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Vol. 13, #23 - Jun 9, 2008 - Issue #677
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Tech.Ed Next Week
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- Editor's Corner
- Tech.Ed Next Week
- Sysinternals Tools Now Available On The Fly
- First Executive Summary on Recent Survey
- Quote of the Week
- Admin Toolbox
- Admin Tools We Think You Shouldn't Be Without
- Tech Briefing
- XP Keeps Living On SuperLights
- XP SP3 Includes Vulnerable Flash Player
- 8 Incredibly Useful Tools For Road Warriors
- New in Vista: Microsoft Windows Task Manager
- Tip: Cleaning up Active Directory
- Tip: Give Your System Memory A Boost With X64
- Cost Management Analysis Guide
- Windows Server News
- Apple Mac June 2008 Survey Executive Summary
- Microsoft Slates Seven Fixes, And Sends Kill Bit
- WServer Third Party News
- How Does CounterSpy Enterprise Compare?
- Speed P2V Migrations While Online with Virtual Recovery Assistant
- And The Holes Keep On Coming
- WServerNews FAVE Links
- This Week's Links We Like. Tips, Hints And Fun Stuff.
- WServerNews - Product of the Week
- Win a 50" Plasma TV, Just for Viewing a Product Demo
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Win a 50" Plasma TV, Just for Viewing a Product Demo
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When it comes to managing your Internet access, don't break your
budget and tie up your resources with a complex software solution
like Websense. Get the iPrism Web Filter! Our powerful h-Series
appliances offer a model to fit any requirement and performance
that leaves Barracuda in the dust. And solutions like 8e6 require
extra hardware. Need more convincing? iPrism got the highest
rating from SC magazine, 5 stars, and our renewal rates are
over 95% -- no one can match that. See a demo, get a free
T-shirt and maybe win a 50" plasma TV. How cool is that?
http://www.wservernews.com/080609-iPrism-Product-Demo
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Editor's Corner |
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Tech.Ed Next Week
Many of us will meet again at Microsoft's yearly technical training and
trade-show, this time in our backyard in Orlando. Come say hello at the
Sunbelt Booth # 515 and attend a short presentation of the new VIPRE
Enterprise, our high-performance Antivirus + Antispyware in-one. We have
a whole bunch of really cool give-away prizes. The next issue will be a
Tech.Ed Special with all the news from the show!
Sysinternals Tools Now Available On The Fly
Redmond is testing a new handy option that gives you "access anywhere" to
all the free Sysinternals tools. As we all know, the diagnostic and
troubleshooting utilities of Mark Russinovich are extremely useful. If you
have a machine that is hooked up to the Net, you no longer have to download
and unzip them. Russinovich and his gang are continuously updating the
existing tools and create new ones. The site is easy to remember:
live.sysinternals.com. Here is the link:
http://www.wservernews.com/080609-Sysinternals
First Executive Summary on Recent Survey
Many hundreds of you filled out the recent Yankee / Sunbelt survey. We have
the Exec Summary about Apple Mac for you in the Server News section!
Quote of the Week
"Always do right - this will gratify some and astonish the rest".
-- Mark Twain
Thank you for being a WServerNews subscriber. Please
tell your friends about us. They can subscribe here:
http://www.wservernews.com/080609-Subscribe
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Why Ninja Blade, the Barracuda Killer?
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Here is a comment I received on a Ninja Blade Survey: "I have been testing
the Ninja Blade for about a week now and have submitted numerous questions
to Tech Support. They have been so responsive EVERY time. So unusual for a
company. I can easily say that the Tech Support is a HUGE asset to the Ninja
Blade line." -- P.V. Check out the features of Ninja Blade and get an eval copy:
http://www.wservernews.com/080609-Ninja-Blade
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Tech Briefing |
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XP Keeps Living On SuperLights
Redmond apparently is going to continue XP (supposed to die this month), by
licensing it for the ultra low-cost superlight devices that put e-mail, web
browsing and IM in your pocket. They claim to be working with 20 OEMs, and
the contract seems to be for the next two years. Reason? Not providing XP
would drive the OEMs into the hands of Linux.
