While remote access solutions have given us a unique way to access our networks and applications -- and provide a new level of worker productivity -- these solutions can inadvertently provide hackers a portal to your entire network if the security features are compromised.
This is especially true now that the mobile workforce has become a reality for organizations across all industries, and the ubiquitousness of the Internet is fueling more cost effective remote solutions, the security perimeter is anywhere your employees can hang their hats.
The latest white paper, "Like Stealing Candy: Recent Security Threats Leave Passwords in the Open", from authors Eric Beehler and Eric Johnson is now posted at Redmond Magazine's Tech Library: www.redmondmag.com/techlibrary. There is also a companion web cast recorded that we finished last week. Get the latest on threats to remote access and solutions available to neutralize those threats.
Link to white paper: http://redmondmag.com/techlibrary/resources.asp?id=667
Link to webcast: http://w.on24.com/r.htm?e=109811&s=1&k=228FC12DBA871955999704159BAD33EA&partnerref=library
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)
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Another podcast is up and available at CStechcast.com, the podcast for IT professionals. This week we talk about the history and the future of networks with John Day, author of Patterns in Network Architecture . The news brings cloud computing to your data center with a new product from HP, easier Web 2.0 APIs from Google, details on Windows 7 and Ruby on .NET, and a warning on Apple Safari on Windows. Lack of data breach disclosure "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", getting Vista's search to work right in the "Weekly Tech Tip", and we take "A Closer Look" at smartphone security in your network. Links to stories discussed during the show:
HP Building Out Web 2.0 Infrastructures (eWeek)
Google Delivers New AJAX APIs (eWeek)
Google's Gears Gains Ground (eWeek)
Google Shows Off Android (eWeek)
Microsoft linking Silverlight, Ruby on Rails (InfoWorld)
Windows 7 to have touch-screen interface (InfoWorld)
Court finds Dell guilty of fraud (InfoWorld)
Dell shares jump after solid 1Q results (Business Week)
Microsoft Warns Of Security Vulnerability Arising From Apple's Safari (Information Week)
Microsoft Security Advisory (953818) (Microsoft.com) Check out the review of our podcast at That Podcast Show: http://www.imaginatepro.com/thatpodcastshow/?p=78 As always, show your appreciation for CS Techcast by dropping us an e-mail, voicemail, or blog post. You can also write a review in your favorite podcast directory and in iTunes. This will help get the word out and help us continue to bring you a great podcast every week. Thanks to everyone for listening. Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=27 - Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)
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Six months of weekly podcasts all for the IT professional and we continue our march forward at CStechcast.com. This week we explore VMware ESX virtualization with Edward L. Haletky, author of VMware ESX Server in the Enterprise. Find information from the author at http://astroarch.com/wiki/index.php/Virtualization. In the news; Microsoft announces support for ODF and PDF in an upcoming Office service pack, Citrix debuts its Branch Repeater for remote office support over the WAN, Google gives us the Safe Browsing Diagnostic Tool to check web sites for malware, jobs openings involving virtualization skills are up 40 percent, and some companies look to allow employees to use their own laptops on the corporate network. Microsoft gets rid of their academic search tools for the "Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at how to get started with virtualization, and a quick "Weekly Tech Tip" on how to make a shortcut in Vista with admin privs to help save you some time. Links to stories discussed during the show:
All eyes on how Microsoft pulls off ODF support (InfoWorld)
Google's Safe Browsing Diagnostic Tool (Search Engine Land)
