Andy Malone’s MVP - Security & Technology Blog

Well I have been talking about this one for a while and I am delighted to say that it’s finally here. Microsoft Forefront Threat Management Gateway or TMG as it’s known. TMG is the long awaited replacement to ISA Server and comes with a host of new technologies to keep the bad guy at bay. TMG gomes with a host of new features including:

• Control network policy access at the edge (Firewall)
• Protect users from web browsing threats (Web Client Protection)
• Protect users from E-mail threats (Email Protection)
• Protect desktops and servers from intrusion attempts (NIS)
• Enable users to remotely access corporate resources (VPN, Secure Web Publishing)
• Simplified management (Deployment)

Now in terms of setting up TMG One of the most important changes in Microsoft Forefront TMG is that it must be installed on Windows Server 2008 with 64 Bit technology, this is the same for either 2008 or 2008R2..

Other requirements include:

• 2 gigabytes (GB) or more of memory
• 2.5 GB of available hard disk space. This is exclusive of hard disk space that you want to use for caching or for temporarily storing files during malware inspection.
• One network adapter that is compatible with the computer’s operating system, for communication with the internal network.
• And additional network adapter for each network connected to the Forefront TMG server.
• One local hard disk partition that is formatted with the NTFS file system.

Other than that the product rocks! This is the product that not only myself but the industry has been waiting for. Intrusion prevention should be a basic feature of any organisations security plan and this product will serve you proudly. If you would like to know more then cvisit the TMG site here http://www.microsoft.com/forefront/threat-management-gateway/en/us/default.aspx and you can download the trial version here http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/ee423778.aspx

I have just completed presenting at the Cybercrime Security Forum 2010 in Utrecht in the Netherlands. Thanks so much to all the delegates who attended the event. Your feedback and enthusiasm has been awesome. Thanks to Global Knowledge for hosting the event and also to Paula for her great presentations. The password hacking session was my favourite.

Over the next few days I will pull together all the links for the tools discussed. Most are on the Student DVD, others will be forthcoming via link. FYI due to the success of the event we already have a date for a 2011 event. 24^th & 25^th January 2011. See you there.

Next week I am undertaking some retro training on Windows Server 2003 (Hey it’s what the customer wants!) Followed by more security training for the US DOD, That should be fun.

This week I am on a whistle stop tour of the Nordics. Yesterday In was in Oslo teaching a bunch of nice guy’s from CSC on the delights of Windows 7. I love Norway, great hotels, transportation, food and of course the people. No wonder it’s one of the most desirable places to live.

On Monday I am teaching yet more windows 7 to yet more nice folks from CSC, but this time it’s in Copenhagen. Now you are probably thinking it’s not worth me going home and in this case you would be right! I have decided to stay a couple of nights in CPH to relax and catch up on a little work.

Later in the week I will be in the Netherlands for our latest Cybercrime Security Forum event. This time packed with new content which includes some awesome demos. On the subject of demos I was showing a tool which makes it’ easy to edit the Windows 7 boot sequence. Rather than using the usual BCDEDIT command you may want to take a look at EasyBCD V1.72 available here it makes dual booting Windows 7 a synch, even with virtual machines. http://neosmart.net/dl.php?id=1 It’s an awesome tool.

On a final note! During my outgoing flight from Edinburgh Airport I had the pleasure of enjoying dinner in it’s new restaurant The gathering Place. I will tell you I eat in airports a lot! But this restaurant is truly in a class of its own, in terms of its staff, service and of course its food quality. Well done!

This week I have been passing security exams and working on presentations for a quickly approaching Cybercrime security event which is taking place in the Netherlands on the 28^th & 29^th January. For information on how to sign up visit www.globalknowledge.nl who are hosting the event. This year I am delighted to welcome Paula Januszkiewicz as a speaker. Paula has years of experience as a security auditor in Poland as well as other European countries.

She is also a fellow Microsoft MVP in Enterprise Security and an MCT (Microsoft Certified Trainer. Paula was also the winner of the US Microsoft Speaker Idol contest and was a speaker at TechEd in Berlin where her session was a great success.

Now as I mentioned I have been working on all new presentations for the upcoming event. 1 particular 1 of interest for me is the “Cloudy with a Chance of Fear” session. With adoption of cloud and computing and virtualization technologies there seemed to be so many people asking security questions. So I decided after loads of research to put a session together which addresses these issues. Now if you don’t get to see the session at our upcoming Cybercrime event have no fear I will also be delivering the session at the following events:

• Microsoft TechEd 2010 Middle East – Dubai 1^st – 3^rd March
• Microsoft Tech days 2010 Sweden – 23^rd & 24^th March

Hopefully I will see you at one of these events. As many of you know I have been doing a lot of work designing and delivering a Social Networking Security course for the US Army. This has been a great project. Later this week I am to be interviewed by the AFN Network (Army Forces Network) in a bid to get the security message out there. So listen out, more details will be forthcoming. On the subject of Army training thanks to everyone who braved the snow at our recent event in Belgium, it was great to see you and feedback was excellent.

Finally I love silly things! I have heard of people having a fear of flying (I know I do a lot of it myself) but I have never heard of someone having a fear of flying simulators! Check it out http://www.flyingwithoutfear.com/fearofflyinghelp.html Whatever next!

The other day I was in my local Supermarket. After shopping for what I needed I headed for the Cash point. Upon arrival this greeted me and got me thinking. I like to think of this as “What’s the point” security. Companied go to great lengths to ensure staff and customers feel safe and secure. This is a perfect example of what happens when procedures are ignored or taken for granted.

The result here shows a clear venerability which could be exploited. Security procedures are put in place to ensure three things, Confidentiality, of trade secrets, data, plans etc. Integrity of information, i.e. ensuring that it has not been tampered with and is securely stored and finally to ensure that the thing being protected remains available. This is a concept known as the CIA triad and is the foundation of the way security should be implemented and is often lesson one in any book.

