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Vol. 12, #24 - Jun 18, 2007 - Issue #630
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A Very Nice Disclaimer Surprise
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- Editor's Corner
- A Very Nice Disclaimer Surprise
- CounterSpy Enterprise 50% Competitive Offer Extended
- Business Wireless Networks: 19-24% Are Insecure
- Quotes Of The Week
- Admin Toolbox
- Admin Tools We Think You Shouldn't Be Without
- Tech Briefing
- Linux Foundation's Top Engineer Goes To Work for Microsoft
- Expert Tip: Network-Based Storage And Virtualization
- Microsoft Vista Interoperability: What's At Stake For It Managers?
- How MSCONFIG Utility Has Changed In Windows Vista
- Performance Analysis Tools For SQL Server
- Securing Windows Clients: Top Tips For Summer '07
- Windows Server News
- Windows Server 2003 SP2 'Pushed' on Patch Tuesday
- Windows Home Server Is Getting Closer
- Microsoft Releases Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1
- Microsoft Service Desk Beta 1 Ready For Download
- Windows Server 2008: Now in Beta 3
- WServer Third Party News
- Latest SNSI Update
- Recoverability in Regulated Industries
- WServerNews FAVE Links
- This Week's Links We Like. Tips, Hints And Fun Stuff.
- WServerNews - Product of the Week
- 5-Star Competitive Upgrade - Now For All Antispyware
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Web Traffic Demystified with Kerio WinRoute Firewall 6.3
Flushing out bottlenecks and clamping down on unproductive browsing
has never been easier with the new Kerio StaR reporting system in
Kerio WinRoute Firewall 6.3. Experience boosted network performance
for your critical apps while filtering out Peer-to-Peer Network
traffic and viruses. Includes new support for Windows Vista and
64-bit systems.
http://www.wservernews.com/070618-Kerio-WinRoute
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Editor's Corner |
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A Very Nice Disclaimer Surprise
Hi All,
Since this is the end of the second quarter, you expect special
offers. And I have two good ones for you!
Sunbelt Software is excited to present: Ninja Disclaimers(tm)
Now you can get powerful, -policy-based- disclaimers for Exchange at
a ridiculous price. The full Ninja Email Security product is a multiple
award winner, but now you can get it stand-alone with the policy-based
disclaimers plug-in for just $99.95 per year... with unlimited mailboxes!
Get a 30-day eval over here. Or, can just add it to your Online Shop
cart and get your key immediately.
http://www.wservernews.com/070618-Ninja-Disclaimers
Yes, that is unlimited mailboxes. Even if you run 10 Exchange
boxes, it is STILL only $99.95 per year. We decided to make this
a complete no-brainer. And since this integrates with Active Directory
and is super easy to manage, you can afford to throw away any old
disclaimer solution you might run. Get your Ninja Disclaimers here:
http://www.wservernews.com/070618-Ninja-Disclaimers
CounterSpy Enterprise 50% Competitive Offer Extended
In the month of June, you can replace any competitive product with
award winning CounterSpy Enterprise. The new news is that we are extending
that to sites that up to now have been making do with freeware like Spybot
and Ad-Aware (yes we know you are out there). Freeware by now definitely
gives you a false sense of security, they are not able to keep up.
http://www.wservernews.com/070618-CounterSpy-Enterprise
Business Wireless Networks: 19-24% Are Insecure
This week, a report by RSA Security revealed that Wi-Fi hot spots
rose 49% in New York City, 160% in London and 44% in Paris. The
number of unsecured access points has gone up significantly because
of the fast growth. It's incredible to think that a system admin
would not take the relatively small effort to turn on encryption,
so I would suspect that a lot of these are WAPs that employees have
installed without permission. You really need to sniff these out
and get them either encrypted or shut down. It's quickly becoming a
firing offense to have one of these unprotected WAPs in your network.
Quotes Of The Week
"As Americans we must always remember that we all have a common enemy, an
enemy that is dangerous, powerful and relentless. I refer, of course, to
the federal government." -- Dave Barry
"Debugging is always harder than programming, so if you write code as
cleverly as you know how, by definition you will be unable to debug it."
-- unknown. (contributed to many different sources though)
PS, Exploits are hot on the heels of patches these days so make
sure you patch your systems as soon as humanly possible.
