Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Project6 1/15/09 11:25 AM Page 1
Foley: Microsoft’s Morphing Business Model
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 9 R E D M O N D M A G . C O M
who’s afraid of
Scareware?Fear not. Here aresome ways to take
the fright out ofcrippling malware.
Getting More out ofWindows Server 2008
Taking UnifiedCommunicationsStep by Step
Readers Take a Likingto OpenOffice.org 3
+
who’s afraid of
Scareware?
0209red_Cover.v5 1/13/09 2:47 PM Page 1
Prices shown are HP Direct prices; reseller and retail prices may vary. Prices shown are subject to change and do not include applicable state and local taxes or shipping to recipient’s address. Offers cannot be combined with any other offeror discount and are good while supplies last. All featured offers available in U.S. only. Savings based on HP published list price of configure-to-order equivalent (Enclosure: $5,818 – $2,319 instant savings = SmartBuy price of $3,499;DL Server: $4,325 – $1,396 instant savings = SmartBuy price of $2,929; Tape Drive: $1,498 – $249 instant savings = SmartBuy price of $1,249). Financing available through Hewlett-Packard Financial Services Company (HPFS) toqualified commercial customers in the U.S. and subject to credit approval and execution of standard HPFS documentation. Prices shown are based on a lease of 48 months in terms with a fair market value purchase option at the end of theterm. Rates based on an original transaction size between $3,000 and $25,000. Other rates apply for other terms and transaction sizes. Financing available on transactions greater than $3,000 through April 30, 2009. HPFS reserves theright to change or cancel these programs at any time without notice. AMD, the AMD arrow logo, AMD Opteron and combinations thereof, are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. © 2009 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
To learn more, call 1-888-685-9645 or visit hp.com/servers/affordable13
ALTERNATIVE THINKING ABOUT MANAGING COSTS:
Lean price. Mean technology.Making trade-offs isn’t in your job description, is it? So the challenge is to make the most of your resources, while giving your business the technology to reach its full potential. HP storage and server solutions do just that—erasing the gap between cost and innovation, while delivering reliable ProLiant technology. And with affordable prices, business canthrive; not just survive. Let others try to think outside the box—we’re rethinking what goes on inside it.
Technology for better business outcomes.
HP Ultrium 448 SAS Internal Tape Drive Bundle$1,249 (Save $249)Lease for just $31/mo.
[PN: AG735A]
• 400 GB compressed capacity in half-height form factor
• Ships with Data Protector Express Software, One-Button Disaster Recovery, and a Host Bus Adapter
Smart BuySmart Buy
HP BladeSystem c3000 Enclosure$3,499 (Save $2,319)Lease for just $86/mo.
[PN: 481657-001]
• Supports up to 8 server/storageblade devices in a 6U enclosure
• 3-year limited warranty
HP ProLiant BL495c G5 Server$2,599Lease for just $64/mo.[PN: 505638-B21]
• Quad-Core AMD Opteron™ 2300 Series Processor with AMD Virtualization™ technology
• 4 GB memory; supports up to 128 GB memory
HP ProLiant DL385 G5p Server$2,929 (Save $1,396)Lease for just $72/mo.
[PN: 501542-005]
• 2 Quad-Core AMD Opteron™ 2300 Series Processors with AMD Virtualization™ technology
• Supports up to 6 large form factor, or 16 small form factor (with optional drive cage), high-performance SAS hard drives
• 8 GB memory • Integrated Lights-Out 2 (iLO 2), Systems
Insight Manager, SmartStart• 3-year limited warranty
Smart Buy
I0260_M2979_A_R.indd 1 12/16/08 12:44:50 PM
Project2 1/6/09 1:46 PM Page 1
R E D M O N D R E P O R T
10 In Touch with the Future HP’s new line of touch-screen desktops could bethe beginning of the end forthe mouse.
10 Spying on the PiratesV.i. Labs’ anti-piracy application can be as relevantto IT as it is to ISVs.
12 Windows 7 Passes Beta TestsThus far, Vista’s successor islooking better than itsmaligned predecessor.
CO LU M N S
6 Barney’s Rubble: Doug BarneyScareware Creeps
42 Mr. Roboto: Jeffery HicksEvent Reporting Revisited
44 Security Advisor: Joern WetternSecure Virtual Networks
48 Foley on Microsoft:Mary Jo FoleyMicrosoft’s Morphing Business Model
Who’sAfraid ofScareware?Are you? Bogus pop-ups that hidecrippling malware can bring networks to their knees. Redmondpresents some methods to stop scareware and fix the damages that it inflicts.
Page 18
COV E R STO RY
The Independent Voice of the Microsoft IT CommunityRedmond
ContentsF E B R UA RY 2009
COVER PHOTO BY RICK DAHMS
R E V I E WS
Reader Review15 OpenOffice.org 3: Free and Easy
Now 15 years old, the open source productivity suite is still gaining fansand improving compatibility with its chief rival, Microsoft Office. Readersweigh in on version 3 of the suite.
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE 4 Redmondmag.com | 8 [email protected] | 47 Ad and Editorial Indexes
F E AT U R E S
31 5 Hot Tips: Get Moreout of WindowsServer 2008IT pros are learning how totake advantage of the hiddentalents in Microsoft’s newestserver OS. Our five tips willhelp get you started.
Page 37
37 Unified Communications,Step by StepUnified communications (UC) is anall-encompassing term that describesa variety of applications. While theidea of implementing UC can seemoverwhelming, the best approach isto take it bit by bit.
0209red_TOC3.v6 1/13/09 10:53 AM Page 3
4 | February 2009 | Redmond | Redmondmag.com |
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 9
Redmondmag.com • RCPmag.com • RedDevNews.com • VisualStudioMagazine.com • VirtualizationReview.comMCPmag.com • CertCities.com • TCPmag.com • ENTmag.com • RedmondEvents.com • ADTmag.com • ESJ.com
Resources Enter FindIT Code>> Daily News News>> E-Mail Newsletters Newsletters >> Free PDFs and Webcasts TechLibrary>> Subscribe/Renew Subscribe>> Your Turn Editor Queries YourTurn
REDMONDMAG.COM RESOURCES
Ultimate Virtualization BuyersGuide Now Online!Our sister publication, Virtualization Review (online at
VirtualizationReview.com), recently published its first
annual Virtualization Buyers Guide. This is the guide to check
out if you’re in the market for any kind of virtualization product.
You’ll get an overview of everything available from both the
major players and niche vendors in more than a dozen
categories, including:
• Application Virtualization
• Desktop Virtualization
• Management & Optimization
Browse the online version now (FindIT code: VBGuide), or download it in
PDF format (FindIT code: VBGuidePDF).
VirtualizationReview.com
Practical, Hands-On.NET AdviceIs the developer team in your life looking for hands-on,
practical .NET how-to information? Point them to our Practical ASP.NET column
by Peter Vogel, found exclusively on our sister site VisualStudioMagazine.com.
Every week Vogel shows exactly how developers can get more out of ASP.NET.
Recent topics include:
• Routing Your ASP.NET Application
• Creating Master/Detail and Update Pages with Entity Framework
• Using the Entity Model to Create an ASP.NET Page
• Looking (Suspiciously) at SP1
Get all of Vogel’s columns online now. FindIT code: VSVogel
Questions with ...Lee Pender
Redmond Executive
Editor, Features Lee
Pender gives us his take
on Microsoft in 2009.
Read his blog at sibling
site RCPmag.com.
FindIT code: PenderBlog
You seem harsh on
Windows Vista. Where does that
come from?
Entirely from reader feedback, at about
80 percent negative. Vista’s a fun
punch line now. It’s getting OJ Simpson
mileage—it just keeps popping up.
Apple seems to benefit from Vista’s
troubles. Why doesn’t it do better in
the enterprise?
Many companies have huge investments
in Microsoft infrastructure, but not
many have invested in anything from
Apple. Skipping Vista is one thing;
ripping and replacing is another.
Besides, Apple doesn’t want to be an
enterprise company—that’s uncool.
No one likes making predictions, but
how about one for Microsoft in 2009?
How about: Microsoft gets serious
about SaaS. Seriously serious.
Redmondmag.com
Lee Pender
Throughout Redmond, you’ll discover some stories contain FindIT codes. Key in those codes at Redmondmag.com to quicklyaccess expanded content for thearticles containing those codes.
What AreFindIT Codes?
VisualStudioMagazine.com
• Power & Cooling
• Server Virtualization
• And many more!
0209red_OnlineTOC4.v4 1/13/09 10:54 AM Page 4
1TCO estimates based on IBM internal study. IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com and System Storage are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation, registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the Web at “Copyright and trademark information” at www.ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml.© 2008 IBM Corporation. All rights reserved.
With the world’s data growing dramatically, IBM storage virtualization solutions
can help you gain control in a responsible, energy-efficient way. The IBM
System Storage™ SAN Volume Controller can reduce storage growth by up to
20% and boost utilization by as much as 30%. And combined with IBM tape
solutions, some companies have reduced their TCO by as much as 50%1. A
greener world starts with greener business. Greener business starts with IBM.
GIANT LEAPS.SMALLFOOTPRINTS.
SYSTEMS. SOFTWARE. SERVICES. FOR A GREENER WORLD.Get our storage virtualization whitepaper at ibm.com/green/info
Project5 9/12/08 2:39 PM Page 1
by Doug Barney
I like things simple. To me a hacker issomeone who messes with another’scomputer. Based on that, I hate hackers.
My first personal experience was inthe late ’80s as Editor inChief of AmigaWorldmagazine. Users from allover the world sent ussoftware to try. We evensold disks packed withutilities, images andsounds every month.
My first virus came froma Swedish floppy, and manysoon followed. Next thing I knew, manyof our computers were a mess. Ouranswer was to set up floppy-only systemsto test the software before sending it offto readers or using it ourselves.
Then came spyware, which firstappeared on the Amiga as software thatlaid in wait and then took over yourscreen with a screeching skull.
About 20 years later scareware is aliveand well. My biggest scareware hit wasthree and a half years ago when my sonNick’s PC got a pop-up claiming to havefound all manner of viruses. He calledfor help. I took over, never clicked themessage, but bad stuff started happeninganyway. Milliseconds later pop-ups wereflying everywhere, including what seemedlike an ordinary Microsoft error message.
I lost all admin rights and a workingTask Manager, and Add/Remove programs suddenly stopped working.Desperate, I ran multiple scans, such asMicrosoft Anti-Malware, as well asanti-spyware and anti-virus tools.
The battle commenced as my toolsdeleted bad code only to be beaten backby more pop-ups. Finally there was abit of a détente and the pop-ups calmed
down, but performance wasstill crippled. I was lookingat an hours-long manual filecleanup, or I could justreformat and start over. Asit was a spare computerwith no critical documents,I just wiped her clean andstarted fresh.
The culprit was SpySherrif,which had the audacity to have an actualWeb site offering to sell me tools to fixthe computer SpySherrif itself broke!
I’ll never forget this incident or for-give those that infected me. Longtimereaders might remember I coveredsome of this ground in one of my first-ever Redmond magazine columns.
Here’s what we, as a community, needto do about scareware:
• Public policy: Push the federal gov-ernment and international law authoritiesto enact and enforce tougher laws.
• Fight back: Report these creeps andpush vendors such as Microsoft to pursuethem. Microsoft, to its tremendouscredit, has sued many scareware makers,but there are many more to be had.
• Protect yourself: Check out myfeature story (“Who’s Afraid of Scare-ware?”) on p. 18 for tips on protectingyour computers.
How can we put scareware creeps outof business? Thoughts welcome [email protected]. –
urkers, flamers and assorted troublemakers love tofight over the meaning of “hacker.” Some claimhackers are skilled users who push the envelope—
and should be looked up to. The subtler ones create gradationsof meaning: white, gray and black hat.
L
Barney’sRubble RedmondEditorial Staff
Editor in Chief Doug Barney
Editor Ed Scannell
Executive Editor, Features Lee Pender
Managing Editor Wendy Gonchar
Associate Managing Editor Katrina Carrasco
Contributing Editors
Mary Jo FoleyJeffery HicksPeter Varhol
Joern Wettern
Art Staff
Art Director Brad Zerbel
Senior Graphic Designer Alan Tao
Online/Digital Media
Editor, Redmondmag.com Becky Nagel
Executive Editor, New Media Michael Domingo
Online News Editor Kurt Mackie
Associate Editor, Web Gladys Rama
Web Producer Shane Lee
Director, Web Development Rita Zurcher
Reaching the Staff
Staff may be reached via e-mail, telephone, fax, or mail.
A list of editors and contact information is also available
online at Redmondmag.com.
E-mail: To e-mail any member of the staff, please use the
following form: [email protected]
Framingham Office (weekdays, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET)
Telephone 508-875-6644; Fax 508-875-6633
600 Worcester Road, Suite 204, Framingham, MA 01702
Irvine Office (weekdays, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. PT)
Telephone 949-265-1520; Fax 949-265-1528
16261 Laguna Canyon Road, Suite 130, Irvine, CA 92618
Corporate Office (weekdays, 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. PT)
Telephone 818-734-1520; Fax 818-734-1528
9121 Oakdale Avenue, Suite 101, Chatsworth, CA 91311
The opinions expressed within the articles and other contents
herein do not necessarily express those of the publisher.
REDMONDMAG.COM
FEBRUARY 2009 ■ VOL. 15 ■ NO. 2
President & Neal VitaleChief Executive Officer
Senior Vice President & Richard VitaleChief Financial Officer
Executive Vice President Michael J. Valenti
President, Events Dick Blouin
Vice President, Finance & Christopher M. CoatesAdministration
Vice President, Digital Media, Abraham M. LangerAudience Marketing
Vice President, Information Erik A. LindgrenTechnology & Web Operations
Vice President, Digital Media, Doug MashkuriAdvertising
Vice President, Carmel McDonaghAttendee Marketing
Chairman of the Board Jeffrey S. Klein
President Henry Allain
Vice President, Publishing Matt N. Morollo
Vice President, Editorial Director Doug Barney
Director, Marketing Michele Imgrund
Online Marketing Director Tracy S. Cook
Marketing Programs Manager Videssa Djucich
6 | February 2009 | Redmond | Redmondmag.com |
THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF THE MICROSOFT IT COMMUNITY
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ALAN TAO
Scareware Creeps
0209red_Rubble6.v6 1/13/09 11:03 AM Page 6
CARBONCOUNTINGFOR BEANCOUNTERS.IBM collaboration software and services connect people faster wherever
they are, which means less jet fuel, energy and money. And IBM software’s
advanced deduplication and data compression can lower the energy and
space costs of your collaboration infrastructure by up to half. A greener world
starts with greener business. Greener business starts with IBM.
SYSTEMS. SOFTWARE. SERVICES. FOR A GREENER WORLD.See the green demo at ibm.com/green/collaboration
IBM, the IBM logo and ibm.com are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation, registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the Web at “Copyright and trademark information” at www.ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml. © 2008 IBM Corporation. All rights reserved.
Project5 9/12/08 1:27 PM Page 1
upgrade to get into a different version.It also tells you what programs will andwon’t work, and which just need anupgrade to work on Vista.
This seems pretty clear-cut to me. Ithink this one should go to Microsoft.I also think that the consumer has aduty to get some education about aproduct before purchasing it. Thesticker is just a guideline to show thata computer could use Vista. Microsoftshouldn’t have to hold the hand ofeveryone who wants to buy a computer.Either the consumer should do someresearch, or they should get a salespersonthey trust who knows the difference.