The problem with the picture is that it demonstrates that we are all human and human’s as you know make mistakes. We also have an in built socialisation mechanism which makes us fundamentally trust people. Now of course I am not saying that this is a bad thing in fact it’s what separates us from “them”.

Hopefully after looking at this picture you can take the small amount of knowledge learned here and re-evaluate the way you do things thus reducing potential RISK! Something to think about eh?

Well as they say it’s back to business. I was reading an article that Adobe is planning to promote stealth updates to it products in the not too distant future. Now initially that sounds great, not having to worry about keeping applications updated. But where will this technology go from here will the other vendors join the bandwagon? What are the risks of using self updating applications, oh sure to the end user it’s a Godsend, but for administrators like me and you, we have to clean up the mess that a badly written patch brings.

At this point you are probably thinking that I don’t support this development! Well on the contrary I do, however as all automated updating technologies have shown in the past. Software companies have to ensure that administrators can test patches and decide when and how they will be deployed.

It’s not just Adobe either a large number of vendors including Microsoft occasionally deploy critical updates in this manner, but the question remains. Is this how it will be for all software in the future? Hmm let’s wait and see!

As the New Year approaches it’s time to look ahead at 2010. For me the first 3 months seem pretty busy. In January I will be travelling to Germany, Italy, Norway and Denmark, phew! And if that wasn’t enough I will be off to Seattle in February for the annual MVP Summit. I am looking forward to this as it’s a great opportunity to see what’s in development at Microsoft and spend time with peers and MS product groups.

In recent years Microsoft TechEd EMEA was based in Europe, In 2010 for the first time TechEd gets its own Middle East event and I am honoured to be one of speakers who will be in Dubai 1^st -3^rd March. I also just noticed that Active Directory guru John Craddock will be joining me. For more details on TechEd ME visit the website at http://www.teched.ae/ that will be fun. On the subject of TechEd the US event will be held in New Orleans June 7^th -10^th with some pre conference seminars available before. At the moment there is a $300 discount if you book before December 31^st so hurry. Details can be found at http://northamerica.msteched.com/default.aspx

Also in March Microsoft Sweden will be once again holding Techdays 2010. I am delighted to be involved once again as a speaker and will be delivering a couple of security sessions this time on protecting businesses from the inside man as well as a session on Cloud security. Techdays is on March 23^rd & 24^th. Details can be obtained here http://www.microsoft.com/sverige/techdays/

Finally I hope that Santa was good to you. This year as many of you may already know I have taken up archery and as such received a nice new shiny bow with all the bits :0) I hope he was good to you!

I sat down to write this blog and realised I haven’t blogged for a while. Now to be fair I have an excuse. I have been travelling and when you are teaching for the military you don’t have access t the web so that’s excuse number 1. Excuse number 2 is when you arrive at your usual hotel they tell you that the wireless connection is kaput!

Anyway back it’s back to normal for a while at least! Now that we are in the holiday season many businesses are experiencing a major DoS attack! What do you mean Andy? Well snow that’s what. It’s causing major problems in Europe and the Eastern US. Here in the UK a couple of inches causes chaos whereas in other parts of Europe for example the Nordics snow is an everyday occurrence so incident response plans are setup to co-ordinate how to get services back to normal. My points is that if your business is mission critical then ensure you have some form of incident response plan in place.

Well as we approach the end of 2009 I must admit I won’t be sorry to see it go. Myself like many others have had a mixed year of ups and downs. Financial crisis, customers going bankrupt, budgets slashed and contracts cancelled sound familiar? This year my family also dealt with the death of a close family member and also the fragmentation this causes.

On looking at the highs in 2009, our Cybercrime events have been great, we have also won a number of new clients which always keeps the wolf away from the door. This year I also spoke at Microsoft Tech-Ed in LA and in Berlin which was fabulous. Next year is looking good also with potential trips to Dubai, Sweden, Berlin, New Orleans to name but a few.

The other day I was asked if I could say one word which would describe what 2009 has meant to me, it would be friendship! Walking into a restaurant in Berlin expecting to meet no one you suddenly discover that it’s full of friends and folks who mean so much. For that I am truly thankful.

Finally I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and that 2010 will be a great year ahead. Happy holidays everyone :0)

4 Microsoft Team blogs searched, 107 blogs have new articles. 296 new articles found searching from 07-Dec-2009 to 13-Dec-2009

Categories: Business Process Management, Consumer and Hardware Solutions, Dynamics, General, Industry Solutions, Internet, Microsoft Advertising, Microsoft Conferences and Briefings, Microsoft IT and GFS, Microsoft Learning, Microsoft Licensing, Microsoft Online Services, Microsoft Press Pass, Office Applications, Office Online, Office Sharepoint MOSS and Groove, Partner and Customer Resources, Planning Deployment and Update, Product Support, Research and Labs, Search, Security, Security Products Forefront, Software and Web Development, Software and Web Development Cloud Computing, SQL and Business Intelligence, Systems Center Systems Management, Unified Communications, Virtualization, Windows Desktop and Embedded, Windows Live, Windows Mobile, Windows Server and Infrastructure, Windows Server Networking and Remote Access, Windows Systems Management,

Business Process Management

BizTalk Server Website | RSS Feed
BizTalk Server 2009 R2 Technology Adoption Program (TAP) Enrollment - 10-Dec-2009

Consumer and Hardware Solutions

Microsoft Surface Website | RSS Feed
SurfaceScapes Follow-up: Bringing D&D to Microsoft Surface - 08-Dec-2009
Holland America adds Surface to several ships in its new Mix lounge - 07-Dec-2009