Microsoft, Citrix Unveil 'Swiss Army Knife' Remote System (Information Week)
Virtualization Job Openings Jump 40% (eWeek)
Microsoft embraces 'Bring Your Own Laptop' model (CNet News.com)
Microsoft Shuts Down Book Search (PC World) For those looking for the Google Browsing Diagnostic Tool, just use the following URL and put the URL for your web site at the end: http://www.google.com/safebrowsing/diagnostic?site= As I mentioned above, CS Techcast is celebrating six months of expert interviews, news for IT pros, segments that can help you out and give you more insight, and having fun just by having an outlet to express our personalities. We've brought you technical leaders and industry expertise such as Bill Inmon, John C. Dvorak, Kalen Delaney, and Greg Shields just to name a few. We've also brought you extras such as our special video episode from SQL PASS Camp. We would love for you, a member of our loyal audience, to spread the word about our show so we can continue to bring you everything we have and more. You can help us by writing a review in your favorite podcast directory, filling out our listener survey, blogging about us, and telling your friends to subscribe. Thanks for listening and we will continue to bring you more at CStechcast.com. Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=26 - Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)
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IT pros get another podcast chock full of information and irreverence, at CStechcast.com. This week we put the focus back onto the brand new Windows Server 2008 operating system with Rand Morimoto, author of Windows Server 2008 Unleashed. Tech news sees the demise of the MicroHoo merger, Windows XP Service Pack 3 gets PCs to go on endless reboots, a new security bulletin on a new Trojan infecting half a million PCs, patch Tuesday sees 4 new patches, Office 2007 SP1 is coming to automatic updates, Google sets up a new enterprise hosted security service, and we take a peek at the 10 worst workplaces in tech. A continuing trend of knocking a good app developed with Microsoft tools gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", fanboys get a freestyle rant in the "IT Pet Peeve", and the "Weekly Tech Tip" helps you hack the Vista experience index. Links to stories discussed during the show:
The MicroHoo Fallout (eWeek)
Trojan Infects More Than 500,000 PCs (eWeek)
Continuous Reboots Plague Windows XP SP3 Users (PC Magazine)
Four Patches Coming in May (ENT News)
Google gains on Microsoft with hosted security offering (C|Net News.com)
The 10 Worst Workspaces in Tech (ValleyWag)
Building a web app the Microsoft way (ThinkVitamin.com)
Maybe Microsoft isn't completely useless on the web, after all (C|Net Blogs) Thanks everyone for downloading and listening to the CS Techcast. Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=24 - Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)
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Our latest weekly podcast for IT Pros, available at CStechcast.com, is released to the world. This week we try to tap our inner CSI with Keith J. Jones, author of Real Digital Forensics, available alone or in the Computer Forensics Library Boxed Set. Find more info at realdigitalforensics.com. The news finds Windows XP Service Pack 3 and Vista Service Pack 1 pulled back from Windows Updates, the BlueHat conference exposes easy antivirus hacks, third party solutions aim to help Ruby on Rails scale, SharePoint gets a new administration toolkit, and dirty secrets of the security industry are revealed. Eric Schmidt's obsession with Microsoft gets "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we take "A Closer Look" at the recent SQL injection attacks and what you can do about it, and joining a domain from afar using Vista is our "Weekly Tech Tip". Links to stories discussed during the show:
XP update delayed over glitch (C|Net News.com)
Vista SP1 auto updates also halted (C|Net News.com)
Antivirus holes, browser spies are highlights at Microsoft's BlueHat hacker sessions (C|Net News.com)
Making Ruby on Rails Scale (eWeek)
Twitter Said To Be Abandoning Ruby on Rails (TechCrunch)