EthanLas Vegas
Microsoft advertised Vista capablewithout any qualifications to a cus-tomer base ranging from first-timebuyers to expert’s experts. This mode ofadvertising guaranteed that at leastsome of Microsoft’s customers weregoing to be the victims of a “sin ofomission” theft. For Microsoft to nowclaim it did nothing misleading is dishonest in the extreme. If today’slegal system allows Microsoft to getaway with this, then today’s legal systemis contemptible in the extreme.
Dave W.Los Angeles
Bad Timing for IBMRegarding Lee Pender’s RedmondReport article on the open source client
desktop from IBM [“IBM ToutsMicrosoft-Free Desktop,” January2009], I believe that any company withat least 500 or more employees doesn’thave the financial stability to even tryto make this switch with the currenteconomic crisis. The hardware andsoftware switch alone would not justifythe cost. This does not even includetraining for end users and the supportthat would be needed to run these opensource clients.
Employee freezes and budget cuts arethe No. 1 reason I think that right nowis not the time to be looking into aswitch. What you save on licensing andsoftware would only give you stresswhen it came to support.
Michael J. O’ConnellPhiladelphia, Pa.
A Vote for WyseAfter reading Tom Valovic’s article,“Thin Is Still In” [Redmond Report,January 2009], I’d like to share my ownexperience with Wyse.
We use Wyse thin clients in several ofour offices, with most of them being atleast four years old. They have almost nomaintenance or support issues; they justwork and don’t need constant upgrading.Compared to the PCs that we also use—which are on a three-year lifecycle—thecost differences are striking.
We’re adding many more of the Wyseterminals in the near future—thenewest ones are very nice—so ourhardware costs and support costs are
about to go down dramatically. I highlyrecommend them. Floyd
Washington, D.C.
Windows Mobile FixesIn her column, Mary Jo Foley offeredsuggestions for Microsoft’s mobilebusiness [“5 Ways Redmond Can FixIts Mobile Mess,” January 2009], and Ihave a few more.
My customers consistently indicatethat the iPhone’s UI is vastly superior toWindows Mobile, and that BlackBerrynavigation is far better. Microsoft needsto adopt a similar look and feel for theWindows Mobile platform.
The company also needs to chuck freeapps like Media Player because they’repathetic at this stage compared to whatelse is freely available on the Web. Easyaccess to great Web services—mapping,videos sites tailored for WindowsMobile, better support for GPS, etc.—is also essential. Johann Blake
Jerusalem, Israel
8 | February 2009 | Redmond | Redmondmag.com |
More on Vista Capable
In regards to the Vista Capable confusion [Nov. 19, 2008,Redmond Report, “Yang Yanked from Yahoo!” Mailbag: YourVerdicts on ‘Vista Capable’ Suit], I’m just wondering why no oneis using the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor as recommended onMicrosoft’s Web site. The advisor tells you what version of Vistayour computer is “capable” of using and what you need to
Send your rants and raves to [email protected] include your first and last name, city and state. If weuse it, you’ll be entered into adrawing for a Redmond T-shirt!
Whaddya Think?!?!
0209red_Letters8.v4 1/13/09 10:55 AM Page 8
ECO CONSCIOUS.CFO CONSCIOUS.
SYSTEMS. SOFTWARE. SERVICES. FOR A GREENER WORLD.See our Webcast on greener processes at ibm.com/green/soa
IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com and Smart SOA are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation, registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. A current list of IBM trade-marks is available on the Web at “Copyright and trademark information” at www.ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml. Other company, product and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others. © 2008 IBM Corporation. All rights reserved.
IBM’s Smart SOA™ approach can help you increase control and visibility of
your business processes while limiting your carbon impact. With IBM’s help,
companies like Citigroup have reduced application-processing time from two
weeks to two days. Efficiency goes up. Energy costs go down. A greener
world starts with greener business. Greener business starts with IBM.
Project2 11/12/08 2:31 PM Page 1
RedmondReport
By Lee Pender
The latest line of desktop PCsfrom Hewlett-Packard Co.,released in January, comes pre-
loaded with Windows Vista Business64, but that’s not the OS that has HPofficials excited—it’s the upcomingWindows 7 that really has them buzzing.
That’s because Windows 7 will havetouch-screen capabilities, and the HPdx9000 TouchSmart Business PC is allabout tactile, mouse-free computing.As its name suggests, the dx9000TouchSmart boasts a 22-inch, touch-enabled screen. HP officials hopethey’re on the forefront of a new tech-nology paradigm. While touch-screentechnology is nothing new, Windows 7could be the OS that boosts touchbeyond its traditional markets.
“We’re looking forward to Windows7 as it relates to this product,” says KirkGodkin, manager, Americas businessdesktops at HP. “Customers are natu-rally going to say, ‘give me a device,give me a client, give me a PC thattakes full advantage of the experiencethat Windows 7 is going to deliver. Ifit’s going to have these built-in attrib-utes as relates to touch, give me adevice I can roll out in my environ-ment.’ Yeah, I’m looking forward to it.”
Aside from Windows Vista, theTouchSmart boasts an Intel Core 2Duo P8400 processor, 4GB of memory,a 320GB hard drive and a Virtual LANdriver, among other features, accordingto a January HP press release. But it’sthe screen that makes the device espe-cially attractive.
Receptive MarketCustomers aren’t waiting until therelease of Windows 7 to deploy theTouchSmart, Godkin says. It’s makinginroads with software vendors that
already have touch functionality, as wellas in markets that have been touch-heavy for years, such as hospitality. Oneearly customer isRoyal Oak, Mich.-based GuestMVP,which is lookinginto puttingTouchSmart PCsin luxury boxes insports arenas.
“Arena guestscould order foodand cocktails, orwatch replays of thegame,” Godkin says.
But HP is looking beyond alreadytouch-friendly markets. Health care willbe a major target area, Godkin says—andso will the enterprise in general. Mobiledevices such as the iPod and iPhone have
acclimated users to touch interfaces,Godkin explains, and habits formedusing those devices could spill into enter-
prise computing. “Itremains to be seenuntil the product’slaunched how addic-tive it really can be,”Godkin adds.
And, of course,Windows 7 shouldprovide a boost.“There’s an address-able market evenwithout Windows 7,”Godkin says. “You
add Windows 7 and it’s a multiplier.Only [users] can tell you how earlythey’re going to adopt or how they’regoing to move.”
In Touch with the FutureHP’s new line of touch-screen desktops could be the beginning of the end for the mouse.
10 | February 2009 | Redmond | Redmondmag.com |
Spying on the PiratesV.i. Labs’ anti-piracy application can beas relevant to IT as it is to ISVs.
By Lee Pender
Piracy isn’t just for softwarevendors anymore. But if ITdepartments can’t stop piracy,
they should at least track it.That’s the message from V.i.
Laboratories Inc., a Waltham, Mass.-based provider of software-protectionapplications. In December, V.i. Labsbegan offering free piracy analysis tocompanies that are vulnerable to havingapplications copied or cracked.
Any company that develops softwareand uses it externally should worryabout piracy and tampering, says VictorDeMarines, VP of products at V.i.Labs. And DeMarines isn’t just talking
about frequent targets of pirates such asmakers of video games or application-software providers—he’s also talkingabout large IT organizations in enter-prises that have their own dev teams.
“We’re dealing with organizationsthat are very concerned about theirintellectual property [IP],” DeMarinessays. “Companies that are starting topush outside of their perimeter—this iswhen the concern raises. As people do abetter job to lock down their perimeter,the application becomes the way in. Youcan embed into an application mal-ware that can do damage ... It becomesan avenue of attack into the enterprise.”
continued on page 12
continued on page 12
0209red_RedReport10-12.v6 1/13/09 12:51 PM Page 10
1For complete details, go to ibm.com/green/claim. IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, PowerVM and IBM Power 570 are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation, registered in many jurisdictionsworldwide. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the Web at “Copyright and trademark information” at www.ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml. © 2008 IBM Corporation. All rights reserved.
BLACK IS THENEW GREEN.Running business apps on servers that aren’t scalable, along with demanding
service levels, is consuming energy at an exponential rate. Break the cycle
with highly scalable IBM servers. IBM PowerVM™ virtualization technology
can help you consolidate workloads from twelve single-application 16-core
HP Integrity rx7640 systems onto two 16-core Power™ 570 systems for up to
18% higher performance and reduced energy requirements of up to 44%1. A
greener world starts with greener business. Greener business starts with IBM.
SYSTEMS. SOFTWARE. SERVICES. FOR A GREENER WORLD.Learn how to improve app performance at ibm.com/green/performance
Project2 11/12/08 2:29 PM Page 1
12 | February 2009 | Redmond | Redmondmag.com |
RedmondReport
By Ed Scannell
Could it be that Microsoft is onthe way to actually making goodon promises to deliver a much-
improved successor to Windows Vista? Corporate admins shouldn’t get overly
excited by the prospect, but the wordamong testers of early beta versions ofthe Build 7,000 series of Windows 7 isthat Vista’s heir apparent runs signifi-cantly faster on new and older machinesthan Windows XP and Vista run.
“I really like what I see from this [firstrelease of] beta code; it’s a solid piece ofwork. Frankly, I’m somewhat surprised,”says one beta tester with a large Chicago-based financial firm. He adds that it’s stillvery early in the beta cycle, which givesMicrosoft ample opportunity to “muckthings up.” But, that said, it also givesMicrosoft more time to make the coderun even faster, he adds.
The Windows 7 Build 7,000 repre-sents the first series of what figures tobe many beta builds. Builds in the6,000 series were pre-beta builds.Microsoft had initially intended tomake Windows 7 available to a smallcircle of testers, but Build 7,000 wasleaked and became widely available onmany Web sites by early January.
The fact that Windows 7 appears asthough it will run on a wider variety of
older machines than Vista (whichrequires at least 2GB of memory foracceptable performance) figures towin a lot of hearts and minds—if notwallets— among cost-conscious cor-porate users.
Another beta tester, who wishes toremain anonymous, says he ran theearly code on a system with only 1GBof memory and experienced accept-able performance.
“It would be extremely rare, evenunique, for Microsoft to deliver anext-generation operating system thatactually required fewer hardwareresources than the operating systembefore it—but boy, I’d take it,” saysJohn Henderson, a networking admin-istrator with a Nevada-based utility.
But you can’t please all the people allthe time. Some reviewers still cite niggling problems with the somewhat-reworked interface. Others are worriedabout the changes Redmond has madeto the User Account Control (UAC),which might affect some applicationsand installers.
As of press time, Microsoft officialswould not comment on when the firstbeta of Windows 7 would be formallydelivered. They continue to say thatthe finished product will arrive ineither late 2009 or early 2010. —
But they will move eventually, Godkinbelieves, and not only to touch—they’llalso move to voice recognition, meaningthe mouse and keyboard could eventuallybecome as antiquated as the punch card.
“Whether it’s a notebook or evenyour standard monitor, I expect [touch]to be just about everywhere, and Ithink the applications are going to beright alongside with it,” Godkin says.“Touch [will be] everywhere within afew years. The mobile stuff has really
pushed that off. When you start talkingabout voice-recognition software—when that works better—between thetwo, you’re going to be accomplishingeverything you accomplish today with amouse and a keyboard. For us at HP,we’re seeing a natural evolution. To liveinside of a digital world and to getmore accomplished, that’s going tohave to be developed out.” —
Lee Pender ([email protected]) isRedmond’s executive editor, features.
Tracking TheftPiracy isn’t something that IT shopscan stop, but they can understand howand where it happens, how it affectstheir businesses and what they can doabout it, DeMarines says.
With the rate of pirated software atabout 20 percent in the United Statesand approaching 70 percent globally,according to DeMarines, understandinghow to track and respond to piracy isas important now as it has ever been. Adeclining economy, he adds, will likelyonly exacerbate the problem.
“It’s not a space of absolute security,”he says. “If you’re worried about IP,you’re going to immediately move to amore preventative protection strategy.”
For V.i. Labs’ customers, that strategyincludes using CodeArmor Intelligence,an app that developers can embed intheir software. CodeArmor Intelligencetracks how and where pirates have tam-pered with software, and reports thatinformation back to the customer.
“[Pirates will] go and modify thebinaries, and they’ll strip them out sothey’re no longer effective and thenrepackage it and release it to the piracychannel,” DeMarines says. “When wesee that the software has been tam-pered with, we have functionality thatwill collect a set of information andbring that info back to the ISV.”
Fighting for ProtectionIt doesn’t stop piracy, DeMarines says,but it lets companies know who’scracking their software and who’s usingit illegally. With that information,companies can track down users ofpirated software and take action, oftenthrough the legal system.
Still, DeMarines emphasizes, it’s notsoftware alone that will curb piracy. ITshops have to be tenacious in fightingit once they’ve discovered where andhow it’s happening.
“There’s no magic bullet—it’s goingto be a combination of legal recourseand trying to leverage your products,”he says.
Windows 7 Passes Beta TestsThus far, Vista’s successor is looking better than itsmaligned predecessor.
Pirates, continued In Touch, continued
0209red_RedReport10-12.v6 1/13/09 12:51 PM Page 12
Introducing Sunbelt Exchange Archiver. Sunbelt Exchange Archiver (SEA) is a robust new product which delivers real enterprise-class email archiving, at a price that won’t break your budget. Get comprehensive legal and regulatory compliance. Reduce your Exchange storage by up to 80%. Securely store emails on your choice of media, using the built-in Hierarchical Storage Management. And, find archived emails rapidly with full-text search for e-discovery or compliance.
Compliance, e-Discovery, and legal readiness. If you need to archive emails for regulatory or legal reasons, SEA has you fully covered. Emails are stored in their original form, in whatever secure media you prefer, with complete flexibility on retention. Need to find an archived email? Simply use SEA’s powerful integrated full-text search of emails and attachments, and you’ll be ready at a moment’s notice for e-discovery or legal requests.
Seamless end-user experience. SEA is fully transparent for your users, whether they’re running Outlook, OWA, Blackberry devices or even Entourage on the Mac – with no special client software needed. Trusted end users can be delegated granular authority with the included web-interface or optional Outlook add-in. They can do off-line synchronization, and search, edit, forward, move or delete archived emails.
Up to 80% smaller message store. With SEA, you’ll dramatically reduce your Exchange storage. The benefits are clear: faster backup times, better Exchange performance, and faster recovery.
Journaling not required. It’s a fact that using the Exchange Journaling mailbox for archiving
dramatically affects server performance. With SEA, Journaling is an option – the program’s breakthrough Direct Archiving feature stores all emails immediately after they are received, keeping load off the Exchange server.
No more PST headaches! SEA gets rid of pesky PST files that are a major admin headache. SEA automatically finds them, imports them, and makes them part of your user’s archive.
Great for disaster recovery. No matter where you email is stored, business continuity is assured with SEA. Using the included web client, users can continue to see and use their email even if Exchange is down.
Archiving’s time has come for everyone. Contact us today and see how SEA solves your legal and compliance
headaches and immediately improves the performance of Exchange – while saving critical budget dollars.
Sunbelt Software Tel: 1-888-688-8457 or 1-727-562-0101 Fax: 1-727-562-5199 www.sunbeltsoftware.com [email protected]© 2007-2008 Sunbelt Software. All rights reserved. Sunbelt Exchange Archiver is a trademark of Sunbelt Software. All trademarks used are owned by their respective owners.