XP SP3 Includes Vulnerable Flash Player
Microsoft's Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) ships with an out-of-date version
of Adobe's Flash Player that's vulnerable to recently-spotted attacks,
according to Microsoft's support documentation. More at NetworkWorld:
http://www.wservernews.com/080609-XP-SP3-Flash-Vulnerability
8 Incredibly Useful Tools For Road Warriors
I found this incredibly useful little article on ComputerWorld about gadgets
you can use while traveling and thought that you'd also find some of them
great time savers:
http://www.wservernews.com/080609-Road-Warrior-Tools
New in Vista: Microsoft Windows Task Manager
While already a useful tool for administrators, Microsoft made several
improvements to its Task Manager utility for Windows Vista. In this tip,
SearchWinComputing.com contributor Brien Posey breaks down what has changed.
http://www.wservernews.com/080609-Vista-Task-Manager
Tip: Cleaning up Active Directory
Keeping Active Directory clean and tidy is usually a low priority, as long
as no one is complaining. But it's best to do periodic maintenance than to
try to fix something like replication failures that can cause downtime.
This tip reviews common areas that need to be monitored as well as some
pointers for cleanup operations. (registration required)
http://www.wservernews.com/080609-Vista-Task-Manager
Tip: Give Your System Memory A Boost With X64
It's no secret that memory for 32-bit systems has its limitations. By
upgrading to x64 processor architectures, IT pros can access more memory
while still executing the same application codes. Microsoft MVPs Danielle
and Nelson Ruest break down the benefits of implementing x64 architectures
in your Windows enterprise.
http://www.wservernews.com/080609-X64-Memory-Boost
Cost Management Analysis Guide
Have to do more with a tighter budget? That's life in a Windows shop. Learn
how to get the most for your money in this four-part Cost Management Analysis
Guide. The series kicks off with a tip on how to reduce Windows desktop total
cost of ownership. Other segments include cost management strategies for
change management and Windows Server 2008.
http://www.wservernews.com/080609-Analysis-Guide
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Windows Server News |
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Apple Mac June 2008 Survey Executive Summary
Executive Summary - By Laura DiDio, Research Fellow at Yankee Group.
Thanks to all who participated in the latest Sunbelt Software - Yankee Group
poll on Apple Macintosh hardware and OS X 10.x software usage in corporate
enterprises! In a coming issue we'll report on the virtualization section.
Your responses were intelligent, insightful and your comments were witty,
frank and sometimes downright funny! The survey served up a few surprising
and emerging trends, so we appreciate your input.
Survey Highlights
The results indicate that there is a significant, steady and sustained adoption
of Mac(r) and OS X Leopard in the enterprise. Approximately 80 percent of
businesses have installed Macintoshes and the OS X operating system in
their networks.
You gave Apple high marks for features, performance, usability, security,
reliability and its elegant design. These all are indicative of the qualities
customers' value when purchasing hardware and operating system software.
It's clear that Apple Computer Macintosh hardware and OS X 10x. operating
system software is gaining significant momentum among corporate users.
The survey found that nearly 4 out of 5 businesses -- approximately 80% --
have Macintoshes and the OS X operating system installed in their networks.
And although the Apple Macintosh hardware and OS X operating systems still
represent a small niche, adoption is growing at a steady pace. Nearly one
dozen corporations indicated that they would switch to an all-Macintosh
environment in the near future.
The use of Apple products in a corporate environment is much more pervasive
and complex than we previously thought. Although 45% said they only had a
few Macs (from 1-to-5), nearly one-quarter or close to 25% of the survey
respondents have a significant number (>50) of Macintosh desktops installed
in their organizations. Fueling the growing acceptance and adoption of the
Macintosh hardware and OS software are the leading edge, sophisticated
anywhere features of the overall Apple platform which in turn has resulted
in many corporations using Apple as a virtualization platform. Among the
other survey highlights:
- Reliability: An overwhelming 78% of businesses rated the reliability
of the Macintosh desktop and server hardware and OS X 10.x operating system
excellent or very good.
- Security: A 70% majority of companies rated the security of the Macintosh
hardware and OS X 10.x operating system excellent or very good.