Announcing the First Release of the Microsoft SharePoint Administration Toolkit (Microsoft SharePoint Products and Technologies Team Blog)
7 dirty secrets of the security industry (InfoWorld)
Schmidt in CNBC interview: We're concerned about Microhoo (C|Net News.com)
SQL Injection Attacks on IIS Web Servers (BillS IIS Blog) We love bringing you the show and hope everyone who listens appreciates the effort. Let us know what you think; post to the blog, send us an e-mail, or call us. Details for contacting us can be found at CStechcast.com. Review our show at your favorite podcast directory, including iTunes, and let everyone know how you like CS Techcast. Thanks everyone for listening. Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=23 - Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)
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This week's new podcast, available at CStechcast.com, gives IT pros another dose of news and expert information. Microsoft Office 2007 Servers is the topic with J. Peter Bruzzese, author of Administrator's Guide to Microsoft Office 2007 Servers and regular contributor to Infoworld.com, among his many endeavors. Find him on the web at cliptraining.com. In the news; Microsoft floods us with bad news on desktops, the Yahoo merger, and it's database share, but hey Live Mesh is cool along with Yahoo! announcing a redesign at the Web 2.0 Conference, SQL injection attacks are on the rise, and IT pay takes a depressing dip. You would think a non-profit charity like One Laptop Per Child could steer clear of making "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", the "Weekly Tech Tip" gives us a refresher about DNS on Windows with some useful tricks, and we get the "Point / Counterpoint" on system administrators specializing in more than one OS. Links to stories discussed during the show:
Microsoft Windows Sales Plunge 24% Amid Rising Competition (Information Week)
Microsoft Flexible On Windows XP End Date, Ballmer Says (Information Week)
In Database Market, Oracle Gets Bigger, Others Hang On (Information Week)
Microsoft Demos Live Mesh (eWeek)
Yahoo plans makeover with elements of social network (Washington Post)
The Web 2.0 economy hangs in limbo (C|Net News.com)
Microsoft: Web at the center, not PC (C|Net News.com)
SQL attack hits 500,000 websites (vnunet.com)
SQL Infection Hits Over 500K Webpages, Infiltrates DHS And UN (mashable.com)
Walter Bender Resigned from One Laptop Per Child!! (olpcnews.com)
OLPC CTO founds own company, aims at $75 laptop (Ars Technica)
Average Info Tech Pay Drops To $105,000 For Managers, $78,000 For Staff, Our Survey Finds (Information Week) For those looking for additional information on the SQL Injection attacks plaguing vulnerable Internet pages, please follow this link to the SANS posts: http://isc.sans.org/diary.html?storyid=4331. For anyone interested in viewing some of J. Peter Bruzzese video training material, point your browser to youtube.com/cliptraining. For anyone who enjoys our podcast through iTunes, please write up a nice note in their reviews section or on your favorite podcast directory. If you like what you hear, share it with a friend; send them to CStechcast.com. Thanks everyone for listening and, please, give us your feedback. Keep tuning in every week for a new episode of CS Techcast. Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=22 - Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)
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After tons of feedback from the community, MS has decided to release another Service Pack for SQL Server 2005. More information on the Data Platform Insider Blog. Of course, there's not much detail about what will be IN the SP, but I think this is a huge step in maintaining good standing with customers. While many people jumped at the chance to go from SQL Server 2000 to 2005, the jump to 2008 will be a little more hesitant, mostly because of the difficulty in moving database platforms in production environments. Hopefully, this SP will give people a "longer life" in SQL 2005, while giving them the opportunity to more carefully evaluate SQL Server 2008.