Get a Free Quote and See How Cost-effective Sunbelt Exchange Archiver Really Is!Email [email protected] or call 888-688-8457
Finally, Affordable Enterprise-Class Archiving
“Exchange performanceis suffering. Your userscomplain about email
storage. Your CEO wantslegal compliance.
Now what?”
Project15 6/6/08 2:46 PM Page 1
Created By
Solutions Inspiring Confi dence
nyone who has given birth to an Exchange network knows it can get sick and needs some nursing to stay healthy. In fact, 72% of Exchange Administrators surveyed* have “experienced” an Exchange disaster (feelslike the fl u)—usually from improper feeding and care.
Like many databases, constant adding and deleting can corrupt an Exchange data fi le so it eventually turns sour. Replicating, archiving and backing up the data doesn’t stop the stink—it just stores it. You’ve got to…
Fix the ProblemYou may have tried the free utilities to fi x Exchange. While they help, they are too tedious, time consuming and lightweight to keep your Exchange baby healthy. You’ve tried the milk, now try some meat!
Pamper Yourself with GOexchangeIt’s time to try GOexchange, from Lucid8, the #1 best-selling automated disaster prevention and optimization software for Microsoft Exchange 5.5, 2000, 2003 and 2007. As the mother of all Exchange tools, GOexchange helps prevent disasters, repair problems, improves performance, and saves you a lot of time.
A Prevent HiccupsGOexchange removes errors, warnings and inconsistencies within the database—before major corruption makes the database fail.
“GOexchange corrected 2,264 errors and 26 warnings.”
Paul Ramos, Director IT
Run, Don’t CrawlIn addition to fi xing the database, GOexchange removes sluggishness and improves performance by re-indexing and defragmenting the database to permanently remove white space and deleted items. The end result is increased performance and stability with a compact effi cient database that’s 31 to 55% smaller! Combine this with archiving and the database is up to 91% smaller—making it much quicker to backup.
“..our information stores were reduced by 45-50%.”
Dale Huitt, Systems Lead
Automated Babysitter
First, GOexchange is easy to setup and use. Twenty minutes—that’s all it takes to get your server up and running. Just schedule it, and walk away!
The software notifi es the users, validates the database, runs the backup, conducts a comprehensive system analysis and diagnostics, logs the errors, and notifi es you if it discovers a “stop” error—then it repairs and defragments the database, generates a thorough report and schedules the next event.
You can do some of this work yourself, but why waste time doing repetitive maintenance, when GOexchange can do it for you—faster and more effectively than doing it by hand.
“Life before GOexchange…was an absolute nightmare, late nights, long weekends and upset users.”
Marty Grogan, CTO
Stop The Crying
Why not call now, or visit our resource site and learn how to reduce the risk, and avoid the pain. Protect your exchange data, maximize performance, and spend a weekend at home—instead of babysitting Exchange.
Tired of Nursing Your Exchange Server?
.. .
“Without routine maintenance, decreasing performance, increased warnings and errors accumulate and database fragmentation transpires, leading to Exchange disasters.”
#1 BEST SELLER!
Special Offer• Free Software for analysis of your Exchange server!• Free White Paper—“Basic Feeding of Your Exchange Server.”• Free Essential Guide to Exchange Preventative Maintenance
Go to: www.Lucid8.com/GoREDCall 425.456.8477
E-mail: [email protected]
Project2 7/16/07 2:18 PM Page 1
Copyright © 2007 Lucid8. All rights reserved. Microsoft® Exchange Server is a registered trademark of Microsoft® Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. * Refers to Survey conducted by Lucid8. See press release for more details.
| Redmondmag.com | Redmond | February 2009 | 15
By Doug BarneyAlthough Microsoft Office can cost asmuch as $680, it remains, by far, thegold standard for productivity software.
A far cheaper alternative—in fact about$680 less expensive—is gearing up tochallenge the Redmond monopoly.OpenOffice.org 3 (OO.o3) came out latelast year, and many longtime fans, alongwith brand-new users, downloaded thetool the moment it came out.
The interest in this open source suite isclearly high. After I asked for commentsin my Redmond Report e-mail news-letter, 18 readers quickly wrote in andshared their OpenOffice.org experiences.
Installation Software, at least with conventionalpackages, starts with installation, andhere the news is good. “Installation wasvery easy, just double-click and answer afew questions; you have the option toregister or not,” says Craig Burgess, asystems and network administrator inMaryland. Burgess uses OO.o3 on Windows Vista. “If you have a previousversion, it will uninstall it and save yoursettings, install the new version and use
the saved settings with it or opt for aclean install.”
Other IT pros share this pleasant installexperience: “On a standalone PC, it’seasy,” says Clarke Rice, an ICT and com-puting instructor in Northern Ireland.“Download, run the .EXE file and keephitting ‘next.’ On my desktop PC and acouple of laptops, there are no worriesabout product activation telling me I’musing [it] in too many places even if I’mnot using them at the same time. Installa-tion is much quicker than [with] Office.”
Not all, however, are so enthralled.“Installing OpenOffice.org has alwaysbeen an all-or-nothing deal,” says Dennis R. Barr, manager, informationtechnology for Larkin Group Inc. inKansas City, Mo. “Even when updatingbecause of a patch, or upgrading fromone point version to the next, it’s alwaysbeen a full install. Delta patches justdon’t seem to fit into the developmentmodel for OO.o. [Version 3] was no dif-ferent. The option to preserve personalinfo works well, and installed extensionsare generally available after the upgrade,although that’s not always the case. I’mlooking at the Program Files folder ona Vista notebook at the moment; thereare folders for OpenOffice.org 2.3,OpenOffice.org 2.4, and OpenOffice.org3. Only the latest one has any content,but it’s an indicator that more thoroughhousekeeping would be helpful in keeping the folder tree neat and tidy.”
User Interface Users have mixed feelings about theOO.o3 interface. “If you want bells and
whistles, you might feel let down,” Ricesays. “If you want functional and steady,no problem. Writer and Calc are on apar with their Microsoft [counterparts].Impress isn’t as polished as PowerPoint,though, but is moving in the right direc-tion. Base is the only component likelyto give you major usability issues.”
Commonality, though, is one plus.“The user interface should feel right athome for Microsoft Office users, at leastthose using Office 2003 or earlier,” Barrsays. “It hasn’t been completelyredesigned like Microsoft did with theOffice 2007 interface, and this mayactually work to OO.o3’s advantage,particularly if people don’t want to learnthe new Ribbon UI that Office 2007 has.”
UsabilityAfter 15 years of development, OO.o3is feature-rich, functional and quiteusable, readers say. “I’ve never foundany problems with the usability ofOO.o, even going back to the earliestversions,” Barr reports. “It’s always beena serviceable substitute for MicrosoftOffice, and its feature set gets betterwith each release. Usability hasn’t suffered as features have been added—if anything, it’s gotten better.”
Rice moved to OO.o3 out of frustra-tion: “For professional reasons, I foundmyself using Word [97] again, and it’sone of very few programs I havebecome utterly angry with. When youfind yourself ready to throw the PC outthe window, it’s time to use a differentapplication. The problem was it rou-tinely reformatted lengthy documents.
OpenOffice.org 3: Free and EasyNow 15 years old, the open source productivity suite is still gaining fans andimproving compatibility with its chief rival, Microsoft Office. Readers weigh in on version 3 of the suite.
ReaderReview
OpenOffice.org 3Available at www.openoffice.orgSponsored by Sun Microsystems Inc. | 800-555-9786 | www.sun.com
Your turn to sound off on the latest Microsoft products
■ Microsoft Office 2007 fileimport filters
■ Shared worksheets■ VBA support; runs most
VBA macros■ Solver, a spreadsheet tool
to find the optimum resultbased on existing valuesand constraints
■ ODF 1.2 file format support■ Runs on Mac OS X
OpenOffice.org 3Key Features:
0209red_ReaderRev15-17.v5 1/13/09 11:01 AM Page 15
16 | February 2009 | Redmond | Redmondmag.com |
I changed font size to 10—or to Arial—for one paragraph and the preceding 20pages followed suit. You might bethinking, ‘There’s a way to stop that.’ Idon’t care how to stop it. As a user, Inever asked for it.”
So Rice moved back to OO.o. “Thebig plus: It did what I wanted withouttrying to help me. No (insert expletiveof your choice) paperclip. No reformat-ting a dozen paragraphs because Ireformat two words. Bliss.”
Some use both Office and OO.o3.“In a side-by-side comparison, the
two applications that I think are reallynoteworthy are Writer and Calc,”explains James Anderson, a networkadministrator in Ohio. “I prefer Writerover Word, purely for the way format-ting is accessed in Writer. To me, theway that styles in Writer are appliedmakes so much more sense and ismuch more intuitive than in Word.However, with Excel versus Calc, I’venever really switched over. Excel justfeels better to me.”
Stability When there are no, or few, complaintsabout stability, you have a stable product—and that describes OO.o3.“This is a very stable product that runsfine,” Burgess says.
Rice agrees: “It doesn’t crash andrecovers documents if there’s a powerloss. I’m happy.”
Barr adds: “OO.o has always workedas it was supposed to for me and hasbeen no more prone to strange behaviorthan any other large computer applica-tion I use.”
Compatibility with OfficeMicrosoft Office is the standard productivity suite, which means anycompetitor must be compatible. “Myexperience with OO.o3 has been prettypositive in the compatibility area,”Barr says. “There have been somehighly formatted Word docs that camein strangely altered. Some things inExcel have been interestingly recreated.In Impress, on the other hand, theability to read PowerPoint files has
been very clean. And the ability toexport those to a Flash format hasallowed me to reduce the size of somelarge PowerPoint files by as much as 80percent or more.”
Compatibility is good—but not per-fect. “For me, there are no problems,”Rice says. “I prepare documents, managemy finances and do the occasionalspreadsheet. Any time I’ve exported toOffice, there have been no problems.Very occasionally, there’s a .DOC filesent to me that has the formatting a bitscrewy or a .PPT file that’s a bit off.OO.o3 has the bonus of making sure
receivers see exactly what I intendedwith a built-in PDF export.”
There are even ways to make OO.o3work with Office 2007 formats. “I’m ableto read Microsoft Office 2007 files,though you need to save them in a different format. You can go back andforth when using the previous version ofMicrosoft Office format,” Burgess says.
But for heavy Visual Basic for Applica-tions (VBA) users, there’s a bit of trouble.“The compatibility issues have mostoften arisen when files with VBA macroswere opened. I don’t see that issue goingaway anytime soon,” Barr says.
Reader Greg Hughes agrees: “I’ve rec-ommended OpenOffice.org for bothhome and office use with good results.My only caveat is, ‘It’s better than Office,but it ain’t Office.’ If you need totalcompliance with a bit of VBA codethrown in, get Office,” says Hughes, anIT specialist with a large communitybank in the Midwest.
One reader, who goes by the handleAlpha Pup, blames Microsoft for any
incompatibilities: “Looking forward, Iprefer the product that will do what Ineed and save documents in a formatthat conforms to an open standard. I’mreally tired of the format-lockdowngame. My impression is that Microsoftadopts standards only after every meansto thwart it is exhausted.”
Manageability Integration and manageability are keyselling points for Microsoft Office incorporate environments, and in manage-ability OO.o3 is playing catch-up. “In anetworked office environment,” Barr
argues, “OpenOffice.org doesn’t have thebreadth of management and deploymenttools that are available for MicrosoftOffice, but a review of the Services wikion the OO.o Web site shows that thereare services and providers available fortaking on that kind of task. I suspect thisis going to be a growth industry, particu-larly in non-American markets.”
Integration, at least with other opensource tools, is more mature. “I have noproblems using OO.o as part of an overall open source solution stack for myown use,” Barr continues. “My companyuses Microsoft products, both Office andWindows, because the market we are inreally demands that platform. However,to the extent that I’ve been able, I installOO.o on new PCs as we get them, andrecommend it as a good tool for peopleasking about [what type of software theyshould use on their] home computers.”
Extensibility With OO.o3, extensions are created bythe community, rather than a single
ReaderReview
OpenOffice.org hasn’t been around for 16 years like MicrosoftOffice, but it did have its beginnings as a suite in 1994—so the
ages are close. German company StarDivision first wrote productivitysoftware for the Zilog Z80 computer, and later for the Intel-basedControl Program for Microcomputers operating system and theCommodore 64 computer.
Sun Microsystems Inc. bought the company in 1999 and turned itover to the open source community.
Versions are now available from Sun, Novell and IBM Corp.
A Brief History of OpenOffice.org:
0209red_ReaderRev15-17.v5 1/13/09 11:01 AM Page 16
vendor—and the overall picture is prettygood. “I use a few different OO.o exten-sions, among them CADOO.o andGdocs, as well as some Sun extensionsand others. I think this is one of thegreat things about OO.o3—that it fostersthis kind of extra functionality,” Barr says.
This user-generated model stands upnicely to Microsoft. “There’s good sup-port for add-ons,” Rice says. “MicrosoftOffice devotees may argue that Officehas a lot more built-in [templates],which it does. OO.o supports user add-ons, a la Mozilla. It’s also designedto work with Thunderbird. I guess itdepends whether the user wantsMicrosoft Office as a one-stop shop orif they’re happy to pick and choosefrom what else is out there.”
Innovation One of the faults of OO.o3 is that itdoesn’t really push the envelope, eitherin features or in the user interface. “Idon’t think there’s a lot of room left forinnovation in word processing—thisproblem has been more or less solved,”Rice says. “The last big revolution—theMicrosoft Office 2007 interface—leftme cold. I don’t have time to fiddlearound trying to figure it out. Anymore features would add to bloat andslow the product down.”
Many fault OO.o3 for trying to be tooclose to Microsoft. “A problem with alot of open source apps is that theyseem to be guided by what Microsoft orone of the other large, closed-sourcesoftware companies is doing,” Barrbelieves. “I don’t see this changingovernight, although with the rise ofWeb 2.0 and similar technologies, newparadigms are coming to maturity thatare going to inspire open source developers even as they confound proprietary software vendors.”
Burgess sees the same problem:“[There’s] nothing innovative withOpenOffice.org 3. Basically they’re justtrying to keep up with the previous ver-sion of Microsoft Office,” he believes.
An ex-Microsoft employee goes evenfurther: “A number of years ago, when Ihad retired from Microsoft, I took a
serious look at the desktop Linuxefforts and OpenOffice.org. Whatbugged me in general about the effortswas that they were so busy trying toemulate Microsoft Windows andMicrosoft Office that they weren’tdoing anything innovative. Their valueproposition is, ‘You don’t have to payMicrosoft a licensing fee,’ and that’sabout it,” the IT pro, who asked not tobe identified, says.
“They just totally blew the opportunityto create completely different and morecompelling experiences than whatMicrosoft had done,” he adds. “Wherewas the new thinking in UI? Where wasa new paradigm for information work?The world doesn’t need cheaper soft-ware; it needs revolutionary software.”
What Would You Change or Add? “OO.o3 doesn’t have a built-in optionto compress graphics [as Word 2000and later versions do], so files can get awee bit bloated,” Rice says. “If you liketo edit your image in an image-editingprogram before importing, this isn’t aproblem. If you put in several largeimages and then realize you have a filetoo big to use as an e-mail attachment,then you do have a problem.”
Performance The performance of OO.o3 is what onemight expect from a large, conventionalapp. “[OO.o3 is] a wee bit slow on startup;once it’s running, it’s fine,” Rice says.
But performance is steadily improving.“In the past, OpenOffice.org seemed alittle slow, though the performance isnow up to par,” Burgess says.
