Vol. 13, #17 - Apr 28, 2008 - Issue #671 WinXP SP3 Roll-Out This issue of WServerNews is sponsored by Editor's Corner WinXP SP3 Roll-out More On 'Windows Collapsing' Upcoming Sunbelt/Double-Take Seminars Quotes of the Week: Admin Toolbox Admin Tools We Think You Shouldn't Be Without Tech Briefing Tech-Ed June 08: Microsoft's Largest Tech Conference In Orlando HP's Hosted Storage Service Down For Almost A Week Hackers Jack Thousands Of Sites, Including UN Domains Configuring SQL Server Memory Settings Web Security Features Of Internet Explorer 8 Will Services Bring Superior Security To All? Email Archiving And E-Discovery Best Practices For Exchange Eliminate Stress For Your Clients With Desktop Virtualization Windows Server News Microsoft Server and Tools Revenues Grow 18% Window Server 2008 Remote Admin Tools for Vista SP1 WServer Third Party News Migrated Data? Tools To Fix Broken Stuff Featured Web Seminar: E-Discovery: What You Need to Know New Build Of CounterSpy Enterprise VIPRE Is Not A Suite WServerNews FAVE Links This Week's Links We Like. Tips, Hints And Fun Stuff. WServerNews - Product of the Week Win a Trip to TechEd 2008! Get a Free eBook! Win a Trip to TechEd 2008! Get a Free eBook! Take 2 minutes to download a 30-day trial of ScriptLogic's Active Administrator, an industry-leading AD management and auditing solution, and you'll be registered to win a trip to TechEd 2008. Also get a free copy of the eBook The Administrator's Shortcut Guide to Active Directory Security. In this comprehensive, 93-page eBook, you'll learn valuable AD security tips. Download Active Administrator and enter to Win a trip to TechEd 2008! http://www.wservernews.com/080428-Active-Administrator Editor's Corner WinXP SP3 Roll-out It's been a wild week regarding SP3. This Tuesday, Redmond said that although SP3 was ready, they were going to give priority to Vista SP1, and that SP3 would have to wait. The reason given was bandwidth management. That caused a serious amount of noise from existing MSDN and TechNet users, who complained that the build had already made it on the bittorrent download sites and asked themselves why they would need to renew their subscriptions. However, Microsoft quickly came to its senses and around 10pm, April 23 the SP3 download appeared unannounced on both TechNet and MSDN. That's the right thing to do of course, as professional users need to go through a series of tests to make sure nothing breaks before they deploy. And for the large percentage of sites that is not planning to move their users to Vista any time soon, it's even more important to get their hands on SP3. As I write this on Friday Morning April 25, Redmond flipped the switch to start automatically upgrading Vista to SP1. If you have set Windows Update (WU) on 'autopilot', you will start receiving SP1 coming Wednesday. Redmond does this roll-out in phases though, and is also limiting delivery to English, French, German, Japanese and Spanish versions to start with. A notable quote this week came from CEO Steve Ballmer at Microsoft's MVP conference: "Windows Vista - a work in progress." WinXP SP3's path has been long and had its challenges. In October 2006 they said it would be delayed to first half 2008 and they made that target. This means it's almost four years after WinXP SP2 was released in August 2004! Here are a few questions and answers: Q: So, can I get my hands on SP3? A: Depends on who you are. OEM? Yup. Got an MSDN or TechNet subscription? After some screaming... yes. Willing to get it via gray channels (torrent) yeah but not recommended. Redmond said it will put SP3 on Windows Update on April 29. At that point you'll be able to update by calling up WU, then selecting the download. Just like Vista SP1, for a few weeks, SP3 will be optional. Q: I want to have WU do all the work for me... when? A: Hold your horses. You should do some serious testing with SP3 so that you are sure it does not break anything. Redmond will start pushing SP3 to everyone that has set WU to 'automatic download' sometime in "early summer", June 10 has been mentioned by some sources. Q: Remind me, why did I want SP3 again? A: Well, there are a lot of benefits. It rolls up all the patches and hotfixes since 2004. There are changes in product activation, it's giving an about 10% improvement in speed. SP3 is cumulative, so you can install SP3 on top of WinXP SP1 or SP2. It supports the Network Access Protection and Peer Name Resolution Protocol (PNRP) used in Vista so XP apps can communicate with apps running on Vista that use this code. It can also be a guest OS on Hyper-V. The verdict is the new SP3 is a must-have update for XP 'life-extenders'. There might be a glimmer of hope for people that want to stretch XP's life. Ballmer this week said based on customer feedback "we might wake up smart" and not