Xbox Press Releases Website | RSS Feed
MAY YOUR DECEMBER BE MERRY AND BRIGHT WITH NEW AVATAR MARKETPLACE GEAR, GAMES AND GREAT DEALS ON XBOX LIVE! - 10-Dec-2009
“Forza Motorsport 3” Surpasses 1 Million Units Sold and Heats Up the Holidays with New Downloadable Cars Available Today - 08-Dec-2009

Dynamics

Dynamics CRM Website | RSS Feed
Behavior Change in Cascading Assign for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 - 11-Dec-2009
An Introduction to XRM for a .Net Developer - 10-Dec-2009
Data Wizard: Using field delimiters characters in data source files - 09-Dec-2009
Importing Data from Salesforce.com to Microsoft CRM Online - Part 1 - 08-Dec-2009
Configure Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online E-mail Router with Exchange Online - 07-Dec-2009

Dynamics GP Website | RSS Feed
Microsoft Dynamics GP “11” Launch is coming . . . . - 08-Dec-2009
Former Sage MAS customer achieves a full ROI in 6 months! - 07-Dec-2009

Dynamics GP for Developers Website | RSS Feed
Determine SOP Type in SOP Entry using VBA or Visual Studio Tools - 11-Dec-2009
Do we really want Windows Authentication for Microsoft Dynamics GP? - 09-Dec-2009
What is the A4 Chunk? - 07-Dec-2009

Dynamics NAV Website | RSS Feed
How would I use RIM and Style Sheet Tool to handle change of Tax Number (OiB) in Croatia (Part 2 of 3) - 09-Dec-2009
Treemap Business Data Visualization available on PartnerSource - 07-Dec-2009

General

Environment Software Enabled Earth Website | RSS Feed
Copenhagen’s Bella Center runs on Office SharePoint Server 2007 - 11-Dec-2009
FUTURES 5 – Environmental Focus drawing upon COP15 - 10-Dec-2009
The Polarization of the Data Center Industry (at least for now) - 09-Dec-2009
COP15 Side Event @ Bella Centre December 11: Fact or Fiction can information Technology help solve climate change? - 08-Dec-2009
Old computers – new business - 08-Dec-2009
Using the Power of IT to Drive Environmental Sustainability - 07-Dec-2009

IT Business Value Website | RSS Feed
Practices vs. Processes - 11-Dec-2009

Microsoft On The Issues Legal and Policy Website | RSS Feed
Global Development from the “other Washington” - 11-Dec-2009
Microsoft Settlement to Fund $60 Million for Eligible Public Schools in Iowa - 08-Dec-2009
Microsoft and the FTC: A Continued Focus on Privacy (Update) - 07-Dec-2009

TechNet Magazine Website | RSS Feed
Remove Personal metadata from Files to Protect Your Privacy - 11-Dec-2009
Follow TechNet Tips on our site, our blog, Twitter, Facebook, and via RSS - 10-Dec-2009
Navigate Windows Explorer More Quickly with These Keyboard Shortcuts - 10-Dec-2009
Assign a Program or Process to a Specific CPU running on Windows 7 - 09-Dec-2009
Understand and Control Startup Apps with the System Configuration Utility - 08-Dec-2009
Remove a program from the Recommended Programs on the Open With dialog - 07-Dec-2009

TechNet Plus Subscriptions Website | RSS Feed
Feedback Survey:TechNet Subscriptions Library in Media - 08-Dec-2009

The Data Privacy Imperative Website | RSS Feed
Safer Online Shopping with Internet Explorer 8 - 08-Dec-2009
Microsoft and the FTC: A Continued Focus on Privacy - 08-Dec-2009

Working for Microsoft - JobsBlog Website | RSS Feed
testing the blog - 09-Dec-2009
testing - 09-Dec-2009

Industry Solutions

Education UK Higher Education Website | RSS Feed
The Higher Education Briefing 2009 – slides and other materials - 10-Dec-2009

Education UK Schools Website | RSS Feed
Kristen and Stuart get an EduBlog nomination for Teaching Ideas and Resources blog - 11-Dec-2009

Education UK Teachers K12 Website | RSS Feed
Visiting our Innovative Schools in Scotland - 10-Dec-2009

Financial Services Risk and Compliance Website | RSS Feed
Microsoft’s Compliance and Risk Process Management Pack and IT Compliance Library - an update from Sai Sireesh - 10-Dec-2009
Visualization Challenge: Use of 3-D Virtual Environments to Portray GRC Issues - Jeff Jinnett - 07-Dec-2009

Health Website | RSS Feed
It’s what you do next…..with your EMR - 10-Dec-2009

Power and Utilities Website | RSS Feed
Do More with Less: Asset Investment Planning Meets Windows 7 - 08-Dec-2009
Excess Power Generation Creates New Challenges for Utilities and Regulatory Bodies - 07-Dec-2009

Internet

Internet Explorer Website | RSS Feed
IE December Security Update Now Available - 08-Dec-2009

Microsoft Advertising

adCenter Analytics Website | RSS Feed
Measuring Up: New Research May Hold the Key to Cross Media Engagement - 09-Dec-2009
Microsoft LookingGlass – Update Interview and Video - 09-Dec-2009
Windows 7 & The Sugarbabes Drive 1.1 Million Competition Entries - 08-Dec-2009

adCenter for Advertisers Website | RSS Feed
Holiday Campaign Tips, Tricks and Resources for the Last-Minute Search Engine Marketer - 11-Dec-2009
Upcoming Events in 2010 - 11-Dec-2009
Santa Has Left the Building: SEM Best Practices for the Post-Holiday Shopping Season - 10-Dec-2009
SEM Beginner Series: Landing Page, Ad and Keyword Relevancy - 09-Dec-2009
Microsoft adCenter Editorial Guidelines: Tips, Tricks and Resources for Advertisers - 08-Dec-2009
Health and Fitness Advertisers: Preparing Your adCenter Campaigns for Peak Seasonality - 07-Dec-2009