Microsoft is clearly the performancetarget. “Microsoft has been very suc-
cessful in tweaking their apps to workpretty well on the Windows platform,”Barr says. “OO.o is catching up, but it’snot really there yet. This could be seenas a complaint, but it’s not, really. Idon’t [personally] need to have my programs open instantaneously; a fastmachine cuts the wait time down to justa few seconds.”
Bottom Line OpenOffice.org may be 15 years old,but it’s still gaining new admirers.
“I was a fan of previous versions ofMicrosoft Office and preferred [its]simple yet straightforward interface,”says Roy Furr, an IT, sales and mar-keting professional. “In the last fewreleases, Microsoft has lost this, butOpenOffice.org 3 picks up whereMicrosoft has dropped off. With onlyminimal compatibility hiccups and afeature set that covers 98 percent of whatI’d hope to use it for, OpenOffice.orghas become a formidable replacementfor Microsoft Office.”
To battle OO.o and other rivals,Microsoft is turning Office into a system with tight integration withother Microsoft tools, a strategy that isin some regards working. “If it wasn’tfor the promise of Microsoft OfficeSharePoint Server [MOSS], I wouldseriously question the expenditure onMicrosoft Office within my organiza-tion,” Anderson says. “I’ve frequentlystated with executive staff that unlessMOSS becomes an organizationalstrategy for our company, I see novalue in spending money on upgradingMicrosoft Office.”—
Doug Barney ([email protected])is editor in chief of Redmond magazine.
ReaderReview
| Redmondmag.com | Redmond | February 2009 | 17
I’ve never found any problems with the usabilityof OO.o, even going back to the earliest versions.It’s always been a serviceable substitute forMicrosoft Office, and its feature set gets better witheach release.Dennis R. Barr, Manager, Information Technology, Larkin Group Inc.
0209red_ReaderRev15-17.v5 1/13/09 11:01 AM Page 17
Scareware18 | February 2009 | Redmond | Redmondmag.com |
0209red_F1ScareWare18-28.v7 1/13/09 11:09 AM Page 18
Are you? Bogus pop-ups that hide cripplingmalware can bring networks to their knees.Here are some methods to stop scarewareand fix the damages that it inflicts.
| Redmondmag.com | Redmond | February 2009 | 19
You’re happily computing along when outof nowhere a bright orange pop-up leapsout: “Warning! Spyware detected on
your computer!”If you’re a seasoned IT professional, you bypass
the warning, impressive as it might seem, andsmartly use the system tray to shut it down.
But your end users, friends, kids or spouse maynot be so savvy. One click on this demon in disguise, which is actually a Web page, and youcould run head-first into a shockingly bad virus,malware or spyware.
These pop-ups can trick you into buyingunneeded software, steal personal data and pass-words, and block updates and access to anti-virusWeb sites. Welcome to the wonderful world ofrogue security software, also known as scareware.
Pop-ups can appear randomly out of legitimateWeb sites and are placed there with permission or
sometimes through injection attacks. Despiterecent crackdowns, scareware can be advertisedeven through credible entities such as GoogleInc.’s search engine.
Scareware can hit users who thought they did allthe right things. Asif Mirza, IT manager at InCubeLabs LLC, had an employee infected, even thoughSymantec Corp.’s Norton AntiVirus was alreadyinstalled. In this case “Vista AntiVirus 2008” didthe dirty deed. The pop-up says you need to down-load the anti-virus tool because you’re alreadyinfected. The truly cunning part? The warningdialog looks like any other Windows dialogue.
Mirza’s answer to the user? “Boot from the XPCD, stay away from questionable Web sites anddo not click on links that promise to clean yourPC.” Mirza also now uses Symantec EndpointSecurity, which prevents users from going tomalicious sites like Vista AntiVirus 2008.
Who’s Afraid ofScareware?
e
By Doug Barney
CORBIS IMAGE
0209red_F1ScareWare18-28.v7 1/13/09 11:09 AM Page 19
Scareware HorrorsScareware can attack at home and in the office. “I’m anIT pro, have been for 30 years,” says Harry Rife fromHolt, Calif. “We’ve had 15-plus machines get the‘AntiVirus 2008’ or variant thereof since Aug. 1, 2008,and at least that many employees’ personal homemachines, which earned me some extra pocket money.But my own personal machines at home also got it thanksto one of my daughters. Before I found a great tool forremoval, I spent days trying to clean them up.
“In fact,” Rife continues, “on the one my daughter wasresponsible for, I had accidentally deleted some files in theWindows folder. From that point on, it prevented me fromlogging back into the machine, period. I had to changehard drives and make the original C drive the D to be ableto back up the 75GB of stuff she had on it. Another weekof restoring and reinstalling and she was back up andgoing. Lawsuit is not punishment enough. They should betarred and feathered,” Rife says.
Andre Sourdiffe, with Fisk Reed & Love, P.C. in Bennington, Vt., came across some bogus anti-spyware.“The pop-up reads, in bold letters on the title bar, ‘MicrosoftSecurity Warning.’ In the window itself in bold print,‘AntiVirus 2009 Web Scanner detected dangerous spywareon your system!’ It then lists the supposed infections,Spyware.IEMonster.b, Zlob.PornAdvertiser.Xplisit andTrojan.InfoStealer.Banker.s,” Sourdiffe explains. “There
are two buttons, Remove All and Ignore. Just clicking onthe red ‘X’ doesn’t prevent the download dialog fromappearing. It offers the file A9installer_77011811.exe and,most helpful of all, the site that the file will be downloadedfrom, onlinescannersite9.com.”
Being an IT type, Sourdiffe didn’t fall for the ruse. But acustomer of his did fall for it. “The bogus software has
an uninstall option in the All Programs folder it getsinstalled to, but it doesn’t really remove it. It stopped theconstant warnings and pop-ups until the computer wasrestarted. Then, the uninstall option was no longer thereand the pop-ups continued,” he says. The client’s Avast!anti-virus software, from ALWIL Software A.S., “detectedonly one of the files the software installed as malware.”Sourdiffe was able to remove the infection with MalwarebytesCorp.’s Malwarebytes software.
Why do users fall for this stuff? Not only do the pop-upsand Web sites they link to seem legitimate, but they’retreated as credible by many search engines. In Sourdiffe’scase, the pop-up appeared while a user was playing tuneson his media player.
“What really surprised me,” Sourdiffe says, “was that thissite not only showed up as an advertisement on the siteWindows Media Player was pointed to, but was a spon-sored site on Google and Yahoo! and probably othersearch engines. I’m truly amazed that these search sitesdon’t screen their advertisers better than this. This particularscammer will scan your computer and find all these thingswrong and then tell you that you need to buy this softwarein order to clean your computer.”
Google is cracking down on malware, although some ofit still slips under the radar. A healthy debate still ragesabout whether the search engine giant is doing enough.
A Pound of Prevention Sometimes security software, especially anti-spyware, canprevent, or at least remedy, the problem. But hackersknow the state of security software and invent newattacks that protective software can’t always recognize.That’s where basic security precautions come in. It mustbe understood that first and foremost, scareware-basedmalware is installed code. Not giving end-users—orfriends, kids and spouses—admin rights can go a longway toward preventing these attacks.
What works in the home may also work in the officeregarding locking-down rights.
“If you maintain PCs for friends or family, you’d do them ahuge favor if you set up multiple accounts in Windows, withthe accounts that access the Internet with limited privileges,”says reader Joe Elliot, a consulting IT architect with
20 | February 2009 | Redmond | Redmondmag.com |
Tips: Frighten Away Scareware✙ Use a firewall✙ Use anti-virus✙ Use anti-spyware✙ Use a legitimate copy of Windows in order
to get updates✙ Keep Windows regularly and automatically
updated and patched✙ When a pop-up appears, check the
source and remove it via the system tray;do not click the close button or any partof the pop-up
✙ Use an alternative browser and lock it down;no Active X, scripts or Java
✙ Don’t give out admin rights✙ Consider Windows Vista, or Linux or a Mac
Why do users fall for this stuff?
Not only do the pop-ups and Web
sites they link to seem legitimate,
but they are treated as credible
by many search engines.
0209red_F1ScareWare18-28.v7 1/13/09 11:10 AM Page 20
Nationwide Insurance. “For adults, provide them withclear instructions that the only time they can log into anadministrative account is to install well-known software. Ihaven’t had a single virus for years on a family computeractively used by four different accounts.”
Other IT pros agree. “People should not be surfing theWeb using an account with admin privileges,” says readerStephen Snyder, a systems administrator in Herndon, Va.“That means setting up the PC with an administrator’saccount and a limited-user account, and doing all of yournormal work with that limited-user account. Of course, howmany people not in the IT field would know about this?”
After coming face-to-face with “AntiVirus 2009 WebScanner,” Sourdiffe and company took even more seriousmeasures. “On our site, we’re using OpenDNS, and Ihave the option of blocking specific sites. I blocked theonlinescannersite9.com site, so no matter where it might
be found on the Web, our office won’t even have access tothe link. I immediately warned everyone in our office ofthe occurrence and posted the screen shots of the softwarein action,” he says.
Bleeping Computer LLC’s anti-spyware download is abig help, according to Sourdiffe and others. You candownload it at www.bleepingcomputer.com.
The Vista AnswerSome praise Windows Vista, with its more disciplinedapproach to user rights and code installation, as an effec-tive anti-scareware measure.
“I’m a system admin responsible for over 40 Vistamachines,” says reader Ken Wirz, a network administratorat Delta Dental of Ohio. “I’ve had Vista deployed sinceMarch 2007 with User Access Control enabled. The usersdon’t have administrator rights to their box. I haven’t had asingle virus or malware incident reported by my users orby Symantec anti-virus. Put me down as one admin thatloves it because the users can’t mess it up.”
22 | February 2009 | Redmond | Redmondmag.com |
A Rogue’s Gallery of ScarewareThere are literally hundreds of scareware programs, many of which are simply clones ormodifications of earlier programs. Here’s asmall sampling:✙ AntiVirus 2008, 2009 and 2010: Three
versions of the same scareware tool. The 2010version comes with its own bogus Blue Screenof Death.
✙ AntiVirus Plasma: Once installed hogs memoryand processing.
✙ AntiVirus Plus: Scareware that can useMicrosoft Security Center alerts.
✙ Antispy 2008: Fairly amateur scareware app.✙ AntispywareXP 2009: Slows down your PC and
displays fake warnings and fake scan results.✙ AntiVirus Sentry: Fake alerts trick users into
downloading the software. This has alsobeen known to download without permission;it then prompts you to buy the software toremove malware.
✙ Content Eraser: Fake privacy application. ✙ PCVirusless: Lures users in with Web ads.✙ Personal Defender 2000: Fake anti-spyware
application that uses a fake Firewall SecurityAlert to trick users into doing a fake scan.The results always show infections, andthe program then tries to get you to buythe software.
✙ ProAntispyware 2009: Scareware oftenadvertised on Web sites.
✙ RapidAntiVirus: Once installed, this can identify legitimate files as malware and harmyour PC if deleted.
✙ Real AntiVirus: Like other scareware soft-ware, this one runs scans that show malwarethat doesn’t exist and prompts you to buyanti-virus software.
✙ SpyProtector: Often shows users faketaskbar alerts.
✙ Security 2009: Similar to SpyProtector, this isoften advertised on the Web.
✙ WinDefender 2009: Trojan horses can displaybogus alerts and prompt you to download theWinDefender 2009 software. If you loadWinDefender it will always find malware, evenif it’s only the malware that it installed itself.The program then tricks you into buying thefull WinDefender package.
✙ XP Antispyware 2009: The same essentialprogram as AntispywareXP 2009.
Definitions are based on work done by BleepingComputer LLC.
“If you maintain PCs for friends or
family, you’d do them a huge favor if
you set up multiple accounts in Win
dows, with the accounts that access
the Internet with limited privileges.”
Joe Elliot, Consulting IT Architect,
Nationwide Insurance
0209red_F1ScareWare18-28.v7 1/13/09 11:10 AM Page 22
Monitor, backup, and administer SharePoint!
Reduce administrative tasks from hours (or days) to minutes!
Manage key tasks without deep SharePoint expertise!
10 TOOLS
TO SIMPLIFY
SHAREPOINT
MANAGEMENT.
© 2008 BBS Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved. Idera and Point admin toolset are trademarks or registered trademarks of BBS Technologies, Inc. All other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders
If you’re spending countless hours on routine MicroSoft® SharePoint®
administrative tasks like managing space quotas, performing backups,
troubleshooting performance issues, analyzing permissions and more...
you need Idera’s new Point admin toolset. It’s packed with 10 incredibly
useful tools that will make managing SharePoint such a breeze, you’ll
wonder what to do with all the spare time you have on your hands!
�
SQL SERVER
SHAREPOINT
POWERSHELL
(that’s less than $80 a tool!)
Point admin toolset10 easy-to-use SharePoint management tools!
TM
Only795$
Start saving hours of time managing SharePoint:Download a free Point admin toolset 14-day trial today!
www.idera.com/sharepoint
Project1 12/15/08 2:34 PM Page 1
Aj
DESQhaswitSerStunowfor andmaInteActQuemoeasmuqui
Make the Move toSQL with DELL
USABILITYSQL Server 2008 iseasier to use and manage. New policy-based managementlets you configure a single SQL instanceonce and apply thesame policy to anynumber of instances.This means that all ofyour SQL Servers willbe configured in thesame way. Configureonce, manage manytimes—now that’s compliance!
POWERSHELLThe new Windowsscripting language isnow integrated into SQLServer providing a powerful approach toSQL automation.PowerShell integrationincludes support formost managementfunctions as well assecurity. Moving forward, the SQL command structure willbe replaced byPowerShell—so now’sthe time to start working with this newcommand language.
GAINUsing Dell PowerEdgeservers running AMDOpteronTM multi-coreprocessor technology,you can obtain thehighest performance foryour updated SQLservers. And, by usingthe new PerformanceData Warehouse—anew method for gathering and storingperformance data—youcan ensure yourservers provide theutmost throughput foryour applications.
RESOURCESUsing the new ResourceGovernor, you canensure that your DellPowerEdge serversrunning AMD OpteronTM
multi-core processorsprovide the rightamount of resources toyour business-criticaldatabases. ResourceGovernor lets you create up to 20resource pools perserver. Use the rightpool to assignresources to your most critical data.
AVAILABILITYEnsure the highest levelsof availability with newSQL Server failover clustering features whenrunning on WindowsServer 2008. The newIntegrated ClusterInstallation provides asimple, two-step processfor the creation of a cluster: create the clusterand then add a node.Making your SQLinstances highly availablehas been made simpler!
About Dell
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services they trust and value. Uniquely enabled by its direct business model, Dell is a leading globalsystems and services company and No. 34 on the Fortune 500. For more information, visit www.dell.com, or to communicate directly with Dell via a variety of online channels, go towww.dell.com/conversations.
U P G R A
TM
Advertisement
Project10 1/13/09 1:19 PM Page 1
SQL Server® is Microsoft’s®enterprise relational database management system (RDBMS). SQL Server 2005
became the fastest growing database application in the industry according to research firm Gartner Inc. Now, Microsoftadds to this momentum by building upon SQL Server 2005’s powerful feature set to deliver SQL Server 2008, an integrated RDBMS that brings all data types—structured and unstructured—together for the first time and provides atrusted, productive and intelligent enterprise data platform. As an IT professional, you can rely on this new databaseengine to enable your applications to run better and faster while reducing your management overhead. And, by runningyour new SQL Server 2008 database instances on energy-efficient DellTM PowerEdgeTM servers powered by multi-coreAMD OpteronTM processors, you’ll gain top-level performance. Ready to begin? Then use the following 10 reasons to justify your move to SQL Server 2008 on DellTM PowerEdgeTM servers.
