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This Issue Sponsored By
Argent Software
http://www.argent.com/products/download.cgi?product=xxx&Source=WNT
Download: Be Proactive with Real-Time Monitoring!
http://www.tntsoftware.com/winmothersec071304
===============
1. Commentary: Internet Explorer: Indispensable Business Tool or Horribly Broken Windows Component?
2. Hot Off the Press
- Windows XP SP2 to Ship in Early August, says Microsoft
3. Networking Perspectives
- SUS Implementation Tips
4. Resource
- Tip: How can I load more than one third-party disk controller disk during Windows Server 2003 set-up?
5. New and Improved
- Offer VoIP Service Through Phone and Fax
- Recover IE, Network and Dial-Up, and Outlook Express Passwords
- Tell Us About a Hot Product and Get a T-Shirt!
==== Sponsor: Argent Software ====
Free Download: Monitor Your Entire Infrastructure with ONE Solution
The Argent Guardian monitors servers, applications, any and all SNMP-compliant devices as well as the overall health of the entire network at a fraction of the cost of "framework" solutions. Network Testing Labs states that "The Argent Guardian will cost far less than MOM and yet provide significantly more functionality." Using a patented Agent-Optional architecture, the Argent Guardian is easily installed and monitoring your infrastructure in a matter of hours. Download a fully-functioning copy of the Argent Guardian at:
http://www.argent.com/products/download.cgi?product=xxx&Source=WNT
==========
- Windows XP SP2 to Ship in Early August, says Microsoft
- SUS Implementation Tips
- Tip: How can I load more than one third-party disk controller disk during Windows Server 2003 set-up?
- Offer VoIP Service Through Phone and Fax
- Recover IE, Network and Dial-Up, and Outlook Express Passwords
- Tell Us About a Hot Product and Get a T-Shirt!
Free Download: Monitor Your Entire Infrastructure with ONE Solution
The Argent Guardian monitors servers, applications, any and all SNMP-compliant devices as well as the overall health of the entire network at a fraction of the cost of "framework" solutions. Network Testing Labs states that "The Argent Guardian will cost far less than MOM and yet provide significantly more functionality." Using a patented Agent-Optional architecture, the Argent Guardian is easily installed and monitoring your infrastructure in a matter of hours. Download a fully-functioning copy of the Argent Guardian at:
http://www.argent.com/products/download.cgi?product=xxx&Source=WNT
==== 1. Commentary: Internet Explorer: Indispensable Business Tool or Horribly Broken Windows Component? ====
by Paul Thurrott, News Editor, [email protected]
I've privately and publicly lamented Microsoft's bizarre business decision in the mid-1990s to integrate Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) deeply into Windows. Starting with various OEM versions of Windows 95, IE went from a simple bundled application that could be cleanly removed from the OS to an integral system component. In Win98--and the associated Shell Update Release (SUR) for Windows NT 4.0 and IE 4.0 with Shell Integration for Win95--IE was elevated to become the Windows shell, the GUI responsible for interacting with the user.
Before IE's integration, Windows Explorer was simply a more powerful version of the Program Manager shell from Windows 3.x, with extensible COM-based interfaces that made the environment more powerful and attractive to third-party developers. However, with the IE shell integration, Microsoft was seeking to meld the UI for the Web--a single-click, hyperlink-based paradigm--with the UI for PCs--a double-click, icons-and-windows system that typically dealt with only local and networked files and locations. Microsoft is still working on this integration: In Longhorn, supposedly, IE won't even be a separate application from the end user's perspective; instead, the differences between local and remote resources will be blurred even further.
You can make the argument that melding the UI for local (hard disk-based) and remote (Web-based) resources is reasonable. After all, why should users need to learn two separate sets of UI paradigms? If the Web interface is so easy to use and universal, why shouldn't the company apply it to local file browsing as well? Indeed, these were the questions Microsoft asked as it developed Win98 and IE 4.0. And though the company tried to make the one-click, Web-style UI the default in those products, users recoiled and demanded that the old style be returned as the default. So by the time Win98 shipped with IE firmly ensconced as its UI, Windows Explorer still acted like the old Windows Explorer, despite the technology that drove it. But as a side benefit, the shell was now buggier and less secure.