Microsoft Conferences and Briefings

Bluehat Security Briefings Website | RSS Feed
BlueHat v9 brings the looking glass to you - 11-Dec-2009

MIX The Next Web Now Website | RSS Feed
Pictures or it Didn’t Happen - 09-Dec-2009
This is a third lab note - 09-Dec-2009

Microsoft IT and GFS

Microsoft Data Centers Website | RSS Feed
The Polarization of the Data Center Industry (at least for now): Part 2 of 2 - 08-Dec-2009
The Polarization of the Data Center Industry (at least for now): Part 1 of 2 - 08-Dec-2009

Microsoft Learning

Microsoft Certified Master Website | RSS Feed
Announcing the newest members of the SharePoint MCM Community! - 09-Dec-2009
Updated SQL 2008 MCM Pre-reading list - 07-Dec-2009

Microsoft Learning Website | RSS Feed
Skills and Employability - 12-Dec-2009
Life as a Microsoft Certified Trainer - 12-Dec-2009
Forefront TMG 2010 Administrator’s Companion: A unique reading experience is coming - 12-Dec-2009
Yes, Virginia, there is value in certification. - 11-Dec-2009
12 Days and VBC Updates - 11-Dec-2009
VBC downtime for updates 9:30pm PST - 10-Dec-2009
VBC Post Launch and Twelve Days of VBCs! - 09-Dec-2009
Virtual Business Cards Released! - 08-Dec-2009
Virtual Business Card Launch Update - 08-Dec-2009
VBC Pre-Launch – How to use your MCP/MCT identification benefits - 08-Dec-2009
Passionate About the Web? - 08-Dec-2009
Virtual Business Cards – Live 3:30pm Redmond Time (GMT-8) - 08-Dec-2009
Show me the Money – Certification Magazine 2009 Salary Survey - 08-Dec-2009
Partners in the News - 07-Dec-2009
Announcing: Microsoft Student Career Portal - 07-Dec-2009
Share your best tips and tricks for Windows 7 - 07-Dec-2009
A question regarding our Office Step by Step books - 07-Dec-2009
71-663 beta exam update - 07-Dec-2009

Microsoft Press Website | RSS Feed
Bits & Bytes: The many faces of William - 11-Dec-2009
Save 40% on all Microsoft Press books and 50% on e-books - 11-Dec-2009
Coming soon: Jeffrey Richter’s CLR via C#, Third Edition - 10-Dec-2009
Free e-book: “First Look: Microsoft Office 2010” - 10-Dec-2009
Forefront TMG 2010 Administrator’s Companion: A unique reading experience is coming - 09-Dec-2009
William Stanek: Fun with Windows Media Player 12 and Windows 7 - 08-Dec-2009
A question regarding our Office Step by Step books - 07-Dec-2009

Microsoft Licensing

Microsoft Licensing In Depth Website | RSS Feed
First Look at SQL Server 2008 R2 SKU Line-Up and Licensing - 12-Dec-2009

Microsoft Online Services

Microsoft Online Services Website | RSS Feed
Webinar: Migration to BPOS - 11-Dec-2009
Business Solution on BPOS: An HR onboarding case study - 11-Dec-2009
Feature of the Week: Microsoft Online Services Sign-In Application - 09-Dec-2009
Executive Video Series on Channel 9: Bharat Shah - 08-Dec-2009
Listen to Bharat Shah- GM of BPOS Engineering - 08-Dec-2009

Microsoft Press Pass

Press Pass Press Releases Website | RSS Feed
Microsoft’s Latest Flash Memory Technology Now Available for License - 10-Dec-2009
Microsoft Deepens Investment in Healthcare Industry With Acquisition of Sentillion - 10-Dec-2009
Windows Embedded Partner Program Celebrates 10th Anniversary With Enhancements to Help Microsoft Ecosystem Support the Latest Windows 7 Technologies - 10-Dec-2009
Latest Episode of “Microsoft Health Tech Today” Features Virtual Doctor Jay Parkinson - 10-Dec-2009
Microsoft and Temenos Join Forces to Innovate Core Banking Solutions - 10-Dec-2009
Microsoft Declares Quarterly Dividend - 09-Dec-2009
Microsoft and Mediabrands Unveil Groundbreaking Research - 09-Dec-2009
NetApp and Microsoft Announce Three-Year Pact Spanning Virtualization, Cloud Computing and Storage Management - 08-Dec-2009
MSN, BermanBraun, and Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. Partner to Launch New Online Lifestyle Experience - 08-Dec-2009

Press Pass Top Stories Website | RSS Feed
Bing Hosts ‘Home Sweet Homepage’ Photo Contest - 10-Dec-2009
Microsoft Helps Europeans Keep an ‘Eye on Earth’ - 09-Dec-2009
Microsoft Joins Push for Better Computer Science Education in U.S. - 08-Dec-2009
Microsoft Services Team Helps Businesses Cut Costs, Migrate Quickly to Latest Products - 07-Dec-2009
Using the Power of IT to Drive Environmental Sustainability - 07-Dec-2009

Office Applications

Office 2010 Website | RSS Feed
Office 2010: Visuals and Branding - 11-Dec-2009
Digital Signatures in Office 2010 - 08-Dec-2009

Office Access Website | RSS Feed
Resize forms with ShrinkerStretcher v11.0 - 11-Dec-2009
Use late binding to improve the performance of tabbed forms - 09-Dec-2009

Office Excel and Excel Services Website | RSS Feed
Daniel’s Extreme Lookup Collection - 10-Dec-2009

