This video blog provides insight on Windows 7 from the Microsoft engineers who helped build the product.
Additionally, it provides real-world commentary from IT professionals who have chosen to shift to a modern OS.
Watch. Connect.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Windows 7 Release Candidate Update
There certainly has been a lot of discussion about Windows 7 in the last few weeks. A lot of folks want to know when they can get their hands on the official RC, when we are going to RTM,
On the Microsoft Windows 7 Blog Brandon LeBlanc was pleased to share that the Release Candidate is on track for April 30th for download by MSDN and TechNet subscribers. Broader, public availability will begin on May 5th. !!!!!
To see some some of the changes and refine the new and improved taskbar, the behavior of Aero Peek, Touch, Windows Media Player, and much more. In case you have missed the previous E7 blog entry outlining some of these changes in detail, you can read about them here and here.
To see the full Microsoft official Blog notice go here..
Open Beta for MOF Companion Guide— Now Available for Download
| Open Beta for MOF Companion Guide— Now Available for Download
If you have not previously registered with Microsoft Connect, you might be required to register before continuing with the invitation process. Thanks Bill Chapman for originally posting this. |
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Changes in Windows 7 Security
In this and future blogs i will be talking about new changes in Windows 7 and security. Bitlocker allows you to protect a desktop, server or laptop with encryption solution.
This issue BitLocker Enhancements
Bitlocker 1st appeared in Vista and could only protect the system volume which required user to have 2 different partitions on for boot and one for data. With service pack 1 you could encrypt the full drive. The issues were this was not easy to deploy. There is now a new tool for migrating and existing drive to support BitLocker from a Wizard!
In Windows 7, enhancements include the management of BitLocker. and use of Group Policy settings that allow you to update your passwords and integrate with Smart Cards and manage fixed drives.
BitLocker to GO is all a new feature for portable devices and will discuss that in another article.
For information on how BitLocker work go here
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Hyper-V Security Guide Released
This guide is designed to provide you with guidance, instructions, and recommendations to help you elevate the security of virtualized Microsoft® Windows Server® 2008 environments to address your business-critical needs.
The Hyper-V Security Guide focuses on three key areas and provides the following information:
• Hardening the Hyper-V role. Prescriptive guidance for hardening the Hyper-V role, including several best practices for installing and configuring Hyper-V with a focus on security. These best practices include measures for reducing the attack surface of Hyper-V as well as recommendations for properly configuring secure virtual networks and storage devices.
• Delegating virtual machine management. Prescriptive guidance to help you safely and securely delegate administrative access to virtual machine resources within an organization.
• Protecting virtual machines. Prescriptive guidance for securing virtual machine resources, including best practices and detailed steps for protecting virtual machines by using a combination of file system permissions, encryption, and auditing.
Get it HERE
A little history
I found a neat site that has the history or Microsoft by years
right now is 1975-1983 the link is here
Network monitor 3.3 Released
Supports WINDOWS 7 1
· Ability to capture on WWAN and Tunnel interfaces on Win7.
· Critical fixes to NM3.3 to operate correctly with Hyper-V.
· Right-click-add-to-alias. Right-click a frame in the Frame Summary window with an IPv4, IPv6, or MAC address to add that address as a new alias.
· Right-click-go-to-definition: Right-click a field in the Frame Details windows and select Go To Data Field Definition or Go To Data Type Definition to see where the field is defined in the NPL parsers.
· Auto-scroll. See the most recent traffic as it comes in. In a live capture, click the Autoscroll button on the main toolbar to have the Frame Summary window automatically scroll down to display the most recent frames as they come in. Click Auto-scroll again to freeze the view in its present location.
· Experts available online: Experts are stand-alone applications that analyze Network Monitor capture data. Various experts are available online at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=133950.
· Frame Comments: Attach comments to frames in a saved capture file. Select the Frame Comments tab in the lower-right window to add, view, edit, or delete comments.
· API Extensions: API methods have been added to enable access to conversation information, properties, field display strings, and comments.
· Ability to open ETL files and correlate information by Network Tracing scenario.