DELL.COM/SQL2008
DELIVERSQL Server managementhas never been easierwith the updated SQLServer ManagementStudio (SSMS). SSMSnow includes supportfor multi-server queriesand configuration management,IntelliSense, a newActivity Monitor, newQuery Plans and muchmore. This makes it easier for you to managemultiple SQL instancesquickly and effectively.
ENCRYPTIONYour data is protectedwhile it’s located withinyour premises, but itmay be at risk when itleaves your sites.Through TransparentData Encryption (TDE),you can now protectSQL data both onsiteand offsite. TDE protectsdata contained within.MDF, .NDF and .LDF filesso only authorized personnel can access itat any time.
SAVESQL now saves considerable amountsof space through real-time datacompression at the rowor page level. Thisdecreases I/O andimproves the scalabilityof your databases.While data compressionrequires CPU cyclesduring I/O operations,you can be assuredthat your DellPowerEdge servershave the power whenneeded.
QUERYNew FILESTREAM andspatial data formats inSQL Server transform itinto a complete data-management solution.Because of these newformats, you can nowintegrate both structuredand unstructured datainto one, single datastore. And, with integrated search capabilities, you canlocate any data atany time.
LAUNCHLaunch your upgradenow! Dell PowerEdgeservers based on multi-core AMDOpteronTM processorsoffer superior value andperformance for yourSQL applications. Findout which Dell PowerEdgeservers are the best fitfor your SQL2008 applications atDELL.COM/SQL2008.
D E S Q L
©2009 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. All rights reserved. AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, AMD Opteron, and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.HyperTransport is a licensed trademark of the HyperTransport Technology Consortium. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other jurisdictions. Other names are for informational purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.
TYvelsw
hen
w
acess
ster
ableer!
Advertisement
Project10 1/13/09 1:20 PM Page 2
A Remedy Is All I Need Because it’s usually activated by a Web page masqueradingas a security alert, scareware is often impervious to anti-virus software, as Earl Nittskoff discovered. “A client hadpop-ups for Power AntiVirus 2009 bombarding her computer and telling her it was infected. McAfee Inc.’santi-virus program found no viruses. She spent hours talkingto tech support at McAfee with no positive results.McAfee tech support also sent manual removal instruc-tions, which also did not work,” Nittskoff, with V V EComputer Consulting in South Euclid, Ohio, explains.
“She called me. I assumed this was a variant of othersimilar problems and brought some removal tools likeSmitFraud. I was wrong. None of these tools found anymalware. I searched the Web for removal advice. Every-thing I found was similar to the efforts my client hadalready tried,” he continues.
“I identified and stopped the offending process in TaskManager. The process was pwa.exe. Then I looked in thePrograms Startup folder, MSCONFIG Startup tab andMSCONFIG Services tab to discover how the programstarted. It was in the MSCONFIG Startup tab. Irenamed the C:\Program Files\PWA\pwa.exe file toC:\Program Files\PWA\pwa.fyf and unchecked the
startup line. I restarted the computer. Problem solved,”Nittskoff concludes.
Sometimes scareware has an easy fix; other times itrequires more drastic measures. Jeff Ellis, owner of NurtellComputer Doctor, has seen both sides. “I service computersat home. When they have good backups of data or don’tcare about losing files, I just reload the operating systemsoftware. For one of the first clients who really wanted totry and save their pictures, I spent four hours getting rid ofthis annoying bogus malware,” says reader Ellis.
26 | February 2009 | Redmond | Redmondmag.com |
Rusty’s Story
Recently my son got attacked by one of theseprograms. I eventually fixed it but it took threedays, a lot of investigation and a copy of bootableLinux to get to the root of the problem. It wasalmost as bad as a rootkit to get rid of. Normally Iwould have reformatted the hard drive and rein-stalled, but I was bound and determined thatsome punk wasn’t going to get the best of me.
My son’s laptop computer became infectedwith some sort of scareware that made multiplewindows open up telling him he was infectedwith malware. It also displayed an ad that hecould click on to purchase cleaning software forabout $39 to get rid of it. At first I ran anti-virussoftware from Trend Micro Inc. and Lavasoft’s Ad-Aware. Although Ad-Aware found someproblems, it didn’t fix the root scareware problem.
Had I not been so determined not to let thisbeat me, I would have just formatted the computerand reloaded everything. Instead I started digging deep in the OS, which was Windows XP.I looked through all the run keys in the registry,turning off anything I could find. I also uninstalledany software that was on the system that he
didn’t need oruse. I scoured thecomputer for anyother auto-runstuff I could find.Multiple rebootslater we still hadthe problem.
It was not until my son-in-law and I booted thecomputer with a Linux CD and started to reallydig that we finally found the problem. It took us atotal of 30 man-hours to clear the stupid thing up.It was only the joy of besting the programmersthat kept me from throwing the laptop againstthe wall several times.
I stressed to my son how important it was thathe stop using Internet Explorer and only useFirefox from now on. Everyone else in the houseuses Firefox, and we haven’t had any issues withscareware since. IE is considered the TyphoidMary of the Windows PC in our house.Rusty Yonkers, senior systems engineer for a large, international insurance company
“I’ve had Vista deployed sinceMarch 2007 with User AccessControl enabled … I haven’t had asingle virus or malware incidentreported by my users.” Ken Wirz, Network Administrator, Delta Dental of Ohio
0209red_F1ScareWare18-28.v7 1/13/09 11:10 AM Page 26
Introducing the new performance standard:
Experience it yourselfdiskeeper.com/redmond9
Custom quotes available: 1-800-829-6468
Real-time defragmentation, zero overhead
© 2009 Diskeeper Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
™
Project6 1/13/09 10:15 AM Page 1
Bill Cooper, vintner at Cooper-Garrod Estate Vineyardsin Saratoga, Calif., found his daughter’s computer struckby scareware. “I used Symantec’s eradication instructions,but it took days of effort, and I learned more about theregistry than I wanted to know.”
Often the only recourse is to rebuild.“Our HR manager brought in his home laptop and he
swore he only used it to visit the Georgia Bulldog Website,” recounts Buzz Hopper, a network administrator inOhio. “The laptop had been taken over by one of thoseYour-PC-Is-Infected scams.
“It’s infected all right,” Hopper continues. “I’m at thepoint now where the only recourse is to erase the hard
drive. I hope there will be teeth in whatever is done to goafter these companies.”
Chris Riley has an even more horrific tale to tell. “I’vehad to reload three different computers at three differentsites in the last two days. All were infected with a newversion of AntiVirus2009: Pandora Software. I tried fourof the standard removal and anti-malware programs to noavail on the first two machines. After spending an hourwith no positive results, I decided that wiping the diskand reloading the OS was more productive than wastingtime trying to remove the malware. Luckily, all three ofthese client computers were loaded thin and nothing pertaining to the business was lost. Granted, the userslost stuff that was only saved to the local machine, and allthree users never really followed company guidelines onsaving all items to their supplied folder on the server forbackup. Maybe some day they’ll start following guide-lines, but I’m not going to hold my breath.”
Sometimes, fortunately, a restart will do the trick. “I had amachine last year with this problem,” reports reader JasonStrack. “A user was clicking on the supposed ‘problem’ mes-sages. I think Centurion, from Centurion TechnologiesInc., or some other type of freezing software that puts the computer back to a clean state upon restart is one of the bestways to deal with scareware in a large deployment.”—
Doug Barney ([email protected]) is editor in chief ofRedmond magazine.
28 | February 2009 | Redmond | Redmondmag.com |
Fighting Fire with FiremenI’m a division chief with a south Chicago suburb firedepartment and also the IT manager for the samemunicipality. I’ve had about 30 PCs infected bythese seemingly legitimate pop-ups. I advise myusers to just pull the power plug when oneappears—no matter what they’re doing at the time.For the unfortunate ones that don’t, or just click the‘X’ in the top right corner, they pay the ultimatedata-processing price: Their hard drives go toalphabet heaven.
A few infected machines have been recovered bypurchasing other anti-virus software, and theseprograms actually cleaned up the mess.
Most weren’t so lucky.A lot of these firefighters are instructors for the
fire service and use their personal PCs for training.Hours and hours of PowerPoint presentations—movies depicting things not to do, rescues thatworked by being innovative and many other facts,lessons and details that firefighters and paramedicsutilize—all went up in smoke.
The average user can’t afford the hardening that acorporate entity can. Knowledge, anti-virus software,firewalls and more knowledge are our defensesagainst the rogue viruses, trojans and spyware thatabound on the Internet.
The problem with this latest round of “You’reinfected” is that it has the look and feel of a realMicrosoft window. My users say it happenedwhen they were doing an update, or a “Windowsscreen” popped up.
Firefighters save lives. Responsible data-processing companies save time, work and usually their integrity.
When a virus takes on the look and feel of an OScompany, the average user is just not going to havethe tools at their disposal to know that.
Many public servants have asked, “Isn’t there a lawagainst this?” Criminal actions—the result of damageor loss to property—are prosecutable. Period.Microsoft and the states, if not officials at the federaland even international level, should hunt theseauthors down and prosecute them as felons.
A Web site that can log destructive actions, like amissing-child database, should be created, monitoredand forwarded to state and federal agencies.
The next time you dial 911 and a young, aggressiveand dedicated public servant comes to your aid,you should hope they studied the lessons that wereon some of these PCs before those lessons werelost to immature and criminal actions.Tom Mullally, Evergreen Park Fire Department,Evergreen Park, Ill.
“I used Symantec’s eradicationinstructions, but it took days ofeffort, and I learned more about theregistry than I wanted to know.”Bill Cooper, Vintner, Cooper Garrod Estate Vineyards
0209red_F1ScareWare18-28.v7 1/13/09 11:10 AM Page 28
| Redmondmag.com | Redmond | February 2009 | 31
With Windows Server 2008 in the hands of IT shops for a year,you would be pleasantly surprised at some of the cool thingsfolks have done with it. Through interviews with a range of tech
experts and developers, we’ve dug up a handful of worthwhile tips andtricks that can either save time or help you function a bit better. There’s anenormous number of tips we could report, but we decided to give you justthe top five for now.
1. Make Server 2008 Act More Like VistaIt might be hard to imagine why anyone would want to do this. But whenWindows Server 2008 was first available in beta and as a release candidate,the consensus was that it actually performed better than Windows Vista.Folks were jokingly calling it Workstation 2008. So, I decided to give it ashot and installed Server 2008 on my laptop. Immediately I realized why itsperformance was so good: It was missing all the extras.
What happened to my audio, Media Player, Sidebar and Aero? Not there.Typically these are items you don’t need or want on your Windows servers,so Microsoft forces you to enable them.
In order to get your Vista features back, you need to open Server Manager(either from the Quick Launch toolbar icon or from Administrative Tools).
IT pros are learning
how to take advantage
of the hidden talents
in Microsoft’s newest
server OS. Here are five
tips to get you started.By J. Peter Bruzzese
5HotTips:
Get More out ofWindows Server 2008
0209red_F2FiveTips31-36.v6 1/13/09 10:29 AM Page 31
Next, select the Features node and click the Add Featureslink. The feature you want to add is called Desktop Experience. If you select the option, you see a descriptionthat explains that Desktop Experience includes features ofWindows Vista, including Windows Media Player, desktopthemes and photo management.
Even after you have the features installed, you still haveto enable the Themes service before you can work withAero. To do this, open the Services console (either by typingservices.msc from the Instant Search box or by going toAdministrative Tools and selecting Services), locate theThemes service, right-click it and enter the Properties, andchange the startup type to Automatic.
2. Extend the Evaluation PeriodHere’s a really good trick that made its debut with Vista.Did you know that you can extend your evaluation periodon your system without activating? Typically users startlooking around for the Microsoft police at this point, andthey think this is some really hush-hush accident onMicrosoft’s part. But as you can see by reading KnowledgeBase article 948472, Microsoft already knows about it.Essentially, you have a 60-day period from when youinstall Server 2008 to the point where you must activate it.However, if you use the slmgr.vbs script, you can reset theevaluation period. This will not work forever (only threetimes), but you can extend the evaluation period for up to240 days.
Here’s how it works: Open a command prompt and typeslmgr.vbs -dli. This gives you the current status of yourevaluation period (as shown in Figure 1), which is impor-tant because you don’t want to re-arm the process untilyou reach the end of the 60-day period. Once you’re readyto reset the process, type: slmgr.vbs –rearm.
3. Get Rid of the Annoying ShutdownEvent Manager ScreenIn the real world, you rarely want to reboot a server if youdon’t have to. But when you’re constantly testing newthings and installing applications and features, you tend toreboot often. And so it’s a bit of a pet peeve of mine thatI’m constantly questioned by my own server as to why Ihave the nerve to reboot the machine (see Figure 2). I getthat queasy feeling in my stomach, as though WardCleaver (the dad from “Leave it to Beaver”) just showed up
and said, “Now where do you think you’re going, mister?”and I have to give an explanation.
To get rid of this little annoyance, go to the Start menuand in the Instant Search box, type gpedit.msc for the localpolicy editor. Expand out Computer Configuration, Admin-
32 | February 2009 | Redmond | Redmondmag.com |
Figure 1. The results of the slmgr.vbs –dli script.
Windows Server 2008
Note: While you’re in the Services console, youmight as well look for the Windows Audio service,too, and change the startup to automatic if youwant the server to have audio.
Note: You can automate the process by configuringthe Task Scheduler to run the slmgr.vbs script at theconclusion of the evaluation period through the useof an .XML file and some coding that Microsoftgives you in Knowledge Base article 948472.
Figure 2. Where are you going, young man?
0209red_F2FiveTips31-36.v6 1/13/09 10:29 AM Page 32
34 | February 2009 | Redmond | Redmondmag.com |
istrative Templates, then System. Double-click the Display Shutdown Event Tracker and click Disabled. Nomore Ward. I’m once again an adult network admin.Keep in mind, however, that you will not be second-guessed anymore when shutting down the server, so makesure this is what you really want to do before you initiatethe shutdown.
4. Get Server Core up and RunningPerhaps you have installed the Server Core version ofServer 2008 and were greeted by that standard commandprompt. Did you think: OK, now what? I know I was a bitlost without the GUI after so many years of living in aGUI-only world. I think what saved me this past year wasworking extensively with PowerShell in Exchange 2007.So, when I was face-to-face with that black box staring atme, I didn’t freak out. I was, however, slightly put off bythe fact that it was the traditional cmd.exe and not thesleek new PowerShell, which is due to the additional secu-
rity afforded you by Server Core in that .NET Frameworkis missing (an essential element to PowerShell). Perhapsthe Framework team will create a modularized version ofthe Framework for the future of Server Core, but for nowwe can work with what we have.
Keep in mind that you need to configure the serverwithout the GUI, and this includes activation, computername, networking, joining a domain and so forth.Then you’ll worry about configuring the features that are available.
