Microsoft Questioned on XP SP2

Users want to know if security features will interfere with antivirus, firewall apps.

Paul Roberts, IDG News Service
Tuesday, April 20, 2004

Executives from Microsoft's security group demonstrated some of the new security features planned for the next major Windows XP software update, known as Service Pack 2, and faced persistent questions Tuesday from customers about whether the new features will interfere with other security technology.

Speaking at the company's monthly Executive Circle Web cast, Mike Nash, corporate vice president of the Security Business and Technology Unit (SBTU) showed off new features designed to simplify the management of security technology like antivirus and desktop firewalls, and to protect users from malicious e-mail attachments.

Nash also summoned other security group executives to talk about the company's plans and to field questions from customers curious about whether the new version of XP will interfere with network and desktop security products that are already being used.


Release Schedule
Rebecca Norlander, group manager for the SBTU, spoke with Nash and confirmed that a second test version of Service Pack 2, known as Release Candidate 2 (or RC2) will be released in May, and that the final version of XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) is still on schedule for the first half of the year. More release candidates are possible after the RC2 release, depending on customer feedback, Norlander said.

Demonstrating XP SP2 for Nash, Norlander displayed the new Windows Security Center, which consolidates security configuration information, and displayed features in the Outlook e-mail client that will strip out malicious attachments or warn users when unknown and potentially harmful programs are trying to run.

In a question-and-answer session, Nash and Norlander responded to frequent questions from customers, submitted electronically, about how third-party antivirus products and firewalls would work with the new Windows version.

A query from a customer named "Pablo" asked Norlander whether the Windows Firewall will work with common third-party firewalls like those by Network Associates and Zone Alarm.

Microsoft is working hard on compatibility testing, but it is ultimately up to customers to make the Windows Firewall run alongside another firewall product, Norlander said.


Added Security
Microsoft encourages all XP customers to run the new version of the Windows Firewall so they can benefit from boot time security, a new feature in XP SP2 that protects Windows systems from attack while they are booting, she said. Customers who encounter compatibility problems between the Windows firewalls and other firewalls should report them to Microsoft and to the firewall vendor, she said.

A similar question was asked about whether third-party antivirus products automatically appear in the new Security Center. Microsoft responded that the company expects around 70 percent of commercial antivirus products to be recognized by Windows XP SP2 and to appear in the new Security Center management interface when XP SP2 is released.

Customers who experience problems with their existing antivirus package were also told to contact Microsoft and the antivirus vendor and report the problems.

Asked whether new security features make desktop antivirus and firewall products unnecessary, Nash said that companies should understand what security features are in Windows XP SP2 and to "evaluate your security products to see what's right for your environment," but that Microsoft is working to make Windows interact with and manage a variety of third-party products.

There has been speculation within the information technology community that Microsoft's tougher stance on security in XP SP2 might cause some applications to stop working. In an interview with IDG News Service in March, a Microsoft product manager warned that changes to default settings in Windows XP SP2 could affect the way older applications run.

Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, is reaching out to developers and large software vendors with training courses to discuss the impact of XP SP2 on existing applications and help making software applications compatible with the new version of XP, Microsoft says.

Nash and others encouraged Microsoft customers to download and test the first test release of Windows XP SP2, and to report any problems they encounter to the company.

Source: PC World Microsoft Questioned on XP SP2

Internet technology vulnerable to hackers, researchers say

Both the AP and eWeek are running reports stating that researchers have uncovered a serious flaw in Internet technology that could allow hackers to knock computers offline and interupt Internet operations for hours.

Click here for the AP story Internet technology vulnerablity at ABC25.com

eWeek's story goes into quite a bit of detail in describing the attack. See Flaw Leaves Internet Open to Attacks


Discuss this article Internet technology vulnerable to hackers - Flaw in TCP

Internet operating system may be in Googles' sites

Source: Timesofoman.com

Is Google Inc. quietly arming itself to challenge Microsoft Corp.’s Windows software by developing an operating system that lives on the Internet?

The closely held search-engine company has been clear all along about its goal of organising the world’s information.

But followers of the Mountain View, California, upstart have been seeing that lofty mission statement in a new light since the company unveiled plans this month for a free e-mail service with enough storage space to save nearly 500,000 pages of messages.

The Gmail service, combined with Google’s enormous cluster of computers that use Linux, a free operating system, to process hundreds of millions of search queries each day, has some technologists panting over what the ambitious company may do next.

"Who needs Windows when anyone can have free unlimited access to the world’s fastest computer running the smartest operating system?" Jason Kottke, a New York City web designer, wrote in his influential web log at Kottke.org.

