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August 2005 - Posts

Need the tool to uninstall Norton?

Need the link to uninstall Norton... REALLY uninstall it? Here it is. Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | live it!
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So Quickbooks REALLY needs admin?

Got a call tonight about having Quickbooks go on a Terminal server and first off I should state... this is not supported by QB. You are 'supposed' to buy QB Enterprise... that said..there's a link about QB on TS . Remember to get Quickbooks to run without
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It's not too late for SMBnation

So you've put it off haven't you? And now you know you should be there. You HAVE to be there. YOU MUST BE THERE. There at SMBnation in Redmond. Mothership Redmond. September 9th to 11th. And now the Marriott Redmond Town Center and the Residence Inn are
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If the worst occurs?

My city is about the same size as New Orleans. And what if every man, woman, child, animal was ordered to leave. Unbelievable... and think of all the SBSers in the area that are facing just that. Gulf SMBs Flirting with Disaster: Uh...That's us folks...we're
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More on why we want .local, .lan, .bozo, .whocares but not .com, .net or .org

Read this KB Quoted from there: The following list describes some of the advantages when you use a separate and private domain name for the local Small Business Server network: The management of the local namespace is controlled by the Small Business
Posted by bradley | 4 Comments

Part two of Dr. Tom meets SBS [and I have some comments]

Split DNS and DNS forwarding... if there's something that I will go on record as disagreeing with Dr. Tom [Mr. ISA Server] Shinder on is these two items. In part two of Dr. Tom meets SBS , he talks about both. And while I respect his passion and belief
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Do Domain Admins have to have access to EVERYTHING?

From the mailbag today comes a question about Sharepoint security.... We discovered that a domain administrator has access to all sharepoint sites created on an SBS server. The issue here is when the execs in the company want to create a site to discuss
Posted by bradley | 1 Comments
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Ray-Ism: Where's my ConnectComputer?

So from the mailbag tonight comes a question about getting workstations to work via RWW but it appears that the setup may be a bit more horked than that. When the person goes to /connectcomputer it says “Page cannot be displayed”. So googling
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WSUS on SBS

Overheard by an SBSer at a T2 presentation. “ “It’s AWFUL! It rebooted all of a clients machines in the middle of the workday, including the SERVERS .” ” Uh...folks... you SET the timing of the reboot, or you can let the
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SBA on SBS [the unsupported instructions to get the datafile ON the network]

So you build a Small Business Accounting Program and you call it a multi user version...and then you don't install it on SBS in such a way so that the msde datafile is 'on' the server, but rather on a desktop inside the office. Okay ....lemme get this

How to sell to a Beancounter

There is one way to a Beancounter's heart. Free CPE. So for all you SBSers out there that realize there is a potential to upgrade the Accounting industry and possibly get them off of Win9x and Word Perfect, here's the game plan for you: In many areas
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So it looks like they haven't changed in 5 years.

Let's see class how many wrong statements are in this list that was posted by “HappyFunBoy's“ blog post? sbs sucks...and is stupid - Hardly ... I think that partner is for having a closed mind sbs is slow, which is stupid - Slow? What are
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Dear Mike Healey

Dear Mike: First off I have to apologize. I'm picking on you because your name was in a CRN article about SBS . You see you were labelled as a partner who “dislikes” SBS and that will instead push the midmarket bundle. “Discounted software”
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Rollin' the dice

Today Mary Jo Foley talks about new enhancements to SBS in the 2006 and 2007 time frame. Looks like I'll easily snag the R2 version under my 3 year Software Assurance...but we will have to see about that Cougar version in 2007 as my Software Assurance
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Plan for the worst, hope for the best

A ping on IM from a fellow hurricane zone survivor, Frank in Florida alerted Jeff in Louisiana to take a look at the weather report. Within 30 seconds of looking at the storm projections Jeff had already formulated his plans. Pack up and move out and
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Having a lot of log file history

My HP has lots of monitoring that it throws up in the Event logs and in today's monitoring email it told me that my Power supply number 2 kicked on. Hmmm... so I remoted in and looked for all other instances of Event 4181. My log files is sized nice and
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Be careful about those spyware programs and false positives

Christine couldn't connect to the SBS 2003 via remote web workplace. The ports were open, the connections in place but still no go. The server wasn't blocking the ActiveX component...so what was it? Anti Spyware false positive.... it had marked the RDP
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Out of harms way

A bit off topic but if you want a live feed from the local New Orleans TV channel you can find it here . Jeff Middleton and SBSmigration.com are now far enough out of harms way but it certainly makes one think. As he said, his server and laptop was with
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7 Computer security tips for Small Businesses...and I disagree with some of them

Infragard.net published this list of 7 tips for small businesses... but... I disagree with a couple....my corrections are in Red. Seven Simple Computer Security Tips for Small Business and Home Computer Users Use strong passwords passphrases . Choose
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Do you have a plan?