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Tech Briefing |
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Linux Foundation's Top Engineer Goes To Work for Microsoft
"Deja Vu all over again". In the early nineties, Digital Equipment's
Operating System Architect Dave Cutler was bought away from DEC and
moved to Microsoft. A few years later, Windows NT saw the light of
day, which was for the VMS-crowd nothing more than a rewrite of the
mission critical VMS OS, but with a GUI and backward compatibility
for Windows.
Now Redmond has tapped Tom Hanrahan. He is going to manage the deal
with Novell where code needs to interoperate. Hanrahan was hired seven
months after Redmond and Novell signed the controversial pact that
caused lots of noise because of the included patent language.
Hanrahan has been the director of engineering at Open Source Development
Labs, now called the Linux Foundation. This used to be the main Open
Source battle group against Microsoft. Did some one move to the dark
side of the force? ;-D
Expert Tip: Network-Based Storage And Virtualization
Providing and managing storage resources in any IT environment can be
an extremely challenging task. When you're using local storage, you
often run into limitations based on the number of hard disks that can
physically be attached to a single computer. Multiply these requirements
by dozens or hundreds of servers, and the problem quickly becomes
unmanageable. Fortunately, centralized, network-based storage offers a
potential solution. In this expert tip, find out how you can use
network-based storage options to improve the performance and manageability
of virtual machines running on Microsoft Virtual Server.
(registration required)
http://www.wservernews.com/070618-Virtual-Server
Microsoft Vista Interoperability: What's At Stake For It Managers?
For IT managers who are contemplating Windows Vista deployment, perhaps the
most critical question at hand is one of interoperability: How well will
Vista interoperate within a corporate environment? Windows server-networking
expert Laura Hunter presents key aspects of Windows Vista interoperability
for IT managers' consideration. (registration required)
http://www.wservernews.com/070618-Vista-Interoperability
How MSCONFIG Utility Has Changed In Windows Vista
The MSCONFIG utility still exists in Windows Vista, but it's slightly
different from the XP version. This tip describes the differences in
MSCONFIG.
http://www.wservernews.com/070618-MSCONFIG
Performance Analysis Tools For SQL Server
Just being equipped with SQL Server tools is not enough. Database admins
and developers need to know how to use and ultimately optimize SQL Server
tools like Query Analyzer, Index Tuning Wizard and SQL Profiler. Expert
Serdar Yegulalp explains how to get the most from these tools.
http://www.wservernews.com/070618-SQL-Server-Tools
Securing Windows Clients: Top Tips For Summer '07
Windows admins agree that securing users' desktop computers is one of their
biggest challenges. With summer approaching, the editors at SearchWindows
Security.com have assembled their top client hardening tips of the year.
Learn password security best practices, the pros and cons of creating your
own Windows digital certificates, and securing Windows Vista.
http://www.wservernews.com/070618-Windows-Clients
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Windows Server News |
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Windows Server 2003 SP2 'Pushed' on Patch Tuesday
"Patch Tuesday" will also sometimes be "Upgrade Tuesday" in the future. Why?
Redmond released Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2) through Automatic
Updates. SP2 has been out for a while, actually since March 13. This second
Tuesday of each month is the first time that SP2 has automatically been pushed
out. No automatic install though, you will still have to go through your
standard process of accepting the EULA and "next" a few times. You can also
block it through a toolkit specifically released for blocking the SP2 update.
SP2 has a bunch of management goodies, so definitely worth it. But TEST, TEST
and TEST some more. It contains V3 of MMC, and included is improved filtering
for IPsec, plus the Scalable Networking Pack (SNP), which helps you to scale
up network-based apps. The blocking toolkit is here:
http://www.wservernews.com/070618-Patch-Tuesday
Windows Home Server Is Getting Closer
Redmond rolled out RC1 of the near-final Windows Home Server (WHS) to 100,000
testers this week. That means it's getting close, and I'd expect RTM this
fall. The 1.4Gig code was posted on Redmond's Connect site and about 100K
testers are playing with it.
