september 2005 - Posts
Microsoft, the worlds largest software company, celebrates its 30th anniversary today.
Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates and Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer will congratulate employees for their contributions to date at Company Meeting Today at Safeco Field in Seattle.
- Microsoft currently has 640,000 partners in the Microsoft Partner Program.
- The youngest current employee at Microsoft is 18 years old; the oldest is 74.
- There are more than 2,000 bloggers at Microsoft.
- More than 3 million internal e-mail messages are exchanged by Microsoft employees every day.
- Approximately 42 million cans of soda have been consumed by employees since 1978, when the Microsoft tradition of free soda started.
- Microsoft started with two employees 30 years ago, Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Today, the company employees more than 60,000 people in 80 countries.
...or how to shoot yourself in the foot with security. ;-)
Great article from Jesper M. Johansson (Enterprise Security Architect from Microsoft).
SMB Message Signing is one of Microsoft's top support call generators, and for good reason. It mitigates valid security threats, but is very complicated to use and can have far-reaching implications on the stability and functionality of your network.
Read the article in September Security Management column.
Microsoft® Windows® Vista™ Beta 1 and Windows Server™ "Longhorn" Beta 1 include a new implementation of the TCP/IP protocol suite known as the Next Generation TCP/IP stack. The TCP/IP protocol stack provided with Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 was originally designed in the early 1990s and was modified and enhanced over time to meet the needs of home and enterprise users. The Next Generation TCP/IP stack in Windows Vista and Windows Server "Longhorn" is a complete redesign of TCP/IP functionality for both Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) and Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) that meets the connectivity and performance needs of today's varied networking environments and technologies.
Read the rest of article from The Cable Guy.
Google has just launched a Blog Search Engine...
Hmmmm, nice... ;-)
Office 12 Access
Office 12 Excel
Office 12 PowerPoint
Office 12 Word
Microsoft® Codename Max is not like any other product. That's because it's not a product—it's your opportunity to try an exciting new user experience from Microsoft. Today Max lets you make lists of your photos and turn them into beautiful slide shows to share with your family and friends. Tomorrow...who knows?
It looks cool ;-) Is it usefull? I guess so. Especially for digital photo enthusiasts. ;-)
If you have downloaded the Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 SP2 Customer Technology Preview (CTP), you may have noticed that the release notes are not updated.
Here are a few (interesting) things from the latest online version of Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 SP2 CTP:
- Intelligent Message Filter (IMF) version 2 - If you are running IMF version 1 you must uninstall it prior installing Exchange Server 2003 SP2 (don`t worry, you are prompted during SP2 setup if you forget...). Don`t install IMF version 1 after SP installation. IMF version 2 is automatically installed on server. However, you must still enable IMF version 2 on the Virtual Server Instance (VSI). The IMF is not cluster-aware and can`t be installed on a server that is a member of a server cluster. However, if can run on front-end servers and Exchange SMTP gateways that are members of a network load-balanced cluster.
- Custom Weight Feature of IMF - you can tweak rules of IMF (to better fit your organization needs) through MSExchange.UCEContent.Filter.xml. For example, if your company uses the word "Mreza.Info" a lot in your e-mail subjects and you want prevent false-positive junk e-mail detection, add the line: <CustomWeightEntry Type=”SUBJECT” Change=”MIN” Text=”Mreza.Info”/>. This will change SCL rating to 0 and e-mail will pass through. You can also choose words in the body, subject, or both.
- Log public folder deletions - The logging public folder deletions feature enables the administrator to track who has deleted public folders. But you will need to turn on logging (MSExchangeIS\Public Folders - set to Medium logging)
- Enabling or Disabling MAPI Access per User - Exchange Server 2003 SP2 adds functionality to enable administrators to completely turn off MAPI access for a given user, or to grant access to a user whose Microsoft Office Outlook is configured for cached mode, but to deny access otherwise. This functionality is valuable to providers of hosting services who want, as an example, their end users to connect to Exchange Server with Outlook Web Access, but not with Outlook.
New features in SP2 (complete list):
- Enabling or Disabling MAPI Access for a Specific User
- Enabling Direct Push Technology
- Managing Security Settings for Mobile Clients
- Remote Wiping of Mobile Devices
- Global Address List Search for Mobile Clients
- Certificate-Based Authentication and S/MIME on Mobile Devices
- Tracking Public Folder Deletions
- Manually Stopping and Resuming Replication
- Synchronizing the Public Folder Hierarchy
- Using the Manage Public Folders Settings Wizard
- Moving Public Folder Content to a Different Server
- Improved Offline Address Book Performance
- Specifying the Servers to Exclude from Connection Filtering
- Sender ID Filtering
- Intelligent Message Filtering (version 2)
- Database Size Limit Configuration and Management
- Exit Outlook! ;-)
- On the old computer go to X:\Dosuments and Settings\UserName\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
- Copy OutlookProfileName.nk2 (Outlook.nk2 for default profile)
- On the new computer put your OutlookProfileName.nk2 to same path (X:\Dosuments and Settings\UserName\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook)
- If Outlook profile name on new computer is different, you must rename your *.nk2 file to for example OutlookProfileName2.nk2
- Open Outlook to view changes ;-)
That`s it...