So about this time a good friend of mine is starting a journey, packing up a spare disaster server and ensuring that it gets installed in a location far away from the path of a hurricane to keep his wife's business [and his] out of harms way. As he put
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Looking for resources on Windows Software Update Services?

WSUS blog - http://blogs.technet.com/wsus/ WSUS wiki - http://www.wsuswiki.com/ How to set up WSUS on SBS - WSUS admin guide - WSUS presentation - www.sbslinks.com/wsus/wsus.ppt Windows Server Update Services Downloads : I still prefer Shavlik though..
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Messing up that morning email with a few extra printers via a TS session

Every morning when you view the 6 a.m. view of the network, you get that annoying “error” message that isn't an error message at all... it's just YOU logging into the server via Remote desktop and the system will want to 'add printers”...
Posted by bradley | 4 Comments

Analog blogging

So what do you do when you want to capture something for an audience, but you are in a technology conference where the power cords are way along the far wall and there is no wireless. How about a bit of analog blogging ? Never let it be said that Anne
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Allocated Memory Alert

After you install SBS 2003 sp1 you 'may' get a monitoring error saying you have an 'allocated memory alert' . There are two possibilities of this issue that are VERY easily fixed. I've personally had both happen to me and both times just put a little
Posted by bradley | 1 Comments

So where's the change IP address wizard?

There are times I think we need wizards to tell us there are wizards. You know something that would say “You know..before you do that... you do realize we have a wizard for that?” The change IP address wizard is like that. On server management
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SMBNation Update

Dear SMB Nation Attendee, WOW! We are only 2 weeks away from the 3rd Annual SMB Nation Conference! I have some general information for you in this email. [Susan: Blog post] Airport Transportation – Getting Here Here are some suggestions for transportation
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Step by Step for WSUS on SBS 2003

Download details: Step-by-Step for WSUS on SBS 2003 It's HERE! The Step by Step for Windows Software Update Services on SBS 2003. SBSized and everything... Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | live it!
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Watch the webcast for Small Business Accounting 2006

You are invited to view the streaming video webcast of the launch event for Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting 2006 and Microsoft Office Small Business Management Edition 2006. Find out more about these powerful financial management solutions
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Service pack - revisits

First off, a REMINDER that if you happen to load up Windows 2003 SP1, and you are a SBSer, you aren't done yet... right in that “Windows 2003 SP1“ page it says: Important If you are running Windows Small Business Server 2003, please install
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Dear IT Pro Community:

HOW TO FACE OFF AGAINST MICROSOFT Intuit has repelled the Redmond six times. Now it's defending its largest business -- small-business accounting software http://newsletters.businessweek.com/c.asp?id=583044&c=0a3482e76a3aa5ed&l=2 INTUIT'S BENNETT:
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How to find an SBSer

Norm in the comments in the blog lists the 'official' link and rightly indicates... .. and it will rank those that have the "Small Business Specialist" first so you can more easily find and partner with them. http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/partner/vendorsearch.mspx
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For those reading my blog after the Illinois Business and Technology show

For all those reading this blog that were in the audience of my talk about SBS 2003 at the Ilinois Business and Technology show... you know the one where I made sure you know that Windows 95 is dead, Windows 98 has no security and you should be ripping
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A bit of customer service

I'm going to relay a story and see if it has any echos in the consulting world. I had an experience last night where I was expecting a level of service, but because the person in charge of 'my' experience was busy trying to help and support another person,
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If you have an OEM installation of SBS 2003, you must use a special procedure to install WSUS

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: If you have an OEM installation of SBS 2003, you must use a special procedure to install WSUS Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2005 17:13:33 -0700 From: Tim Elhajj (MSFT) Newsgroups: microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs There
Posted by bradley | 1 Comments

At this rate Dr. Tom will be an honorary SBSer

The SBS community may just have a new family member today. Dr. Tom just may be our next SBSer. And this link has been flying around the communities today and making a buzz. Check it out..... Dr. Tom of isaserver.org may be an SBSer yet.... I've always
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Just about ready to rant.. I mean talk...

On the podium at the Ilinois Business and Tech show about to talk about SBS 2003 to a bunch of CPAs.... ...oooh I'm going to have fun.... Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | live it!
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So.. how about telling your CPA clients about the MS accounting network?

So Elijah in my comments to the blog writes... re: ...not the success they thought it was going to be... What blows my mind away is why doesn't every small business accountant in the US jump on this partnership? Signing up for the Microsoft Accounting
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...not the success they thought it was going to be...

So I'm talking with Bob Scott of Accounting Technology and he says about SBS 2003 something along the lines of “it's pretty solid...but it's not the runaway success they predicted...” ...oh and that was a red flag in front of me.... ...and
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No Rick we are not on track to have more patches than any other year

I'm in the presentation and the presenter says “we're on track to have more Security patches than any other year” No, Rick, 2002 was a banner year with 72 patches and I think 2001 had more than that. I'll have to check. Rick... I know my patches...
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Dennis Rocks!

