<<< Small Biz Server News This Week March 21, 2004>>>

From: Susan Bradley, CPA aka Ebitz - SBS Rocks [MVP] (sbradcpa_at_pacbell.net)
Date: 03/22/04 

Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2004 00:14:33 -0800

BIG NEWS THIS WEEK......

XP SP2 RELEASE CANDIDATE AND EXCHANGE ERROR 8331 FIX
---------------------------

http://msmvps.com/bradley/posts/4046.aspx
Huge thanks to Damian for posting that if you are seeing that error that
manifests itself as :
The service threw an unexpected exception which was caught at
f:\titanium\dsa\src\lra\abv_dg\lservagent.cpp(4511)

There is a hotfix available.

If you have seen those symptoms, are seeing it or even if you have an
SBS 2003 system that has 2 or more logical processors and you are
running Exchange, you can contact PSS and ask for the hotfix found on KB
article 837444. The call for a hotfix is a no-charge call. In order to
find the local PSS number for your country, go to
http://support.microsoft.com, the
US number is (800) 936-4900.

-------------------------------
XP sp2 RC1 now available

To aid IT professionals in planning and testing for the deployment of
Windows XP SP2, Microsoft is making available this preview, based on
Release Candidate 1 (RC1) of the SP2. Additionally, we have established
11 newsgroups for sharing information.

Customers who download Windows XP SP2 RC1 will not be eligible for
support through the technical beta program. However, Microsoft has
created 11 new newsgroups to foster community-based support.

Customers are encouraged to download and begin testing Windows XP SP2 in
their environments through this release candidate.

The download and related information is located at this URL:

http://www.microsoft.com/sp2preview

Remember that us SBSers have a GP that wacks off the firewall inside of
our lans but it's still a great idea to test this out.
-----------------------------------
Per the FSecure Blog
http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/#00000106

The Witty worm is going around fast...but only affects users running
BlackIce software. However, on infected machines the worm seems to do
really bad damage, overwriting random parts of the hard drive as long as
the machine is infected.

Remember, disinfection is as easy as disconnecting the machine from the
internet and rebooting it.

Unfortunately there might be lots of overwritten machines waiting at
workplaces on Monday morning.

ISS (vendor behind BlackIce) now has a public advisory on this at
http://xforce.iss.net/xforce/alerts/id/167.

----------------------------------
Yukon and Whidbey pushed back
http://www.microsoftmonitor.com/archives/002496.html

-----------------------------------

Time Warner not selling AOL to MS
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/002430.html?wbfrom=rss
Thank goodness as you know how we just loooveee AOL around here ;-)
-----------------------------------
  Web Seminar: Monitoring and Maintaining a Secure SBS Solution

Date and Time:
  3/25/2004
10:00AM Pacific Time (US & Canada)

Okay so you've locked down your customers Small Business Server.
Now, how do you keep it secure? We'll spend an hour with one of the SBS
Product Managers discussing how to keep an SBS network secure.

We will discuss and demonstrate the Software Update Service,
Microsoft's Baseline Security Analyzer as well as the Monitoring
Tools built into SBS 2003. We will conclude with a conversation about
how to keep abreast of the ever evolving world of security.

To Register

http://www.msusapartnerreadiness.com/eventregister.asp?eid=173

--------------------------------------
WEB SEMINAR Configuring SBS 2003 as a Security Solution

Date and Time:
3/24/2004
10:00AM Pacific Time (US & Canada)

Description:

We will spend one hour demonstrating and talking about SBS's
security configurations with one of the team's Product Managers.

Our primary objective in the session will be to demonstrate how to
take a plain vanilla installation and lock down all of the core
components.

We will discuss the technical specs as well as the specific value
that each of the core security components provide your customers.

To Register:
http://msusapartnerreadiness.com/eventregister.asp?eid=172

----------------------------------------
Find out about the new partner program
Partner Letter – March 17, 2004:
http://members.microsoft.com/partner/program/programletter031704.aspx

---------------------------------------

SBS2k3 OPK
Microsoft Partner Readiness:
http://www.msusapartnerreadiness.com/eventregister.asp?eid=171
Do you want to start competing with the big OEMs? Well why not start by
using the tools they use to reduce their cost per box. We are going to
spend an hour doing OPK demonstrations and talk with the experts at
Microsoft about how the OPK will accelerate your installation of SBS,
reduce your costs and provide you with a very repeatable process for
building your systems.

------------------------------------------

Microsoft Security Outreach Initiative:
http://members.microsoft.com/partner/campaign/securityoutreach/default.htm

"There comes a time in any industry that you have to really step back
and hear what people are saying and take those as defining moments to
galvanize action. That's the view we have at Microsoft about security.
It's our number one priority."