· Set of core parsers to improve parsing performance. These can be accessed by changing the Common and Windows set of parsers to stubs:
From the Tools menu, select Options
· Go to the Parsers Tab
· Select the folder you want to stub out (Common or Windows)
· Click on the Stubs button on toolbar
· See our Release Notes for a complete list of new features and known issues.
· Experts: Experts are stand-alone applications that analyze Network Monitor capture data. Network Monitor 3.3 provides a simple interface for registering experts with the product and invoking them on a saved capture file. We have made some initial experts available online. Do you have a network troubleshooting need that is not currently met by Network Monitor or our available experts? Why not suggest your own expert? Please use the feedback link on the left to submit a description of the analysis task you want to solve (you must first join our connection) and we will work with you to create an expert for the community to enjoy.
XOBNI (In box Backwards)
I use this daily and have been ask about it so here you go…
Xobni's Outlook add-in saves you time finding email, conversations, contact info & attachments.
With Xobni, all interchanges between you and a contact are instantly displayed as a list of email conversations. Emails are threaded based on their subject and are shown in the order in which they occurred. Xobni also conveniently shows you which conversations include attachments with the help of a handy paperclip.
No more looking for attachment sent by Anita just look up Anita and all the files you sent are on one page
PS XOBNI is FREE at can be found here
Now you can send instant messages from the Windows Live Hotmail and People pages
Sign in to Messenger on the Web in Hotmail
Here’s what you get with the new web Messenger:
- You can sign in to and send instant messages from any computer connected to the Internet, even if it doesn’t have Windows Live Messenger installed.
- You can also send IMs to your Messenger contacts from the People page (your contact list). Just click the contact’s picture, and you’ll see Send an instant message on the dropdown menu.
Friday, April 17, 2009
More Short Learning Bites on Windows 7
Implementing User Account Control in Windows 7
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/_silverlight/learningsnacks/win7/snack02/Default.html
Introducing BitLocker and AppLocker in Windows 7
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/_silverlight/learningsnacks/win7/snack03/Default.html
Desktop Experience in Windows 7
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/_silverlight/learningsnacks/win7/snack04/Default.html
Setting Up a Home Network in Windows 7
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/_silverlight/learningsnacks/win7/snack05/Default.html
Introducing the Troubleshooting Platform in Windows 7
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/_silverlight/learningsnacks/win7/snack06/Default.html
Using the Deployment Image Servicing and Management Tool for Servicing Windows 7 Images
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/_silverlight/learningsnacks/win7/snack07/Default.html
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Exchange 2010 Beta released
Here the basic info on exchange 2010 to get the BITS go Here
Microsoft Exchange 2010 helps you achieve new levels of reliability and performance by delivering features that simplify your administration, protect your communications, and delight your users by meeting their demands for greater business mobility. With new deployment and storage options, enhanced inbox management capabilities and e-mail archiving built-in, Exchange 2010 helps you lower costs and enhance business outcomes.
Flexible and Reliable
With Exchange, choose from on-premises deployment with Exchange Server 2010, a Microsoft hosted service with Exchange Online, or a seamless mix of both. Microsoft's commitment to Software plus Services ensures you can decide on your timeline for taking advantage of the flexibility and power of both without interrupting or changing your users' experience.
Learn More about Exchange Online
Exchange 2010 offers a simplified approach to high availability and disaster recovery coupled with enhanced maintenance tools to help you achieve new levels of reliability to deliver business continuity. Building on previous investments in Continuous Replication technologies in Exchange 2007, these investments:
Learn More about High Availability and Disaster Recovery
Lowering the burden on your help desk and yourself is a key way in which you can accomplish more and reduce costs.
Learn More about Administration
Anywhere Access
Enhancements in the latest release of Exchange provide your users access to all of their communications from a single location while making it easier for them to collaborate with each other and their business partners.
Learn More about Outlook Web Access
Learn More about Mobile Devices
With Exchange 2010, you can replace your traditional voice mail system with a unified solution integrated into the core of your communications platform. This new system will enable your users to receive their voice mail messages right in their inboxes, and manage those voice mail messages just as they do e-mail, with familiar tools like Outlook and Outlook Web Access.