end-of-life it coming June 30. InfoWorld has a petition going that already got 180K signatures, so please add yours. It's on the right side: http://www.wservernews.com/080428-Save-XP Note that there will not be any integrated SP3 release for XP Media Center Edition or WinXP Tablet Edition. Here is the formal notification that SP3 went RTM by Chris Keroack Release Manager, Windows XP Service Pack 3: http://www.wservernews.com/080428-XP-SP3-Notification Here is Redmond's official XP Service Pack 3 Overview: http://www.wservernews.com/080428-WinXP-SP3-Overview More On 'Windows Collapsing' Thanks for the feedback -many- of you sent me. The general sentiment is that WinXP should be kept for the foreseeable future. An illustration of this is the letter I received from a WServerNews reader: "We are a small software development house and write ERP applications across a service or manufacturing enterprise. Our first mistake was migrating to Exchange 2007 and finding out that Symantec had not yet written backup software capable of co-existing with Exchange 2007. After 6 months the horrors began to subside. Then we migrated over to Office 2007 and suffered tremendous loss of performance until the SP was released for that! Think we are on-board to migrate over to Vista? Think again......" -- Paul, Systems Admin Upcoming Sunbelt/Double-Take Seminars We'd like to invite you to the following seminars: "Recovery Made Easy for Exchange, SQL, and other Critical Applications" - Join Sunbelt and Double-Take Software to find out the new ways that Double-Take v5.0 can help with high availability and disaster recovery for your servers including full server failover, virtual systems and more. Hosted at Microsoft in New York, NY on Wednesday, May 7th. Register here: http://www.wservernews.com/080428-Double-Take-Seminar-NY Hosted at the Courtyard by Marriott Downtown in Little Rock, AR on Wednesday, May 14th. Register here: http://www.wservernews.com/080428-Double-Take-Seminar-AR Hosted at Microsoft in Phoenix, AZ on Tuesday, June 3rd. Register here: http://www.wservernews.com/080428-Double-Take-Seminar-AZ Quotes of the Week: "It is indeed probable that more harm and misery have been caused by men determined to use coercion to stamp out a moral evil than by men intent on doing evil." -- Fredrich von Hayek, Nobel Laureate in Economics, from "The Constitution of Liberty" "Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or and work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart." -- Author unknown Thank you for being a WServerNews subscriber. Please tell your friends about us. They can subscribe here: http://www.wservernews.com/080428-Subscribe Hope you enjoy this issue of WServerNews! Warm regards, Stu  |   Email me: feedback@wservernews.com Another Reason To Buy Security From Sunbelt Software "Just a quick "Hats Off" to the guys at Sunbelt-Software. Never before have I worked with a company that reacted so quickly to customers requests. In all the cases that I've worked with the support staff (not that there have been a lot) they have been great to work with, fast and efficient. They really appear to be sincere in what they are doing. Thanks guys!" -- Craig http://www.wservernews.com/080428-Business-Products Admin Toolbox Admin Tools We Think You Shouldn't Be Without Free Web-based Online Directory, Self Service Editing, LCS/OCS Presence! Want more? Check out the other editions with Enforced Data Integrity + Provisioning. http://www.wservernews.com/080428-Namescape Download Active Administrator and Win a Trip to TechEd 2008! http://www.wservernews.com/080428-ScriptLogic iPrism...Better than Websense, Better than 8e6 - Better Get a Quick Quote! http://www.wservernews.com/080428-iPrism Tech Briefing Tech-Ed June 08: Microsoft's Largest Tech Conference In Orlando Tech-Ed 2008 is the premier technical education conference from Microsoft, and this year, there are separate conferences for IT professionals and developers. Use this opportunity to learn from Microsoft and industry experts. Register today. Dev: June 3-6 | IT Pro: 10-13 | Orlando, FL. Come see Sunbelt during the IT Pro days at Booth 515 and see VIPRE Enterprise: For Developers: http://www.wservernews.com/080428-TechEd-Developers For IT Pro's http://www.wservernews.com/080428-TechEd-IT-Pros HP's Hosted Storage Service Down For Almost A Week Not only are there synchronization problems, the client software has security issues as well. Hewlett-Packard Co. said its new online storage service will protect your data "whether your hardware fails, your computer is lost or catastrophe strikes." But catastrophe appears to have struck HP instead. The company's Upline service, launched April 7, has been suspended for almost a week because of technical issues with one user's account. HP is working to resolve the issue and the service. More at