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Vol. 11, #47 - Nov 20, 2006 - Issue #603
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Ballmer: "Linux Users Owe Me Money"
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- EDITORS CORNER
- Tech.Ed 2007: Orlando!
- Ballmer: "Linux Users Owe Me Money"
- Quote Of The Week
- ADMIN TOOLBOX
- Admin Tools We Think You Shouldn't Be Without
- TECH BRIEFING
- IE7 Rejected By FBI
- Court Shuts Down Alleged Spyware Operation
- Step-by-step Virtualization Adoption: Physical-to-virtual Migration
- Podcast: Windows Week in Review
- VMware's Greene: 'The Operating System Shouldn't Matter'
- What's Missing In Exchange Server 2007
- WINDOWS SERVER NEWS
- SPECIAL REPORT: Which Windows When
- Microsoft To Release Server Appliance
- The Skinny On Windows SPP And Reduced Functionality In Vista
- Exploit Already Out For Brand-New Workstation Service Flaw
- WINDOWS SERVER THIRD PARTY NEWS
- Wide Public Beta for CounterSpy Consumer 2.0
- Running Just One Single AV Engine, Company Wide?
- Sunbelt Network Security Inspector: IT Week Editor's Choice
- Arapahoe House Chooses Double-Take; Wins InfoWorld Award
- WServerNews 'FAVE' LINKS
- This Week's Links We Like. Tips, Hints And Fun Stuff.
- WServerNews - PRODUCT OF THE WEEK
- BOOK: Hacking For Dummies - (keep your data safe)
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EDITORS CORNER |
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Tech.Ed 2007: Orlando!
Well, look what we found on the MS website just a day ago....
"Microsoft has made the difficult decision not to hold Tech·Ed 2007 in New
Orleans. With this event drawing a large number of attendees from around
the world and with the airlines only servicing the city with about half
of their pre-Katrina flights, the logistics of moving that large a group
into and out of the city is challenging and would likely result in travel
and logistical challenges for attendees. Join us on June 4-8, 2007 in Orlando
at the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC)" You can sign their Guest
Book and get updates when you can register. Orlando is in our back yard so
we'll see you there.
http://www.wservernews.com/061120-TechEd-2007
While we talk about Tech.Ed, MS announced in Barcelona, Spain at the European
Tech.Ed that they plan to ship "Longhorn" and Windows Vista Service Pack 1 at
the same time, second half of next year. You will first get another Longhorn
build later this year, followed by another one in early 2007 and then you get
Longhorn Beta 3 by the middle of 07. Bob Muglia, MS Senior Veep for server and
tools said: "The current plan is to ship Longhorn and Vista SP1 simultaneously,
as it is one source code base. So, if you follow that model, you have to ship
them both at roughly the same time," And Longhorn just might be called Vista
Server instead of Windows Server 2007. We'll see.
Ballmer: "Linux Users Owe Me Money"
Finally Microsoft pulled the expected rabbit called 'FUD' all the way out
of the hat. Redmond had been hinting for a few years that the rabbit was
hiding in there, but VOILA here it is! Ballmer now boldly claims that Linux
"uses our intellectual property". It had been widely suspected in the open-
source community that Redmond would pull the "Linux infringes on Microsoft's
intellectual property" caper one day, and they were right.
It happened in a Q&A session after Ballmer's keynote at a Seattle SQL Server
conference. He said he thought it was a good idea to sign a deal with Novell
(which distributes SUSE Linux) because Linux "uses our intellectual property"
and he wanted to "get the appropriate economic return for our shareholders
from our innovation."
So the deal with Novell makes Windows and SUSE play nice together. Redmond
will pay Novell $440 million for coupons that provide one year SUSE support
and maintenance, with MS pushing SUSE. But the other bit was Novell paying MS
40 Mil 'protection money', so they will not get sued for infringement. Pretty
much everyone using and contributing to SUSE is free from prosecution. Makes
Redmond look pretty good in court if they try to sue other Linux distros.
FUD ALERT: "Novell pays us some money for the right to tell customers that
anybody who uses SUSE Linux is appropriately covered," Ballmer said. This
"is important to us, because [otherwise] we believe every Linux customer
basically has an undisclosed balance-sheet liability."
Interesting perspective came from Pamela Jones, editor of the Groklaw site.
"My reaction is that so far, what he [Ballmer] said is just more FUD [fear,
uncertainty and doubt]," "Let him sue if he thinks he has a valid claim, and
we'll see how well his customers like it." Obviously open-source advocates want
Redmond to show exactly which lines of Linux kernel code are the culprits and
rip them out, or work around them. Ballmer continued with the following pretty
clear message: "Only customers that use SUSE have paid properly for intellectual
property from Microsoft," he said. "We are willing to do a deal with Red Hat
and other Linux distributors." The deal with SUSE Linux "is not exclusive,"
However, a potential deal between those two companies will have to wait until
the end of 2009, as Novell and Microsoft signed an exclusivity agreement barring
MS from establishing similar agreements with other Linux vendors for the next
three years. Imagine that, all Linux open-source users paying Redmond for using
that code. I thought the whole open-source idea was trying to get away from that.