*What you can do to better protect your business:*
1. Conduct a security risk assessment to identify your top vulnerabilities.
2. Ensure proper configurations and settings for firewalls and frequent
anti-virus signature updates
3. Build an automated and proactive patch management policy
4. Lock down servers, workstations and network infrastructure
----------------------------------------
In other news
- - - - - - - - - -
New Bagle worms crawl through old MS hole
Four new versions of the Bagle e-mail worm appeared
on Thursday, and anti-virus experts warn that new
techniques by the worm's creator could make it
harder to stop the new variants. Software updates
and alerts about Bagle.Q, R, S and T have been
released. The new versions of the worm, which first
appeared in January, do not carry file attachments
containing the virus. Instead, they use a months-
old Windows security hole to break into vulnerable
machines, experts said.
http://www.techworld.com/news/index.cfm?fuseaction=displaynews&NewsID=1236
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39149416,00.htm

Vicious Worm Infects Without Attachment
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_title=Vicious_Worm_Infects_Without_Attachment&story_id=23458
Microsoft urges users to protect themselves better from viruses
http://www.computerweekly.com/articles/article.asp?liArticleID=129328
Flaw stymies Norton Internet Security
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5176442.html
Report: Rise in virus attacks costs firms dearly
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5176420.html
- - - - - - - - - -
Unholy trinity of Open SSL vulns
Updated versions of Open SSL have been released following
this week's announcement of three potentially troublesome
security vulnerabilities. These could be exploited by
attackers to launch denial of service attacks against
routers or servers running the ubiquitous security
protocol, security clearing house CERT warns.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/36400.html
- - - - - - - - - -
Anti-piracy vigilantes stalk file sharers
A pair of coders nurturing a deep antipathy for
software pirates set off a controversy last Thursday
when they went public with a months-old experiment
to trick file sharers into running a Trojan horse
program that chastises users and reports back to
a central server.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/36391.html
- - - - - - - - - -
AOL Blocks Spammers' Web Sites
America Online Inc. has adopted a new tactic against
spam: blocking its members' ability to see Web sites
promoted by bulk e-mailers. The policy, which began
earlier this year, opens a new front in the war on
spam but also makes the Dulles company the first
of its kind to push past the traditional Internet
orthodoxy that service providers should be neutral
conduits to anything the World Wide Web has to offer.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9449-2004Mar19.html
- - - - - - - - - -
Report: Phishing attacks on the rise
Despite a handful of successful criminal prosecutions
and an increase in public awareness, February saw
a marked increase in the number of new variations
of the spam-borne swindle called "phishing,"
according to a report from an industry group
released Friday.
http://www.securityfocus.com/news/8289
- - - - - - - - - -
Internet industry fears wiretap plan could chill innovation
Before 8x8 Inc. launched an Internet phone service
in late 2002, it drafted a business plan, set up
its equipment, posted a Web site and began taking
orders from customers. As with most online
ventures, U.S. government approval wasn't needed.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/8228362.htm
- - - - - - - - - -
Model hacker behavior
Forget about patches. Researchers at the Florida
Institute of Technology are looking for ways to fight
hackers by modeling their methods, or "exploits." The
research could eventually lead to new types of security
tools capable of stopping attacks that hackers haven't
even invented yet.
http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,91453,00.html
- - - - - - - - - -
AMD announces antivirus chip
AMD has launched a new 32/64-bit processor designed
with hardware-level antivirus protection. Launched
at CeBIT in Hanover, the AMD Athlon 64 FX53 2.4GHz
will run on 32-bit or 64-bit software. It features
an antivirus system designed to block activation
of executable malware by marking all memory with
page tables and making it non-executable.
http://www.vnunet.com/News/1153631
- - - - - - - - - -
Study says security appliances are the way forward
Small businesses are rolling out security appliances
in place of security software, to reduce the cost
of increasingly complex security requirements.
Spending on server security appliances increased
in Western Europe by 24% in 2003, with year-on-
year growth of 46% in the final quarter of the
year, according to IDC.
http://www.microscope.co.uk/articles/article.asp?liArticleID=129306
- - - - - - - - - -
In search of a cure for DDoS attacks
You may not be aware that your business and personal
Internet connections can be indiscriminately targeted
for a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack at
the whim of just about any other Internet user to
whom your connection's IP address is exposed. What
may also come as a surprise to you is that there
isn't much you can do about it--not technically
or legally.
http://techupdate.zdnet.com/techupdate/stories/main/In_search_of_a_cure_for_DDoS_attacks_.html
- - - - - - - - - -
Security vital to successful remote working
Wireless technology is fast becoming a ubiquitous
business tool. Advances in technology and the rollout
of broadband are both responsible, as is the growing
number of parents working remotely from home thanks
to flexible working regulations which came into
force last year.
http://www.vnunet.com/Features/1153653