--Josh
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The latest CS Techcast podcast is here with news, views, and interviews for IT professionals at cstechcast.com. This week we discuss Microsoft Expression Web and the approach of these tools in a Web 2.0 world with Jim Cheshire, author of Using Microsoft Expression Web 2. Find Jim at www.jimcobooks.com. The news brings new web mashup design and an updated Live Maps from Microsoft's Live platform, Forrester is going against conventional wisdom with Vista in business, Citrix turns up the heat on the competition with smooth delivery of applications via virtualization on their XenDesktop beta, and an increasing zero day worry as a Microsoft vulnerability exploit is in the wild two days after the patch release. Blog aggregating gets aggravating for "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", virtual Josh gives us advice on Windows and how to avoid getting tripped up by service principle names in "The Weekly Tech Tip", and we take "A Closer Look" at the Microsoft MVP Summit. Links to stories discussed during the show: Ozzie's Mesh Mashup (eWeek Microsoft Watch)
Hands on: new Microsoft Live Maps improvements impressive (Ars Technica)
Don't Skip Vista, Forrester Study Says (PC World)
Citrix`s Smooth New XenDesktop (eWeek)
MS08-021: A Must-Patch Vulnerability (eWeek)
For Sale: 3 Blogs, Barely Used; Seller Highly Motivated (TechNewsWorld) CS Techcast is proud to bring you a quality podcast every week, without fail. If you enjoy it, share it with your friends and point them to cstechcast.com. As always, thanks for listening. Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=21 - Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)
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This week's podcast at cstechcast.com concentrates on technology trends that matter to IT pros. We have an extended interview with long time industry expert, PC Magazine and MarketWatch columnist, and Cranky Geeks host John C. Dvorak where we discuss Google's platform as a service, Dell's shrinking relevance, and Microsoft's apparent soft opening for Windows Server 2008. Find John C. Dvorak at dvorak.org/blog. The news brings us Gartner's top disruptive technology trends that may mean upgrades to your internal apps for multi-core and a further move towards mashup development, Gartner also stirs the pot by declaring that Windows is collapsing in the face of code bloat and web apps, and we also put forth a whole series of security updates from Oracle, Adobe, and post warning about malware on USB keys from HP that hold software for Proliant servers. Gartner's report on the untenable state of Windows is declared "The Worst Tech Move of the Week". We also give away Quest Software's Change Director for SQL Server to a lucky listener. 
Links to stories discussed during the show: Gartner: Multicore, Clouds, Social Nets Top Disruptive List (PC World)
Google Hosts Web Applications By Outside Software Developers (Wall Street Journal)
Windows is 'collapsing,' Gartner analysts warn (ComputerWorld)
Oracle Warns of Critical DB Server Vulnerabilities (eWeek)
Adobe Issues Critical Flash Player Update (eWeek)
HP ships USB sticks with malware (C|Net News.com)
What happened at Dell? (MarketWatch) We dropped a couple regular segments this week to bring you all the goodness of the Dvorak interview, but we will be back with those segments next week, including an update from the Microsoft MVP summit. After our interview with John C. Dvorak this week, we were mentioned on Dvorak's Tech 5 podcast Thursday, April 10th, 2008 entitled "Yahoo and Google both Freaked", available at tech5.podshow.com, on the discussion we had about the lack of real press and marketing surrounding the release of Windows Server 2008. We are expecting a full blown article from Dvorak based on our discussion of the subject soon. Thank you to Quest Software for providing valuable software to our listeners. Visit quest.com for information on their full suite of management products for applications, databases, and Windows. Tell your friends to visit cstechcast.com. Thanks. Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=20 - Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)
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We interviewed John C. Dvorak this Thursday for CS Techcast episode 20, to be release Monday, about several interesting IT trends. One topic we touch on is the seemingly soft, targeted debut of Windows Server 2008. There was almost no press about it in the general media or even the tech press except within the Microsoft-specific tech community and some enterprise IT trade papers like eWeek. My speculation is that Vista and the negative response received from its big release is causing Microsoft to be cautious about its launch so they don't attract bad press as the "Vista for servers", which is true in the same ways XP and Server 2003 share similar kernel code.
Today, the day after this discussion for the upcoming CS Techcast releasing Monday, a new Gartner report says that Windows is collapsing. They report the continuing trend towards web apps and the increasing irrelevance of Windows as reasons why Microsoft must go through with the Yahoo merger. With only a 6.3% adoption rate for Vista in business, they tell us that companies cannot make the justification for a migration to Vista when there is no obvious benefit to the new OS. They also cite the need for a new version of the client OS to mend fences, but the very large code base of Vista and the massive effort it will take to turn it into a smaller, leaner version of itself to address the many criticisms hurled at it in the past year will take a while. In the end, though, web apps may make the version of Windows you are running largely a moot point in the very near future.