Echoes of SCO anyone? I'm sure the last word has not been spoken about this issue.
Quote Of The Week
"It is even better to act quickly and err than to hesitate until the time
of action is past." -- Karl von Clausewitz.
PS, could you do me a favor? We are trying to determine where we are
going to advertise next year, and we need to know which trade rags you
really like and use, and which ones you trash right out. It's one of these
less-than-a-minute point-and-click surveys. Thanks so much in advance!
http://www.wservernews.com/061120-Survey
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TECH BRIEFING |
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IE7 Rejected By FBI
InfoWorld has a "gossip" journalist that had an item this week that I
thought was immensely entertaining so I'm sending you a short blurb
of the "Robert X. Cringely" column!
"Microsoft may be 'gung ho' about Internet Explorer 7, but the FBI doesn't
share its enthusiasm. Cringester and gun dealer Robert B. got an e-mail
from the Feds saying its NICS (National Instant Criminal Background Check
System) does not support IE7. The G-men want to perform a background check
on the browser's security flaws before they pull the trigger. (A good idea.)
Suddenly Microsoft's plan to roll out IE7 as an automatic Windows update
looks even dumber. Maybe Redmond should change that to semi-automatic."
Hee hee.
Court Shuts Down Alleged Spyware Operation
Millions of computers that downloaded "free" screensavers and video files
from a company called ERG Ventures have been afflicted with a difficult-to-
remove piece of malware called Media Motor, according to the FTC. The
offending firm has been shut down by a district court, and now the FTC
seeks information about the firm from consumers.
Step-by-step Virtualization Adoption: Physical-to-virtual Migration
Moving the contents of a physical computer into a virtual machine is much
more than simply copying files from one location to another - it is a complex
technical operation that takes time and costs money. In this tip, expert
Alessandro Perilli discusses the physical-to-virtual (P2V) migration of
the physical machines recognized as being good candidates for virtualization.
(free registration required)
http://www.wservernews.com/061120-Virtualization-Migration
Podcast: Windows Week in Review
SearchWinIT.com's Brendan Cournoyer recaps the most important Windows stories
of the past week in the latest edition of our Windows Week in Review audiocast.
This week, listen to the latest on the upcoming releases of Windows Vista,
Office System 2007 and Exchange Server 2007.
http://www.wservernews.com/061120-Podcast
VMware's Greene: 'The Operating System Shouldn't Matter'
In this interview, Diane Greene, VMware co-founder and president, talks about
how virtualization could break the stranglehold Microsoft has on the computing
industry.
http://www.wservernews.com/061120-VMware
What's Missing In Exchange Server 2007
With all the enhancements in Exchange Server 2007, it's easy to overlook
the fact that many features have been "deemphasized" or completely removed
from the newest version of Microsoft Exchange Server. Find out what features
no longer exist so you can plan an eventual Exchange Server 2007 deployment
without any nasty surprises.
http://www.wservernews.com/061120-Exchange-Server-2007
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WINDOWS SERVER NEWS |
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SPECIAL REPORT: Which Windows When
Buying the Microsoft Windows OS used to be akin to buying a Model T Ford -
you could have it painted any color you wanted, as long as it was black.
You couldn't buy "Windows 95 Souped-up Version," or "Windows Me Stripped-
down and Less Expensive Version." Variety was lacking.
Those days are long gone, on both the server and desktop sides.
Microsoft's newest OS, Windows Vista, was released to manufacturing (RTM)
on Nov. 8, meaning it should be in the hands of volume customers by the
end of November and consumers by Jan. 30, 2007. As always, Microsoft
promises the kitchen sink - and the kitchen stove, refrigerator, toaster,
et al. - to buyers of its latest and greatest OS. But the catch is that
you can now choose some of the appliances you get with your kitchen sink.
The same holds true in the data center, with Microsoft's Windows Server 2003
- lots of options to pick and choose from.
To cut down on confusion, ENTmag.com created this useful guide to the latest
Windows desktop and server OSes. We'll give the basics on what each version
does, and which version you should use in what environment. Read more:
http://www.wservernews.com/061120-Windows-Guide
Microsoft To Release Server Appliance
CIBC Software Bytes found something interesting at CRN.com. Microsoft
is working on releasing a Windows Server appliance for the small to
medium-sized business (SMB) market, following the success of Linux-based
server appliances.