My problems with Microsoft integrating IE into Windows at the time could be summed up by one word: immaturity. Here was a product, barely a few years old and developed largely by fresh-faced recent college graduates, that was being thrust into one of the most mission-critical situations in IT: It would replace the core Windows UI. And IE's immaturity showed, as the previously rock-solid NT began succumbing to a mind-numbing number of shell-based reliability problems. Microsoft worked furiously to fix these problems over the years, and in NT-based products such as Windows 2000 Server and Windows XP, the IE shell is indeed a lot more resilient and reliable. But NT's previously impressive reliability record was forever tarnished.
Alarmingly, it also seems that Microsoft integrated IE with Windows solely to stave off competition from Netscape, which threatened Microsoft's Windows monopoly by providing a browser-based platform that could potentially render Windows obsolete. Because Microsoft made browsing part of Windows, Netscape had to compete with a dominant OS, rather than an immature browser product, and Microsoft could bring its massive industry strength against the smaller company more effectively. Yes, Netscape, like the Soviet Union, would have fallen apart on its own, eventually. But Microsoft helped it along, and today, we're stuck with the results of that decision.
IE is also the source of numerous security exploits. An integrated IE means that your Web browser--most people's portal to the outside world--can be the conduit through which viruses, worms, and other Trojan attacks could be launched against your PCs. And IE has definitely been that conduit, with Microsoft releasing dozens of IE-based security patches over just the past few years alone. One of the major "features" of XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), now due in early August, is a set of IE security fixes, including pop-up ad blocking, plug-in management, and low-level security zone changes that minimize the effects of dangerous ActiveX controls.
What's astonishing about this situation is that Microsoft could reverse all the bad effects of IE simply by removing it from Windows, a tactic it has refused to follow. Instead, under court order, Microsoft provided a way to hide IE so that users could choose to use a different Web browser without being bothered by the presence of IE on their systems. Like the overall US antitrust settlement that brought about this requirement, however, hiding IE is a nonanswer to a serious question. Because IE is still installed on your system when hidden, users are still in danger of attacks exploiting IE bugs. And because IE still pops up, unannounced and unwanted, for various tasks (e.g., system updates through Windows Update), it's still an attack vector, even for those people who explicitly chose to get rid of it.
Now, I've received a bit of feedback from people suggesting that my anti-IE stance is a "Chicken Little" response to a more general problem--that removing IE isn't going to solve anything. I've also seen some interesting discussions about the IE "monoculture" that suggest that IE is attacked only because, with about 95 percent of the market, it's an obvious target for hackers. A more balanced market, some believe, with two to three major players, each with nearly identical market share, would be safer for users.
Perhaps. I agree that IE is attacked, in large part, because that's where the victims are. But IE is also a stereotypical Microsoft product that the company cobbled together quickly, then spent the next several years patching repeatedly until the result was a patchwork of poorly designed code that might never be truly secure. In other words, like the Netscape example, IE would have folded under its own weight eventually, but clearly its market dominance attracted hackers to it much more quickly.
What bothers me about all this is that no clear advice emerges. Personally, I feel that you should avoid IE at all costs and design Web sites, intranets, and extranets to be platform agnostic and work equally well with all browsers. Switching to a new browser won't be a cure-all--in the past week, new vulnerabilities in both Mozilla Firefox and Opera Software's Opera highlighted this fact. But it's unlikely that a little-used browser such as Mozilla Firefox will incur the number of vulnerabilities that IE faces each year. For so many reasons, I think it's time for enterprises and businesses of all sizes to start seriously considering switching to a new browser. IE is just too unreliable and too dangerous to ignore anymore.
==========
by Paul Thurrott, News Editor, [email protected]
Before IE's integration, Windows Explorer was simply a more powerful version of the Program Manager shell from Windows 3.x, with extensible COM-based interfaces that made the environment more powerful and attractive to third-party developers. However, with the IE shell integration, Microsoft was seeking to meld the UI for the Web--a single-click, hyperlink-based paradigm--with the UI for PCs--a double-click, icons-and-windows system that typically dealt with only local and networked files and locations. Microsoft is still working on this integration: In Longhorn, supposedly, IE won't even be a separate application from the end user's perspective; instead, the differences between local and remote resources will be blurred even further.