Here at the Illinois Business and Technology show and the floor show here just rocked. Dennis Clark in particular hit a home run with the MS Learning lab that featured the speaker talking via microphone..but rather blasting out the presentation in a noisy
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Pre flight Technology

Flap up, Flap down. Tail goes left, tail goes right. The plane gets ready for it’s trip in the air and somehow Susan once again thinks of technology. Double checking. Monitoring. Maintanance. It’s all about ensuring that your system is running
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Just keep on drooling folks

From the mailbag today comes the question if Remote Web Workplace is avaibable for non SBSers. Someone wanted it for their larger firms. < evil cackle > No… it’s ours… all ours…. With kudos to the SBS Dev team that is one
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Welcome to SBSland

So on my way to Chicago for the Illinois Business and Technology Conference [which invariably means blogging will be a bit light especially when it’s the Blonde Duo once again meeting up. Anne, myself and the wireless access point are in Chicago
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Mothership Los Colinas is Blogging!!

This is SOOOOO cool!!!! Mothership Los Colinas is blogging! That's one of the places that make sure us SBSers stay safe and keep us out of trouble. That's my nickname for Support Central for SBS. This... is going to be a GREAT blog . Share this post:
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It's not to late to book your flight and be there

Breaking News Easy Conference Payment Plan Announced! Attend SMB Nation 2005 for as little as $235 USD down, with our new three payment plan. This allows you to pay for a full conference pass ($695) over 90 days (with a nominal processing fee), but attend
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Who's responsible for the goo anyway?

Donna points to a recent survey that blame Microsoft for the worm.... But here's what I don't get... there was a workaround in there... Null session... and excuse me but I've read/heard about null sessions being a bad thing for HOW LONG now? Let's analyze
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Need remote access but don't have RWW?

The home machine. You need to fix something on the owner's home machine. It happens all the time doesn't it? The other day in the listserves someone was mentioning the program Logmein to do just that. As they didn't have the ability to use remote web
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How do I find stuff?

Many times I'm asked how do I find stuff...and here's some tricks... Get the exact error - always google using the 'exact' error string. Google both via the web 'and' on Google groups. When googling on google groups, click 'advanced' and put in the 'exact'
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The wake for the printer is scheduled for...

Well we're investigating printers because well the clutch on the old one... isn't clutching. And in looking at these lovely all in ones, many of them, heck practically all of them, do wireless networking now. And of course my 'oh my gosh did Steve Riley
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Slow logging into RWW?

So Jeff had a network where logging into a Terminal server box was really slow... but if he logged in with domain admin rights it was fast. So we were thinking at first that this was RWW into desktops..but it wasn't...it was RWW into a TS box...and once
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Who knew my printer had a clutch

Slam <sigh> there goes the printer again .... making that really loud noise and then crashing the print cartridges to the side of the printer. My sister's Photosmart printer just starting doing this. So googling I go and found this ... While printing,
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SBS 2003 unleashed book on Amazon

I've been reviewing the upcoming SBS 2003 unleashed book by Eriq Neale [and other authors like Amy ] and it's rare that I read a SBS book and go 'oh I didn't know that...' I am on this one . I 'just' finished [with wonderful help from Eriq] a chapter
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What's right for your clients?

Eriq Neale the other day had an interesting discussion of how Mac desktops and SBS networks actually make a lot of sense.... I'm stealing it for this post: The bottom line is: what software do you need to use to run your business? Even in Mac-only shops,
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How to join a MCE to a domain

I almost called this post “the Banana” as you will see when you read the post on the google link. Now I'm not one to advocate a 'non supported' solution..but.. well.. I just think it's totally DUMB that a MCE 2005 cannot be optionally joined
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So how to be pinged on IM about your server

From the mailbag today comes the question of how do I get 'pinged' on IM about by server. Well technically, I'm getting 'pinged' by getting an email message on MSN Hotmail. I use MSN 7 these days and it's my “hotmail” email address account.
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A little conversion in order

So I get hit on IM that my backup failed.. HUH? You see I had put in the rotation a new Lacie harddrive tonight ... went off... and at 9:14 got hit on IM [ I have my server set to hit me on email, cell phone messaging and IM with those monitoring error
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Reinstall SBS Monitoring... I mean REALLY reinstall it

Today Nick had a situation where a consultant went into add/remove and accidentally removed the SBSmonitoring... oops. So I dug this post out of the newsgroups: 1. Control Panel -> Add Remove Program -> Windows Small Business Server 2003. Set Server
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MSRC blog talks about the IE vulnerability

What is it? An unpatched IE vulnerability that will utilize a blended threat to attach your systems . What's a blended threat? One where your Internet Explorer will visit a site that has an 'infector' designed to nail you. Who is vulnerable? See the blog
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Are you complex?