Code-named "Fresno", the entry-level Longhorn Server appliance should
be out some time next year, with a sub-$1,000 price tag. The company will
also make the software available to OEMs for a few hundred dollars. What
makes the offering different than other SMB focused server offerings from
Microsoft is the lack of client access license (CAL) requirements. The
appliance is also expected to help the company address the virtual appliance
market (an integrated operating system with an application stack).
The Skinny On Windows SPP And Reduced Functionality In Vista
Microsoft's Software Protection Platform, which debuts in Windows Vista,
has been the subject of much fear, uncertainty and doubt. Find out the
truth about this controversial new antipiracy measure, from whom it
affects to how it behaves. ComputerWorld has a good summary:
http://www.wservernews.com/061120-SPP
Exploit Already Out For Brand-New Workstation Service Flaw
Wow, that's fast. In just 2 days, Black Hats have posted code that exploits
the new critical vulnerability in Windows' Workstation Service. The
vulnerability in case is a remotely exploitable buffer-overrun. It was
fixed in Security Bulletin MS06-070, and the hole allows attackers to
take complete control of a compromised system. It's a bad one and
clearly the worst of the seven "critical" flaws this month. So patch
your systems ASAP.
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WINDOWS SERVER THIRD PARTY NEWS |
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Wide Public Beta for CounterSpy Consumer 2.0
Sunbelt Software is pleased to announce the start of a wide public
Beta for the next version of its flagship anti-spyware application,
CounterSpy 2.0. This public beta will allow our users to test drive
a pre-release version of CounterSpy 2.0, which incorporates a number
of significant improvements over CounterSpy 1.5. Click on the following
link to direct download Beta 4 - there are no forms to fill out:
http://www.wservernews.com/061120-CS2-Beta
CounterSpy 2.0 includes the following new features or improvements:
- Smaller Memory Footprint
2.0 now uses 75% less memory!
- Re-designed/re-coded scan & removal engine
Faster full scan times
Better remediation capabilities
- New heuristics engine for improved detections
Better removal of polymorphic threats
- Improved remove-on-boot capability
Remove locked processes at boot time before Windows boots
- New scan-on-boot technology
Scans known locations at boot time to remove Rootkits in our definitions
- More aggressive Active Protections based on
Kernel based file filter stops the install before it happens
Kernel based Registry filter stops modifications by potential security risks
- Improved look for GUI
Minor changes for usability especially in Active Protection
- Incremental definition updates
Smaller downloads when new definitions are available
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.
In the event you encounter a Windows System failure or CounterSpy crashes
and you are given the option to send your log information to Microsoft,
please send it to Microsoft, (we work together with Microsoft and get these
logs), so we can quickly analyze any compatibility issues CounterSpy may
encounter.
System Requirements
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher
- IBM Compatible 400MHZ Computer with at least 128MB of RAM
- Windows 2000 Pro SP3+ and Windows XP (Pro, Home, Tablet, or Media)
- 150MB of available free space on your hard drive
CounterSpy 2.0 BETA 4 is not supported on the following platforms:
- Windows 95
- Windows 98
- Windows 98 SE
- Windows ME
- Windows NT 4.0 (or earlier)
- Windows 2000 Server
- Windows 2003 Server
- Windows XP 64-bit
- Windows Vista
How to Download CounterSpy Consumer 2.0 Beta
If you are interested in participating in this public beta 4 for CounterSpy
2.0, please do one of the following:
- Download CounterSpy Consumer 2.0 beta directly.
Click on the following link to download CounterSpy Consumer 2.0 Beta:
http://www.wservernews.com/061120-CS2-Beta
- Download CounterSpy Consumer beta from the beta forums
Click on the following link to go to the Sunbelt Software beta forum:
http://beta.sunbelt-software.com
Once there click on the link entitled "How to Download and Provide Feedback"
under the "CounterSpy Consumer 2.0 Beta Download"
How to Get Support and Provide Feedback
- Register at the Sunbelt Beta forums
Visit the following web page and submit the required info to register at the
Sunbelt Beta forums:
http://beta.sunbelt-software.com/index.php
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.
- Login With Your Username and Password
Click on any forum under "CounterSpy Consumer 2.0 Beta"
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.
Running Just One Single AV Engine, Company Wide?
In that case you need to take five minutes and watch this Flash
presentation. We have come up with all the ammo you need to convince
your boss to get some extra budget allocated to multi-engine AV on
Exchange. It's worth the time. It's on the Ninja page in the left
column, but here is the direct link (Flash):
http://www.wservernews.com/061120-Ninja-Presentation
Sunbelt Network Security Inspector: IT Week Editor's Choice
After the review they concluded: This software package can detect over
2,500 network vulnerabilities and wins our Editor's Choice Award for
value and security. Price $1,869 - FIVE STARS! You can read the full IT
Week Product Review on page 58 in the PDF in the Product Review Section:
http://www.sunbelt-software.com/SunbeltNetworkSecurityInspector-Docs.cfm
Here is where you can download SNSI to test on your own network:
http://www.wservernews.com/061120-SNSI
Arapahoe House Chooses Double-Take; Wins InfoWorld Award
Arapahoe House Chooses Double-Take Software to Protect Their Electronic
Record Systems and wins the InfoWorld 100 Solution Award.