Office Powerpoint Website | RSS Feed
Making Your Words Shine in PowerPoint 2010 - 10-Dec-2009

Office Project Website | RSS Feed
Project 2010: Introducing Exchange Integration - 11-Dec-2009
Tips and Tricks: Get the scoop quickly - 09-Dec-2009

Office Resource Kit Website | RSS Feed
Update to “Changes in Office 2010” article – Clip Art task pane still available - 11-Dec-2009
Office 2010 introduces 64-bit editions - 10-Dec-2009
New forum for Office 2010 volume activation - 08-Dec-2009

Office Sustained Engineering Website | RSS Feed
Cannot Open Office 2003 Documents Protected with RMS - Update - 12-Dec-2009
Cannot Open Office 2003 Documents Protected with RMS - 11-Dec-2009
December 2009 Update Release - 08-Dec-2009

Office Visio Website | RSS Feed
Improvements to multi-page document support in Visio 2010 - 11-Dec-2009
The Improved Dynamic Grid in Visio 2010 - 09-Dec-2009

Office Online

Inside Office Online Website | RSS Feed
Office Home and Student 2007 on sale for $99 until December 26 - 11-Dec-2009
Watch Top Templates with Doug and Ron: 2010 Calendars - 11-Dec-2009
Get ready for the holidays, at your desk - 10-Dec-2009
Top Templates: Military to private sector resume - 10-Dec-2009
Top Templates: Holiday Shipping Labels - 09-Dec-2009
Top Templates: CD & DVD gift labels - 08-Dec-2009

Office Online Clipart and Media Website | RSS Feed
Be a PowerPoint pro with iStockphoto images - 08-Dec-2009

Office Online Templates Website | RSS Feed
Template du Jour: Hanukkah Placecard - 11-Dec-2009
Watch Top Templates with Doug and Ron: HTML Color Table - 11-Dec-2009
Watch Top Templates with Doug and Ron: 2010 Calendars - 10-Dec-2009
Template du Jour: Black Damask Thank-You Card - 10-Dec-2009
Template du Jour: Military to private sector resume - 09-Dec-2009
Template du Jour: Holiday Shipping Labels - 08-Dec-2009
Template du Jour: CD & DVD gift labels - 07-Dec-2009

Office Sharepoint MOSS and Groove

Groove Development Website | RSS Feed
External Lists in SharePoint Workspace - 10-Dec-2009

SharePoint Designer Website | RSS Feed
Video Blogging with Javascript and the Media Web Part - 11-Dec-2009

SharePoint Developer Website | RSS Feed
How to Add a Tab to the Ribbon in SharePoint Foundation - 08-Dec-2009

SharePoint End User Content Team Website | RSS Feed
Friday Cool Content: How one company is laying the groundwork for SharePoint 2010 - 11-Dec-2009
SharePoint Saturday in Redmond: Part II - SharePoint Designer 2010 Overview - 09-Dec-2009

Partner and Customer Resources

Microsoft Partner Program TS2 Blog Website | RSS Feed
Researchers break into BitLocker !! - 09-Dec-2009
I’ll bet you’ve heard this, but did you know… - 08-Dec-2009
Windows 7 Dual Boot works without Hardware Assisted Virtualization (HAV) - 07-Dec-2009
Hyper-V Live Migration between Processor Generations - 07-Dec-2009
Hyper-V Server – How to setup a High Availability Cluster with just one copy of Windows Server 2008 Part II - 07-Dec-2009

Microsoft Small Medium Business Community Website | RSS Feed
Free “First Look: Microsoft Office 2010” e-book available to download now - 11-Dec-2009
How to save $150* & $890* on Windows Server 2008 Standard & Enterprise today - 07-Dec-2009

Microsoft Valuable Professional MVP Award Program Website | RSS Feed
MVPs Talk Visual Studio 2010 at Dev Connections 2009 - 11-Dec-2009
MVP Delivers Talk on SharePoint 2010 Features - 10-Dec-2009
MVP Releases Windows 7 “App Compat” Articles - 09-Dec-2009
MVP Talks Community on Tech Talk Radio - 08-Dec-2009
Israeli MVP Shares Source Code to Code Blog Tool - 07-Dec-2009

Startup Zone Emerging Business Team Website | RSS Feed
Startup of the Day - Vertelis - 11-Dec-2009
Startups: Get access to MS’s cloud “Azure” in minutes - 11-Dec-2009
Startup of the Day - dezineforce - 10-Dec-2009
Startup of the Day - Xobni - 09-Dec-2009
Why Venture Capital Isn’t Doomed - 09-Dec-2009
Startup of the Day - Huddle.net - 08-Dec-2009
Azure BizSpark Camp @ New York: Chance to Win $5000 - 08-Dec-2009
Startup of the Day - Artesian Solutions - 07-Dec-2009

Planning Deployment and Update

Windows Server Update Services Support Website | RSS Feed
Summary of Microsoft’s Security Bulletin Release for December 2009 - 08-Dec-2009
Advance Notification for the December 2009 Security Bulletin Release - 07-Dec-2009

Windows Springboard Series Website | RSS Feed
Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000 Client and Windows XP SP2 Support Ends July 2010 - 07-Dec-2009

Product Support

Daylight Saving Time and Time Zone FAQs Website | RSS Feed
Hotfix Available for Bangladesh 2009/2010 Daylight Saving Time - 11-Dec-2009

Hotfix Support The Hot Blog Website | RSS Feed
Note, there is no hotfix KB article for Messaging Server this week. (Dec. 4 - Dec. 10 ) - 11-Dec-2009
Note, there is no hotfix KB article for SQL Server this week. (Dec. 4 - Dec. 9) - 10-Dec-2009
Dec. 4 - Dec. 9 Hot-Fix KB articles Weekly Release - Developer - 10-Dec-2009
Dec. 1 - Dec. 7 Hot-Fix KB articles Weekly Release - Windows 6/7 - 08-Dec-2009
Nov. 30 - Dec. 6 Hot-Fix KB articles Weekly Release - Windows Legacy Products - 07-Dec-2009

