High-Level Security Exam In Beta

<font size="3">High-Level Security Exam In Beta </font>
Microsoft puts Exam 70-298 through its paces with beta testers the week of Oct. 6.

Microsoft Learning is expected to beta test Exam 70-298, Designing Security for a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network from Oct. 6 to Oct. 10. The exam, numbered 71-298 while in beta, is available for free only to qualified candidates and can be taken at selected Prometric and Pearson Vue testing centers.

Exam 70-298 is a high-level, design-oriented exam that counts toward the prescribed exams under the MCSE: Security specialization.

To read the 70-298 exam objectives guide, click here. To read more about taking beta exams, click here.

Microsoft Learning...

So, How Is Windows REALLY Doing? (article from w2knews.com)

Just some interesting statistics:

Will IM replace e-mail?

<font size="3">Will IM replace e-mail?</font>

While businesses and consumers are warming to the idea of instant messaging as an effective communications tool they are still certain it will never overthrow e-mail. silicon.com surveyed 1,000 readers and a staggering 52 per cent of those said they believe IM is faster and more efficient than e-mail--but only 3.4 per cent thought it would eventually replace e-mail altogether.

In recent years e-mail has become regarded as a bit of a thorn in the side of companies. As e-mail has become bogged down in spam and undermined by virus attacks users have increasingly been looking to use alternative forms of communication. And because of the costs associated with repairing the tattered image of e-mail many companies have encouraged that search. Only 10 per cent of respondents believe e-mail is better than IM. However, the reasons why 76 per cent of respondents say they believe...

Internet Explorer Vulnerability Exploited Again

<font size="3">Internet Explorer Vulnerability Exploited Again </font>

Security experts say a Trojan horse directed traffic from popular Web sites to an IP address designated by the attacker.

Vulnerabilities in Microsoft's Internet Explorer Web browser have been exploited again, security experts said on Thursday, this time by a Trojan horse that redirected traffic from more than 100 popular Web sites to an IP address designated by the attacker. The Trojan, dubbed Qhosts and Delude.B by various anti-virus vendors, redirected traffic on compromised machines from a large number of legitimate sites--primarily search engines, among them those found at AltaVista, Google, Lycos, MSN, and Yahoo. According to Computer Associates, requests to surf to those search sites were shunted instead to a Web site that was taken offline within 24 hours of the Trojan's appearance. "This is another attempt by an attacker, probably...

Lindows: Microsoft settlement site stays

<font size="3">Lindows: Microsoft settlement site stays
</font>
Linux seller Lindows.com said Tuesday that it will continue to help Californians process legal claims against Microsoft, despite a challenge by the software giant.

An attorney representing Microsoft sent Lindows a cease-and-desist letter late last week objecting to the company's MSfreePC site. The site offers to process claims on behalf of current and former California residents who qualify for proceeds from the settlement of a class-action lawsuit against Microsoft. Microsoft attorney Robert Rosenfeld said claims submitted by the Lindows service won't qualify under the terms of the settlement and demanded that Lindows remove the site.

In a letter sent to Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, Lindows CEO Michael Robertson said the MSfreePC site performs a valuable service for consumers and will remain in operation. He challenged Microsoft's...

Microsoft buffs up its Media Center

<font size="3">Microsoft buffs up its Media Center
</font>
After years of being relegated to the office, the PC is making a new case for why it should be allowed to stay in the living room.

A key proponent in recent months has been Microsoft, whose Media Center edition of Windows XP turns a PC into a device that can play music or movies, record TV shows and show photos, all while being controlled via remote control. On Tuesday, Microsoft will try to bolster its position, offering an updated version of the software and new services, accompanied by a broader array of desktops and laptops that use the operating system.

As previously reported, Microsoft is making the debut of the new software and announcing the new partners at events in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles and Redmond, Wash. Dell and Sony are expected to announce their first Media Center models, with Hewlett-Packard and Gateway...

Want a PC this Xmas? Then print it

<font size="3">Want a PC this Xmas? Then print it </font>

Turning images on your PC into real-life computer chips with your home printer sounds like science fiction, yet the first prototype is already in operation.

Dubbed Santa Claus machines, these three dimensional printers "print" real objects instead of messages -- but never before have electronics been included in a product. Soon fully assembled electric and electronic gadgets could be constructed in one go without having to add the components at great cost afterwards. "I would think it would make a difference to product designers first -- people who normally build and test prototypes," John Canny of the University of Berkeley team who developed the 3D-printer told CNN.

The technology "prints" layer upon layer of conducting and semi-conducting polymers at the same time building up the gadget. Therefore, the...

Microsoft Browser Holes Lead to AIM, Dial-Up Attacks

<font size="3">Microsoft Browser Holes Lead to AIM, Dial-Up Attacks</font>

Security holes in Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser have been exploited by hackers to hijack AOL instant messaging accounts and force unsuspecting Web surfers to run up massive phone bills, computer experts cautioned on Friday. Some Internet Explorer users are also finding that malicious Web sites are secretly slipping trojan programs onto their computers, which could prove an even more dangerous exploit, said Drew Copley, a research engineer at Aliso Viejo, California-based eEye Digital Security, who discovered the original security vulnerability. Such stealth programs can include keystroke loggers that record everything a person types or software to erase the hard drive, among other things, he said.

Microsoft has released a patch for the original hole, which was reported about a month ago, said Stephen Toulouse, security program manager...

SMB Worm spreading through MSN Messenger

<font size="3">SMB Worm spreading through MSN Messenger</font>

A new network virus called Worm.Win32.Smbmsn.163840 was discovered two days ago by Asia-based Global Hauri. This worm spreads through MSN Messenger through a file called SMB.EXE. If the user accepts this file, it will send itself to all contacts on his or her contact list. If the user executes it, a DOS prompt will come up for about a second and disappears. This occurs because it unzips a couple of files to the C: root and windows directories. The file also tempers with the registry (see below for details).

Do NOT accept the file transfer of SMB.EXE (or any other suspicious file) in MSN Messenger!

An MSN spokesperson said the company is aware of the virus, and that users' best means of protection is to have a desktop anti-virus solution already installed, and to use MSN Messenger 6's anti-virus feature. The feature enables customers to link...

Samba offers NT 4.0 escape route

<font size="3">Samba offers NT 4.0 escape route</font>

One small but significant breakthrough from the open source Samba project offers Windows NT shops a low-cost migration option out of the Microsoft world. The new release of the software, which provides file and print services on Windows networks, can serve as a Primary Domain Controller (PDC) on NT 4.0. Samba version 4.0 is available for download today.

"This is an escape route for people stuck on NT 4," Samba co-lead Jeremy Allison tells us. "Anything you can do on NT 4, we can do."

Microsoft once touted the domain model as suitable for all enterprises, before it realized it wasn't, and began promoting Active Directory as a successor. However, there are still plenty of older smaller businesses that run NT4.

"Microsoft makes a lot of money from SMEs. With Samba 4 you can set up a small server and provide hundreds of users with authentication, file and...