wservernews.com/060925-VML
You need enterprise antispyware more than ever. I wanted to make you
aware of a special promotion that we are running through the end of
September. Through September 30, we can give you THREE years maintenance
of CounterSpy Enterprise for the price of TWO. This helps you fight
malware with WinIT Pro Readers' Choice Award-winning spyware protection
available for three full years. This price includes all software upgrades,
definition updates and Sunbelt's world-class technical support.
http://www.wservernews.com/060925-CounterSpy-Enterprise
Take A Minute And Vote For CSE And Ninja?
SC Magazine has their yearly vote in the categories Best Anti-Malware
and Best Email Security Solution. Could you do me a biiig favor? Take
a minute (this one is really fast) and vote for CounterSpy Enterprise
and Ninja? Thanks a million in advance!
Best Anti-malware Solution, - CSE is 7-th from the top
http://www.wservernews.com/060925-Vote_CSE
Best Email Security Solution - Ninja is 8-th from the bottom
http://www.wservernews.com/060925-Vote_Ninja
Now Toshiba Recalls Batteries
After Dell and Apple, now Toshiba plans to recall 340,000 notebook
computer batteries. At least some of the batteries were manufactured by
Sony Corp, the report said. After the Dell and Apple recalls, Sony stated
that those were the only affected ones, but this recall appears to be a
different problem (or at least that's what they claim). Instead of go on
fire, they stop recharging and/or run out of power. The culprits are in
the Dynabook and Satellite laptops that Toshiba sold this year between
March and May.
Quote Of The Week
"The path of least resistance is the path of the loser." -- H.G. Wells
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TECH BRIEFING |
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Some Laptops Face Airline Ban
Virgin Atlantic, Korean Air, and Qantas Airways of Australia have
stopped passengers using their Dell and Apple laptops for fear of
overheated laptop computer batteries. Forget catching up with email
off-line or watching a movie on these airlines. U.S. airlines have
not followed suit yet, that could potentially affect thousands of
international travelers. If you fly first class you can use the
power outlets, so here's finally your justification for a "slightly
more expensive" air ticket!!
Microsoft Announces HD-DVD Drive for Xbox 360
Redmond announced in Tokyo that it will sell HD-DVD drives for the
Xbox 360 in Japan on November 22nd. The date comes just a week after
the Playstation 3's planned launch. The unit, which is attachable by
USB, will retail for roughly $175. HD-DVD is Microsoft's new DVD
format, which is in direct competition with Sony's Blu-ray format.
The Playstation 3 comes installed with a Blu-ray drive, which is
largely responsible for the console's high price and several launch
delays. Microsoft also confirmed that it expects to sell 10 million
units by year-end and will up its total game catalog to 110 from 69
over the same time. The company also announced that 60% of Xbox 360
owners are connected to Xbox Live, which continues to gain momentum.
Step-by-Step Guide: Hacking File Servers
File servers hold much of an enterprise's sensitive data and are certainly
a prime target of malicious hackers. Security testing expert Kevin Beaver
says you'd be surprised how easy it is to attack these servers -- from
inside or outside the network. Kevin outlines some of these techniques in
this step-by-step guide at SearchWindowsSecurity:
http://www.wservernews.com/060925-Hacking-File-Servers
Restoring A Database From Another SQL Server
When moving a database from one server to another, you may be left with
mismatched logins and database users. This tip examines the steps to go
through when restoring a database from a different server at SearchSQLServer
(free registration required):
http://www.wservernews.com/060925-SQL-Restore
IT Admins Get Help In Minding Remote Users
With the number of mobile users growing every year, new features are in
demand to help desperate IT managers keep tabs on wireless devices. New
features from Exchange Server 2003's SP2 provide some remote relief.
