Later this week,
hackers
with good intentions will descend upon Redmond, Wash. and try to break into
Windows and other Microsoft products. Microsoft will give back by drilling deep
into new security issues such as virtualization, mobile and Office. Good times,
good times!
Posted by Doug Barney on September 24, 20070 comments
Most security tools will allow just about anything as long as it's not on a
black list. Symantec CEO John Thompson thinks it's time for a change. Because
exploits are getting worse and worse, Thompson believes we should turn security
on its head and only allow things that are
specifically
outlined in a white list.
While this appears overly restrictive, it might be better to have a locked-down
system that actually runs rather than a wide-open machine that's more frozen
than a king crab fisherman.
A better idea might be to build virtualization into the OS in very specific
ways -- such as isolating e-mail and the Internet from our documents. Of course,
this runs completely counter to Microsoft's attempts to integrate everything
with the Internet. But isn't that what got us into trouble in the first place?
Speaking of Symantec, my daughter Lauren just went off to college. Milliseconds
after connecting to the campus network, her HP laptop began running slower than
Kyle Petty with a flat tire. Now that's slow!
I paid for a Norton subscription, so she dutifully ran a Norton scan. After
eight hours, it was only a third of the way done. Next, she tried the Microsoft
Malicious Software Removal tool and it told her she had an unwelcome visitor
-- Backdoor:Win32/Rbot.gen!A! Even though this Trojan was first discovered over
three years ago, it managed to slip past Norton's defenses and set up shop.
We went back to Norton and it took three full days to complete the scan.
Just shows you how tough it is for even the top dogs to protect our systems.
Maybe Lauren will listen next time I offer to buy her an iBook!
Posted by Doug Barney on September 24, 20070 comments
This week, nearly finished code for Windows Server 2008 -- or a release candidate,
in Microsoft parlance -- is
due
to ship. While not a certainty, this makes it a strong possibility that
the new server software will actually be available early next year.
Just as important, points out Redmondmag.com news hound Keith Ward, the first
service pack for Vista is expected very, very soon.
Posted by Doug Barney on September 24, 20070 comments
SCO's story is mildly intriguing, but I fear it would take more time to explain
the whole saga than real interest levels would support. On the plus side, the
tale is twisted, complex and possibly sleazy.
SCO was a major player in Linux back the day. In fact, Microsoft licensed SCO's
software and sold it as Xenix until Redmond got single-OS religion.
In more recent years, SCO has claimed ownership of Unix (created by AT&T)
and used that to sue Linux vendors (Linux was derived from Unix, which is one
of the reasons I often doubt the originality and creativity of the open source
movement).
The suits against powerhouses like IBM didn't work out, and now sue-happy SCO
is filing for Chapter 11 so it can pay its creditors (maybe lawyers?) pennies
on the dollar.
SCO may get a taste of its own medicine as Novell -- which bought Unix System
5 from AT&T but later sold rights to SCO -- can possibly claim ownership
of some parts of Unix/Linux, and go after what's left of SCO for royalties.
Even more strange, SCO was bought by Caldera, which was founded by Novell founder
Ray Noorda (now deceased).
Here's a possibly accurate
view of SCO.
Got all that? If so, and if you have an opinion, write me at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on September 17, 20070 comments
The
latest
version of BizTalk Server (one of the more creatively named Microsoft products)
is now out and includes a few new features and a heckuva lot more advice.
BizTalk is Microsoft's main SOA play, as it connects up applications to each
other and ties them to mainframe and other high-end resources.
The new rev, BizTalk Server 2006 R2, talks to RFID and -- in a future update
-- will deal with more third-party apps (always a good thing).
What I find most interesting is Enterprise Service Bus Guidance, which gives
architectural advice to BizTalk customers and interested SOA parties.
Posted by Doug Barney on September 17, 20070 comments
For many, IT is a game of chasing and fixing problems. Run out of storage? Buy
a new disk. Apps too big? Get more servers. The result is often too much hardware
from too many vendors with too many configurations. And don't get us started
on all the software, PCs and laptops, and network gear from so many vendors,
you can't even keep track of them all.
For years, vendors such as IBM and integrators like EDS have gone into large
shops, looked at the IT systems holistically and offered up plans to simplify,
create efficiencies and make them more productive.
During the last two or three years, Microsoft has gotten into this game with
its Infrastructure Optimization (IO) model -- a system for analyzing the state
of your shop and devising plans to make it more efficient and better support
business goals.