Signing up for an Office Live Meeting account the other day and I was faced with 'this' password selection as their policy: Complexity requirements: * Must contain one or more numbers * Must contain one or more uppercase letters * Must contain one or
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Beta of Exchange 2003 sp2 hits the download site

REMEMBER THIS IS STILL A BETA and 'this service pack cannot be uninstalled' Download the Community Technology Preview (CTP) of Microsoft® Exchange Server 2003 SP2. Just a reminder that this is a BETA, it CANNOT be uninstalled and in no way shape
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A disturbance in the blogosphere [a good one]

There has been a recent disturbance in the force ... a good disturbance in the blogosphere .... A very good one... A new Blog joins the blogosphere Enjoy and sign up... Dr. Jesper Johansson is blogging! as Yoda would say... the force is strong with this
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What's the real risk?

Threats. Risk. Entry points . We all have them. But ... honestly.. I don't think we truly understand them well enough to be doing the proper things about them. So many times I see people so worried about the outside wall, the firewall, the perimeter.
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I'm a security news junkie [part two]

So in the mailbox tonight, I was asked...how did I sign up for the McAfee alerts on IM. Step on, on the MSN IM, scroll down to the alert window and click on 'go to site'. From there you'll want to click on 'additonal alerts' . From there...see that McAfee
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But Joe, they do!

Joe Wilcox talks about how this worm in reality shines the light on customers and patch management: 'The real spotlight should be on customers and patch management. If Microsoft doesn't provide tools these customers deem adequate to quickly deploy patches,
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MS Advisory on IE and a kill bit

Microsoft Security Advisory (906267): A COM Object (Msdds.dll) Could Cause Internet Explorer to Unexpectedly Exit: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/906267.mspx So I'm hit on IM with that new Advsiory today and it says in part three:
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Incidents.org reports 0-Day.. Rover says... what 0-Day?

So over on Incidents.org they are reporting a new 'zero day' IE vulnerability...... Yesterday, FrSIRT (aka K-otik) released a working 0-day exploit against a .Net component with is accessible remotely via Microsoft Internet Explorer. Impact The exploit
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Malicious Software Removal Tool updated to remove Worm

Malicious Software Removal Tool updated to remove Charlie Gibson's worm: This Alert is to notify you that on 17 August 2005 the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool has been updated with added detection and cleaning capabilities for the following
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Worm attack or maybe a wake up call on how we are setting up our networks?

This morning Charlie Gibson said his computer rebooted...a lot. Because he was nailed by that worm going around. Call me wacko..and granted I can say this snug as a bug on Windows 2003 and full XP sp2 borg where to attack me you had to authenticate to
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So what do I call myself?

From the mailbag today comes the question of what do we call our domain name... and he wasn't talking about the .local issue mind you [which we should always do] but rather that internal box name so that should partnerships split, firms explode..whatever..
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Just call me a Security news junkie

So today I received word that in addition to the way I'm getting Security advisories now [ via the Comprehensive email ], there are TWO NEW WAYS to get the Advisories . There are now RSS feeds as well as via Instant Messenger ! Okay call me crazy but
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Changing addresses

Recently two questions from the mailbag came in about changing the domain name of the server because the firm's name changed or the email address needed to change. But here's the thing... you don't need to change the name of the domain or the server.
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Like you didn't have enough fun before with patching

Adobe Acrobat 7.0.3 Professional and Standard update - multiple languages - Acrobat for Windows - Downloads: http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=2990 Adobe Reader 6.0.4 update - multiple languages - Adobe Reader for Windows - Downloads:
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The case of the FFS

I have a problem coming up in my office... I can see it now.... we're not quite ready to be storing Excel and Word documents in a SQL database... okay... let's correctly put that sentence in the proper context shall we? “ I'M ” not ready to
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Controlling more

It's all about control isn't it? Patching. Monitoring. And whether your flavor is Level Platform or MOM.... if you aren't looking into tools to control and do... maybe you need to look into it? Some recent postings about MOM , made me realize that in
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Microsoft Security Advisory Notification

******************************************************************** Title: Microsoft Security Advisory Notification Issued: August 16, 2005 ******************************************************************** Security Advisories Updated or Released Today
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New variant of worm - batten down the hatches

Incidents.org and the newsmedia [ mainly because it appears they got nailed good ] are reporting on a new variant of the Plug and Play worm. Symantec Security Response - W32.Zotob.E: http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.zotob.e.html
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We announce that _fill in the blank_

Microsoft Corp. today announced Berbee Information Networks Corporation has become the first Small Business Specialist in Madison. To attain this new designation, Berbee has demonstrated expertise in planning and building solutions for small businesses.
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Do you charge?