Research and Labs

Microsoft Research AutoCollage Website | RSS Feed
Recovering your product key for Microsoft Research AutoCollage 2008 - 10-Dec-2009

Microsoft Research News and Headlines Website | RSS Feed
Computing Our Children’s Future - 11-Dec-2009
Location-Based Social Networks Take Off - 09-Dec-2009
danah boyd: ‘People Looked at Me Like I Was an Alien’ - 09-Dec-2009
Microsoft Lab Tests a Wikipedia of Average Joes - 07-Dec-2009
African Computer Scientists Recognized - 07-Dec-2009
Scientists, Lawyers Mull Effects of Home Robots - 07-Dec-2009
UK e-Science ‘Tony Hey Prize’ for Best Student Paper - 07-Dec-2009

Microsoft Research Publications Website | RSS Feed
Building Reliable Data Pipelines for Managing Community Data using Scientific Workflows - 09-Dec-2009
JSMeter: Characterizing Real-World Behavior of JavaScript Programs - 08-Dec-2009

Search

Bing Maps formerly Live Maps Website | RSS Feed
Adding Streetside and Enhanced Birds Eye To Your Applications - 10-Dec-2009

Security

Microsoft Malware Protection Center Website | RSS Feed
If at first you don’t succeed… - 10-Dec-2009
MSRT slices the Hamweq for Christmas - 08-Dec-2009

Microsoft Security Response Center MSRC Website | RSS Feed
December 2009 Security Bulletin Webcast - 12-Dec-2009
December 2009 Security Bulletin Release - 08-Dec-2009

MSRC Ecosystem Strategy Website | RSS Feed
BlueHat v9 Brings the Looking Glass To You… - 11-Dec-2009

Security Bulletins Advisories Website | RSS Feed
Microsoft Security Advisory (973811): Extended Protection for Authentication - 12/8/2009 - 08-Dec-2009
Microsoft Security Advisory (977981): Vulnerability in Internet Explorer Could Allow Remote Code Execution - 12/8/2009 - 08-Dec-2009
Microsoft Security Advisory (974926): Credential Relaying Attacks on Integrated Windows Authentication - 12/8/2009 - 08-Dec-2009
Microsoft Security Advisory (954157): Security Enhancements for the Indeo Codec - 12/8/2009 - 08-Dec-2009

Security Bulletins Comprehensive Website | RSS Feed
MS08-037 – Important: Vulnerabilities in DNS Could Allow Spoofing (953230) - Version:3.1 - 09-Dec-2009
MS09-058 - Important: Vulnerabilities in Windows Kernel Could Allow Elevation of Privilege (971486) - Version:1.1 - 09-Dec-2009
Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for December 2009 - 09-Dec-2009
MS09-073 - Important: Vulnerability in WordPad and Office Text Converters Could Allow Remote Code Execution (975539) - Version:1.1 - 09-Dec-2009
MS09-072 - Critical: Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (976325) - Version:1.1 - 09-Dec-2009
MS09-071 - Critical: Vulnerabilities in Internet Authentication Service Could Allow Remote Code Execution (974318) - Version:1.1 - 09-Dec-2009
MS09-070 - Important: Vulnerabilities in Active Directory Federation Services Could Allow Remote Code Execution (971726) - Version:1.1 - 09-Dec-2009
Microsoft Security Advisory (973811): Extended Protection for Authentication - 08-Dec-2009
MS09-074 - Critical: Vulnerability in Microsoft Office Project Could Allow Remote Code Execution (967183) - Version:1.0 - 08-Dec-2009
MS09-069 - Important: Vulnerability in Local Security Authority Subsystem Service Could Allow Denial of Service (974392) - Version:1.0 - 08-Dec-2009
Microsoft Security Advisory (974926): Credential Relaying Attacks on Integrated Windows Authentication - 08-Dec-2009
Microsoft Security Advisory (954157): Security Enhancements for the Indeo Codec - 08-Dec-2009

Windows Security Website | RSS Feed
Windows BitLocker Claims - 07-Dec-2009

Security Products Forefront

Forefront Client Security Website | RSS Feed
New Update Available - 12-Dec-2009

Forefront Product Suite Website | RSS Feed
Forefront Protection for Exchange white papers galore - 11-Dec-2009
Microsoft to acquire Sentillion for improved healthcare through streamlined identity and access - 10-Dec-2009
Dark Reading, customers and analysts on TMG - 07-Dec-2009

Forefront Server Security Website | RSS Feed
We want your input for the next release of Forefront Protection for Exchange Server - 11-Dec-2009
Migrating from Forefront Security for Exchange Server to Forefront Protection 2010 for Exchange Server - 10-Dec-2009
We want your input for the next release of Forefront Protection for Exchange Server - 10-Dec-2009

Forefront Threat Management Gateway ISA Server Website | RSS Feed
Hyper-V Update to Improve Network Stability - 12-Dec-2009
Reducing Kerberos requests when using KCD for web publishing. - 11-Dec-2009
Forefront TMG 2010 Tools and SDK Update - 10-Dec-2009
RRAS Ports are not created after enabling VPN on ISA Server 2006 - 08-Dec-2009
The Whitepaper for Configuring and Troubleshooting NIS in Forefront TMG 2010 is Now Available - 08-Dec-2009

Software and Web Development

Developer Division Performance and Engineering Website | RSS Feed
Looking at Virtual Memory Usage - 08-Dec-2009

Expression Web Website | RSS Feed
“Bring on the PHP” – SitePoint review of the Expression Web code editor - 10-Dec-2009

Silverlight Website | RSS Feed
Silverlight for Point Of Sale (POS) applications - 10-Dec-2009
SketchFlow helps deliver an ambitious new auction tool - meeting tight time and budget constraints - 09-Dec-2009
Streaming Media Webinar with Microsoft and Internap on Enterprise Video - 09-Dec-2009

The dotNET Endpoint Website | RSS Feed
Hosting Enhancements in .NET4 and Windows Server AppFabric - 09-Dec-2009

Visual C++ Website | RSS Feed
C++ Native Multi-Targeting - 08-Dec-2009

Visual Studio Team Foundation Server Support Website | RSS Feed
Microsoft update KB973917 disables TFS… well, *ALL* IIS app pools, really - 11-Dec-2009

XNA Games Development Website | RSS Feed
Creators Club Communiqué 34 - 10-Dec-2009

Software and Web Development Cloud Computing

Windows Azure Website | RSS Feed
Windows Azure Joins Windows Server in a New Organization: Server & Cloud Division - 08-Dec-2009

SQL and Business Intelligence

Gemini Website | RSS Feed
Data Import In November CTP - 07-Dec-2009

Systems Center Systems Management

System Center Website | RSS Feed
Microsoft Acquires Opalis Software - 11-Dec-2009
Microsoft “gets” Small Business - 09-Dec-2009
The Drive for Efficiency through 2009 - 08-Dec-2009

System Center Configuration Manager Website | RSS Feed
Customization to some hardware inventory classes not preserved when patching the Configuration Manager client - 07-Dec-2009

System Center Configuration Manager Support Website | RSS Feed
Cool Windows 7 Deployment Links - 08-Dec-2009
Rerun of failed advertisements does not work as expected when you use status MIF files generated by Windows Installer - 07-Dec-2009

System Center Operations Manager Website | RSS Feed
Slow tab expansion in Ops Mgr Powershell V2 console - 09-Dec-2009
How to link multiple Gateway Servers together? - 08-Dec-2009

System Center Operations Manager Support Website | RSS Feed
Microsoft System Center Essentials 2010 Beta Resources‏ - 09-Dec-2009
Slow tab expansion in Ops Mgr Powershell V2 console - 09-Dec-2009
How to link multiple Operations Manager 2007 Gateway Servers together - 08-Dec-2009
Cool Windows 7 Deployment Links - 08-Dec-2009
Four new Operations Manager KB articles published last week - 07-Dec-2009

System Center Service Manager Website | RSS Feed
Incident Resolution Satisfaction Surveys on SharePoint - 09-Dec-2009
Creating Incidents in Service Manager Programmatically on the Command Line - 09-Dec-2009

System Center Virtual Machine Manager Website | RSS Feed
Mastering Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 Book Available Now - 11-Dec-2009
TechNet Webcast: Building a Private Cloud with the Dynamic Data Center Toolkit for Enterprises - 09-Dec-2009
Directions for using the SCVMM MPS Reporting tool - 08-Dec-2009
What does ‘over-committed’ status really mean? - 07-Dec-2009

Unified Communications

Microsoft Exchange Website | RSS Feed
BlackBerry Enterprise Server fully supported on Exchange 2010 - 09-Dec-2009
Exchange 2010 Update Rollup 1 is now released - 09-Dec-2009
Upgrading Exchange ActiveSync to Exchange 2010 - 08-Dec-2009
Finding High Item Count Folders Using the Exchange Management Shell - 07-Dec-2009

Office Communications Server Website | RSS Feed
Interoperability support between Cisco and Microsoft products in unified communications - 09-Dec-2009

Virtualization

Dynamic Data Center Alliance Website | RSS Feed
Microsoft Acquires Opalis Software - 11-Dec-2009
Guest Blog: Microsoft Partners with NetApp to Drive Efficiency and Agility in the Data Center - 09-Dec-2009
Don’t Miss the Webcast This Week on December 11th, 2009! - 07-Dec-2009

Med-V Enterprise Desktop Virtualization Website | RSS Feed
Cool Windows 7 Deployment Links - 08-Dec-2009
Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V) Administration Video Series now available for download - 07-Dec-2009

Windows Virtualization Website | RSS Feed
Microsoft Acquires Opalis Software - 11-Dec-2009
Offline Virtual Machine Servicing Tool v2.1 - 10-Dec-2009
More on today’s announcement with NetApp - 08-Dec-2009

Windows Desktop and Embedded

Windows Embedded Website | RSS Feed
Windows Embedded Standard 2011 Compatible Applications - 11-Dec-2009
Offline-building Windows Embedded Standard 2011 Images - 10-Dec-2009
Non Plug-and-Play Properties Do Not Display Correctly - 08-Dec-2009
December 2009 Optional Updates are Available for OEMs - 08-Dec-2009

Windows Live

Windows Live Photo and Video Website | RSS Feed
App-V and support for applications with custom shell extensions - 07-Dec-2009

Windows Live Team General News Website | RSS Feed
Movie Maker: YouTube publishing issue now resolved - 10-Dec-2009

Windows Mobile

Microsoft Tag Website | RSS Feed
Tag being used in Canada! - 10-Dec-2009
Pagine Si is now using Microsoft Tag in their directories - 08-Dec-2009
Tag & Small Businesses - 08-Dec-2009
Why Tag? - 08-Dec-2009

Windows Mobile Website | RSS Feed
Michael’s Top 10 Mobile Apps: 10 - Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile - 11-Dec-2009
Geocast: Michael’s Top 10 Windows Phone Apps - Kickoff - 10-Dec-2009