Security is the foundation of the Windows Vista architecture. With Windows Vista, you’ll be able to connect to whomever you want and do the things you want to do, confident that Windows Vista is keeping your information and your computer safe.
Windows Vista security features protect against the latest generation of threats, such as worms, viruses, and malware. And in the unlikely event of a successful attack, Windows Vista ensures that the damage is minimal.
Read the eWeek article (by Larry Seltzer) with focus on some of the new security features in Windows Vista.
I finally had some time to play with Vista. It`s really sexy looking with dumb proof install (personally I don`t like installer) and other nice new features and of course some things I hate about it. But I will post this later...
So here is a cool article/guide to become familiar with Vista:
This document is a high-level user's guide for information technology (IT) professionals who are building and deploying desktops by using the Beta 1 release of Microsoft Windows Vista delivered as part of the Beta 1 program. It is not intended to be a detailed process-oriented guide but rather a high-level introduction to some of the new features and capabilities of the next release of Windows. For more detailed information about this release, see the release notes in the Readme.htm file in the root directory of the Windows Vista DVD.
The Windows Vista operating system is designed to help users become confident in using their PC, help them find creative ways to easily find information they need to do their work, and make them better connected to systems, information, and people. For IT professionals, Windows Vista will be the easiest Windows ever to deploy, secure, and manage.
With Windows Vista, Microsoft is making significant investments in the areas of security, deployment, and desktop management.
Read the rest of article/guide here.
Some quotes from The Interdictor blog:
- Dead bodies everywhere: convention center, down camp street, all over.
- The National Guard, FEMA, the NOPD, and City authorities DO NOT have the city under control. There are live radio feeds for the National Guard comms and NOPD comms which have been circulating the web, and you can listen to the chaos and disarray for yourselves. I am not going to post the links, but I'm sure others have and will. I doubt the government's ability to reestablish order without a full active duty military presence to crush the mob mentality. This of course will mean no civil rights and everyone being treated equally -- as a criminal. Rock | Hard Place.
- All of our providers are dropping. We're down to one. We have enough fuel to keep us powered for a long time, but we could lose internet access soon if our last provider drops.
- National Guard shoving water off the backs of trucks. They're just pushing it off without stopping, people don't even know it's there at first -- they drop it on the side in debris, there's no sign or distribution point -- people are scared to go near it at first, because the drop points are guarded by troops or federal agents with assault rifles who don't let people come near them, which scares people off. It is a mess. When people actually get to the water, they are in such a rush to get it that one family left their small child behind and forget about him until Sig carried him back to the family.
- It's raining now and I guess that's a relief from the heat. It's hot as hell down there in the sun. Crime is absolutely rampant: rapes, murders, rape-murder combinations.
- In case anyone in national security is reading this, get the word to President Bush that we need the military in here NOW. The Active Duty Armed Forces. Mr. President, we are losing this city. I don't care what you're hearing on the news. The city is being lost. It is the law of the jungle down here. The command and control structure here is barely functioning. I'm not sure it's anyone's fault -- I'm not sure it could be any other way at this point. We need the kind of logistical support and infrastructure only the Active Duty military can provide. The hospitals are in dire straights. The police barely have any capabilities at this point. The National Guard is doing their best, but the situation is not being contained. I'm here to help in anyway I can, but my capabilities are limited and dropping. Please get the military here to maintain order before this city is lost.
- THE REAL MILITARY IS NOW FLOWING IN. National Guard is being replaced before our eyes.
Source: The Interdictor
Updated #1: Mirrored Interview - WWL-AM Interview with New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin Angry at Lack
Updated #2: Pictures
directNIC and some other data centers survived it. At least for now...
You wonder how?
Here is a blog from crazy (in a good meaning) guys from directNIC data center. And here are some pictures...
Good luck!
Updated: Live video stream mirror from location
Microsoft Virtual Server can be configured so that the Virtual Server service and the Administration Web site, with its corresponding installation of IIS, are on different computers. You may want to install the Administration Web site on a different physical computer if you want to have multiple physical computers running Virtual Server, but only one IIS server, or if you want to dedicate a physical computer to running only the Virtual Server service. This might be for performance or security considerations. This paper describes how to configure the Virtual Server service and Administration Web site on separate computers for both a new installation of Virtual Server and an existing installation of Virtual Server.
Download it here.
I just come across this feature. It` really great... I think allot of people wanted this ever since Windows XP early beta stage. In Windows XP this future exists of course. But not for domain joined PCs
But there is no guarantee that this feature will stay...
The live media casts have just gone live for TechEd 2005 Australia.
Links: