Vol. 14, #16 - Apr 6, 2009 - Issue #721 New Server Flavor: No CALs This issue of WServerNews is sponsored by Editors Corner Windows Server For SMB: No More CALs Cloud Standards Battle Erupts Come Visit Us At RSA 2009 Booth #344 New SunPoll - Exchange On Virtual Platform? Quotes Of The Week Webinars and Seminars Webinar: Why Small Businesses Should Think Outside the Box When Choosing Endpoint Security Solutions Sunbelt April Webinars Briforum 2009 Early-Bird Registration Price Ends Soon! Admin Toolbox Admin Tools We Think You Shouldn't Be Without Tech Briefing How To Build Your Own Windows Home Server Rig IPv6 Protocol, Windows Vista Features Simplify Peer Ad-Hoc Networking New Ops Manager 2007 Feature Allows For Automated Agent Deployments Who's Who In Cloud Computing: Understanding The Market's Players Tip: Using Sharepoint Search In The Enterprise Virtual Server, Desktop Address Different Problems The Energizer Laptop: 20 Hours On A Single Charge Hackers Seize On Zero-Day Flaw In Microsoft's PowerPoint Windows Server News New Server Flavor: No CALs Microsoft Office 2007 SP2 Leaks WServer Third Party News SNSI Detects Conficker Network-wide Check Out TrafficPlay and TrafficScape WServerNews Fave Links This Week's Links We Like. Tips, Hints And Fun Stuff. Product of the Week Make it easy to track user access to your Windows file servers! Make it easy to track user access to your Windows file servers! Monitor your users' every action and get powerful reporting and up-to-the-minute alerts on activity! With File System Auditor from ScriptLogic, you'll be able to audit file access on Windows file servers, generate easy-to-understand compliance reports, and create alerts tied to file system events - all from a centralized management console. Create an audit trail on your file server and know that your access controls are working. File System Auditor protects sensitive information by reporting attempts to access and modify files and folders, with who did it and when. Download a Free Trial of File System Auditor Today! http://www.wservernews.com/090406-FileSystemAuditor < Editors Corner Windows Server For SMB: No More CALs In the Windows Server Section below is a review of a new flavor of Windows Server for small organizations that does away with the concept of Client Access Licenses. This is worth checking out. Cloud Standards Battle Erupts And here's the next standards war: Clouds. Turns out these nebulous woolpacks are not compatible with each other. Some companies are calling for a trade association to help prevent a potentially troublesome cloud computing adoption issue. I can see the problems, starting with identity management. The current controversy is about the recent "Open Cloud Manifesto" which IBM seems to have organized, and which set Microsoft off last week. The manifesto (link below) says that clouds should be open, interoperable and portable, all acceptable principles that everyone is paying lip service to. All the cloud players have their own agenda though, surprise, surprise. They are warning about potential pitfalls of proprietary technologies that can lead to "lock-in and limited choice." Perhaps lock-in is a codeword for "Microsoft" in this manifesto. Here it is in its entirety: http://www.wservernews.com/090406-CloudManifesto Come Visit Us At RSA 2009 Booth #344 Visit Sunbelt to learn about Automated Malware Analysis and high-performance endpoint protection. The RSA Conference 2009 offers enterprise and technical pros one-stop learning. With targeted classroom sessions, innovative and interactive programs, provocative keynotes and a solutions-filled expo hall, RSA Conference 2009 is the unbiased third party resource information security professionals rely upon. Throughout its 18-year history, RSA Conference consistently attracts the world's best and brightest in the field, creating opportunities for Conference attendees to learn about information security's most important issues through first-hand interactions with peers, luminaries and emerging and established companies. As the information security field continues to grow in importance and influence, RSA Conference plays an integral role in keeping security professionals across the globe connected and educated. Visit Sunbelt Software at booth #344 Date: Mon, Apr 20, 2009 - Fri, Apr 24, 2009 Location: San Francisco, California New SunPoll - Exchange On Virtual Platform? I saw that WindowsITPro's Exchange & Outlook newsletter asked this question so I decided to ask the very same question and see if their and our results are close. Here goes: "Have you moved any of your production Exchange servers to a virtual platform?" Yes, we're virtualizing with Microsoft Hyper-V Yes, we're virtualizing with VMware Yes, we're virtualizing with another product No, but we're looking into it No, email is too critical to virtualize Vote here: bottom right column: http://www.wservernews.com/090406-SunbeltSoftware Quotes Of The Week "Windows license, number one market share. Number two market share goes to Windows pirated, or unlicensed. That's a competitor that's tough to