Make sure you tune into the latest release of CS Techcast this Monday for our discussion of Windows Vista and Server 2008, pre-Gartner report, and more insight with John C. Dvorak. Find the CS Techcast podcast at cstechcast.com.
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)
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CStechcast.com brings you another information filled podcast for IT pros. This week we interview Ben Day, Microsoft MVP for C#, conference speaker, and leader of the Beantown.NET User Group to get into the benefits and how to avoid the controversy of LINQ. Find him online at Benday.com. In the news we see the nail in Windows XP sales coffin, we explore Windows 7 rumors, you get exposed to a plethora of security patches, go head first into IRS phishing, see the resurgence of backscatter spam, more DDoS traffic, get some much needed help from a honeypot client, look at VMWare's latest release to control VM's, and confirm what we already knew about the direction of IT this year. Creative shuts down helpful user written Vista drivers for "The Worst Tech Move of the Week", we show you why SPNs are important for domain accounts in IIS and SQL in the "Weekly Tech Tip", and we take "A Closer Look" at IT conferences. Quest Software is giving away a copy of Change Director for SQL Server. Enter using the "Contest" link at CStechcast.com.
Links to stories discussed during the show:
Microsoft Windows XP Dies June 30, as Planned (eWeek)
Windows 7, Successor To Vista, May Ship Next Year (Information Week)
Critical IE, Office, Windows Patches on Deck (eWeek)
Another Phishing Scam Spoofs IRS (ENT News)
Backscatter Spam Is Back (eWeek)
Internet tubes dripping with "raw sewage" of DDoS attacks (Ars Technica)
VMware Adds Control To Burgeoning Virtual Infrastructure (Information Week)
Report: IT Heads Back to Basics (eWeek)
Creative Labs Stops Guy From Making Its Technology Work Better (Techdirt)
Setspn Overview (Microsoft TechNet)
The Big Giveaway is Closing Soon!
Don't miss our big giveaway of Quest Software's Change Director for SQL Server. Change Director for SQL Server provides a powerful automated solution for managing change to SQL Server databases. Please enter using the "Contest" button on the CStechcast.com homepage.
Leave comments at the blog, on the feedback form, or at our voicemail. Thanks for listening this week and every week.
Link to the episode: http://www.cstechcast.com/home.aspx?Episode=19
- Eric Beehler (consortioservices.com/blog)
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After Microsoft’s Windows Vista went RTM last year I quickly installed in onto my desktop and then my laptop. Both were manufactured before the release of Vista. My desktop was a bit more than a year and a half old and my laptop about 8 months old and came with the ubiquitous Windows Vista Capable sticker. On the desktop, I did an upgrade, followed about a month later by a fresh install to the same partition. Recently, I bought a brand spanking new laptop for my wife, who needed to have her 8 year old Compaq laptop replaced because every time the virus signature update initiates, it locks up the whole machine. It was just getting too slow and its battery was certainly out of juice. I’m not throwing it out, but it’s just not that pleasant an experience if you need to do more than surf the web and check e-mail. So, I went high end with the processor, an HP 2700 Special Edition series Intel Penryn class 2.5 GHz beast, a nice 2GB of RAM, 120 GB hard disk, DVD writer, 14.1” Brite View screen, discrete NVidia 8400 graphics, extended life battery, HDMI port, fingerprint reader; it has the works for an everyday machine. It should last just as long as the last one did. And, it came pre-loaded with Windows Vista Home Premium, my first machine pre-loaded with the OS. The interface was smooth and functionality was without issue. The only problem I ran into was my network printer driver for the HP color laser printer 2605dtn, so I had to download the full CD. HP doesn’t provide the small driver for the network version of this printer. I noted a problem with IE after the installation of the CD where the HP Web Clips feature add on was crashing IE so I disabled it. The experience was so nice that I decided it was time to re-install Windows Vista on my other computers. My first candidate was my laptop, an HP DV 5190. It’s an early dua |