Live in the UK and want a free Linux book?

Live in the UK and want a free Linux book?

Gary Richmond, one of the greats at Free Software Magazine isn't satisfied with just being a fantastic blogger and providing our magazine and readers with great content. He also wants to provide one lucky Free Software Magazine reader in the UK with a copy of Linux Pocket Guide by Daniel J Barrett, published by our good friends at O'Reilly. Interested? You should be! Here is what you do. If you are in the UK, and want a chance to get your hands on this book, we want you to let us know, in twenty words or less: Why you want Linux in your pocket.

Quick. Read the rest at FreeSoftwareMagazine.

Getting Ahead with IT Internships

Getting Ahead with IT Internships

For many IT students, graduating college is both the best and worst thing that’s ever happened to them. After years of cramming for tests, writing papers and working in labs, it can be difficult for graduates to transition from a cozy academic environment into the cruel “real world.” To help reduce the shock of switching from lectures and late nights to cubicles and coffee runs, many students look to internships for their first employment experience. Whether paid, unpaid or done for college credit, these pre-graduation positions help potential IT pros turn their theoretical knowledge into practical skills. Although having a perfect grade point average in a respected program looks great on a resume, companies need more than a person who can pass tests. Doing an internship helps grads prove to employers they can apply the lessons they’ve learned in a corporate context.

Read the rest at...

CCIE Security Written Changeover Coming April 24

CCIE Security Written Changeover Coming April 24

Cisco Systems recently announced that the current 1.0 version of its Cisco Certified Internet Expert (CCIE) Security written exam will now be available through April 24.

Previously, the company had planned to retire this version of the exam on March 31. However, the new version of the exam, 2.0, is now scheduled to debut on April 24, according to the blueprint outline on Cisco's Web site.

Read more here

Exchange Exams Get Their Turn in Beta Spotlight

Exchange Exams Get Their Turn in Beta Spotlight

Microsoft Learning Solutions goes into overdrive this month. Even as it redevelops the exams for Vista, it still plans to launch beta exams for Exchange 2007.

Exam 70-237 Pro: Designing Messaging Solutions with Exchange Server 2007, in fact, has been in beta testing since March 13, with the beta period closing on March 27. In beta next month, from April 6-20, is 70-238 Pro: Deploying Messaging Solutions with Exchange Server 2007. Both exams are being delivered through Pearson Vue and Prometric testing centers worldwide.

Read more here

New CompTIA Cert for Home Networking Integrators

New CompTIA Cert for Home Networking Integrators

Next time you have "geeks" to your house, you might want to ask them for their credentials. A new professional certification for "digital home technology integrators" is being offered through collaboration between industry organizations, the Consumer Electronics Association and Computer Technology Industry Association, or CompTIA. The certification is geared to individuals who install, integrate and maintain "smart" homes, in which the PC is the hub controlling lighting, security systems, audio-visual and digital entertainment gear, including home media centers.

Read the whole story at InformationWeek.com.

Issues with SSID cloaking

Issues with SSID cloaking

Many organizations use SSID cloaking as a mechanism to add a layer of security to the WLAN. This technique requires that all users have knowledge of the SSID to connect to the wireless network. While this is commonly viewed as a mechanism to improve the security of the WLAN and is a recommended best-practice by the PCI Data Security Standard, it can reduce the effective security of the WLAN...Early wireless network deployments relied on SSID cloaking as a mechanism to prevent unauthorized users from accessing the wireless network. Even though this was never intended to be used as an authentication mechanism, some organizations have adopted cryptic SSID's that are distributed as shared secrets. Tools such as ESSID-Jack and Kismet observe and report the SSID from legitimate stations, allowing attackers to deduce the SSID and easily bypass the intended security mechanism.

Read the rest at...

Test Your Knowledge of Ethernet Topics

Test Your Knowledge of Ethernet Topics

Ethernet is so ubiquitous that it would be next to impossible to be an administrator and not have access to it and experience with it. Interestingly enough, though, you may be surprised by how little you know about something you have worked with every day for years. Questions on Ethernet appear on a plethora of exams -- ranging from those you would expect on basic networking to those that test on how to implement it in a particular operating system.

Following are 50 questions on Ethernet -- and general networking -- knowledge at a beginning/intermediate level. Good luck (answers are at the end of the article)!

Take this test at Unix Review.

Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2

Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2

Visit the MS download site.


Overview
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2) is a cumulative service pack that includes the latest updates and provides enhancements to security and stability. In addition, it adds new features and updates to existing Windows Server 2003 features and utilities. SP2 can be installed directly on the following operating systems:

* Windows Server 2003 Editions (all 32-bit x86)
* Windows Server 2003 R2 Editions
* Windows Storage Server 2003 R2 Editions
* Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 (SBS 2003 customers - Please read Knowledge Base Article 932600 before installing SP2)


Before installing this service pack please read the...

Microsoft's antivirus deletes users' emails

Microsoft's antivirus deletes users' emails

Microsoft has admitted that its Live OneCare security suite has been accidentally deleting some users' Outlook and Outlook Express emails. According to postings on Microsoft's OneCare forum, erasures have been caused when the antivirus programme finds a virus in an email attachment. Instead of then quarantining that single email, users have reported that entire .pst or .dbx files — the personal folder where non-Exchange Server users' messages and other details are kept — have been quarantined or, in some cases, even deleted.

Read the rest at ZDNet.co.uk.

Cisco Launches New CCDA Exam

Cisco Launches New CCDA Exam

According to Roger Beatty, senior manager of Learning and Development at Cisco, and Dan Stern, program manager of Learning and Development at Cisco, the new CCDA (#640-863) focuses more on the converged network topics -- such as wireless, voice and security -- than its predecessor. "What's driving this update is the recognition...that network technologies have changed significantly over the past two years," Beatty said in an interview. "We [now] have network devices performing application functions...It has profound implications in how networks are designed, and in realizing this we knew we had to update accordingly."

Read more about the new CCDA exam at CertCities.com.