beat, they've got a good price and a heck of a product, but we are working on it" -- Steve Ballmer quoted on an eWEEK blog. "The difference between death and taxes is death doesn't get worse every time Congress meets." -- Will Rogers (1879-1935) American humorist "Another flaw in the human character is that everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do maintenance. -- Kurt Vonnegut (1922 - 2007) OK, I admit it... Guilty as charged. Warm regards, and thank you for being a WServerNews subscriber. No trees were killed in the sending of this message, but a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced. Please tell your friends about us. They can subscribe here: http://www.wservernews.com/090406-Subscribe Hope you enjoy this issue of WServerNews! Warm regards, Stu  |   Email me: feedback@wservernews.com Automated Uninstall of Symantec AV No more 2-day SEP V11 Migration Classes! Sunbelt built VIPRE Enterprise; a completely new technology combining corporate antivirus plus an enterprise antispyware solution for total endpoint security designed by admins for admins. And that means EASY DEPLOYMENT. Save your IT budget and don't renew products from Symantec, McAfee and Trend Micro, Learn how VIPRE Enterprise takes much less resources than the competition! It's clearly time to ditch expensive, bloated, old-style AV products. Get your 30-day eval here: http://www.wservernews.com/090406-VIPRE-Enterprise Webinars and Seminars Webinar: Why Small Businesses Should Think Outside the Box When Choosing Endpoint Security Solutions Small businesses must give deliberate consideration to selecting the best endpoint security solution for their current problems, rather than unnecessarily taking on the complexities, higher costs, or negative performance impact from "traditional" endpoint security vendors. Join Derek E. Brink, Aberdeen Group's vice president and research fellow for IT Security, and Alex Eckelberry, CEO of Sunbelt Software, for an informative webinar that will present fact-based research that underscores the idea that "bigger isn't necessarily better" when it comes to selecting an antivirus vendor to protect an organization's network. Register Here: http://www.wservernews.com/090406-Endpoint-Security Sunbelt April Webinars April 7: Protecting Your Organization from Spam and Other Malware April 14: Kiss Your Antivirus Bloatware Goodbye: A Look at VIPRE Enterprise April 21: Sunbelt Exchange Archiver Product Demonstration April 28: VIPRE Enterprise Product Demonstration http://www.wservernews.com/090406-Upcoming-Events Briforum 2009 Early-Bird Registration Price Ends Soon! This three-day conference is entirely focused on covering all areas of end-user virtualization - including VDI, Terminal Services (Citrix XenApp and others), and application streaming. Attending BriForum is the most cost-effective way to obtain pertinent knowledge and best practices on this essential technology, rather than spending months reading books and articles, or browsing websites. Take advantage of the $995 early-bird special today! (a $500 savings off the regular price of $1495): http://www.wservernews.com/090406-BriForum Admin Toolbox Admin Tools We Think You Shouldn't Be Without Win an all expense paid trip to Microsoft Tech-Ed 2009. Download any ScriptLogic product for a chance to win! http://www.wservernews.com/090406-TechEdOnUs The www.siteuptime.com is a nice service, and the basic subscription is free. Sign up if you want outside-in uptime monitoring of your website: http://www.wservernews.com/090406-SiteUpTime Kiss Your Antivirus Bloatware Goodbye. VIPRE Enterprise gives you a single-engine, low overhead, easy to manage replacement for Symantec or McAfee: http://www.wservernews.com/090406-VIPREEnterprise Sunbelt's Network Security Inspector can check your whole network for the Conficker infection in one fell swoop. There is a special offer for Q2: http://www.wservernews.com/090406-SNSI Tech Briefing How To Build Your Own Windows Home Server Rig InfoWorld has a great article on how to recycle an old PC or build out a bare-bones system with Windows Home Server which is built using the same code base as Windows Server 2003, but it's been streamlined (and somewhat limited) for consumer use. In addition to automatically backing up every Windows XP and Vista computer on your home network, WHS can monitor the health of all the Vista PCs on its network. If the server is equipped with two or more drives, it will automatically duplicate all its files to provide data redundancy in case one drive ever fails: http://www.wservernews.com/090406-Build-A-Server IPv6 Protocol, Windows Vista Features Simplify Peer Ad-Hoc Networking Some believe peer networking has no place in the enterprise. In actuality, it's becoming increasingly more common to have peer groups within a domain network; allowing users to collaborate with each other in small groups, while still remaining a part of the managed network. This tip explains how to form networking groups outside of the office using the IPv6 protocol, which is enabled by default in Windows Vista: http://www.wservernews.com/090406-V6-Protocol New Ops Manager 2007 Feature Allows For Automated Agent Deployments This expert Q&A discusses Active Directory Integration, a new feature for Systems Center Operations Manager 2007 that is designed to reduce total cost of ownership (TCO) and minimize administrative effort. Learn how it works, how it can simplify admins' workloads and reduce total cost of ownership, what challenges to watch out for during deployment and more. http://www.wservernews.com/090406-Automated-Agent Who's Who In Cloud Computing: Understanding The Market's Players The sheer number and diversity of companies now "in the cloud" is reminiscent of other big shifts in IT, when suddenly everyone latches onto the latest thing. Google's in the cloud (didn't Google once just search the Web?), Amazon is in the cloud (didn't it once just sell books?), Microsoft is in the cloud, Cisco Systems is in the cloud, MySpace is in the cloud. It's a big tent, and the waters of the IT marketplace have been thoroughly muddied. This article provides an overview of today's cloud market: http://www.wservernews.com/090406-Cloud-Computing Tip: Using Sharepoint Search In The Enterprise To get the most out of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, you have to know the technology well and have a keen sense of your organization's business needs. Having the creative know-how to mesh the two is a big help too. There are many features of SharePoint -- search is just one of them. SharePoint search features allows users to index content, file shares, public folders, websites and even external databases. In order to go from business to benefit with search, organizations need to know these three ways to use SharePoint search: rediscovery, research and prediction. Read this expert tip to learn more today: http://www.wservernews.com/090406-SharePoint Virtual Server, Desktop Address Different Problems Many "server virtualization" people are starting to become "desktop virtualization" people, and vice-versa. But, the reality is that server virtualization and desktop virtualization have nothing to do with each other. In this article, desktop virtualization expert, Brian Madden clarifies the differences between "server virtualization" and "desktop virtualization.": (Registration Required) http://www.wservernews.com/090406-Virtual-Server The Energizer Laptop: 20 Hours On A Single Charge New add-on batteries from Dell and HP kept notebooks going and going in InfoWorld's tests. Download their benchmark to see what these extenders could do for you: http://www.wservernews.com/090406-Energizer-Laptop Hackers Seize On Zero-Day Flaw In Microsoft's PowerPoint Redmond warned yesterday that hackers are actively exploiting a hole in PowerPoint. There's no patch yet for the bug, which could allow an attacker to completely take over a PC. It affects Office 2000 SP3, Office XP SP3, Office 2003 SP3, and Office 2004 for Mac. Office 2007 is unaffected. Here is the official Microsoft advisory: http://www.wservernews.com/090406-Security-Advisory Windows Server News New Server Flavor: No CALs Last February, Steve Ballmer announced that Redmond would add a low-end release of WinServer. At the time he compared it to a netbook version of the Windows client OS. And while the server market doesn't have the same kind of consumer market "netbook phenomenon", it makes sense for Redmond to have a low-end server OS for inexpensive server hardware to compete with Linux and/or pirated software. This week, Redmond revealed a new flavor called "Windows Server 2008 Foundation". It's focused on helping small organizations run apps and databases, as well as manage websites, offer basic file and print, and even remote access. Windows Server 2008 Foundation will pre-installed and sold by MSFT's OEM partners, including Dell, HP and IBM sometime in the second half of this year. Total cost would be less than $1,000. One big change is that unlike other Microsoft business software, the OS does not require users to purchase Client Access Licenses. They are targeting it towards small businesses with 15 users or less, filling in a gap in their server offerings, possibly with emerging markets in mind. So what is the difference between this one and Windows Small Business Server? SBS has Exchange, SQL Server and other apps, which is overkill for the very small organizations. And you need to buy CALs for SBS. How is it licensed then? The OS is licensed by user accounts; however, each license is limited to a maximum of 15 user accounts, and each one of those accounts can only have one distinct user at a time. Here is the official Redmond page: http://www.wservernews.com/090406-Technology-Foundation Microsoft Office 2007 SP2 Leaks Microsoft is currently working on SP2 for Office 2007 and could be ready to release a final version as early as this month. An early copy has leaked to BitTorrent according to Windows Vista Magazine. http://www.wservernews.com/090406-SP2-Leaked WServer Third Party News SNSI Detects Conficker Network-wide Sunbelt has added support for detecting Conficker on a