News


Sasser Saga Ends With Conviction of German Teen

The Sasser worm exploded onto the Internet in May 2004, taking down hundreds of thousands of computers, slowing network traffic and causing millions of dollars of damage with its automated exploitation of a flaw in Windows 2000 and Windows XP. The worm's trajectory ended Friday with a conviction and 21-month suspended sentence for Sven Jaschan, who succeeded spectacularly in what German authorities suggested was his motive -- gaining fame as a programmer.

Windows XP SP2 Distributions Pass 200 Million

Microsoft distributed more than 218 million copies of Windows XP Service Pack 2, a senior Microsoft executive told an audience of Microsoft partners.

Small Business Gets Big Recognition

Check this out: A new, "specialist" certification for Small Business Server experts.

IT Weekly Roundup, July 8

From the business wires this week: SurfControl gets the thumbs up from Microsoft for its Web filter; a network monitor for IP devices; a registry optimization tool and a database management solution.

Microsoft Offers Deal for Midmarket Customers

It's no secret that Microsoft is eager to increase its midmarket sales. On Thursday, Microsoft launched one of its first specific initiatives in the space with a discounted, three-server solution that it will rely on partners to deliver.

Microsoft Ramps up on Midmarket Resources

In conjunction with the launch of a Windows Server System promotion for midmarket businesses on Thursday, Microsoft is making available a number of new resources for organizations with 25-500 PCs.

Citrix Unveils Remote App Access for SMBs

Citrix Systems announced it is shipping Citrix Access Essentials, a variant of its popular remote access products that run on top of Microsoft’s Windows Terminal Server designed for small and medium-sized businesses.

Active Directory Gets Interop Boost from New Programs

Active Directory was a star of Microsoft's TechEd 2005 Europe show, with the company rolling out a number of programs and partnerships for improving the interoperability of its proprietary directory service.

July Patch Tuesday to Bring 3 Bulletins

Following a familiar pattern of chasing heavy patching months with light months, the Microsoft Security Response Center on Thursday said that its monthly security patch release day next Tuesday will bring three new security bulletins.

Windows 2000 Update Rollup Causes Problem for Citrix Users

Some Citrix users are running into problems after installing Microsoft's Update Rollup 1 for Windows 2000 Service Pack 4.

Sybari Antigen Gets MOM Management Pack

Microsoft's recently acquired Sybari Software subsidiary took a first public step toward fitting in on Wednesday with the release of a Sybari Antigen management pack for Microsoft Operations Manager 2005.

SQL, Visual Studio, BizTalk Launch Set for Nov. 7 in San Francisco

Microsoft solidified its plans to launch SQL Server 2005, Visual Studio 2005 and BizTalk Server 2006 in November.

Fix Released for Tablet PC Edition Memory Leak

Microsoft posted an update this week that fixes a memory leak in Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005.

Opinion: Parsing Microsoft's June Patches

Security expert Russ Cooper surveys the field of Microsoft security bulletins for June, assessing which matter the most.

Microsoft Betas Learning Consultant Certification for MCTs

The new title will recognize “the practice” of designing and delivering custom learning solutions for organizations.

Disk-to-disk Appliances Add Hot Backup

Unitrends is shipping new software for its disk-to-disk backup and restore appliances that enables administrators to back up the entire system all the way down to the bare metal without having to take down the server.

MBSA 2.0 Posted to the Web

The 2.0 version of Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA), the free tool for scanning the security of networks at small and medium organizations and recommending improvements, is available on the Web this month.