Symantec wants to police small firms' networks
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/internet/security/0,39020375,39149421,00.htm
- - - - - - - - - -
Internet fraud: little tricks and large losses
Computer related crimes may cause weighty
circumstances: irreparable loss of especially
high-value information, break of important technical
facilities, e.g. defence systems, navigator systems.
In cases like that if caught and convicted the
hacker could face up to 7 years of jail.
http://www.crime-research.org/news/19.03.2004/141

Computer crimes fade into the background
http://www.crime-research.org/news/19.03.2004/142
- - - - - - - - - -
Smile! I'm calling police: Camera phones help nab crooks
When Lisa Johnson saw a man exposing himself to her in
a parking lot, she reached for her cell phone -- not to
call 911, but to snap a picture. The images captured on
her camera phone led police to the capture of the former
principal of a nearby high school. After his arrest on
public indecency charges last month, he resigned from
a lower school job.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/03/19/crime.fighting.camphones.ap/index.html
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/8227182.htm
-----------------------
Fox Fires 2 After Finding Film Downloads on Server
Two employees of Fox Entertainment Group have been
terminated after the company's discovery of illegally
downloaded movies and software on a Fox computer
network server. The titles found on the server
included "Bringing Down the House," "Daddy Day Care,"
"Old School," "Daredevil," "Deliver Us From Eva,"
"The Matrix Reloaded" and "X2: X-Men United."
(LA Times article, free registration required)
http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-piracy18mar18,1,4351880.story
- - - - - - - - - -
Softbank says probe into data leak suggests inside job
Japanese Internet company Softbank Corp. on Thursday
said its investigation into the leak of personal data
of millions of its broadband customers suggests that
a worker with access to the company's computer system
-- not a hacker -- was responsible.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/8218842.htm
- - - - - - - - - -
Computer security's new 'polybot' nightmare
A new malicious computer program has been
detected that can create networks of remotely
controlled computers to take part in online
attacks, send junk e-mail messages as spam
and engage in other shady activities common
to the bad neighborhoods of cyberspace.
http://www.iht.com/articles/510902.html

Experts downplay Phatbot danger
http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,91365,00.html
Phatbot Not So Phat
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_title=Phatbot_Not_So_Phat&story_id=23452
- - - - - - - - - -
Program for Hackers Is Causing Concerns
Computer security experts in both government and
the private sector are monitoring the emergence
of a new, sophisticated hacker program that
connects infected computers to far-flung peer-
to-peer file-sharing networks.
(LA Times article, free registration required)
http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-hacker18mar18,1,494432.story
- - - - - - - - - -
Australia ranks fifth in hacking
Australia is in the the top source of hacker
attacks in the Asia-Pacific region because
threats to steal information from computers,
including banking and credit card, have risen,
says thecouriermail.news.com. Anti-virus software
company Symantec said in its half-yearly report
on computer attacks in more than 180 countries,
that Australia became fifth in the world for
Internet attacks.
http://www.crime-research.org/news/18.03.2004/139
- - - - - - - - - -
Fake escrow sites on the rise
Fake escrow sites are increasing in number and
sophistication, police and online watchdogs
have warned. Legitimate escrow companies offer
online shoppers protection from fraud by acting
as a third-party referee for buyer and seller
in online transactions.
http://www.vnunet.com/News/1153586

Fraudsters prey on apathetic Brits
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/36373.html 

-- 
http://www.sbslinks.com/really.htm

Relevant Pages

  • << SBS news of the week 12/6/2004>>
    ... Simply connecting to the Internet — and doing ... You would NEVER set up a server with file and printing sharing ports ... McAfee says 'Skulls' mobile security threat still low ... ISPs raise the stakes on DDoS attacks ...
    (microsoft.public.backoffice.smallbiz)
  • << SBS news of the week 12/6/2004>>
    ... Simply connecting to the Internet — and doing ... You would NEVER set up a server with file and printing sharing ports ... McAfee says 'Skulls' mobile security threat still low ... ISPs raise the stakes on DDoS attacks ...
    (microsoft.public.backoffice.smallbiz2000)
  • << SBS news of the week 12/6/2004>>
    ... Simply connecting to the Internet — and doing ... You would NEVER set up a server with file and printing sharing ports ... McAfee says 'Skulls' mobile security threat still low ... ISPs raise the stakes on DDoS attacks ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)
  • RE: Windows XP SP2 and Security Tools
    ... issues that were in SP2. ... Windows XP SP2 and Security Tools ... > Audit your website security with Acunetix Web Vulnerability Scanner: ... Up to 75% of cyber attacks are ...
    (Pen-Test)
  • <<< Small Biz server news for April 4th 2004>>>
    ... Europe wide open to virus attacks ... according to a survey by McAfee security. ... As Internet scams, also known as phishing, proliferate, ... Valentin Stepankov spoke about crimes in Russia. ...
    (microsoft.public.backoffice.smallbiz)