Here’s a list of commands that you may want to keephandy when configuring your Server Core Server:
Netsh: To establish IP configuration settings (or firewallconfiguration with netsh advfirewall). KB article 242468
Net User: To change the administrative password. KBarticle 251394
Netdom: To provide a server name and/or join adomain. Microsoft TechNet Library Netdom Examples
Shutdown: To restart your system. KB article 317371 Slmgr: The Software License Management Tool, which
we discussed earlier, is used to install and activate thelicense for the system. KB article 555965
SCRegEdit.wsf: To enable Remote Desktop. KB article 555964
One of the cool things you might consider is puttingtogether a list of configuration commands for Server Core
Server into a batch file. That will certainly make life a biteasier. For other configuration changes, you may considerusing some of the GUI tools that are still “live” in ServerCore. For example, you can type intl.cpl (to access theRegional and Language Options applet) or timedate.cpl (toadjust your Time and Date settings through the applet).
5. Install Roles and Features UsingServerManagerCmdTo all those Windows admins who don’t want to let go of theGUI, my apologies. But the question remains: If you canperform a task faster and better through the command line,why fight it? On the other hand, others are grateful for thecommand-line craze. I found this next tip when I was workingon free Exchange clips that I was putting together to help thecommunity at large learn Exchange 2007. One thing I’vefound over the past year as I’ve set up about 100 Exchange
Servers is that the actual prep work is maddening. There aremany little details to remember, such as installing .NETFramework and PowerShell, and making sure IIS is installedand configured (depending on the Exchange Server role).
Note: If you decide you just don’t want to beforced back into command-line life all over again, you might consider the Windows 2008 CoreConfigurator from CodePlex.
Note: Not all applets will work through the .cplmethod, but these two were kept to make life easierfor admins. There are a few other tools that areavailable to you as well. For example, you can typenotepad at the prompt, and it brings up Notepad, orTaskmgr for your Task Manager, or even Regedit tobring up the Registry Editor.
Once you have the server configured, the next stepis to install the roles and features you want. UnderServer Core, the commands you need to learn are: • oclist.exe: shows you a list of which roles and features are already installed, and also shows you theproper spelling and case of those roles and features.• ocsetup.exe: allows you to install or uninstall theroles and features you need.
Windows Server 2008
Figure 3. A list of installed roles.
0209red_F2FiveTips31-36.v6 1/13/09 10:29 AM Page 34
Windows Server 2008There had to be a better way to install roles and featuresthan going through the Server Manager GUI.
And there is. It’s called ServerManagerCmd.Here’s a simple example: If you want to install
PowerShell, you don’t have to open the Server Managerand locate the feature and make about a dozen mouseclicks. Just type at command prompt:
ServerManagerCmd –i PowerShell
This tool is an excellent shortcut to locating all sorts ofinformation and making some easy configurations on theserver, especially if you put it together as a batch file. Bydoing so, it ensures you will have consistent results on eachserver you set up for your organization.
One thing you might try is typing servermanagercmd–query to get a list of the current roles installed on the
server, as you can see in Figure 3, p. 34. You will be shownwhich roles are installed—displayed in green—along withthe others that aren’t, as well as the features beneath thoseroles. Again, you can use this for roles and features as pre-viously noted with PowerShell.
If you want to install your IIS Server, you can use the fol-lowing command:
Servermanagercmd –install Web-Server
Just the ‘Tip’ of the IcebergAs always, there are plenty of exciting tips and tricks abouta new OS, and hopefully we’ve whetted your appetite a bitto go out and find some more. Anything that can help usto work smarter and enjoy what we do as server admins,well … that’s worth searching for.—
J. Peter Bruzzese, MCSE, MCT, MCITP: Messaging, is a regular contributor to Redmond magazine. He’s written several books, including “Tricks of the Microsoft WindowsVista Masters” (Que, 2007) and his latest, “Exchange 2007How-To” (Sams, 2009). He provides free Exchange trainingat ExclusivelyExchange.com. He’s also the co-founder of ClipTraining.com, which provides a screencast training libraryfor users and admins on subjects like Windows Vista, Office2007 and Windows Server 2008.
“Th e best— and cheapest— college you’ve never
heard of is found
only online”—TIME magazine, November 17, 2008
—————————
WGU is honored to receive the USDLA 21st Century Award for Best Practices in Distance Learning for 2008.
Microsoft, Sun, Oracle, Cisco, Comp TIA, SAS, PMI, GIAC
or (ISC)2 certifications could waive up to 25% of your fully
accredited bachelor’s degree.
• Flexible ONLINE learning• Up to 10 certifications built in at no extra cost• Programs in Networks, Databases, Security, Software and IT Management
Here’s what you can get from the onlinedegree programs offered at WGU:
Use your IT Certifications to accelerate yourdegree online.
Call Toll Free
800-918-4830or visit us at www.wgu.edu/time9
Note: To remove a role, you can type –remove,and if you have to restart the system after anygiven installation you can add –restart to the endof the command. Learn more about Server Manager Commands in the Microsoft TechNet Library article,“Overview of Server Manager Commands.”
0209red_F2FiveTips31-36.v6 1/13/09 10:30 AM Page 36
| Redmondmag.com | Redmond | February 2009 | 37
Voice over IP (VoIP) is the technology thatlaunched unified communications (UC). Thereare a number of financial and operational bene-fits to using VoIP over traditional voice solu-
tions, but the single biggest plus is that it brings voicecommunications onto the same IP-based network sharedby the rest of the IT infrastructure. The convergence ofvoice and data, and the conversion of analog voice to IP-based data, are the foundations for today’s UC market.
UC can improve interaction and collaboration within anorganization and with outside customers, partners andvendors. However, there is no real standard that defineswhich components make up a UC solution—and currently,no vendor offers an end-to-end comprehensive system.
Even if a vendor had a complete system, it would have tobe packaged and sold as modular components. Mostorganizations already have voice and networking infra-structures in place and won’t throw them out to install abrand-new unified system. Instead, IT will likely install thecomponents that make sense and integrate them withexisting voice and data networks.
State of the UC MarketSeveral issues are holding the UC market back. There’s thelack of a clear UC standard, the lack of modular and easilyintegrated tools, and difficulty determining true ROI. All ofthese cause problems in building a solid business case. Con-sidering the state of the economy, businesses might be evenmore cautious about buying into UC in 2009.
Even with all of these hitches, the UC market continuesto grow and play a defining role for many organizations’ ITstrategies. A recent report from analyst firm Unified Communications Strategies claims the UC market in 2007was only worth about $200 million, but predicts that UCwill grow by some 1,200 percent over the next five years—hitting a total value of more than $2.4 billion by 2012.
With that kind of potential, it’s no wonder so many hardware and software vendors are scrambling to buildnew UC tools. These players include such heavyweights asCisco Systems Inc., Nortel Networks Ltd. and Microsoft.
Because none of these vendors has an end-to-end answer,IT must use a combination of VoIP infrastructure and UCcomponents from various companies. Microsoft shops mustdecide which options will integrate smoothly and enhance orextend functionality instead of becoming just anotherheadache. These shops should also look at the longer term:at how they’ll maintain the combined UC applications andhow well the apps will scale to meet the needs of the future.
One Bite at a TimeThere are a number of components that constitute a com-plete UC implementation. VoIP and instant messagingprovide the foundation in most cases. E-mail—includingunified messaging, which lets users get voicemails as audiofile attachments—is another common component.
Presence is the tie that binds a UC implementation.Presence should be exhibited throughout the variousapplications to let other users know the current status of
Unified communications (UC) is an all-encompassing term that describes
a variety of applications. While the idea of implementing UC can seem
overwhelming, the best approach is to take it bit by bit.
UnifiedCommunications,Step by Step
By Tony Bradley
0209red_F2UC37-40.v6 1/13/09 10:33 AM Page 37
colleagues and co-workers. Microsoft Office CommunicationsServer (OCS) 2007 represents presence as a small circledubbed a “jelly bean.” This small circle appears next to auser’s name in e-mail fields, within the Office Communicatorclient and within presence-aware applications such asMicrosoft Word and Excel. If the jelly bean is green, itmeans the user is available for communication. Yellowmeans the user is inactive or has stepped away, and redmeans the user is currently busy.
The nice thing about the modularity of UC componentsis that these pieces can be deployed in a phased approach:You can eat the proverbial elephant one bite at a time. Thismodular approach also lets shops spread the cost of imple-mentation over a longer period of time instead of replacingthe entire communications infrastructure all at once. In
addition, installing multiple new technologies simultane-ously makes them more complicated to troubleshoot andtune; it’s difficult to determine which new device or application is at the root of a problem. But a phased imple-mentation allows time to ensure that one component isintegrated and functioning properly before moving on tothe next one.
How to Get There from HereLet’s take a look at a few select scenarios, and how an organ-ization can leverage an existing investment in hardware andsoftware to incorporate UC components. We’ll analyze anorganization with Microsoft Exchange in place; another thathas a foundation of Microsoft UC technologies—primarilyMicrosoft Exchange and Microsoft OCS—but has not yetincorporated VoIP; and a third that has a VoIP communica-tions system but no UC applications to integrate with it.
Building on ExchangeLet’s start with the Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 shop.This particular organization does not have an extensivenetwork infrastructure. The desktops use Microsoft Outlook as the client software for e-mail, contacts and calendar scheduling, but the phone system is a traditionalanalog “plain old telephone service.” How can this shopuse the hardware and software it already has and adopt aUC platform at the same time?
This organization can start by adding the MicrosoftExchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging role to theExchange server. Unified Messaging combines all messaging types into a single storage space. Rather thanhaving to check e-mail in one place and voicemail inanother, and pick up faxes in a third, all these messagetypes are delivered to the Exchange inbox.
Combined with Outlook Web Access or ExchangeActiveSync delivery to mobile devices, Unified Messaginglets users retrieve voicemails and faxes from any computer
connected to the Web, or from any e-mail-capable mobiledevice. Plus, Exchange Server 2007 with Unified Messagingprovides Outlook Voice Access (OVA). OVA is an interac-tive voice response system that works with Outlook. Userscan listen to their e-mails, check calendars and rescheduleappointments using any phone in the world.
Measure Twice; Cut OnceThere’s an old adage: Measure twice; cut once. It appliesnot only to making furniture but also to UC implementa-tions: Plan carefully before “cutting” so you don’t mess itup and have to start all over.
There are a too many variables for migrating to UnifiedMessaging to be able to cover them all in a single article.But regardless of the existing hardware and software in
place, how many users are involved and how many sites theorganization has, there are some basic principles behindevery successful migration.
To begin with, the plan should have the big picture orultimate goal in mind. It’s always a good idea to start with asmall sampling of users for a pilot test rather than just divinginto the deep end, especially when you’re dealing withsomething that could potentially affect all communications.
The pilot group should be representative of the organiza-tion. In other words, there should be members of the pilotgroup from various departments throughout the companyto make sure that the test encompasses as many of the day-to-day functions and processes that are necessary toconduct business as possible. Feedback should be collectedfrom the pilot group, and modifications made to the overallplan and architecture to address any serious concerns thatare discovered.
However, assuming that any initial pilot test is successful,the pilot implementation should not have to be replaced. Itshould be built to expand the implementation to fit theneeds of the organization rather than just the pilot group.But, in order to be able to do that, the sites, domain archi-tecture, network architecture and other factors must beconsidered as a part of the initial pilot test as well.
The Unified Messaging RoleBefore installing the Unified Messaging role, it’s a good ideato upgrade Exchange Server 2007 to Service Pack 1 (SP1) ifit isn’t already upgraded. SP1 adds a number of new featuresand capabilities to Exchange Server 2007, many of whichexpand the functionality of Unified Messaging.
Once Exchange Server 2007 is upgraded to SP1, you canuse the Exchange Management Shell to check yourExchange Server 2007 server to see which roles are active,or whether or not the Unified Messaging role is alreadypresent. Type the following to display the server’s roles:
c:\ Exchange> get-exchangeserver <servername> | FL
The nice thing about the modularity of UC components is thatthese pieces can be deployed in a phased approach.
38 | February 2009 | Redmond | Redmondmag.com |
Unified Communications
0209red_F2UC37-40.v6 1/13/09 10:33 AM Page 38
AVAYA AVAYA AVAYA AVAYA AVAYA AVAYA AVAYAAVAYA
AVAYAAVAYA
AVAYAAVAYA
AVAYAAVAY
© 2
008
Avay
a In
c. A
ll R
ight
s R
eser
ved.
Project1 1/6/09 2:45 PM Page 1
You can operate multiple roles on the same server as longas the physical server has the processing power, memory,storage space and other resources to manage the load.
To add the Unified Messaging role to an existingExchange Server 2007 system, you should navigate to thebin directory of the Microsoft Exchange installation—typically found at %programfiles%\Microsoft\ExchangeServer—and run Setup.cmd from a command prompt.You can also initiate modification through the controlpanel. For more detailed instructions, see the MicrosoftTechNet article, “How to Modify an Exchange Installation,”at http://tinyurl.com/769j8v.
Adding Voice to UCLet’s look at another organization that has the MicrosoftUC components implemented as a foundation. It’s alreadyusing Microsoft Exchange Server for messaging and OCSfor instant messaging, online conferencing and presence.
However, this shop’s existing voice system, an old-fashioned analog PBX, is not integrated into theMicrosoft UC infrastructure. In order to connect theanalog PBX to the existing environment, the organization
must deploy an OCS 2007 Mediation Server and installan analog gateway that’s certified to work with OCS. Formore information, see the TechNet article, “MicrosoftUnified Communications Open Interoperability Program,”at http://tinyurl.com/99n7wx.
Mediating Between ProtocolsThe Microsoft OCS 2007 Mediation Server role isdesigned to mediate between the various voice and VoIPprotocols used by PBX and IP PBX platforms andMicrosoft OCS. The Mediation Server is able to convertpublic switched telephone networks, and time divisionmultiplexed and session-initiation protocol (SIP) proto-cols from the gateway into the SIP over mutual transportlayer service protocol that OCS 2007 uses.
There are some additional considerations to keep inmind when integrating analog voice with the existingMicrosoft UC environment. First, the number of directinbound dial numbers that can be assigned in OCS 2007will be limited by the number of actual analog lines comingfrom the PBX. Caller ID info will not be communicated inmost cases, meaning that neither the called nor callingparty information will be transmitted to OCS.
There are other issues between OCS and the use of theavailable analog lines. It may not be possible to designatewhich analog line should be used for which outbound calls.This can impact inbound calls, in that calls coming in to a
designated analog line may ring busy to the caller even whenthe individual being called is available. Some gateways haveadditional functionality to accommodate these issues.
Taking these issues into consideration, though, addingthe Mediation Server and an appropriate analog gatewayto the existing Microsoft UC environment allows thisorganization to incorporate voice into its UC and expandits UC functionality.
Existing VoIP and UCFor the third scenario, we’ll take a look at an organizationthat has an existing VoIP environment for its voice com-munications but lacks the other components of UC.
The approach for this organization is largely a matter ofbusiness needs and personal preference. To begin with, theorganization should look at the available UC componentsand decide which ones it ultimately wants to have in place.IT professionals should look at what the various UC com-ponents have to offer and how they’ll improve efficiency orimpact business processes.
The organization most likely has a solution in place fore-mail, even if it’s not Microsoft Exchange or Outlook. It
could take the approach of installing Microsoft ExchangeServer 2007 and Unified Messaging to integrate with itscurrent VoIP infrastructure.
However, because this organization already has a functionale-mail system, it might gain more benefit from starting withMicrosoft OCS 2007. OCS 2007 will provide instant mes-saging capabilities and presence. If it’s integrated with theVoIP infrastructure, users will also be able to make andreceive phone calls from their computers using MicrosoftOffice Communicator.