With last weeks patches comes the question...do you charge for Security patches? For Service pack installation? Many have set up 'managed' contracts where they are using the monthly management fee to include application of security patches. Some have
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WSUS Ops Guide

Comprehensive guidance on administering and troubleshooting WSUS. .... okay does anyone else besides me want to call it the WSUS Oops Guide? An introduction to Microsoft Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). Share this post: email it! | bookmark it!
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KB articles of interest

You receive a "The event log file is corrupt" error on a computer that is running Windows Server 2003 SP1, an x64-based version of Windows Server 2003, or Windows XP Professional x64 Edition: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=899416 FIX: You cannot burn
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APC issue now officially has a KB article

When you restart a computer that is running Windows Server 2003 or Windows 2000 Server, the computer stops responding, or the "Applying computer settings" screen appears for longer than you expect: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=905716 Share this
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Updated advisory on 05-039

'If an administrator has disabled anonymous connections by changing the default setting of the RestrictAnonymous registry key to a value of 2, Windows 2000 systems would not be vulnerable remotely from anonymous users. However, because of a large application
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It's raining

It's raining today. Which normally isn't a bad thing at all and in fact I love rain...but ....well.. I should have done some maintenance on my car. You see the windshield wiper blade is fraying and ...well...when you have nearly a month of 100 degree
Posted by bradley | 1 Comments

Really we're not all like that....

Charlie has a blog post about a visit to his Accountant.. one that is still working on a 1980 vintage network. You know the type... one step up from a sneakernet. What I love is already the “oh it ain't broke” posts at the bottom... “
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Ripping out Sharepoint from it's roots

I bought a Dell the other day that has SBS 2003 preinstalled. Comes in a tower sized unit. Looks like a Desktop. My real baby at the office is a big overgrown tower unit as well. I think that's the problem right there.... they look like a normal desktop.
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Getting RID of that annoying wallpaper

I was remoting into a Dell OEM to test Sean's instructions [and yes, the work but I'd recommend that you put the data files on a D: or other drive] and got majorly slowed down by that annoying Dell wallpaper that takes forrrevver to resolve while you
Posted by bradley | 2 Comments

Worm:Win32/Zotob.A advisory

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 ******************************************************************** Title: Microsoft Security Advisory Notification Issued: August 14, 2005 ********************************************************************
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Seventeen percent, ten percent, 1.2 million

Seventeen percent, ten percent, 1.2 million... that's what is continuing to fund Spyware, Adware, Viruses and what not.... • Seventeen percent of our survey respondents weren’t using antivirus software. • Ten percent of those with high-speed
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MS05-039: Zotob.A Internet Worm -- In-the-wild

Fellow MVP Harry Waldron reports that first sightings of a virus/worm bundled up to take advantage of the recent security patches on Tuesday have been sighted: MS05-039: Zotob.A Internet Worm -- In-the-wild: http://msmvps.com/harrywaldron/archive/2005/08/14/62663.aspx
Posted by bradley | 0 Comments

Where should your WSUS be installed?

Not on your member server if you are running Terminal Services on that member server.... ReadMe for Windows Server Update Services : Issue 5: WSUS is not supported on servers running Terminal Services For this Windows Server Update Services release, it
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About that RSS branding Robert...

Scoble talks about how those Orange XML tags are confusing for newbies looking for RSS feeds and told to look for RSS feeds... you know that is even MORE annoying? Those RSS tags that DON'T go to feeds, but rather link off to another page that has the
Posted by bradley | 3 Comments
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I'm now Energy Blue

If you've played with a Windows Media Edition you've seen this already but for Tablet PC folks you can download the Tablet PC experience pack and get the “Energy blue” theme. You can read about the bundle of apps here . Now given that I have
Posted by bradley | 1 Comments
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A revisit to a printer/scanner/copier

The other day I was freaking out setting up a Ricoh printer/scanner/copier because it needed for me to leave a password in it to gain access to the network. Quite honestly I just don't like it. I don't. Call me wacko, but I just don't like to leave a
Posted by bradley | 1 Comments
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About that defraggin....

Apparently defragging is a hot topic because it got a ton of feedback including this gem from David... so ya might not wanna be quite to quick to defrag folks.... Don't forget that unless you've taken special steps to prevent it, defragging a Windows

East Coast SBSers ARE YOU READY for the SBS TOUR?

The Microsoft SBS Product and Development teams have announced plans to visit 12 U.S. cities this October as part of the second U.S. SBS Partner Group Tour. The goal of this tour is to take the Small Business Partners and Microsoft Team Members to the

SBS Live Chat with Andy Goodman

Tuesday August 16 2005 at 4 p.m http://www.mcpmag.com/chats/ BE THERE with Andy Goodman! Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | live it!
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So what's the security of RDP?

I was asked whether or not I would consider a straight 3389/Remote desktop connection into an XP box secure. First off let's define what I define as 'secure'. Remember I said that security had to include monitoring. It has to include authentication. So
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So how many RWW machines can you hang off a SBS box?

From the mailbag today comes the question about the a practical way to 'size' the amount of bandwidth each RWW connection uses. The mailer asks “ The issue is setting a clients expectations on the realistic total number of CONCURRENT RWW sessions
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Gotta love that SQL command line...