SearchWinIT.com
http://www.wservernews.com/060925-Remote-Users
Microsoft Outlook Email Encryption Simplified
Many Exchange Server administrators balk at implementing Microsoft Outlook
email encryption, because it has to be supported by both the sending and
receiving email clients. Learn about a Microsoft Outlook tool that works
around this issue by compiling Microsoft Outlook email and attachments
into a standard .ZIP file that is secured with AES 256-bit encryption.
http://www.wservernews.com/060925-Encrypted-Outlook
Defragmentation: Performance-sapping Bogeyman Or Best Practice?
How big of a problem is fragmentation really? How beneficial is
defragmentation? In this tip, expert Serdar Yegulalp explodes some
myths and defies some conventional wisdom about defragmentation.
http://www.wservernews.com/060925-Defragmentation
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WINDOWS SERVER NEWS |
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Crimeware Sites Grow Tremendously
The number of Crimeware spreading sites have surged to record highs.
Per the Anti-Phishing Working Group's "PROJECT: Crimeware" where they
have been monitoring the increase of malicious software purpose-built
for criminal enterprise for over a year (June 2005 - June 2006).
A number of factors probably contribute to this development, e.g. the
increased availability of exploit kits for sale on the Internet.
These allow non-technical users to put exploit code on innocent web
sites with the intention of running this on the computers of people
visiting the sites, e.g. to steal log- in information. This current
development is driven by financial gain. Check out the stats we
created for you, and keep your users off these sites:
http://www.wservernews.com/060925-Crimeware-Sites
Mark Minasi: "Enable Vista Admin From Command Line"
Mark Minasi sent me the following: "Hey Stu -- I may be missing something,
but you can enable the Administrator in Vista with one line from an
elevated command line. The command line rules!
net user administrator Somecomplexp@ssword /active:yes
I've just never understood the hullabaloo about the Admin account in
Vista, inasmuch as it's basically unnecessary. I've been running
builds 5472, 5536 and now RC1 and never had a need to enable it. User
Account Control is an excellent idea for 98 percent of the Windows users;
the problem is that the other two percent -- the techies who should be
evangelizing it so they won't have to spend hours scouring spyware off
the computers of friends and family members -- are so busy whining about
its inconvenience that no one seems to know of its strengths."
Thanks Mark! Stu
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WINDOWS SERVER THIRD PARTY NEWS |
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Public Counterspy V2.0 Beta Invitation
It's a bit late, but here it is! The new CounterSpy V2.0 beta.
Much faster, lots less CPU, lots less Memory, much better Active
Protection and now also rootkit protection via the "FirstBoot"
technology. Want to participate in this beta? Continue to read, but
you gotta be fast! Only 2,000 people will be able to participate...
New & Improved Features in CounterSpy 2.0
CounterSpy 2.0 includes the following new features or improvements:
- re-designed/re-coded scan & removal engine
- new heuristics engine for improved detections
- improved remove-on-boot capability
- new scan-on-boot technology
- more aggressive Active Protections based on kernel-level filter drivers
- improved look for GUI
- incremental definition updates
Supported Windows Versions
CounterSpy 2.0 beta is compatible with the following versions of
Windows only:
- Windows 2000 Professional
- Windows XP Professional, Home, Tablet, or Media Center
- The CounterSpy 2.0 Beta is NOT supported on the following platforms:
Windows 95, 98, 98SE, ME, NT4, 2000 server, 2003 server, XP64-bit, Vista.
Beta Quality Software
Interested users should bear in mind that this is beta quality software.
As such, users can expect to encounter bugs of all shapes and sizes,
including some that could in rare cases cause catastrophic system
crashes. Users are cautioned not to install or run beta quality software
in a business "production" environment or in an environment where bugs
and system crashes are flatly unacceptable.
How to Join the Limited Public Beta Program
If you are interested in participating in this limited public beta for
CounterSpy 2.0, please do the following:
- Register at the Sunbelt Beta forums
Visit the following web page and submit the required info to register
at the Sunbelt Beta forums:
http://www.wservernews.com/060925-CounterSpy-BETA
Registration, which is free, gives you a username and password to
access the beta forums. (If you are already registered at the Sunbelt
beta forums, then skip to step 3 below.) When asked to specify a product,
select "CounterSpy Consumer."