Regardless of the approach the organization chooses totake, the advantage is that it can benefit from the modularityof UC and implement UC one step at a time. Whichevercomponent it elects to start with, the organization can takethe time to integrate it and ensure it’s running smoothlybefore moving on to the next one. This organization caneat the elephant one bite at a time, spread out the invest-ment in new technology and adopt UC at a comfortablepace that allows IT personnel and users both to tackle thelearning curve. This ensures that UC enhances—ratherthan hinders—business productivity.—
Tony Bradley, CISSP-ISSAP and MCSE, is director of security for Evangelyze Communications LLC, and has beenrecognized by Microsoft as an MVP in Windows security forthe past three years. Bradley writes on computer security andtechnology subjects.
It’s always a good idea to start with a small sampling of usersfor a pilot test rather than just diving into the deep end,
especially when you’re dealing with something that couldpotentially affect all communications.
40 | February 2009 | Redmond | Redmondmag.com |
Unified Communications
0209red_F2UC37-40.v6 1/13/09 10:33 AM Page 40
Greg Singleton ([email protected]) is Managing Partner of Strattisoft Technologies, an Ottawa, Canada based IT solutions reseller.
Manage Expiring AD Passwords ProactivelyA freeware tool sends password change reminders to users with expiring passwords.
ADVERTISEMENT
Project1 1/9/09 9:35 AM Page 1
Automation for the Harried Administrator | by Jeffery Hicks
events, as well as creating a color-codedHTML report. The tool even includedan option to send the report via e-mail.
At the time, the tool would only reporton errors and warnings and ignored theSecurity Event Log. I hadn’t updated thescript, and after looking at it again I real-ized revisiting it as a PowerShell scriptwould be just the ticket.
Using PowerShell lets me leveragethe pipeline, which makes it easier toprocess a list of computers. I can alsouse the Get-WMIObject cmdlet, whichsupports alternate credentials forremote computers. Finally, sending anSMTP message using PowerShell ispretty straightforward. There are anumber of SMTP-related cmdlets thatyou could use as part of this process,but I decided to make my script com-pletely self-contained so it includes itsown mail function.
Download Report-Events.ps1 fromjdhitsolutions.com/scripts and save it toyour scripts directory. By default withno parameters specified, the script willcreate an HTML report for all errors,warnings and audit failures in all logsfor the last 24 hours:
PS C:\Scripts\> .\report-events.ps1
The HTML report, EventLogRe-port.html, will be created in the TEMPdirectory. Errors will be highlighted inred and audit failures in yellow. TheWMI query will return Computer-Name, Message, TimeWritten, Type,SourceName, EventCode and Logfileinformation for every matching recordin all logs.
But more than likely, you’ll want torun through a list of computers andbuild a single report. Here’s where thePowerShell pipeline comes into play. Iwrote Report-Events.ps1 so that itcould take pipelined input. You’ll likely pipe computernames to it using Get-Content:
PS C:\> get-content servers.txt |
c:\scripts\report-events.ps1
A single report will be created forevery computer in the servers.txt file.
You can customize the script’s behaviorwith a number of parameters:
Report-Events –report <string> -
hours <integer> -credential
<PSCredential> -smtp <string> -
Sendto <string> -From <string> -
username <string> -password
<string> -debug <switch>
The Report parameter is the filenameand path of the HTML file. Hours isthe number of hours from the currenttime to report. The default is 24. TheCredential parameter is used for alter-nate credentials. You must pass a savedPSCredential as a parameter. SMTP isthe name of your mail server if you’llbe e-mailing the report. Sendto is acomma-separated list of e-mail addresses;From is the address to indicate who issending the message. If your SMTPserver requires authentication, use the
Username and Password parameters topass those credentials. Finally, the Debugparameter is a switch. This means if youadd –debug as a parameter, the script’spredefined debug messages will be writtento the debug pipeline. You shouldn’tneed this for production use. Here’s howyou might put this all together:
PS C:\> get-content servers.txt |
c:\scripts\report-events.ps1
–report
\\intranet\d$\reports\eventre-
port.html –hours 36 –smtp
mail.mycompany.com –sendto
[email protected] –from
This will build a single color-codedHTML report for all computers inservers.txt. The report will show allerrors, warnings and audit failures fromall logs created in the past 36 hours.
The report will be saved to a folder ona Web server, presumably configured asa virtual directory. A copy will also bemailed to the Admins group. You couldwrap this one-line command intoanother PowerShell script and scheduleit to run every few days.
Now you have a free event log consoli-dation and reporting tool.—
Jeffery Hicks ([email protected]),MCSE, MCSA and Microsoft PowerShellMVP, is a scripting guru for Sapien Technologies. He’s a 16-year IT veteran, andhas co-authored and authored several books,courseware and training videos on administrative scripting and automation,including “WSH and VBScript Core:TFM” (Sapien Press, 2007).
Event Reporting Revisited
received an e-mail recently asking me about the Mr.Roboto EventReporter tool I wrote in 2007 (see “ToServe and to Report,” March 2007). That tool was a
VBScript capable of querying a list of computers for recentI
Mr. Roboto
42 | February 2009 | Redmond | Redmondmag.com |
I hadn’t updated the script, and after looking at it again I realizedrevisiting it as a PowerShell script would be just the ticket.
0209red_Roboto.42.v4 1/13/09 10:34 AM Page 42
ibm.com/systems/innovate1 800-IBM-7777 (mention 104CE03D)
$ 0,000$ 0,000FROMIBM System x3400 Express
IBM SYSTEM
1. IBM Global Financing offerings are provided through IBM Credit LLC in the United States and other IBM subsidiaries and divisions worldwide to qualified commercial and government customers. Monthly payments provided are for planningpurposes only and may vary based on your credit and other factors. Lease offer provided is based on an FMV lease of 36 monthly payments. Other restrictions may apply. Rates and offerings are subject to change, extension or withdrawal without notice.2. IBM hardware products are manufactured from new parts, or new and serviceable used parts. Regardless, our warranty terms apply. For a copy of applicable product warranties, visit: ibm.com/servers/support/machine_warranties or write to: WarrantyInformation, P.O. Box 12195, RTP, NC 27709, Attn: Dept. JDJA/B203. IBM makes no representation or warranty regarding third-party products or services, including those designated as ServerProven® or ClusterProven®. Telephone support may be subjectto additional charges. For on-site labor, IBM will attempt to diagnose and resolve the problem remotely before sending a technician. On-site warranty is available only for selected components. Optional same-day service response is available on [select]systems at an additional charge.
IBM, the IBM logo, IBM Express Advantage, System x and System Storage are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. For a complete list of IBM trademarks, see www.ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml. Intel and Xeon are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. All other products may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. All prices and savings estimates are based upon IBM’s estimated retail selling prices asof 8/20/08. Prices and actual savings may vary according to configuration. Resellers set their own prices, so reseller prices and actual savings to end users may vary. Products are subject to availability. This document was developed for offerings in theUnited States. IBM may not offer the products, features, or services discussed in this document in other countries. Prices are subject to change without notice. Starting price may not include a hard drive, operating system or other features. Contact your IBMrepresentative or IBM Business Partner for the most current pricing in your geographic area. © 2008 IBM Corporation. All rights reserved.
ibm.com/systems/simplifyit1 866-872-3902 (mention 6N8AH14A)
IBM Express “Bundle and Save”
We bundle our Express systems to give you the accessories you
need – while saving you money on the hardware you want.
Act now. Available through ibm.com and IBM Business Partners.
OR $48/ MONTH FOR 36 MONTHS1
IBM System x3350 ExpressTHE SERVER THAT PRACTICALLY MANAGES ITSELF.
ITS JOB IS TOHELP MAKE YOURSMORE PRODUCTIVE.
Stop doing those routine tasks that tie you up for hours.
IBM System x3350 Express monitors your infrastructure
from a single point of control. Proactively identifies
potential problems. And helps you solve them quickly.
Let System x servers take on more routine tasks, so you
can take on more challenges.
From the people and Business Partners of IBM.
It’s innovation made easy.
PN: 4193E2U
Featuring Intel® Xeon® Processors X3330 (2.66 GHz/1333 MHz), 6 MBL2 QC, 2x2 GB, open bay SAS 2.5˝ HS
Predictive Failure Analysis and Light Path Diagnostics; redundant, hot-swappable power supplies and fans; and up to 4 hard disk drives
3-year, next business day, on-site limited warranty2
IBM SYSTEM STORAGE DS3200 EXPRESS $4,495 OR $117/ MONTH FOR 36 MONTHS1
PN: 172621X
Up to six 3.5˝ SAS or SATA HDDs or up to eight 2.5˝ SAS HDDs and internal tape backup optionfor storage protection
Integrated RAID capability, -0, -1 and -1.0; RAID-5 optional
Comes with a 3-year on-site limited warranty2 on parts and labor. 3-year 24x7 on-site repair(PN: 21P2078) with a 4-hour response is available for an additional $600
IBM has more ways to help you get more done.
$1,849
Project3 1/5/09 10:51 AM Page 1
A typical virtualization project startswith converting a physical server or two,but soon afterward your network isbound to contain several servers runningVMware, Hyper-V or another virtualiza-tion solution, with each solution hostingmultiple VMs. All of these VMs need tocommunicate with each other, and if youdon’t configure the networking withsecurity in mind, you’re bound to intro-duce vulnerabilities that can be difficultto eliminate. To avoid this, you shoulddesign your virtual infrastructure withsecurity in mind.
Crucial DifferencesIn some ways a network infrastructurethat includes VMs is not all that differentfrom a purely physical network infra-structure. Sure, virtual switches won’t letyou easily see which cables are pluggedinto which port. Also, you can’t simplyunplug a cable when you need to removea computer from the network, but youcan still use virtual switches to connectcomputers and to separate network segments. Most virtualization softwareprograms even let you create VLANs.However, these switches may also con-nect VMs with the host computer, andthis can create unique vulnerabilities.Also, VMs and the host share hardwareresources, which can make denial-of-service (DOS) attacks more problematic.
As you’re placing VMs on hosts, thinkcarefully about which roles these com-puters are performing. All computers on
a single host should have similar securityrequirements. For example, a DOSattack against your Web server can pre-vent access to your Web site, which isbad enough. If this server runs on thesame physical server as your domaincontroller (DC) and shares resourceswith it, the attack may also bring yourinternal network to a screeching halt.
You would be better off keeping the Webserver and the DC completely separate.
One common mistake in designing avirtual network is to combine serversthat were previously located on separatenetwork segments onto the same host. Ifyou currently segment your network andplace Internet-facing servers into ademilitarized zone (DMZ), don’t try tosave hardware resources by combiningthe Exchange Edge Transport serverfrom the DMZ with the Mailbox serverfrom your internal network on the samehost. You likely had good reasons to createthe DMZ in the first place, so don’tditch it for some small hardware savings.
One aspect of any virtualization imple-mentation that makes it different from a
Secure Virtual Networks
ast year I wrote about general security issues to keepin mind when moving parts of your IT infrastructureto virtual machines (“Virtual Security,” August 2008).
Here are additional pointers for networking these virtualmachines (VMs) securely.
by Joern Wettern
SecurityAdvisor
L
Virtual Switch 1
VirtualSwitch 2
VirtualSwitch 3
SQL Server
DNS Server
Exchange Edge Transport Server
Host Management
ISA Server
Windows Update Server
Internet Connection
Web Server
Internal NetworkConnection
Figure 1. A virtual network design for a demilitarized zone.
44 | February 2009 | Redmond | Redmondmag.com |
0209red_SecAdvisor44-46.v8 1/13/09 10:40 AM Page 44
physical data center is the underlyingsoftware that makes the virtualizationpossible. This may take various forms,from the specialized OS used byVMware, to the base OS partition usedby Hyper-V, to the combination of OSand virtualization software employed byVirtual Server and other products. Nomatter what the specifics, this part of theinfrastructure requires extra attention. Ifthe security of this underlying compo-nent is compromised, all VMs on theserver are impacted. This means the hostshould be locked down, regularly patchedand perform no tasks other than runningVMs. You should also pay close attentionto any possible interaction between thehost and VMs running on it. This mayrequire using multiple physical networkadapters to separate traffic.
Physical NICs and Virtual SwitchesMost virtualization solutions let you setup multiple VMs on a server with only asingle network adapter. Even thoughthere’s only one physical NIC, the hostand each VM see a separate adapter, andthe underlying software magically trans-lates the network traffic so the singlephysical adapter impersonates each ofthe virtual NICs. The risk factor withthis configuration is that something assimple as an IP address not properly configured in one of your VMs or aDOS attack against any of them can pre-vent network access to all VMs and thehost itself. If this happens, you won’t beable to shut down the affected VMs ortake other corrective action anymore.Because of this, it’s best to assign a dedi-cated network adapter to the host itselfand use it only to manage the host,including starting and stopping VMs.With this configuration you’ll still beable to shut down any of the VMs or disconnect them from the network nomatter what the problem is.
Virtualization also gives you additionalchoices for configuring entirely virtualnetwork switches. For example, inHyper-V you can configure a virtualswitch that’s connected to the internalnetwork, which is shared by the host and
one or more VMs. Avoid connectingVMs to this network because it enablesnetwork traffic from a compromised VMto the host and thus could give an attackercontrol not only over the host, but alsoover all VMs running on it. If there’s aneed to have a VM communicate withthe host, try to keep the attack surface assmall as possible by configuring packetfilters and using other methods to keepthis traffic to a bare minimum.
A private network, in Hyper-V lingo,also connects VMs to each other butallows no access to the host OS. This isthe preferred solution for letting VMscommunicate with each other. You caneven define multiple private networks tofurther isolate network traffic betweenonly certain VMs while ensuring thatother VMs can’t see the network. Inaddition to the security implications,keeping this network traffic off yourphysical infrastructure can also improveoverall network performance.
Let’s put some of these conceptstogether and take a look at how to designa virtual network for some typical serversyou can find in a DMZ. Figure 1 (oppo-site page) depicts a virtualization hostwith multiple VMs: an ISA Server thatacts as a firewall, an Exchange Edgeserver, a Web server and a DNS server.The Web server also accesses a SQLServer for some non-sensitive data, andall servers get their patches from a serverrunning Windows Update Services.
The physical server contains three net-work adapters: one is dedicated to hostmanagement, one connects to the Internetand one connects to the internal net-work. All traffic between the Internet andthe DMZ and between the DMZ andthe internal network is controlled by ISAServer. ISA Server allows selected trafficfor servers requiring an Internet connec-tion through Virtual Switch 1. All trafficbetween the Web server and the SQLServer is routed through Virtual Switch2. Virtual Switch 3 is used for trafficbetween the Windows Update server andthe other servers. This design providesfor complete isolation between the hostand VM network traffic. Because youcan create virtual switches easily, you
SecurityAdvisor
| Redmondmag.com | Redmond | February 2009 | 45
IBM, the IBM logo, IBM ExpressAdvantage, System x and SystemStorage are trademarks of InternationalBusiness Machines Corporation in theUnited States and/or other countries. Fora complete list of IBM trademarks, seewww.ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml.Intel and Xeon are registered trademarksof Intel Corporation. All other productsmay be trademarks or registeredtrademarks of their respective companies.All prices and savings estimates arebased upon IBM’s estimated retail sellingprices as of 8/20/08. Prices and actualsavings may vary according to configuration. Resellers set their ownprices, so reseller prices and actual savings to end users may vary.Products are subject to availability. This document was developed forofferings in the United States. IBM may not offer the products, features,or services discussed in this document in other countries. Pricesare subject to change without notice. Starting price may not includea hard drive, operating system, or other features. Contact your IBMrepresentative or IBM Business Partner for the most current pricing inyour geographic area. © 2008 IBM Corporation. All rights reserved.