Learn more about Voice Mail with Unified Messaging
Protection and Compliance
Exchange 2010 delivers new, integrated e-mail archiving functionality–including granular multi-mailbox search, item-level retention policies and instant legal hold–making it easier to address compliance and discovery issues. Administrators get centralized control of all archives while users get direct access to their archived mail, including a familiar archive experience that does not disrupt the way they manage their inboxes every day.
Learn More about Archiving and Retention
Exchange 2010 also expands Information Protection and Control support, making it easier to encrypt, moderate and block sensitive or inappropriate e-mail based on specific sender, receiver and content attributes.
Learn More about Information Protection and Control
To get the Beta go Here
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Need backup storage
Verbatim Americas, LLC joined its parent company, Mitsubishi Kagaku Media (Verbatim/MKM) today in announcing that the first shipments of its new 60GB UDO2 (Ultra Density Optical) Write-once (WORM) media are expected to begin in May. Based on the license agreement with Alliance Storage Technologies, MKM will start producing UDO2 WORM in April at its optical disc manufacturing facility in Mizushima, Japan. MKM, a key developer and manufacturer of UDO media, has been manufacturing premium-quality 30GB UDO1 WORM and RW (rewriteable) media at this factory since 2004 and will continue to do so. Verbatim/MKM will also offer 60GB UDO2 RW media and expects to begin shipping in June.
Like UDO1, UDO2 media uses a single layer recording surface. However, compared to first-generation UDO1, which provides a 30GB media capacity and a maximum read performance of 8MB/sec., UDO2 doubles the media capacity to 60GB and the maximum read performance is increased by 50 percent to 12MB/sec.
With Verbatim/MKM’s 60GB UDO2 write-once media, users can be confident that their recorded data can never be changed or altered. Write-once security and a data life of 50 years make this media the best choice for long-term archives that demand record authenticity. UDO2 technology has also been adopted as the recognized technology standard by ISO, IEC and ECMA, three of the top technical standards organizations in the world.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Proposed “Cybersecurity Act of 2009’’
You need to read the new proposed law and make comments !
Some issues include;
LICENSING AND CERTIFICATION OF CYBERSECURITY PROFESSIONALS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Within 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce shall develop or coordinate and integrate a national licensing, certification, and periodic recertification program for cybersecurity professionals.
Other issues are
MANDATORY LICENSING.-Beginning 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, it shall be unlawful for any individual to engage in business in the United States, or to be employed in the United States, as a provider of cybersecurity services to any Federal agency or an information system or network designated by the President, or the President's designee, as a critical infrastructure information system or network, who is not licensed and certified under the program.
Read the proposed law http://cdt.org/security/CYBERSEC4.pdf
Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.5 RELEASED
The Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) 5.5 helps you understand application compatibility situation by identifying which applications are compatible with the Windows 7 RC and Windows Vista® operating system and which require further testing. ACT helps customers lower their costs for application compatibility testing, prioritize their applications, and deploy Windows more quickly
You can use the ACT features to:
- Verify an application's compatibility with a new version of the Windows operating system, or a Windows Update, including determining your risk assessment.
- Become involved in the ACT Community, including sharing your risk assessment with other ACT users.
- Test your Web applications and Web sites for compatibility with new releases and security updates to the Windows® Internet Explorer® Internet browser.
You can download the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) here
MS Press does it again
Free Book offer this month they will be giving away
The two e-books for April are:
- Windows Small Business Server 2008 Administrator's Companion (Pro—Administrator's Companion) by Charlie Russel and Sharon Crawford
- Microsoft Visual Basic 2008 Express Edition: Build a Program Now! by Patrice Pelland
The Links will ONLY Work April – April 15-22.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Discount on MS press books
Visit any Barnes & Noble Booksellers or shop online at bn.com from now thru May 5, 2009 to SAVE 40% off select Microsoft Press IT Professional guides for Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008, Visual Basic 2008, and more.
This is a GREAT DEAL….
Microsoft Security Intelligence Report
Microsoft Security Intelligence Report, which showed a significant increase in rogue security software and evidence that threats are predominantly targeting common third-party desktop applications. This version of the report also showed that the No. 1 reason for data breaches remains lost and stolen computer equipment.