Computerworld: http://www.wservernews.com/080428-HP-Hosted-Storage Hackers Jack Thousands Of Sites, Including UN Domains Government sites in the U.K. as well as some run by the UN have been hacked with massive JavaScript attacks and are now serving up malware, according to Websense. More at: http://www.wservernews.com/080428-Hacked-Sites Configuring SQL Server Memory Settings In this tip, SQL Server expert Denny Cherry shares configuration recommendations for optimal RAM amounts, how to enable AWE, the best number of gigabytes for maximum server memory and the differences between 32- and 64-bit platforms. (registration required) http://www.wservernews.com/080428-SQL-Server-Memory-Config Web Security Features Of Internet Explorer 8 Internet Explorer 8 will go a long way toward solidifying various Web standards, but it lacks significant improvements in security. Learn about domain highlighting and other changes in this tip. http://www.wservernews.com/080428-IE8-Security-Features Will Services Bring Superior Security To All? Security software services are growing in popularity. But those services are not always cheaper than premise-based options, and they're not right for every situation. http://www.wservernews.com/080428-Security-Services Email Archiving And E-Discovery Best Practices For Exchange E-discovery in an Exchange Server environment can be tricky. You don't want to waste time or money on email archiving solutions that don't meet e-discovery requirements. This best practices guide highlights what Exchange Server administrators must consider when implementing e-discovery policies within their organizations. http://www.wservernews.com/080428-Email-Archiving Eliminate Stress For Your Clients With Desktop Virtualization Your clients will all agree that managing employees' desktops and laptops can be a huge hassle. The question is how can you as a channel professional eliminate this unnecessary burden? The answer to this question is desktop virtualization. Access the second installment of the SearchSystemsChannel Virtualization Projects Hot Spot Tutorial to obtain more information on this technology today. (registration required) http://www.wservernews.com/080428-Desktop-Virtualization Windows Server News Microsoft Server and Tools Revenues Grow 18% Redmond said its Server and Tools revenue grew 18% in the March quarter. Windows client software was down 24% to $4 billion - 4% more than the 18%-20% Microsoft had expected. MS Office was down 1.7% to $4.75 billion. They claimed to have sold 140 million Vista licenses up to now. Wall Street was somewhat bummed with the total picture and sent Microsoft stock down 5% after-hours. Window Server 2008 Remote Admin Tools for Vista SP1 Did you know that this adminpak has been released a little while ago? Here is what Redmond has to say about it: "Microsoft Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) enables IT administrators to remotely manage roles and features in Windows Server 2008 from a computer that is running Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 (SP1). It includes support for remote management of computers that are running either a Server Core installation option or a full installation option of Windows Server 2008. It provides similar functionality to the Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack." The folks on the NTSYSADMIN List were fairly positive about it. Get it here: http://www.wservernews.com/080428-W2K8-Remote-Admin-Tools WServer Third Party News Migrated Data? Tools To Fix Broken Stuff LinkFixerPlus is the first application that automatically fixes links in batches of files when conducting a file migration or data migration due to: server upgrades, server consolidations, server name changes, new storage servers, path name changes or folder reorganizations. You can find it here: http://www.wservernews.com/080428-LinkFixerPlus Featured Web Seminar: E-Discovery: What You Need to Know "It won't happen to me," you think- but it might! Litigation is the most obvious reason that you might have to produce electronic records, but there are others as well: mergers and internal inquiries among them. How can you effectively prepare to meet e-discovery needs without breaking your messaging budget? What do you need to know to plan a robust e-discovery strategy? In this Webcast, Paul Robichaux will explore the world of e-discovery and explain what to look for- and to look out for- when planning your system. The webcast is sponsored by our colleague Sherpa, so you can expect follow-ups from their sales reps. http://www.wservernews.com/080428-E-Discovery But also put Sunbelt's MVP Award Wining Exchange Archiver on your shortlist if you need to archive Exchange email: http://www.wservernews.com/080428-Sunbelt-Exchange-Archiver New Build Of CounterSpy Enterprise I'm happy to announce a new build of CounterSpy Enterprise 3.0 is available. This build contains all previous 3.0 hotfixes, plus an additional fix that closes a memory leak associated with the processing of scan result files from agents. Please download the following file: (exe file) http://www.wservernews.com/080428-CSE-Download The upgrade process is as simple as downloading the above executable and running it on the machine(s) running the CSE server and/or the CSE console in your environment. Upgrading from CSE 1.8 and higher is fully supported. Agent versions 1.5 and higher are supported in this release with the exception of Active Protection, only 2.x agents will be able to have Active Protection enabled. VIPRE Is Not A Suite You may know by now that we are not very fond of suites. They tend to be bulky and not as effective as a best of breed product. Many of you have asked me "Isn't VIPRE a suite and whatever happened to your best of breed viewpoint?" Well it has not changed an iota. The reason VIPRE is not a suite is that it is one product, not two. It is not an antivirus bolted together with antispyware. It is a hybrid tool that employs one very powerful engine that handles all malware. This is the first time that both AV and antispyware have been successfully combined into a single product. Two for the price of one, and not a suite. Nuff said! Sunbelt Software is doing some research on the VIPRE packaging. We'd like your opinions on these two designs: http://www.wservernews.com/080428-VIPRE-Survey WServerNews FAVE Links This Week's Links We Like. Tips, Hints And Fun Stuff. Fabled Optimus Maximus Keyboard has Arrived. A tiny OLED screen on each key. this futuristic technology is going to cost you a pretty penny. Watch the video: http://www.wservernews.com/080428-Optimus-Keyboard Need to do some research and look for data? Where to Find Open Data on the Web: http://www.wservernews.com/080428-Open-Web-Data The IBM Hydro-Cluster Supercomputer - a new generation of supercomputer - is compact, energy efficient and faster than the most powerful computer on earth: http://www.wservernews.com/080428-IBM-Hydro-Cluster Thought you might appreciate this. It's some form of digital art. http://www.wservernews.com/080428-Digital-Art This site is redefining words. You can buy one and hook it up to a website of your liking. At this time, 3,197 words have been redefined. Fun project: http://www.wservernews.com/080428-Redefining-Words An exciting new vehicle for commuting and travel. It goes over 155 miles per hour (250 km/h) and gets 60 miles per gallon. http://www.wservernews.com/080428-High-Performance-Vehicle Death Star Wedding Cake Wins Fanboy of the Year Award, Sets Grounds for Divorce http://www.wservernews.com/080428-Death-Star-Wedding-Cake The 'Toyota Partner Robot' can play the trumpet like a human - using his artificial lung and robot fingers: http://www.wservernews.com/080428-Trumpet-Playing-Robot John Kanzius discovered that his radio frequency generator could release oxygen and hydrogen from saltwater and create an incredibly intense flame. http://www.wservernews.com/080428-Alternative-Fuel Tall, sleepy air travelers, rejoice! Delta Airlines To Install Non-Painful Economy Seating: http://www.wservernews.com/080428-Delta-Airlines Here is the guy that actually machined the internals for the first atom bombs! A WSN reader stumbled across this while searching (15 levels deep) online for some work related things and the Los Alamos National Laboratory. http://www.wservernews.com/080428-George-Hackbarth During the morning and evening rush hours, railway employees in Japan push people onto the train. http://www.wservernews.com/080428-Japan-Train-Station Britain's Got Talent: Border collie "Gin" dancing canine freestyle. Amazing the things you can teach a dog: http://www.wservernews.com/080428-Dancing-Dog Google Earth 4.3 adds new and innovative features, including photo-realistic 3D buildings, improved navigation, and sunlight: http://www.wservernews.com/080428-Google-Earth-4-3 Microsoft Research video shows off next-generation Windows desktop search, and a spherical MS Surface. It's only a two-second shot (minutes 3:57 to 3:59) in the video, but there it is: A spherical Surface: http://www.wservernews.com/080428-Windows-Desktop-Search WServerNews - Product of the Week Win a Trip to TechEd 2008! Get a Free eBook! Take 2 minutes to download a 30-day trial of ScriptLogic's Active Administrator, an industry-leading AD management and auditing solution, and you'll be registered to win a trip to TechEd 2008. Also get a free copy of the eBook The Administrator's Shortcut Guide to Active Directory Security. In this comprehensive, 93-page eBook, you'll learn valuable AD security tips. Download Active Administrator and enter to Win a Trip to TechEd 2008! http://www.wservernews.com/080428-ScriptLogic-POW