My information Resource (blog.mir.net)

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

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

I found a neat site that has the history or Microsoft by years

right now is 1975-1983 the link is here

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.

 

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

 

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.

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

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

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.

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