Has Microsoft talked to you about IO? Do you trust Redmond to take an objective,
holistic view of your shop? Send your yays and nays to [email protected]
or fill out the form here.
Posted by Doug Barney on September 17, 20070 comments
In the same way that death row inmates regularly claim innocence (unfortunately,
sometimes they're right), spammer Jeremy Jaynes says he's 100 percent not guilty.
In Jayne's case, it's not that he didn't do it; it's that spam shouldn't be
illegal in the first place.
According to Jaynes' equally creepy lawyer, spam should be protected
as anonymous free speech. Of course, Jaynes' form of spam (er, anonymous
free speech) included using false originating addresses and messages meant to
trick us out of our money.
I'm all about free speech, but protecting spam is so wrong on so many levels,
I almost don't know where to start. First is the issue of decency. When you
send an unsolicited, filthy e-mail to my 11-year-old son, I have a problem.
Next, anonymous speech doesn't deserve universal protection. I shouldn't be
able to slander and libel you, and then hide like a coward behind anonymity.
And I shouldn't be able to sell you fake male enlargement products and then
claim a right to be anonymous.
Perhaps most important, while speech should be generally free, the Internet
actually costs money. Don't forget: The carrier lines, routers, servers and
all the rest cost someone money. And if your Trojan takes over my PC to spew
spam, that's costing me money.
I wish Jaynes all the luck in the world -- as long as it's bad!
While Jaynes' lawyers think spam laws are too strong, judging by my inbox and
quarantine, I say they're way too weak. What say you? Send your thoughts on
spam laws to me at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on September 17, 20070 comments
I happen to love motorcycles. I should -- I own well over a dozen.
While I have a soft spot for gas engines, I have nothing against helping the
environment. So you can imagine my excitement when my favorite motorcycle Web
site (http://www.ironcross.net/) linked
to a video of a 400-horsepower electric motorcycle. In the video, the builder,
a government scientist, shows just what this baby can do.
I'm not a huge fan of laws to protect ourselves from ourselves, but if you
burn out on a 400-drag bike, a helmet and some leathers is never a bad idea!
Watch
the video, and you'll see what I mean.
What's your favorite motorcycle? Let us know at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on September 17, 20070 comments
Tomorrow, Microsoft is expected to go easy on IT workers, releasing a
scant
four patches.
Even better, there's only one critical patch which involves remote execution
of code, and can apparently be fixed rather easily with a simple reboot of the
Baseline Security Analyzer.
Posted by Doug Barney on September 10, 20070 comments
I love software -- when it works! -- and have been covering it nonstop for over
two decades. (It seemed to crash less 20 years ago -- except for the Amiga,
of course.) Hardware, to me, was always a bit boring. I mean, a Pentium or Itanium
can't do anything without software.
And during all of those 20 years, desktop hardware -- as much of a snooze as
I find it to be -- has vastly outstripped software. The only exceptions I can
think of are the old Amigas -- which fully exploited the Motorola 68000 processor
and a host of dedicated sound and graphics chips -- and video game systems,
which likewise push multiple processors to the max.
So here we are, in 2007, years after 64-bit processors became commonplace...largely
running 32-bit apps. Our own Keith Ward looked
into the situation and has good news, in the form of 64-bits becoming more
entrenched for server apps, and bad news in that we'll probably be running 32-bit
PC apps on 64-bit PC gear for years to come.
Posted by Doug Barney on September 10, 20070 comments
I've never hidden my love for the Amiga computer. It's the only machine I've
ever formed a personal bond with. The machine is largely gone now (though a
dedicated group of fans have kept the OS alive), but its games aren't.
Amiga, a company born out of the ashes of Commodore, is shipping a whole
heap of old Amiga games ported to Windows. The best news of all: They cost
less than five bucks each!
I'm still waiting to see if they port Lemmings!
Posted by Doug Barney on September 10, 20070 comments
Before I get started on what I hope is a light-hearted look at the news, we
should all pause to remember the tragedy of Sept. 11.
I was at NetWorld+Interop in Atlanta, right across from the CNN Center. The
hall was filled with thousands of people, and with planes still in the air,
we thought it best to go to a restaurant, bar or back to our hotels.
Two days later, I drove past New York around midnight. The smoke was still
billowing and a creepy, metallic smell had drifted as far north as the George
Washington Bridge.
I'd like to hear where you were and what your thoughts are six years later.
Write me at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on September 10, 20070 comments