More of the story, see Internet operating system may be in Googles' sites

Renewed warnings over 'phishing'

Bank customers are being warned again about "phishing" scam e-mails, after a recent increase in those falling victim to the internet menace.
Internet security firm MessageLabs said it had stopped 215,643 "phishing" e-mails last month compared with just 279 last September.

Phishing is used by fraudsters and organised crime to gain bank details. "You just send out loads of spam emails and hope that 1% of them will hit", says a Spokeswoman for the National High-Tech Crime Unit.

Read the Article in BBC News World Edition Renewed warnings over 'phishing'

Discuss this article at the BoG Forums Renewed phishing warnings

Rural Folk May Yet Get Broadband

In another attempt to bring broadband Internet coverage to rural areas, the Federal Communications Commission is proposing letting wireless providers offer service on airwaves currently used by satellite companies.

By collecting comments from the public, the FCC hopes to explore ways that wireless broadband companies and satellite service providers could share the 3.65- to 3.7-GHz band of spectrum without interfering with one another. The FCC's proposal (FCC News Release PDF) for a change in the rules is the latest in a series of ideas, including offering broadband over power lines, aimed at bringing high-speed Internet access to rural areas.

Complete article at Wired News: Rural Folk May Yet Get Broadband

Discuss this article at the BoG Forum Rural Folk May Yet Get Broadband

SPAM Solutions

I found an article of such value that I felt the need to pass it on. It was written by a woman named Tamra who runs the website TMV Online which offers web services. I cannot vouch for the services, but if this article is any indication of her abilities -- then it is worth a look.

There is a definite resolution to spam

I usually have to send one complaint and it gathers attention and ceases the problem immediately, and 90% of the time I get a mail back from the host/network provider with an apology and a direct address to contact again if it ever happens. The mail you're receiving is against the law. Distribution of pornography, esp. to a minor is illegal and those online drug solicitation emails are the boldest form of drug trafficking and illegal. Deliberate virus transmissions are also illegal.

The easiest thing to do is go to http://www.whois.sc* and conduct a lookup on each IP address listed in the received portion of the email header & forward the mail to the abuse/hostmaster/admin address.

The other thing to do which can take a few minutes but guarantees relief:

For starters, I DON'T ever view the email. When you view the email which contain images that are pulled from a server, you're sending a hit back to the sender to let them know their mail is being viewed along with your IP address/network information, so they keep sending. I always view the RAW message source of the email, which most all email programs will allow you to do, except AOL users (but that's another nightmare). But if you have to view the mail normally, quickly change to raw message source view. You'll get to see the URL's associated with the mail and more.

I then use a Network utility (if you have Linux or an Apple computer, you can use the built in Network Utility application) to do a "Lookup" on the web address, even if it's a bogus looking one. That will then give you the DNS information for the website's host, which usually has to adhere to state and federal laws. Once you get the IP address of the DNS server, go to http://www.whois.sc and conduct a lookup.

From there, send a complaint to the abuse/hostmaster/website contact and MOST IMPORTANT, cc: the uce@ftc.gov & sentinel@ftc.gov and if it's really crazy and scary, cc: askdoj@usdoj.gov (Attorney General's Office, which is actively prosecuting spammers). And for those never-ending drug solictations send those directly to webcomplaints@ora.fda.gov (Food & Drug Adminstration). They are in the process of shutting these services down as well as prosecuting.

Notes:

* I revised the web address of the lookup service Tamra had previously listed in her article to the one noted above.

Keyword Suggestion Tools

One of the most crucial aspects of optimising your site is choosing the right keywords that you want to rank for. Evaluating the importance of keywords requires a tool that will show you how frequently certain keywords are searched on the web.

In order to help inform you of the keyword frequencies, I will list a couple of keyword suggestion tools that are available for use on the Internet. Please note that these tools are what the individual services have been tracking and may not be representative of keyword searches on the whole -- they are suggestive. By combining the knowledge of all of these tools together, you will at least have a more clearer picture of keyword usage in search queries overall.

• Overture Search Term Suggestion Tool - http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/
  
• Google's AdSense Keyword Sandbox - https://adwords.google.com/select/main?cmd=KeywordSandbox
  
• Espotting's Regional UK Regional Keyword Tool - http://www.espotting.com/popups/keywordgenbox.asp
  

Another tool, is offered by WordTracker. Wordtracker's data is mainly derived from US meta crawlers, so mainly useful for US sites. They offer a Free Trial to evaluate their service. http://www.wordtracker.com/trial/index.php3


After determining what keywords you will likely be using, find out what the competition on those keywords are by searching for them in the Search Engines. Do not stop with just Google either. Yahoo and MSN combined can be just as formidable as a Google search.