So over on SeanDaniel.com's blog a post that made me chuckle... it's about the issue where the OEM Dell's and HP's can't get WSUS on the box using the wizard. Leave it to the OEM preinstalls to be the troublemakers. Remember this is JUST for instances
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WSUS not WSUSing?

If you are like me and Torrey ... on my test WSUS server at home, my workstation clients would NOT check in. There are a couple of issues here and some resolutions.... On the WSUS blog it points to a patch you can get from Product support services for
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Where's your monitoring?

....... this includes performing a risk analysis; implementing reasonable and appropriate security measures; and documenting and maintaining policies, procedures and other required documentation. Compliance is not a one-time goal, it must be maintained.
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Hey when did Shavlik add that one?

Using my Netchk 5 and it has the option to reboot the server 'before' applying patches right in the deployment template options.... oh that's so cool. So for those times you should make sure your server is rebooting as it should BEFORE applying the patch....very
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So now that the bad guys have released exploit code...now what?

So based on our last blog post we know that bad guys have put exploit code on the web... in fact one such place ... is supposedly a 'trusted centre' and firms 'rely on it for proactive solutions'...yet they post vulnerability exploits..go figure... so
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Exploit code released for Plug and Play Vulnerability

******************************************************************** Title: Microsoft Security Advisory Notification Issued: August 11, 2005 ******************************************************************** Security Advisories Updated or Released Today
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A little flexibility

So the co-worker got back from Manila and after all my planning and prep for remote access, he had to be a bit more flexible. Here's some of the things we learned from this trip: You may sign up for it here...but it may not be over there. He ended up
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Different scenarios to reinstall Companyweb after the SBS 2003 SP1 setup

Once again.... hello? If you are installing supporting SBS boxes and are NOT a Microsoft partner ..why ever not? Get your buns signed up! From the Partner support group comes the varying ways we can get Sharepoint fixed back up after SP1...now mind you
Posted by bradley | 6 Comments
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The Circuit Breaker

I have a circuit breaker at home that during the hot weather we have to watch the load on it. We've put too much stress on it in the past and now it's prone to overload and kick off. We can't up the AMPs on it so what we have to do is ensure that the
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So is "fill in the blank" HIPAA compliant?

One of the questions that get thrown to me every now and then is ... “ is fill in the blank HIPAA compliant “. That “fill in the blank” could be anything from an application...all the way to SBS itself. The problem with a lot of
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You could have 74 additional servers if you really wanted to....

Once again, let's get the misconceptions about the SBS platform blown away tonight shall we? No... SBS 2003 does not have to be the ONLY server on the Subnet. It DOES have to be the PRIMARY domain controller and hold the FSMO roles.. however if you really
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To defrag or not defrag that is the question...

There's a direct relationship between disk fragmentation and performance: As the number of disk fragments increases, performance drops. The reasoning is simple: The more work the disk drive has to do to deliver data, the longer the rest of the system
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So now we have a little too much security....but maybe not enough?

So setting up a color scanner/printer/copier and setting up the scan to smb/scan to ftp ...and I thought I'd be nice to myself and set the scan “to” to end up in the same folder that my other black and white scanner/printer/copier is scanning
Posted by bradley | 3 Comments
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End users and screensavers

Recently at my own office I enabled the option to turn of a password protection on the screen when someone walked away for more than an hour. Merely turning off the screen isn't good enough protection when working with client information.. I mean...duh...
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Sometimes you decide not to be a geek

When I was setting up the server at the office, the HP that I have has an uber remote management feature... Integrated Lights Out.. you could even hook up a public IP address to it and truly reach out and touch that box remotely. Even if it was turned
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When patching this month.. a little reboot ahead of time is in order

This month, more than any other month, would be a good month to remember some of the wise moves in patching.... REBOOT YOUR SERVER That's right I said reboot your server.. go over there and cycle it off and then back on. If it reboots in a reasonable
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...so if I had a Windows 2000 machine right about now....

So in reading tonight's bulletins .... man if I had a vendor forcing me to stay on Windows 2000 service pack 3? Right now I'd be screaming my little head off....one of them... the one on the Print Spooler issue.... if you can't patch because you are not
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Reports are that the IE patch has an invalid digital signature

Eric Schultze reports on the Patch Management listserve... Please note that at least two of the IE patches for MS05-038 that are currently available for download from Microsoft have invalid digital signatures (XP SP2 and WS03 32 bit patches), and at least
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Security bulletins today

Bulletin Summary: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/ms05-Aug.mspx Critical Bulletins: Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (896727) http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/ms05-038.mspx Vulnerability in Plug and
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Signing up for RSS

Looking to stay up to date on stuff like Security... stuff like Admin'ing networks? Truly where a lot of great information lies in today is...right here.. in a blog. It's another 'been there, done that' person like yourself, saying 'hey this worked for
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Want resources to be more paranoid than you already are?