- Usability: the breadth and depth of leading edge features such as
advanced graphics, a leading edge search engine, the Safari Web browser,
high reliability and strong security were among the chief reasons their
firms are gravitating toward Macintosh hardware and the OS X 10.x operating
system environments.
- Increasing Momentum: With overall satisfaction so high, over one-third
of businesses -- 34% -- said their companies were very likely to allow more
end users to deploy Macintoshes and OS X 10.x as their enterprise desktop
within the next 6-to-12 months. Another 17% said they were "unsure" at this
time but are considering the matter.
- Virtualization: One of the biggest surprises served up by the survey was
the prevalent use of Macintoshes for virtualization. Approximately 28% of
the 700 businesses polled said their firms run Microsoft Windows XP or the
Vista operating system on Macintosh hardware in a virtual environment. This
combination users said, allows their firms "to circumvent the viruses,
spyware and disruptive automatic updates" that are common in the Windows
environment.
- Dual Booting: Roughly 22% of corporations said their PCs dual boot the
Mac OS X 10.x alongside Windows XP or Vista under Apple's BootCamp facility.
- Pricing: Apple's new lower hardware and OS X 10.x retail prices are
also allowing end users to successfully plead their case for utilizing
the products as their enterprise desktops. However, some businesses noted
that executives still incorrectly perceive Apple hardware to be more
expensive than PCs and opined that Apple needs to do a better job of
touting its new lower prices.
- Challenges: Of the 49% of corporate survey respondents who said their
companies were not likely to expand their Macintosh and OS X 10.x usage
in the same 6-to-12 month timeframe, the majority cited the lack of
advanced, heterogeneous management tools currently available for the
platform. Many respondents also expressed the opinion that Apple must
provide more comprehensive, sophisticated technical service and support
suitable for today's heterogeneous network environments.
As promised, anyone who participated in the survey can Email me at
ldidio@yankeegroup.com and I will send you a complimentary copy of
the full Report once it's published.
Microsoft Slates Seven Fixes, And Sends Kill Bit
The June batch of patches has seven security updates, three of them critical.
They patch Windows components such as Bluetooth, DirectX and (IE). More
interesting, it also looks like Redmond will kill a vulnerable third-
party program. The list is at Redmond's Advance Bulletin, link below.
Three more patches are tagged "important", and the seventh -- the kill
bit update -- was marked as "moderate." It's assumed this is a third
party ActiveX app that is being disabled. We'll know more next week:
http://www.wservernews.com/080609-Kill-Bit
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Live In Europe? Check this Product Overview
For All Europeans
Products overview
TimeData: Continuous Data Protection for Windows-based servers.
Point-in-time data recovery for Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Exchange Server and Windows File Server.
TimeData is a Windows-based, cluster-aware application that protects files on NTFS volumes, SQL Server ® databases and Exchange Server mailbox stores. TimeData software provides file-based Continuous Data Protection (CDP) with Zero Data Loss technology, which means that no data is ever lost or corrupted.
Learn about benefits and systems requirements of TimeData:
http://www.wservernews.com/080609-TimeData
*** NEW ***
In order to help you understand better Double-Take visit our Brand New Websites!
- For everyone based in the U.K, the Nordics, Benelux and Eastern Europe: www.doubletake.en
- For everyone based in France: www.doubletake.fr
- For German speakers: www.doubletake.de
Coming soon: Spanish and Italian Websites by the New Term: September 2008! www.doubletake.es and www.doubletake.it
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WServer Third Party News |
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How Does CounterSpy Enterprise Compare?
We received the following this week. "Hello, I just wanted to let everyone
know how great CSE is compared to other products. We currently use CSE in
conjunction with McAfee EPO and counterspy catches things McAfee has never
heard of. Keep up the good work, without CSE our network would have some
major issues. For example our SQL server caught about 10 nasty Trojans and
SQL exploits and McAfee didn't even detect one while CSE cleaned them all
out. Can't wait for the VIPRE Enterprise so I can ditch this McAfee EPO
for a quality Sunbelt product. Keep it up! Any ideas on when VIPRE Ent
might be in twinkle in the developers eyes? Thanks!" -- Tony Pollicito.