Windows Server and Infrastructure

Active Directory Services Website | RSS Feed
Windows XP Power Management and Group Policy Preferences - 11-Dec-2009
Control Extended Protection for Authentication using Security Policy - 10-Dec-2009
Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and the Group Policy Central Store - 09-Dec-2009
New Directory Services KB Articles/Blogs 11/29-12/5 - 07-Dec-2009

Advanced Windows Debugging and Troubleshooting Website | RSS Feed
Pool Fragmentation - 11-Dec-2009
Part 3: ETW Methods of Tracing - 11-Dec-2009

Clustering and High Availability Website | RSS Feed
Copying VHDs onto a CSV Disk? Use the Coordinator Node! - 09-Dec-2009

Commerce Server Website | RSS Feed
2 New Important Updates for Windows Server 2008 R2 Domains - 09-Dec-2009

Server Core Ask the Core Team Website | RSS Feed
Windows Server 2008 R2 Live Migration – “The devil may be in the networking details.” - 10-Dec-2009
Windows 7 Useful Links - 08-Dec-2009
Using Pass-Through Disks in Conjunction with Clustered Shared Volumes (CSV) in Windows Server 2008 R2 Failover Clusters - 07-Dec-2009

Storage Website | RSS Feed
What to do when your system misbehave - 09-Dec-2009

Windows Server Division Website | RSS Feed
Symantec solution available for “Network Path Not Found” and other errors. - 11-Dec-2009
Forget a Wreath, Deck Your Halls with the Windows Server 2008 R2 Poster - 11-Dec-2009
Windows Server and Windows Azure come together in a new STB organization: the Server & Cloud Division - 08-Dec-2009

Windows Server Networking and Remote Access

Microsoft Enterprise Networking Website | RSS Feed
New Networking-related KB articles for the week of November 29 – December 5 - 10-Dec-2009

Windows Server Networking Documentation Website | RSS Feed
New “Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 DirectAccess IT Infrastructure Compatibility” white paper published - 11-Dec-2009
The BranchCache Design Guide is Now Live in the Microsoft Download Center! - 09-Dec-2009

Windows Systems Management

Scripting Hey Scripting Guys  Website | RSS Feed
Hey, Scripting Guy! Quick-Hits Friday: The Scripting Guys Respond to a Bunch of Questions (12/11/09) - 11-Dec-2009
Hey, Scripting Guy! Can I Call WMI Methods More Easily with Windows PowerShell 2.0? - 10-Dec-2009
Hey, Scripting Guy! How Can I Use WMI to Set the Screen Saver Timeout Value on Workstations? - 09-Dec-2009
Hey, Scripting Guy! How Can I Ensure My Scripts Won’t Fail on Various Windows Operating Systems? - 08-Dec-2009
Hey, Scripting Guy! Does the Win32_Volume WMI Class Support Filtering on the Name Property? - 07-Dec-2009

Windows Management Infrastructure  Website | RSS Feed
CIM 101 - 07-Dec-2009

Over the past couple of weeks I have been teaching Social Networking Security to the US Military in Germany and training Windows Server 2008 R2 to Microsoft Partners in London and Coventry. After l my travels it’s great to be back teaching in the UK. My schedule is filling up for next year with bookings into June, including destinations as exotic as Seattle, Oslo, Copenhagen, Germany, Cyprus, Dubai, The Netherlands and Russia.

I almost forgot how busy London is. Last night I went into the very heart of the city to Leicester Square and witnessed the premiere of David Tenants latest movie St Tinian’s 2. Now that’s one movie where I am glad that I was on the outside rather than the watching the movie. After a rushed meal I went to see Michael Caine’s latest and in my opinion one of his greatest movies “Harry Brown”. Now surely he has to win some kind of award for the role of the OAP vigilante who isn’t goanna take anymore crap! Go and see the movie, it rocks!

Of course you can’t come to London and not ride the Tube! You know after travelling on many of the world’s metro systems I have come to the conclusion that London is by far the worst. It’s dirty, uncomfortable and packed. London can definitely take lesions from Copenhagen, Barcelona and Los Angeles who have the best. How you guys do this every day, I simply don’t know.

Next week I am back in London and Germany teaching Windows 7 to MS partners. You know it’s amazing that the internet is a buzz of requests for wish list features in Windows 8! Common guy’s 7 is just out. At Microsoft as you development never stops and below is a wish list for features in Windows 7 & Windows Server 8:

Windows Server 8 Wishlist

• Recycle bin GUI
• GUI for Granular Password Policies (think Specops Password Policy Basic)
• Direct Access for SBS
• Remote admin tools for Windows Mobile & Other mobile platforms.
• GUI for dual boot into VHD
• Encryption on by default
• Simplify the addition & management of Roles & features
• The ability to load the GUI from Server Core. Remember the WIN command in 3.1
• The addition of an IPS (Intrusion Prevention System) Linked to Windows Defender. This should be a standard free feature for ALL users.

• A Windows light edition where user sees the desktop but all apps / features are in the cloud! This would cut down on piracy. Like Google Chrome.
• Simplify the interface. Combine options / features.
• Fewer Versions.
• Automatic Maintenance: Remove the need for user to patch OS
• Integrate Media Centre & Media Player (consistent look & feel)
• Improve Off-Line file user & and file synchronisation
• Better integration with Live Services
• Improve storage management to include cloud items, i.e. Sky Drive etc.
• Improve Security to protect against malware threats.
• Refresh some of the GUI’s, make them more interesting, i.e. regional settings, make this a map of the world (like Linux).
• Introduce multiple desktops switching between physical and virtual machines,
• Make the OS more open by giving users the ability to download add ons / apps like I Phone, Blackberry apps, but for the desktop.
• Tighter integration of applications into the interface, i.e. remove the dependence on icons.

There you have it. That’s mine (so far), there will be many more…