Double-Take(r) Software today announced that Arapahoe House was selected
as an InfoWorld 100 award winner, based on its use of Double-Take to
protect its electronic records system. The award, which recognizes
innovative projects that serve well-defined business goals, greatly
endorses the fact that Double-Take is an affordable and easy-to-use data
protection solution.
IDG's InfoWorld, the leading integrated media brand for IT solutions
management, accepts nominations for the InfoWorld 100 awards annually.
The awards judges look for IT projects that demonstrate the most
creative use of cutting-edge technologies to further their business
goals.
"It's been said that fortune favors the bold. The inspiration for this
year's finalists to tackle such sweeping changes varies widely - from
reducing delivery time of products and services to replacing cumbersome
legacy systems," said Richard Gincel, senior editor at InfoWorld. "But
regardless of the motivation, high ambition unites them all."
Arapahoe House, a non-profit, community-based substance abuse treatment
center located in Thornton, Colo., recently worked with Double-Take
Software to set up a virtual server environment and deploy Double-Take
on each server. The agency's staff is now converting all of its paper
records to an electronic system, streamlining operations between its 14
facilities. Double-Take works to replicate and backup electronic
information from Arapahoe House's home server site to a remote server
site so, in the event of a system outage or natural disaster, the agency
can recover in minutes, if not seconds.
"We're very excited to win an InfoWorld 100 award. It's a true testament
to our hard work and innovative approach to creating a paperless-based
operation," said David Andersen, manager of information systems at
Arapahoe House. "I'm confident we made the best choice in selecting
Double-Take to protect our new electronic system. It's an essential part
of our new server environment and gives us peace of mind that our electronic
data is safe and secure." How well are your servers protected? 30-day eval:
http://www.wservernews.com/061120-Double-Take
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WServerNews 'FAVE' LINKS |
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This Week's Links We Like. Tips, Hints And Fun Stuff.
- A staged demonstration of a lithium ion battery fire in a generic notebook.
The flames reach up to six feet high. YOU SHOULD WATCH THIS VIDEO:
http://www.wservernews.com/061120-Battery-Fire
- This is a completely self sufficient electric 'car' that runs on
solar and a turbine. No gas at all. For sale summer '07. I want one!
http://www.wservernews.com/061120-Electric-Car
- My fave site for offbeat watches has come up with a cute marketing gimmick.
If you can guess what time it is, they give you 1,500 Yen off your order:
http://www.wservernews.com/061120-Offbeat-Watches
- Even if you're not a dog person, here are a few funny shots!
http://www.wservernews.com/061120-Funny-Dogs
- A handmade, motorized... tiger? No, I'm not making this up!
http://www.wservernews.com/061120-Tiger
- "Samsung has partnered with a Korean university to develop a robotic sentry
equipped with a 5.5mm machine gun. Meant for deployment along the DMZ between
North and South Korea, the $200,000 robot employs sophisticated pattern
recognition software for targeting humans.
http://www.wservernews.com/061120-Robotic-Sentry
- Stunning Aerobatics by Swiss pilot, filmed using 4 wireless cameras in
the cockpit, on the wings and on the tail of the airplane:
http://www.wservernews.com/061120-Aerobatics
- Subject: Find out who gives away your email address with Gmail trick
http://www.wservernews.com/061120-Gmail-Trick
- Been libeled on the web? This story might be useful to look at if you
want to clean up a damaged reputation:
http://www.wservernews.com/061120-Libel
- USB Missile Launchers. Cry Havoc, and Let Slip the Foam Darts of War
http://www.wservernews.com/061120-USB-Missile
- This video which that shows flight patterns of the U.S. Federal
Aviation Administration is quite interesting. It's almost art:
http://www.wservernews.com/061120-FAA-Patterns
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WServerNews - PRODUCT OF THE WEEK |
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BOOK: Hacking For Dummies - (keep your data safe)
From the back cover: Develop a plan to keep your information safe.
Find out how to test your systems, plug the holes, and foil attackers.
You'll find out how external hacker and rogue insider hacks happen, how
to discover where your systems and network are weak, what you can do to
strengthen your defenses, and how to prepare reports and recommendations
to management. Discover how to:
- Identify the different types of attacks
- Create a plan for testing
- Recognize vulnerabilities in your network
- Prevent attacks by rogue insiders
- Test applications, files, and databases
- Plug security holes
http://www.wservernews.com/061120-Hacking-for-Dummies
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