Rogue security software, also known as “scareware,” takes advantage of users’ desire to keep their computers protected. The rogue software lures them into paying for protection that, unknown to them, is actually malware offering little or no real protection, and is often designed to steal personal information. The Microsoft Security Intelligence Report shows that such programs are now among the top threats around the world. For example, two rogue families, Win32/FakeXPA and Win32/FakeSecSen, were detected on more than 1.5 million computers by Microsoft software, catapulting them into the top 10 threats in the second half of the year. In addition, Win32/Renos, a threat that is used to deliver rogue security software, was detected on 4.4 million unique computers, an increase of 66.6 percent over the first half of 2008
For home user to learn how to protect you computer go to http://www.microsoft.com/protect
Enterprise customers should use the Microsoft Security Assessment Tool (MSAT), available at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/cc185712.aspx, to help assess weaknesses in their IT security environment and build a plan to address the risks.
To see the full report go to http://www.microsoft.com/sir.
Test new Search tool
Microsoft has a new search engine that it is working on
Looks like next version of Live go to http://www.kumo.com/
Friday, April 3, 2009
New Windows server 2008 SKU For Very Small Business
The New Cost-Effective Technology Foundation
Microsoft has see the trend in netbooks and has announced a new technology for a server for up to 15 users. Windows Server Foundation lets employees exchange data securely, without requiring e-mail or the Internet access, on local network It’s an affordable platform for the core portfolio of IT capabilities, including file and print sharing, remote access and security. A simple and familiar Windows experience makes it easy for organizations to get up and running.
This will be sold via OEM or Microsoft partners.
To learn more go to the Windows Server 2008 Foundation site
A Chronology of Data Breaches
I been asked can you give me a list of privacy breaches. There are many site on the internet where you can go to find this information.
The site I reference many time during my talks is www.privacyrights.org/
The link to the directly see A Chronology of Data Breaches is here.
This show ho many companies have issues with protecting private data. over 253,743,138 records containing sensitive personal information have been expose as of today, THAT we know of !
Powerpoint vulnerability
Microsoft Security Advisory (969136)
Vulnerability in Microsoft Office PowerPoint Could Allow Remote Code Execution
Published: April 2, 2009
Version: 1.0
Microsoft is investigating new reports of a vulnerability in Microsoft Office PowerPoint that could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted PowerPoint file. At this time, we are aware only of limited and targeted attacks that attempt to use this vulnerability.
We are actively working with partners in our Microsoft Active Protections Program (MAPP) and our Microsoft Security Response Alliance (MSRA) program to provide information that they can use to provide broader protections to customers.
Microsoft will take the appropriate action to protect our customers, which may include providing a solution through our monthly security update release process, or an out-of-cycle security update, depending on customer needs.
Customers in the U.S. and Canada who believe they are affected can receive technical support from Security Support or 1-866-PCSAFETY. There is no charge for support calls that are associated with security updates. For more information about available support options, see Microsoft Help and Support.
International customers can receive support from their local Microsoft subsidiaries. There is no charge for support that is associated with security updates. For more information about how to contact Microsoft for support issues, visit the International Support Web site.
Mitigating Factors:
•
An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the local user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less affected than users who operate with administrative user rights.
•
In a Web-based attack scenario, an attacker would have to host a Web site that contains an Office file that is used to attempt to exploit this vulnerability. In addition, compromised Web sites and Web sites that accept or host user-provided content could contain specially crafted content that could exploit this vulnerability. In all cases, however, an attacker would have no way to force users to visit these Web sites. Instead, an attacker would have to convince users to visit the Web site, typically by getting them to click a link in an e-mail message or Instant Messenger message that takes users to the attacker's Web site, and then convincing them to open the specially crafted PowerPoint file.
•
The vulnerability cannot be exploited automatically through e-mail. For an attack to be successful a user must open an attachment that is sent in an e-mail message.
•
Users who have installed and are using the Office Document Open Confirmation Tool for Office 2000 will be prompted with Open, Save, or Cancel before opening a document. The features of the Office Document Open Confirmation Tool are incorporated in Office XP and later editions of Office.
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