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August 2006 - Posts

Why can't I find the Parental Controls on Windows Vista?

As I wrote about yesterday the Parental (Family Safety) controls on Windows Vista provide comprehensive access control features. Shortly before visting someone to demonstrate these features I decided to run through them once again on my own - to my Read More
posted Wednesday, August 30, 2006 4:12 PM by Steve Lamb | 0 Comments
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Windows Vista's Parental Controls should be used to promote discussion and trust

Windows Vista provides the means for extensive Parental Controls governing (on a per user basis) WHEN accounts can log on, what applications can be run, what type of content can be viewed and which web sites can be visited. You can choose to provide Read More
posted Tuesday, August 29, 2006 2:00 PM by Steve Lamb | 0 Comments
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The latest internal build of Windows Vista is REALLY GOOD

It's a significant improvement over the last Community Technology Preview (CTP) - i.e. that which is available to MSDN & TechNet subscribers. It's not had the same level of testing hence it's not suitable for you to play with and we're getting really Read More
posted Friday, August 25, 2006 6:29 PM by Steve Lamb | 2 Comments
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Ever wondered why SSL works for some sites and not others? Welcome to the Microsoft Root Certification Programme!

If you're not a crypto geek then don't be scared - read on! If this makes as much sense as boiling icecream then please let me know and I'll explain it in simpler terms - just hit the "comment" button. When you visit a website via HTTPS you're viewing Read More
posted Friday, August 25, 2006 6:00 PM by Steve Lamb | 2 Comments
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Why is Information Security like Painting the Golden Gate Bridge?

Information Security is like painting the Golden Gate Bridge as it's a Perpetual task! Many people seem to believe that buying some product or security service that they can obviate their responsibility. In some cases products and services can help Read More
posted Tuesday, August 22, 2006 7:48 PM by Steve Lamb | 2 Comments
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Here's a short machinima film showing an excited IT Pro receiving his copy of Windows Vista

It's been a long time coming but Windows Vista is nearly ready for Prime Time. Steve Horne's posted a machinima short film (2:30 minutes duration) that pokes fun at the time it's taken to design and build Windows Vista - it's titled "Hunting Read More
posted Monday, August 21, 2006 6:01 PM by Steve Lamb | 1 Comments
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When will ISA 2006 be available for customers to buy & when will it be available for download by TechNet Plus subscribers

Many of you have asked me by email when ISA 2006 will be available for production use. ISA 2006 is due to hit the Microsoft universal price list on 1st Sept 2006 It will also be available for download by TechNet Plus subscribers in the next Read More
posted Friday, August 18, 2006 2:22 PM by Steve Lamb | 2 Comments
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WiFi on my phone --> A whole world of possibilities both good and bad

I'm getting on really well with my new phone - the Orange M3100 I mentioned earlier this week. I won't bore you with the details. One noteworthy point is that the device has support for WiFi - this was a deciding factor in my choice of device. Being Read More
posted Friday, August 18, 2006 9:17 AM by Steve Lamb | 3 Comments
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KUDOS to James for the nice intro to Taking Microsoft - I'd love to hear your suggestions for people you'd like us to interview

James wrote a great introduction to Talking Microsoft and I'm glad to see that folk out there in IT Pro land are starting to talk about this new resource which takes you behind the scenes at Microsoft Ltd. Our aim is to connect you to the Read More
posted Wednesday, August 16, 2006 9:36 PM by Steve Lamb | 2 Comments
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It's time for another UK Girlie Geek Dinner!

Eileen beat me to it in posting about the upcoming Girl Geek Dinner. I was glad she mentioned it as I hadn't realised there was one coming up. I've thoroughly enjoyed joining previous Girl Geek Dinners as there are always so many interesting people there. Read More
posted Wednesday, August 16, 2006 4:16 PM by Steve Lamb | 1 Comments
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I'm so sad - I'm going stir crazy as my mobile phone's been offline for nearly four hours!

This must say more about me than I perhaps intend and I dare say it's not good! Earlier this morning I happily received a brand new shiny phone with all kinds of bells and whistles including 3G and a touch screen. My new device is an Orange M3100. Paul's Read More
posted Tuesday, August 15, 2006 2:11 PM by Steve Lamb | 3 Comments
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Here's the first "Talking Microsoft" video - an interview with Gordon Frazer - Microsoft Ltd's new Managing Director

Thanks to James for boldly inviting Microsoft Ltd's new Managing Director to be our guinea pig for the first in a series of interviews titled "Talking Microsoft". We've been looking for interesting alternative ways to share information with you Read More
posted Monday, August 14, 2006 5:18 PM by Steve Lamb | 1 Comments
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Where should you start when considering Information Security?

Ron's comment asking "if it's all about risk why do we call it Information Risk Management" has certainly made me think... It's all very well for "security thinkers" to tell you all about all kinds of weird and wonderful threats to your information and Read More
posted Friday, August 11, 2006 7:17 PM by Steve Lamb | 7 Comments
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This month's (August) Security Update is particularly important

Full details of this month's security update can be found here. It's a significant update as it includes updates to address nine critical vulnerabilities and three important vulnerabilities. Ten of the vulnerabilities are for Microsoft Windows, two are Read More
posted Wednesday, August 09, 2006 10:57 AM by Steve Lamb | 2 Comments
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What advice would you give to Chief Information Officers to improve the effectiveness of Information Security?

I was recently asked for suggestions to give to Chief Information Officers to improve their security posture. My suggestions were as follows - I'd love to hear your comments to see what you'd suggest: Here are my five tips for CIOs: Challenge everything. Read More
posted Monday, August 07, 2006 6:19 PM by Steve Lamb | 10 Comments
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Check out NxtGenUG's Security Podcast

Click on the image below or here to listen to a recent podcast where some chap from Microsoft speaks his mind about security posture and how to be proactive. The authors of the podcast (Rich and Dave) share their eclectic style and some rather specialist Read More
posted Thursday, August 03, 2006 1:41 PM by Steve Lamb | 0 Comments
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Join Tim O'Reilly for a podcast discussing OpenSource, Architectures for Collaboration and Mashups

There's an interesting podcast (of approx 20 mins duration) hosted by Bill Hilf where Tim O'Reilly discusses where OpenSource is going and how Open Access to data is of principle importance. Tim talks about how the best applications are those that get Read More
posted Wednesday, August 02, 2006 3:30 PM by Steve Lamb | 0 Comments
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If you're going to BlackHat then you'll find plenty of Microsoft security specialists there

Microsoft are hosting an entire track giving technical insight and encouraging feedback at the Blackhat conference. For those of you who (like me) aren't able to go to Las Vegas for the conference it's worth watching out for both webcasts and the events Read More
posted Wednesday, August 02, 2006 1:53 PM by Steve Lamb | 0 Comments
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