Editor's Answer: Well, we're happy to announce we'll demonstrate the VIPRE
Enterprise Beta at TechEd, June 10-13 and you will be able to download
the VIPRE Enterprise Beta next week as well!
Speed P2V Migrations While Online with Virtual Recovery Assistant
Join this live webinar from Double-Take Software to explore Virtual Recovery
Assistant (VRA) - a new enhancement to Double-Take that simplifies the process
of migrating to VMware ESX virtual machines. The new feature automates the
provisioning of the virtual environment and reduces end-user downtime
associated with traditional physical-to-virtual (P2V) migration products.
It can also be used to automate the protection of workloads running on
physical servers, moving them to virtual machines automatically in the
event of a server outage or site-wide disaster.
Join us to explore the many exciting new features of VRA, including:
P2V or V2V Protection
- Real-time P2V Conversions
- Automatic Creation of Target Virtual Machines
- Many to One Protection
- Failover Monitoring and Automatic Failover
- Automatic Push Installs
Date: June 24, 2008
Time: 11am - 12pm ET / 4pm - 5pm London Time / 5pm - 6pm Paris Time
http://www.wservernews.com/080609-P2V-Migration-Webinar
And The Holes Keep On Coming
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.New Checks
H169 SSH X11 DISPLAY hijacking - HP-UX 11
L630 Flash-plugin content display & TCP establish errors - RHE
L675 Dbmail anonymous authldap bypass error - FC
L729 Nss_ldap race condition request answer flaw - RHE
L730 MySQL lack of table statement privileges - RHE
L732 Dovecot mail_extra_groups flaw - RHE
L733 VSFTPd memory leak deny_file option flaw - RHE
L735 Gnome-screensaver user password attack - RHE
L736 Setroubleshoot diagnostic message write error - RHE
L738 Gpdf CairoFontEngine file handling error - RHE
L740 GnuTLS client connection handling - FC
L741 Django login form XSS vulnerability - FC
L742 VSFTPd memory leak deny_file option flaw - FC
L743 VSFTPd memory leak deny_file option flaw - FC
L746 OpenSSL doublefree and TLS handshake errors - FC
L747 Snort preprocessor IP fragment reassemble flaw - RH
L748 OpenSSL doublefree and TLS handshake errors - MDV
N84 UCM multiple denial of service flaws
N85 SSH may induce device reload - IOS
N86 Cisco CSM memory leak vulnerability
S371 Crontab may allow execution of arbitrary code - Solaris 8 - 10
S392 STREAMS Admin Driver Vulnerability - Solaris 10
S466 Flash Player multiple vulnerabilities - Solaris 10
W2769 CA Internet Security 2008 UmxEventCli.dll ActiveX Vulnerability
W3358 Safari user bypass carpet bombing / blended threat vulnerabilities
Updated Checks
H178 Xserver vulnerabilities Medium
H182 OpenView Operations Agent Vulnerabilities - HP-UX 11
S403 ICU 3.2 library regular expression parsing - Solaris 9 - 10
W1142 Anti-virus Signature Outdated - McAfee
W1986 Anti-virus Signature Outdated - Symantec
W1999 Anti-virus Signature Outdated - Trend Micro
W2067 Anti-virus Signature Outdated - F-Secure
W2070 Anti-virus Signature Outdated - CA eTrust
Sunbelt Network Security Inspector version 1.6.103.0 was released June 6, 08.
Sunbelt Software recommends you download the new SNSI version 1.6.103.0,
scan, and patch your machines today. To get the latest SNSI version, visit:
http://www.wservernews.com/080609-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 |
|
Win a 50" Plasma TV, Just for Viewing a Product Demo
When it comes to managing your Internet access, don't break your
budget and tie up your resources with a complex software solution
like Websense. Get the iPrism Web Filter! Our powerful h-Series
appliances offer a model to fit any requirement and performance
that leaves Barracuda in the dust. And solutions like 8e6 require
extra hardware. Need more convincing? iPrism got the highest
rating from SC magazine, 5 stars, and our renewal rates are
over 95% -- no one can match that. See a demo, get a free
T-shirt and maybe win a 50" plasma TV. How cool is that?
http://www.wservernews.com/080609-iPrism
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Email me: 