Someone was asking about Security vulnerability resources and I realized I probably hadn't blogged about this..now mind you this is includes information on both patched and unpatched vulnerabilties... oh... in case you are wanting to know..what's a security
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Blue Screen of Death with Symantec A/V 10

Blue screen error when Symantec AntiVirus 10 is installed From the listserves comes the report that on rare circumstance you might see a BSOD on machine getting Symantec 10 installed when.... Problems with older Symevent drivers Conflict with Roxio Easy
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DNS issues

Per was having issues with a client on a random basis not resolving web sites and what not.... and when he tested the problem out by putting a bogus IP address in the Primary DNS forwarders, he realized that the secondary ones were not kicking in......
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Top issues with SBS 2003 sp1

Now if you were a Microsoft partner .... you'd be able to visit the Partner newsgroups and find these answers to top issues: ...now then...if you install SBS servers...why aren't you a partner? Better yet...why not a Small Business Specialist ? 1. Store.exe
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Hey, he's blogging again!!!

No, not him .... HIM !!!! Mr. Auditing HIM!!! Here and HERE !! Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | live it!
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Yes I know... you aren't human...but you really are...

Yeah yeah I know...the Captcha thingy down there really sucks...but it was the best I could do at the time to get people from stop spamming the blogs... it was so bad that Christian was about to stop blogging...and as much as he blogs... you know it's
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Ever notice how you end up with screws leftover?

From the mailbag comes the request that I fess up what I have in hardware based on my talking about how I haven't migrated yet to my new computer....now you'll know I'm not a 'real geek' in that I have to slide over and see what the Intel [yes....I know...
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You can tell I'm a GUI gal allright...

So Robert recommends that I try this command at the server to see what versions/instances of SQL I have: osql -S server -U userid -P password -q "select @@version" -o "c:\temp\version.txt" And you can definitely tell I'm a gui gal as I screwed something
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Why doing a clean install of Windows XP is a good thing..

You cannot find options under "Use Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP)" on a computer that you upgraded from Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 to Windows XP with Service Pack 1 or Service Pack 2: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;902934
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APC's understatement of the year

On the APC web site is this tech note “In order for PowerChute Business Edition to remain functional, users must upgrade to any version of 7.x. Due to expiration of the Sun Java Runtime Environment certificate, versions 6.x of PowerChute Business
Posted by bradley | 5 Comments

Asking the hard questions...do you Mr. Vendor, allow me to patch?

When someone emailed me about an accounting application that would not certify installing patches on servers past Security bulletin 04-012, a patch released last April, I felt it was time to open up a new section in the "Vendor Hall of Shame" for those
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Looking at some SQL/MSDE/WMSDE log files

So the other day I was asking how one figured out what was running on what verision of a database.. MSDE or WMSDE...and Chad forwards me this KB about how you can tell which instance is which... BUG: You may not be able to distinguish between instances
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Sometimes you can just smell the Coconut can't you?

I cut open candies in the candy box because I want to know what I'm getting, don't you? You want to make sure you are getting the Chocolate you want, right?. I don't like Chocolates with coconut inside... there's just something about that texture that
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The bathroom

Where does Steve Riley say your Security guidance literature should be placed? Yup... in the bathroom. On the inside door of the ...well you know. Captive audience. Put posters on the wall where folks have to read it .. From the mailbox today comes the
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Uh...guilty...don't leave home without it...

http://www.corporatemedianews.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=33580 A recent survey of U.S. adult computer users, commissioned by Intel Corporation(R) and conducted by Harris Interactive(R), reveals that 34 percent of respondents or their families have
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The vendors who set your security policy

I got an email today from a friend who was VERY rightfully concerned that a Vendor was setting patch policies for his network. How can that be you ask? Well it's called “support”.... you see they would not certify and support that customer
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Spyware for the Server?

From the mailbag tonight comes the question...” What spyware protection and registry maintenance do you recommend for the SBS 2003 server ?” ...uh..dude? You surfing at that server so it needs spyware protection? Don't. Let's nip that right
Posted by bradley | 3 Comments

SBSized instructions

So I'm implementing a firm wide policy for screen savers...I can specify the screen saver, ensure they are password protected, ensure that they kick on after inactivity because we want to make sure when we leave our systems on at night for Remote Web
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5 weeks and counting to SMBNation

Dear SMB Nation Attendee, Wow! We are only 5 weeks away from the SMB Nation Conference. This is the first, in what will become a series, of emails from me. I will be in constant contact to keep you informed about the conference. The focus of this e-mail
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Redact anyone?

Download details: Office 2003 Add-in: Word Redaction : Redaction is the careful editing of a document to remove confidential information. The Microsoft Office Word 2003 Redaction Add-in makes it easy for you to mark sections of a document for redaction.
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The data everywhere

Once upon a time a guy in the office bought a computer... a computer with a gig of harddrive space. HUGE! What in the world made you buy a harddrive so large? You'll never use that much space! We said to him... Fast forward to today.... So today ... in
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When is Spyware...not spyware?