- Confirm Forum Registration
After registering at the Sunbelt Beta forums, you will receive an
email with instructions for confirming registration at the Sunbelt
Beta forums. Follow those instructions.
- Apply to Join "CounterSpy 2.0 Limited Beta" Group
After confirming your registration, click the "Usergroups" button
along the top menu bar of the forum. Then from the "Join a Group"
drop-down menu box that appears, select "CounterSpy 2.0 Limited
Beta" (not "Closed Beta") and click "View Information." When the
basic info page regarding the group comes up, click the "Join
Group" button. This will trigger an email request to the forum
administrators to grant you access to the hidden CounterSpy 2.0
discussion forums. Once the admins approve your request to join,
you will receive an email confirming your membership in the group.
- Download & Install CounterSpy 2.0
After your membership in the "CounterSpy 2.0 Limited Beta" has been
granted, you should have access to nine new discussion groups for
CounterSpy 2.0. In the "Downloads & Updates" forum you will find a
discussion topic with a download link for the latest build of
CounterSpy 2.0 (build 325). Please take a moment to read the
documentation that is available in the "Downloads & Updates" forum,
esp. the notes on installation and uninstallation.
The first 2000 users to respond to this announcement will be given access
to the CSC 2.0 discussion forums, where a download link for CounterSpy 2.0
is located. Additionally, on general release of the "gold" version
of CounterSpy 2.0, the most active and helpful participants in the
CounterSpy 2.0 discussion forums (to be determined by Sunbelt's
moderators) will receive a free 1 year license for CounterSpy as a
"thank you" from Sunbelt.
All Support Questions & Issues will be
handled in the CounterSpy Beta Forums If you encounter problems
or have questions with CounterSpy 2.0 Beta, please post questions
and reports to the Sunbelt's CounterSpy Beta forums, not to other
forums on the Net. Sunbelt's QA team is monitoring the Sunbelt
forums constantly and is prepared to answer any questions you might
have. We look forward to receiving your feedback and advice on this
next version of CounterSpy. Visit the following web page and submit
the required info to register at the Sunbelt Beta forums:
http://www.wservernews.com/060925-CounterSpy-BETA
CounterSpy V2.0 Also Has Rootkit Protection
Apart from all the new features we have added, the dramatic increase
in speed, and the enormous savings in resources (lots less memory),
you will be happy to hear that the new Version 2.0 of CounterSpy
has NEW technology to kill hard to remove spyware. This is done by
scanning at boot time, even before a lot of Windows is loaded. We
have called it the 'First Scan" technology, and it was designed to
kill spyware that burrows deep into Windows, and to locate and remove
all of the known rootkits in Sunbelt's extensive definitions".
After the release of the consumer version, this technology will
also be available in CounterSpy Enterprise.
"Trend Scan-Mail To Ninja" 50% Competitive Upgrade Offer
Sunbelt Software offers all existing Trend users a 50% Competitive
Upgrade Discount so they can afford to move from their second-
generation product to the latest third-gen (policy-based) messaging
security platform for Microsoft Exchange: Ninja. Download the 30-day
Ninja eval, see for yourself how good it works, and ask your Rep or
Reseller for a Competitive Upgrade quote, be pleasantly surprised!
http://www.wservernews.com/060925-Ninja
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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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BOOK: Hands-On SQL Server 2005 Integration Services
From the back page: Extract, transform, and consolidate data from
disparate sources and move it to single or multiple destinations
using SQL Server 2005 Integration Services -- the next-generation
data integration platform. Hands-On Microsoft SQL Server 2005
Integration Services shows you, step-by-step, how to build and
manage SSIS packages, draw out meaningful information from raw data,
and deliver de-duplicated and cleansed data to business applications
and corporate reports. Inside, you'll get detailed information on
migrating to SQL Server 2005 Integration Services, enhancing performance,
and implementing encryption policies to secure SSIS packages.
http://www.wservernews.com/060925-SQL-2005
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