system through SNSI. The crux of the detection is that it looks for the Conficker patch to the MS08-067 security flaw. This will allow you to scan your entire network from a single location to detect any infected workstations, servers, etc. This scan detection is a result of the findings from the Honeynet Project research into Conficker. The latest definitions for SNSI (def ver. 170) includes detections for Conficker on the network. If you buy VIPRE Enterprise in the second quarter of 2009, you get SNSI at 50% off which is a STEAL. Download SNSI here: http://www.wservernews.com/090406-Security-Inspector Check Out TrafficPlay and TrafficScape Dejavu Technologies has 2 products that you may find interesting. TrafficScape is an eforensics tool that captures complex IP network data-in-flight (conversations), decomposes and converts it to XML, and makes the resulting content and IP attributes available for search via a simple Google-like search engine. All emails, attachments, VoIP, Instant Messages, Internet searches and social networking conversations are searchable. For example, a search on "aluminum" produces all conversations with that keyword within the content. Selecting an entry reveals the text or voice and the IP attributes. A search on one of the attributes (i.e. "from:", "to:", date/time:, etc) can reveal additional useful information, such as who else a "sender:" contacted within your company. TrafficScape converts PCAP to XML files at a 20:1 size ratio so companies can save data-in-flight data for extended periods of time and refer to it for investigative purposes when needed. TrafficReplay is a network test product that is very useful as a cyber security analysis and vulnerability assessment tool. TrafficReplay can utilize REAL enterprise network traffic, varied and scaled to high volume, while additionally incorporating the most recently researched "zero day" network threats and attacks. This allows a realistic and comprehensive (but safe) assessment of cyber-readiness of operational security infrastructure, as it protects mission-critical computers and networks. TrafficReplay boxes sit behind the enterprise firewalls where they emulate end points and "catch" tests in a safe and secure manner. With TrafficReplay, known cyber threats can be tested safely against the entire enterprise or government network within minutes of those threats being released. http://www.wservernews.com/090406-Dejavu WServerNews Fave Links This Week's Links We Like. Tips, Hints And Fun Stuff. ***Hot off the press. I think you are going to like this one: *** watch it before it goes away. Google provided a look inside its data center operations, showcasing the company's use of shipping containers to store servers and storage. Each of these 40-foot data center containers can house up to 1,160 servers: http://www.wservernews.com/090406-Data-Center With a wind speed of just 30mph, British engineer Richard Jenkins has set a new land speed record for a wind-powered car at 126.1 mph. Wow: http://www.wservernews.com/090406-Wind-Powered-Car U.S. Navy researchers claimed to have experimentally confirmed cold fusion occurring at room temperature: http://www.wservernews.com/090406-Breakthrough A 6-acre sanctuary for pets, this one is amazing: http://www.wservernews.com/090406-Sanctuary If you raise a parrot with a baby, this is what you get. Don't do it!: http://www.wservernews.com/090406-Parrot "Best of Elevator". You never know what you will see when an elevator opens up. I will never wait for an elevator again without remembering this: http://www.wservernews.com/090406-Elevator The stock market all in one cartoon. Well, I though it was funny: http://www.wservernews.com/090406-Stock-Market Qualcomm's mobile-phone gurus revealed their new plan for telecommunication on Wednesday, April 01, 2009. They'll insert tiny receivers into flocks of pigeons, providing phone coverage anywhere they fly. Erm... humor? http://www.wservernews.com/090406-Cellular-Network How we are being manipulated by altered imaging: Sex, Lies and Photoshop. You should watch the video at the bottom of this page. (Safe for Office): http://www.wservernews.com/090406-Photoshop 1800 LEDs added to a radio controlled airplane for a perfect night flight: http://www.wservernews.com/090406-Airplane Product of the Week Make it easy to track user access to your Windows file servers! Monitor your users' every action and get powerful reporting and up-to-the- minute alerts on activity! With File System Auditor from ScriptLogic, you'll be able to audit file access on Windows file servers, generate easy-to- understand compliance reports, and create alerts tied to file system events - all from a centralized management console. Create an audit trail on your file server and know that your access controls are working. File System Auditor protects sensitive information by reporting attempts to access and modify files and folders, with who did it and when. Download a Free Trial of File System Auditor Today! http://www.wservernews.com/090406-FSA

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