To me the 'description“ of Spyware stops at data collection. Anything past that and we're not in Kansas any more. The minute some software is on my machine merely watching cookies.. I would argue that's spyware. Spyware that I probably agree to
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I have no SQL books

I realized today I have no SQL books...no blue with the male hardware tool item on the front... official Microsoft Press... Pocket whatever books... that are specifically about SQL. You see I want to know if there's a way to ...hold your hats on this
Posted by bradley | 1 Comments
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Security Patch Tuesday heads up

******************************************************************** Title: August 2005 Microsoft Security Response Center Bulletin Notification Issued: August 04, 2005 ******************************************************************** Summary =======
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Stand back please... Sharepoint people are about to drool all over the place....

As Chad said...it's Christmas in July .....or August as the case may be.... Web parts and templates for Sharepoint...all OVER the place... John Westworth talks about them on his blog on Technet.... Sharepointing yet? You'd better be by the time SMBnation
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Okay so who was looking for Exmerge?

Download details: Exchange Server Mailbox Merge Wizard (ExMerge): Extract data from mailboxes on one server running Exchange and then merge that data into mailboxes on another server running Exchange with the help of this tool. Share this post: email
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I'm still waiting for my $1,000 from Bill Gates

Seriously... who do you see is the biggest threat to your network? Got that person in mind? I think it's my Mom, my Dad, my Sister, your brother, your Son, your Daughter....... Who's your biggest threat to your network? Seriously..where's your biggest
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Driving a Hummer

Grab a security book about server hardening and they will tell you early on to disable unnecessary services to reduce the attack surface of your system. Okay cool...got my SBS box... got my admin tools, services icon fired up... okay .... what can I disable
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Wednesday on the Web with Scott Colson and CRM

Mr. Scott aka CRM Colson who will also be in Seattle at SMBnation... will be live today on the Web Event Date: 8/3/2005 Presenter: Indika Boteju Event Time: 2:00 PM Pacific, USA & Canada (DST) = GMT - 08:00 Duration: 60 minutes Description: Topic
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Can 40 to 50 users be connected to a SBS 2003 server?

From the mailbag tonight comes this question.... Hi!!! I want to know if it's recommended for 40-50 users connected to a SBS2003 Std. Server for file, print, mail and fax. And what specs for a server with 40-50 users connected are recommended. You DO
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Visio plug in for MBSA 2.0

This just in... Based on the positive response we received to the first version of Visio Connector for MBSA, we have just released Visio Connector for MBSA 2.0. This utility allows you to view the vulnerability assessment information generated by MBSA
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Pave and Nuke

I have a workstation... it has malware on it... it got it from a clicking end user when they were a local administrator to that box.... because the annoying popups were so bad and the combo of XP sp2, Google toolbar, Trend antivirus, and Microsoft antispyware
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A little bad advice

Like my prior post , sometimes there's an instance where someone gets bad advice. And right now I'm seeing one issue with getting bad advice in the past. Remember class, my history.... I was once told that SBS was too limiting for me....that I would outgrow
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How many employees can a SBS server handle?

And no the answer I'm not looking for is 75 users or 75 devices which could mean hundreds of potential users....how many Accountants can use a network built around a SBS server as a foundation? Well according to engineers at Dell, not 35 beancounters.
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Calling all Beancounters!!!

There's a brand new Microsoft Professional Accountant's network for all Accountants. Now if you are already part of the Microsoft partner program, like I was, you need to log into Passport and then update your business profile to reflect the services
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..and 100% of Quickbooks users...

http://blogs.technet.com/tonyso/archive/2005/08/01/408487.aspx This article says that Microsoft's research indicates that 85% of corporate users and 97% of consumers are running their machines as administrators, according to Neil Charney, a director of
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Dr. Tom, ISA, Amy and ...oh did I say there's a new forum for SBS and ISA?

On ISAServer.org, Dr. Tom Shinder opened up a ISA 2004 on SBS message board ... wooohooo ...an SBSized place on ISAserver.org in addition to Amy's excellent articles. Here are some other resources for ISA 2004 on SBS: ISA/SBS Series: Controlling Internet
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I have a secret...

Come here... psstt.... I have a secret.... I haven't used VPN in ages... I pretty much use Remote Web Workplace for all my access needs. Personally I still would argue ...even with the Terminal Server Denial of Service advisory out there that I actually
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I hate ClassesRoot

Steve Riley in an ITShowtime says that most programs that can't run restricted user write gunk to local machine or user or whatever he said ... [it's a great series...I'd strongly urge you to watch/listen]...so here I am fighting with a workstation ...not
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SANS webcast - Network Security for Small-Midsized Companies

Hey you know when Small business is making the inroads ..when SANS does a web cast specifically for Small and Medium businesses. Coming up this Wednesday...should be interesting. First Wednesday Webcast: "Network Security for Small-Midsized Companies"Featuring:
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