71-654 - TS: Windows Essential Business Server 2008, Configuring - Beta exam offer

71-654 - TS: Windows Essential Business Server 2008, Configuring

About EBS: “Windows Essential Business Server 2008 combines software for management, messaging, and security features into one integrated server solution that will help customers increase the manageability and reliability of their IT systems, and boost businesses productivity and growth.”

This credential is designed for information technology (IT) professionals working in or consulting with medium sized businesses that use Windows Essentials Server 2008. A candidate for this exam should have at least one year of experience deploying, configuring, and managing network solutions in an environment with the following characteristics:

1. 75+ company network connections
2. Company networks with Internet connectivity
3. Individual users or user groups that connect to the company network from remote locations
4. Messaging (Internet, and Exchange)
5. Anti-spam

The promo code...

SQL Server Beta Exams Extended, Open Invitation

SQL Server Beta Exams Extended, Open Invitation

Below, you will find two beta exams invitations for SQL Server 2008 DBA 71-432 and SQL Server 2008 BI 71-448.

These exams will be available until July 31, 2008.

71-432 - Promo code 943F6

You are invited to take beta exam 71-432: TS: Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Implementation and Maintenance. You were specifically chosen to participate in this beta because of your current Microsoft Certification status or previous participation with Microsoft Learning. If you pass the beta exam, the exam credit will be added to your transcript and you will not need to take the exam in its released form. The 71-xxx identifier is used for registering for beta versions of MCP exams, when the exam is released in its final form the 70-xxx identifier is used for registration.

By participating in beta exams, you have the opportunity to provide the Microsoft Certification program with feedback about exam content, which is...

Hitting the Fan 101 - a Course in When to Keep Your Mouth Shut

Hitting the Fan 101 - a Course in When to Keep Your Mouth Shut

Have you ever had a Homer Simpson moment? You know, that moment in your life in which you ask yourself, “What was I thinking?” I am sure we have all had those moments in our life… many times… and the end result? “Doh!” So what I am talking about here? It all started peacefully enough, with one blogger explaining why they would not be reviewing a certain product. Okay, fine. Fair enough. They could not get said hardware to work, thus the review would not be very fair at all. The interesting part begins when the same person alleged that a supporter of said product issued a death threat towards them...

I'm not picking on anyone here, but since any form of text-only communication can occasionally leave even the best of us with "foot-in-mouth disease", I thought I'd post this little cautionary tale from the *Nixed...

Escapee ‘Spam King’ dead in apparent murder-suicide

Escapee ‘Spam King’ dead in apparent murder-suicide

Convicted spammer Eddie Davidson, who escaped from federal prison over the weekend, killed his wife and 3-year-old daughter before killing himself in what is being described as a murder-suicide.

Colorado’s 9News.com said the tragic end of the man known as the “Spam King” was confirmed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

To read the whole article, see here.

-ken

New Twitter Anti-Spam Bot Causes Chaos

New Twitter Anti-Spam Bot Causes Chaos

Did you notice a big drop in your Twitter follower numbers yesterday? It seems that the Twitter team recently decided to step up their Twitter spammer detection, and, in typical Twitter fashion, their algorithm sent the service haywire, leading to yet another sighting of the Fail Whale while the issue was resolved. Meanwhile, Twitterers everywhere were in an uproar over their lost follower counts.

Notice? It wiped mine clean out! They said lastnight they were trying to put everything back but that didn't happen. Do they not have a back up?

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/new_twitter_anti-spam_bot_causes_chaos.php#more

Attack code published for DNS flaw

Attack code published for DNS flaw

The urgency to patch Dan Kaminsky’s DNS cache poisoning vulnerability just went up a few notches.

Exploit code for the flaw, which allows the insertion of malicious DNS records into the cache of the target nameserver, has been added to Metasploit, a freely distributed attack/pen-testing tool.

According to Metasploit creator HD Moore (left), who teamed up with researcher |)ruid to create the exploit, a DNS service has also been created to assist with the exploit.

The code takes aim at known deficiencies in the DNS protocol and common DNS implementations that aid in serious cache poisoning attacks.

To read the whole story, see here.

-ken

San Francisco's Mayor Gets Back Keys to the Network

San Francisco's Mayor Gets Back Keys to the Network

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom met with jailed IT administrator Terry Childs Monday, convincing him to hand over the administrative passwords to the city's multimillion dollar wide area network. Childs made headlines last week when he was arrested and charged with four counts of computer tampering, after he refused to give over passwords to the Cisco Systems switches and routers used on the city's FiberWAN network, which carries about 60 percent of the municipal government's network traffic. Childs, who managed the network before his arrest, has been locked up in the county jail since July 13. On Monday afternoon, he handed the passwords over to Mayor Newsom, who was "the only person he felt he could trust," according to a declaration filed in court by his attorney, Erin Crane. Newsom is ultimately responsible for the Department of Telecommunications and Information Services (DTIS) where Childs...

New Risks in 802.11n

New Risks in 802.11n

Along with the potential performance and coverage benefits of 802.11n come a few new security risks, says industry security guru Joshua Wright. Wright presented a Webinar last week that outlined several new vulnerabilities that high-speed 802.11n networks introduce.

Wright, who has spent a decade ferreting out wireless security attacks (Compare WLAN Security products), is an instructor for the SANS Institute, an information technology watchdog organization that offers information security training, certification and information resources. He’s also a senior security researcher at Aruba Networks.

Here are a few 802.11n vulnerabilities he highlighted:

To read the whole article, see here.

-Ken

Say goodbye to the computer mouse

Say goodbye to the computer mouse

It's nearly 40 years old but one leading research company says the days of the computer mouse are numbered.

A Gartner analyst predicts the demise of the computer mouse in the next three to five years. Taking over will be so called gestural computer mechanisms like touch screens and facial recognition devices.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7508842.stm

I really don't care how old it is. Touch my mouse and face the wrath of the Ducktape Goddess.

Last Chance to Replace VUE Vouchers: Action Required by July 31

Last Chance to Replace VUE Vouchers: Action Required by July 31

In 2007, Microsoft Learning announced that Microsoft professional certification and Microsoft Dynamics exams would be administered solely by Prometric, an independent testing organization with more than 3,000 locations worldwide. As of December 31, 2007, Pearson VUE no longer sells or administers any Microsoft professional certification exams or Microsoft Dynamics exams.

Pearson VUE exam vouchers can be replaced with Prometric exam vouchers through July 31, 2008. After this date, Pearson VUE exam vouchers are no longer valid.

Full Details: Here