Up to 10 XP and Vista boxes can hook up to the server, which handles automatic
backup; disk, folder and file restore; file and printer sharing; and remote
Web-based access to any system on the network. The software will also be sold
stand-alone so you can repurpose older hardware as a server. If you want to
kick it around, you can register here:
http://www.wservernews.com/070618-Windows-Home-Server
Microsoft Releases Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1
InfoWorld reported that Microsoft has released Virtual Server 2005 R2
SP1. There had been some discussion about the release being delayed as
late as July, but here it is. Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 now
provides improved performance for non-Windows guest operating systems by
leveraging hardware-assisted virtualization, high availability for both
planned and unplanned downtime, and improved support for backup and
disaster recovery. More at the InfoWorld blog:
http://www.wservernews.com/070618-Virtual-Server-2005-R2-SP1
Microsoft Service Desk Beta 1 Ready For Download
If you are interested in Redmond's Service Desk code, you can now download
a trial version. Last April, a limited beta for System Center Service Manager
2007 was released. Last week, they released the Service Manager 2007 Beta 1
to a broader group. This first beta highlights what Redmond is calling "Phase
One" of asset and config data gathering in the service desk's content
management database. That CMDB The database gives you a unified view of
all components in your outfit by pulling data from other System Center
components.
Windows Server 2008: Now in Beta 3
Since Sunbelt is a Gold Certified partner of Microsoft, I just received this
from them: "Get ready to provide your customers most reliable and secure
server platform Microsoft has delivered. Windows Server 2008 alleviates
the pressures your customers' IT pros face every day. Scheduled to release
to manufacturing later this year, the new version of the operating system
features enhanced functionality. Tightened security. Increased network
availability. Improved performance and efficiency. Preview today by
downloading and evaluating the Beta 3." Well, it looks like they are on
schedule with this, and pretty confident they will relesase this year.
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WServer Third Party News |
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Latest SNSI Update
New vulnerability updates for this release include:
H176 CIFS (Samba) MS-RPC NDR Parsing - HP-UX 11
W3104 Firefox Vulnerabilities - W2K, XP, W2K3
W3105 Thunderbird Vulnerabilities - W2K, XP, W2K3
W3106 Seamonkey Vulnerabilities - W2K, XP, W2K3
W3107 QuickTime for Java Vulnerability - W2K, XP, W2K3
W3109 CA Anti-Virus Engine CAB File Handling - W2K, XP, W2K3
W3110 Java JRE 6.0 latest update not installed - W2K, XP, W2K3
W3111 Vulnerability in Office Visio Could Allow Remote Code Execution, 2003
W3112 Vulnerability in Office Visio Could Allow Remote Code Execution, 2002
W3113 Vulnerability in SChannel Could Allow Remote Code Execution - XP, 2K3
W3114 Vulnerability in SChannel Could Allow Remote Code Execution - W2K
W3116 Internet Explorer Could Allow Remote Code Execution
W3117 Windows Internet Mail Could Allow Remote Code Execution
W3118 Windows OS Could Allow Remote Code Execution
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.
To get the latest SNSI version, visit:
http://www.wservernews.com/070618-SNSI
To update from within the SNSI console, select Settings, enter your full
registration key and click on Check Now button. To Purchase NOW, visit:
http://www.wservernews.com/070618-Buy-SNSI
Recoverability in Regulated Industries
If you are on the consumer side of the thousands of regulations imposed by
the U.S. government, just knowing they exist probably gives you some peace
of mind. However, if you are on the compliance side of these complex and
ever-changing regulations, you know that staying compliant is a constant
tug-of-war between resources and regulation. Acting responsibly on behalf
of your consumers and ensuring that your company avoids fines brought on
by noncompliance means staying on top of regulatory legislation. Using
software products for data replication, application availability and system
state protection from Double-Take Software can reduce the costs of managing
a data protection strategy while increasing confidence that your systems
remain compliant and your data and applications remain available. (PDF)
http://www.wservernews.com/070618-Regulated-Industries
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WServerNews - Product of the Week |
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5-Star Competitive Upgrade - Now For All Antispyware
Limited Time Offer - CounterSpy was given 5 stars by the independent
reviewers at Download.com. The other two leading commercial antispyware
products just got 3-stars. That's why we decided to offer a competitive
upgrade to anyone running a commercial OR freeware antispyware product.
Benefit from this limited time upgrade program so you can bolster your
desktop security against more complex and malicious spyware threats.
Tell your friends and family, this $9.95 offer only lasts until the
end of June. Upgrade Now!
http://www.wservernews.com/070618-Competitive-Upgrade
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