PN: 7977E7U
Featuring up to two Intel® Xeon® ProcessorsE5420 2.50 GHz/1333 MHz-12 MB QC (80w)2x1GB, keyboard and mouse, HS SAS/SATA1 x 835W power
Up to 8 hot-swappable SAS or SATA HDDs or up to 12 hot-swappable SFF SAS or SATAHDDs to support large capacity
ITS JOB IS TO SIMPLIFYYOURS.IBM System x3500 Express
Here’s another way you can become
more productive. IBM System x3500
Express affordably manages your IT
network from one location, identifies
potential problems before they happen,
and keeps your downtime to a minimum.
It’s innovation made easy.
$1,625
��
ibm.com/systems/simplifyit1 866-872-3902 (mention 6N8AH15A)
0209red_SecAdvisor44-46.v8 1/13/09 10:40 AM Page 45
can create separate segments for dis-similar network traffic more easily thanif you had to use physical switches.
Virtualizing ISA Server brings up thequestion of whether a firewall shouldbe running as a VM. The answer is, asin so many topics related to security: Itdepends. In the configuration depicted in
Figure 1 (p. 44), all Internet traffic endsup at the ISA Server, and no connec-tions from the Internet to the host orother VMs can be established. However,even a simple configuration mistakecould change this. As a result, the net-work configuration I’ve shown is notideal—but it may be secure enough if
none of the virtual servers in the DMZcontain valuable data and if there’sanother firewall between the DMZ andthe internal network.
TradeoffsUsing virtual switches can make thingsmore secure, but they can also renderpart of your security infrastructure inef-fective. A firewall between different security zones in your network can addto security, but many of today’s firewallsare hardware appliances that can’t beintegrated into virtual switches. Luckily,there are vendors offering virtual appli-ances that can connect to these switches.A firewall running on a standard OS,such as ISA Server, can also be a viablesolution to the problem. A network-based intrusion-detection system (IDS)that connects to switches to spot issuesfrom common threats to a full-blownintrusion presents a similar problem. Youcan’t connect network probes for mostIDSes to virtual switches.
Fortunately, there are a few vendorsthat offer virtual appliances for VMwarethat do connect to virtual switches tomonitor network traffic and forwardevents to an IDS management console.Some of these vendors are also workingon solutions for Hyper-V.
Virtualizing portions of your networkcan increase the security of your net-work, but it can also make things worse.Your results will depend on thespecifics of your implementation, but Ihope that I’ve illustrated the mainissues to consider so you can ask theright questions as you enter into thevirtual network world.—
Joern Wettern ([email protected]),Ph.D., MCSE, MCT, Security+, is theowner of Wettern Network Solutions, a consulting and training firm. He’s writtenbooks and developed training courses on anumber of networking and training topics, inaddition to regularly teaching seminars andspeaking at conferences worldwide.
SecurityAdvisor
Earn up to 10 respected industry certifications with your
online IT degree program—At No Additional Cost.
• Flexible ONLINE learning• The opportunity to advance quickly if you already have certifi cations• Programs in Networks, Databases, Security, Software and IT Management
Here’s what you can get from the onlinedegree programs offered at WGU:
“Th e best— and cheapest— college you’ve never
heard of is found
only online”—TIME magazine, November 17, 2008
—————————
WGU is honored to receive the USDLA 21st Century Award for Best Practices in Distance Learning for 2008.
Call Toll Free
888-455-6001or visit us at www.wgu.edu/time15
Earn your degreeand IT certs at the same time!
One common mistake in designinga virtual network is to combineservers that were previouslylocated on separate network segments onto the same host.
0209red_SecAdvisor44-46.v8 1/13/09 10:40 AM Page 46
This index is provided as a service. The publisher assumes no liability for errors or omissions.
AdvertisingSales
RedmondResources
John BubelloEastern Regional Sales Manager508-532-1411 phone508-875-6633 [email protected]
CORPORATE ADDRESS1105 Media, Inc.9121 Oakdale Ave. Ste 101 Chatsworth, CA 91311www.1105media.com
MEDIA KITS: Direct your Media Kitrequests to Matt Morollo, VP, Publishing,508-532-1418 (phone), 508-875-6622(fax), [email protected]
REPRINTS: For single article reprints (inminimum quantities of 250-500), e-prints,plaques and posters contact:PARS InternationalPhone: 212-221-9595E-mail: [email protected]/QuickQuote.asp
LIST RENTAL: This publication’s sub-scriber list, as well as other lists from 1105Media, Inc., is available for rental. Formore information, please contact our listmanager, Merit Direct. Phone: 914-368-1000; E-mail: [email protected];Web: www.meritdirect.com/1105
Redmond (ISSN 1553-7560) is publishedmonthly by 1105 Media, Inc., 9121 OakdaleAvenue, Ste. 101, Chatsworth, CA 91311.Periodicals postage paid at Chatsworth,CA 91311-9998, and at additional mailingoffices. Complimentary subscriptions aresent to qualifying subscribers. Annualsubscription rates for non-qualified sub-scribers are: U.S. $39.95; Canada $54.95
(U.S. funds); International $64.95 (U.S.funds). Subscription inquiries, back issuerequests, and address changes: Mail to:Redmond, P.O. Box 2063, Skokie, IL60076-9699, email [email protected] call (866) 293-3194 for U.S. & Canada;(847) 763-9560 for International, fax(847) 763-9564. POSTMASTER: Sendaddress changes to Redmond, P.O. Box2063, Skokie, IL 60076-9699. CanadaPublications Mail Agreement No:40612608. Return Undeliverable CanadianAddresses to Circulation Dept. orBleuchip International, P.O. Box 25542,London, ON N6C 6B2.
© Copyright 2009 by 1105 Media, Inc. Allrights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.Reproductions in whole or part prohibitedexcept by written permission. Mailrequests to “Permissions Editor,” c/o REDMOND, 16261 Laguna Canyon Road,Ste. 130, Irvine, CA 92618.
The information in this magazine has notundergone any formal testing by 1105Media, Inc. and is distributed without anywarranty expressed or implied. Implemen-tation or use of any information containedherein is the reader’s sole responsibility.While the information has been reviewedfor accuracy, there is no guarantee that thesame or similar results may be achieved inall environments. Technical inaccuraciesmay result from printing errors and/or newdevelopments in the industry.
AD INDEX
Advertiser Page URL
Avaya 39 www.avaya.com
AvePoint, Inc. 30 www.avepoint.com
Dell Computer C2-1, www.dell.com24-25, C4
Diskeeper Corporation 27 www.diskeeper.com
Hewlett Packard 2 www.hp.com
IBM Corporation 5, 7, 9, www.IBM.com11, 43, 45
Idera 23 www.idera.com
Lucid8 14, 21 www.lucid8.com
Network Appliance C3 www.netapp.com
Netwrix Corporation 41 www.netwrix.com
Redmond Magazine 35 Redmondmag.com/subscribe
Redmond Media Group 33 RedmondMediaGroup.com/newsletters
Sunbelt Software 13 www.sunbelt-software.com
The Training Camp 29 www.trainingcamp.com/super
Western Governors University 36, 46 www.wgu.edu/time15
Bruce HalldorsonNorthwesternRegional Sales Manager209-333-2299 phone209-729-5855 [email protected]
Amy WinchellSo Cal/CentralRegional Sales Manager949-265-1566 [email protected]
Danna VedderMicrosoft Account Manager253-514-8015 phone775-514-0350 [email protected]
SALES STAFFTanya EgenolfAdvertising Sales Associate760-722-5494 phone760-722-5495 [email protected]
IT CERTIFICATION &TRAINING: USA, EUROPEAl TianoAdvertising Sales Manager818-734-1520 ext. 190 phone818-734-1529 [email protected]
PRODUCTIONJenny Hernandez-AsandasDirector, Print Production818-734-1520 ext. 101 phone818-734-1528 [email protected]
Jennifer ShepardProduction Coordinator818-734-1520 ext. 112 phone818-734-1528 [email protected]
Northwest
So Cal/Central
East
| Redmondmag.com | Redmond | February 2009 | 47
JD HolzgrefeAssociate Publisher804-752-7800 phone253-595-1976 [email protected]
EDITORIAL INDEXCompany Page URL
ALWIL Software A.S. 20 www.avast.com
Amazon.com Inc. 48 www.amazon.com
Apple Inc. 10 www.apple.com
Bleeping Computer LLC 22 www.bleepingcomputer.com
Centurion Technologies Inc. 28 www.centuriontech.com
Cisco Systems Inc. 37 www.cisco.com
Google Inc. 19, 48 www.google.com
Hewlett-Packard Co. 10 www.hp.com
IBM Corp. 16 www.ibm.com
Intel Corp. 10, 16 www.intel.com
Lavasoft AB 26 www.lavasoft.com
Malwarebytes Corp. 20 www.malwarebytes.org
McAfee Inc. 26 www.mcafee.com
Nortel Networks Ltd. 37 www.nortel.com
Novell 16 www.novell.com
Sun Microsystems Inc. 15 www.sun.com
Symantec Corp. 19 www.symantec.com
The Mozilla Foundation 17, 26 www.mozilla.org
Trend Micro Inc. 26 http://us.trendmicro.com
V.i. Laboratories Inc. 10 www.vilabs.com
VMware Inc. 45 www.vmware.com
Yahoo! Inc. 20, 48 www.yahoo.com
0209red_Index47.v1 1/13/09 3:31 PM Page 47
48 | February 2009 | Redmond | Redmondmag.com |
Until recently, that business modelwas straightforward and simple: Sell lotsof software at a lower cost than thecompetitors. Some cynics might tack onto that: Explore ways to force partnersand customers to buy more of your appsby bundling them and thereby blockingout competitors. The latter is a practiceantitrust watchdogs have done theirbest to thwart in recent years.
With the Web now one of the pri-mary ways users find, try out and buytheir software and services, Microsoft’stried-and-true business model is mor-phing into multiple business models.
Three years ago, Microsoft’s ChiefSoftware Architect Ray Ozzie foreshad-owed this change in his strategy opuswith a memo entitled “The Internet Services Disruption.” In that Oct. 28,2005, memo Ozzie observed:
“Most challenging and promising toour business is that a new businessmodel has emerged in the form ofadvertising-supported services and soft-ware. This model has the potential tofundamentally impact how we and otherdevelopers build, deliver and monetizeinnovations. No one yet knows whatkind of software and in which marketsthis model will be embraced, and thereis tremendous revenue potential inthose where it ultimately is.”
Microsoft has been juggling a numberof business models for months—if notyears—primarily through pilot programsand experiments. In 2009, however,
these limited trials are looking likethey’ll start to become permanentpieces of the company’s repertoire.Here are some examples:
• Via FlexGo and the Office PrepaidTrial programs, Microsoft’s UnlimitedPotential Group has been offeringusers in developing and emerging mar-kets “pay-as-you-go” options for theirsoftware. Microsoft applied for a patentfor pay-as-you-go (although the appli-cation was subsequently rejected),which may mean the company is goingto allow customers in all countries tostart trying or buying software andservices this way.
• With Microsoft Works, Redmondhas been dabbling in free, ad-fundedoptions for users of its low-end officesuite. With Office 14’s new Web apps—Web-based versions of PowerPoint,Word and Excel—Microsoft is plan-ning to make ads the default way thatthese applications will be monetized, atleast for home use. Businesses, on theother hand, will have to pony up anunspecified amount to “subscribe” tothe Office 14 Web apps.
• The recently launched MicrosoftStore allows users to try, buy and
download Microsoft wares directlyfrom the Web.
• The ’Softies’ growing family ofMicrosoft-hosted Online services—Exchange Online, SharePoint Online,Communications Online, CRM Online,the still-unannounced Forefront Onlineand so on—is Microsoft’s foray intothe utility-computing model for enter-prise users.
• Like Amazon and Google, Microsoftis starting to offer third-party and cor-porate developers the option of hostingtheir apps in the Microsoft Azure cloudand using Microsoft cloud-based servicesto build these apps—all for a monthly fee.
Of all of these models, the one Ozzieand Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer arethe most focused on is advertising. Butthat’s a catch-22 for the company, givenits lagging position in the search andonline-advertising markets. As bloggerDanny Sullivan noted recently in his“Tough Love for Microsoft Search”talk, Microsoft’s bid for Yahoo! wasn’tabout people or technology. It wasabout growing the ’Softies’ monetizableadvertising base. But Microsoft has yet toland even a search deal with its formertake-over target.
Being the low-cost, high-volumesoftware provider isn’t enough anymore. Do you think the ’Softies canmake the transition from one primarybusiness model to managing and—ifthey have their way—monopolizingmultiple business models this year andinto the future?—
Mary Jo Foley ([email protected])is editor of the ZDNet “All AboutMicrosoft” blog and has been coveringMicrosoft for about two decades. She has anew book out, “Microsoft 2.0” (John Wiley& Sons, 2008), which looks at what’s nextfor Microsoft in the post-Gates era.
hen I take a look down the road at what’s next for Microsoft, I typically focus on thecompany’s products and people. But there’s an
equally important aspect when considering the company’sfuture: its business model.
W
by Mary Jo Foley
FoleyOnMicrosoft
Microsoft’s Morphing Business Model
For more on Microsoft’s businessmodels, go to Redmondmag.com.FindIT code: Foley0209
GetMoreOnline
0209red_Foley48.v4 1/13/09 10:41 AM Page 48
© 2008 NetApp. All rights reserved. Specifi cations are subject to change without notice. NetApp, the NetApp logo, and Go further, faster are trademarks or registered trademarks of NetApp, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other brands or products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and should be treated as such. *This guarantee and related Program is limited to
the terms set forth in the Program Guide and Acknowledgement For 50% Virtualization Guarantee Program document, applicable only to prospective orders placed after the Program effective date and is dependent upon your compliance with the terms and conditions set forth in this document and any of the instruction sets and specifi cations set forth in the referenced documents. NetApp’s sole and exclusive liability and your sole and exclusive remedy associated with the terms of this guarantee and related Program is the provision by NetApp of the additional storage capacity as set forth in this guarantee and related Program.
With NetApp® at the heart of your business, you can
at a fraction of the cost and footprint.
E F F O R T L E S S L Y H O L D Y O U R D A T A
Imagine storage and data management solutions smart enough to support the data you need, and not a lot of dead weight.
It’s possible when you partner with NetApp. Our industry-leading solutions use deduplication and other space-saving technologies
to help you store data effi ciently and reduce your footprint by 50% or more. So you can manage exponential growth while
minimizing your storage investment—all with the support of a team that will exceed your expectations. See how we can help
your business go further, faster. Find out how you can use 50% less storage, guaranteed,* at netapp.com/effi ciency.
Project1 1/12/09 1:03 PM Page 1
![WELCOME! [content.gov.mb.ca]content.gov.mb.ca/mit/project6/glnac_nov7/storyboard.pdf · WELCOME! to the East Side Transportation Initiative COMMUNITY MEETING PROJECT 6 ALL-SEASON](https://img.pdfslide.us/doc/110x75/5f0bd1167e708231d4325b4f/welcome-welcome-to-the-east-side-transportation-initiative-community-meeting.jpg)
