Happy System Administrator Appreciation Day !!

July 29, 2005

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System Administrator Appreciation Day Friday July 29th 2005: "Friday, July 29th, 2005, is the 6th annual System Administrator Appreciation Day. On this special international day, give your System Administrator something that shows that you truly appreciate their hard work and dedication.

Let's face it, System Administrators get no respect 364 days a year. This is the day that all fellow System Administrators across the globe, will be showered with expensive sports cars and large piles of cash in appreciation of their diligent work. But seriously, we are asking for a nice token gift and some public acknowledgement. It's the least you could do. Consider all the daunting tasks and long hours (weekends too.) Let's be honest, sometimes we don't know our System Administrators as well as they know us. Remember this is one day to recognize your System Administrator for their workplace contributions and to promote professional excellence. Thank them for all the things they do for you and your business."

Happy SysAdmin Day everyone! Here's a little treat, nerdcore style:
ytcracker
MCPlus+
McChris
OptimusRhyme
MiniBosses
McFrontalot
Keith Schofield
McHawking
Geek Rhymes
ultraklystron
badd spellah


Upgrading from Windows 2000 Server to Windows Server 2003

July 25, 2005

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Commodore.ca | Windows | How To Upgrade Windows 2000 Domain to Windows 2003 Server - very detailed step by step instruction list.

Microsoft File Server Migration Toolkit: "To make the file server migration and consolidation process easier, Microsoft has released the Microsoft File Server Migration Toolkit. In addition, Microsoft has released guidance for file server migration and consolidation as part of the Solution Accelerator for Consolidating and Migrating File and Print Servers."

Upgrading from Windows 2000 Server to Windows Server 2003: "This white paper provides an overview of the upgrade process and outlines some of the basic decisions to consider—whether you are upgrading an existing system, performing a new installation, or carrying out a migration. "

How to upgrade Windows 2000 domain controllers to Windows Server 2003: "This article discusses how to upgrade Microsoft Windows 2000 domain controllers to Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and how to add new Windows Server 2003 domain controllers to Windows 2000 domains."

Upgrading Windows NT/2000 to Windows 2003 (Part 1): "This article covers the upgrading caveats that need to be considered when upgrading from Windows NT and Windows 2000 Network environments to Windows 2003. Issues encountered during installation and understanding the importance of the minimum requirements prescribed for installing the software, understanding the fundamentals described below will resolve and reduce problems that are usually encountered."

TechNet Virtual Lab: Windows Server 2003 - Now that you upgraded, here's some help learning how to administer it.

80 Super Security Tips

July 22, 2005

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80 Super Security Tips: "Whether your PC is 3 years or 3 days old, it faces the same, sometimes scary security issues. Viruses want to attack your system the moment it goes online, spyware is piggybacking with your mail and trying to slide in along with online ads, Trojans lay in wait at every turn and Phish—perhaps the sneakiest attack of all—smile at you while trying to steal your identity.

There are ways out of this mess. These tips can show you what to do, help you better understand the threats and be ready with a plan of counter attack. "

This is a great article.. while most tips are aimed at newbies (good resource for your users), there are some good tidbits for advanced users. Really worth a look.

Contact information does not appear in the address book in Outlook 2002 and Outlook 2003

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Contact information does not appear in the address book in Outlook 2002 and Outlook 2003: "When you use your address book to select recipients for an e-mail message or a fax message, information from your Contacts folder does not appear in the list."

Ok, this issue was killing me so I had to post the fix...

Interview with Dan Kaminsky on Microsoft 's security

July 21, 2005

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Interview with Dan Kaminsky on Microsoft 's security - Discusses his attendance to Blue Hat, and his thoughts on Microsoft's security situation.

Hacking Windows XP: Speed Up Your Network and Internet Connection

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Hacking Windows XP: Speed Up Your Network and Internet Connection: "Depending on the type of network connection you have, you might be able to tweak your connection so that the speed of your Internet, as well as your local area network, will be faster. By hacking the System Registry and editing the TCP/IP parameters, you can fine-tune the values to take advantage of more reliable, faster Internet connections, such as DSL and cable."

Thanks ExtremeTech.

InventoryISX

July 20, 2005

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InventoryISX, Workstation, server, software and computer auditing and inventory tracking.: "The InventoryISX suite is intended to be a Freeware program for auditing the local or remote network(s) of a small to medium type of business, with mainly a Windows Architecture infrastructure. "

This looks very interesting.. I plan on trying this out (and using it if it turns out as good as it looks). Now only if I could get it to download...

Portable USB Programs List

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Portable USB Programs List: Combobulate.com: "USB drives have become very popular lately you can do just about anything with them, this is a good list that covers most common computer functions. The applications will run off USB drives and require no installs."

Not a bad [simple] toolkit list.

Black Tuesday - Mid Summer Edition (July)

July 12, 2005

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Microsoft Security Bulletin MS05-035: "Microsoft Security Bulletin MS05-035
Vulnerability in Microsoft Word Could Allow Remote Code Execution (903672)" - Critical

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS05-036: "Vulnerability in Microsoft Color Management Module Could Allow Remote Code Execution (901214)" - Critical

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS05-037: "Vulnerability in JView Profiler Could Allow Remote Code Execution (903235)"

Everytime I look at releases like these I can't help but feel ripped off... but way better what could have been released.

TechNet Virtual Labs

July 07, 2005

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TechNet Virtual Labs: "Ever wanted to test Microsoft's newest software in a sandbox environment? Wouldn't it be great to be able to test new servers immediately, without formatting hard drives or dedicating one or more computers to the project? Now you can, with the TechNet Virtual Labs."

This is bloody awesome!! Not only is it a good training tool for the stuff you already use, but you can play with stuff you don't have. (Like I don't use Exchange up here, but I'm really interested in learning it.. now I can virtually).

Articles by Windows Security Expert Randy Franklin Smith

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Articles by Windows Security Expert Randy Franklin Smith - very nice collection of articles, covering from recent (2005) back to 2000. Also, his Windows Security Log Encyclopedia is awesome.. a listing of security log events along with an explaination and his personal comments.

Anatomy Of A Hack—The Rise And Fall Of Your Network

July 06, 2005

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Anatomy Of A Hack—The Rise And Fall Of Your Network: "One of the great mysteries in security management is the modus operandi of an attacker. What is it that attackers do, and how do they do it? As with all great mysteries, this one generates a lot of interest, accounting for the phenomenal success of books and classes on how to actually attack networks. Although attacking networks can be fun and informative—not to mention illegal if you do not have all the proper permissions—the fact remains that the vast majority of us do not need to know how to do so. "

Nice article on how a hack goes down. A good read, I suggest everyone to take a look. If you have any more of these type articles/stories/case studies/etc, please drop me a comment.

Also, check out thisFun Link.

Nuclear power plant secrets leaked by computer virus

July 05, 2005

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Nuclear power plant secrets leaked by computer virus, Sophos reports: "According to the Japanese press, approximately 40MB of confidential reports, related to nuclear power plant inspections over several years, was leaked from a virus-infected computer belonging to an employee of the Mitsubishi Electric Plant Engineering (MPE). The data is said to have been distributed to users of the Winny peer-to-peer file-sharing system. Winny is the most popular file-sharing network in Japan, with over a quarter of a million users."

Prime example of why a great deal of care should be taken when remotely accessing company data.