You can make the argument that melding the UI for local (hard disk-based) and remote (Web-based) resources is reasonable. After all, why should users need to learn two separate sets of UI paradigms? If the Web interface is so easy to use and universal, why shouldn't the company apply it to local file browsing as well? Indeed, these were the questions Microsoft asked as it developed Win98 and IE 4.0. And though the company tried to make the one-click, Web-style UI the default in those products, users recoiled and demanded that the old style be returned as the default. So by the time Win98 shipped with IE firmly ensconced as its UI, Windows Explorer still acted like the old Windows Explorer, despite the technology that drove it. But as a side benefit, the shell was now buggier and less secure.
My problems with Microsoft integrating IE into Windows at the time could be summed up by one word: immaturity. Here was a product, barely a few years old and developed largely by fresh-faced recent college graduates, that was being thrust into one of the most mission-critical situations in IT: It would replace the core Windows UI. And IE's immaturity showed, as the previously rock-solid NT began succumbing to a mind-numbing number of shell-based reliability problems. Microsoft worked furiously to fix these problems over the years, and in NT-based products such as Windows 2000 Server and Windows XP, the IE shell is indeed a lot more resilient and reliable. But NT's previously impressive reliability record was forever tarnished.
Alarmingly, it also seems that Microsoft integrated IE with Windows solely to stave off competition from Netscape, which threatened Microsoft's Windows monopoly by providing a browser-based platform that could potentially render Windows obsolete. Because Microsoft made browsing part of Windows, Netscape had to compete with a dominant OS, rather than an immature browser product, and Microsoft could bring its massive industry strength against the smaller company more effectively. Yes, Netscape, like the Soviet Union, would have fallen apart on its own, eventually. But Microsoft helped it along, and today, we're stuck with the results of that decision.
IE is also the source of numerous security exploits. An integrated IE means that your Web browser--most people's portal to the outside world--can be the conduit through which viruses, worms, and other Trojan attacks could be launched against your PCs. And IE has definitely been that conduit, with Microsoft releasing dozens of IE-based security patches over just the past few years alone. One of the major "features" of XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), now due in early August, is a set of IE security fixes, including pop-up ad blocking, plug-in management, and low-level security zone changes that minimize the effects of dangerous ActiveX controls.
What's astonishing about this situation is that Microsoft could reverse all the bad effects of IE simply by removing it from Windows, a tactic it has refused to follow. Instead, under court order, Microsoft provided a way to hide IE so that users could choose to use a different Web browser without being bothered by the presence of IE on their systems. Like the overall US antitrust settlement that brought about this requirement, however, hiding IE is a nonanswer to a serious question. Because IE is still installed on your system when hidden, users are still in danger of attacks exploiting IE bugs. And because IE still pops up, unannounced and unwanted, for various tasks (e.g., system updates through Windows Update), it's still an attack vector, even for those people who explicitly chose to get rid of it.
Now, I've received a bit of feedback from people suggesting that my anti-IE stance is a "Chicken Little" response to a more general problem--that removing IE isn't going to solve anything. I've also seen some interesting discussions about the IE "monoculture" that suggest that IE is attacked only because, with about 95 percent of the market, it's an obvious target for hackers. A more balanced market, some believe, with two to three major players, each with nearly identical market share, would be safer for users.
Perhaps. I agree that IE is attacked, in large part, because that's where the victims are. But IE is also a stereotypical Microsoft product that the company cobbled together quickly, then spent the next several years patching repeatedly until the result was a patchwork of poorly designed code that might never be truly secure. In other words, like the Netscape example, IE would have folded under its own weight eventually, but clearly its market dominance attracted hackers to it much more quickly.
What bothers me about all this is that no clear advice emerges. Personally, I feel that you should avoid IE at all costs and design Web sites, intranets, and extranets to be platform agnostic and work equally well with all browsers. Switching to a new browser won't be a cure-all--in the past week, new vulnerabilities in both Mozilla Firefox and Opera Software's Opera highlighted this fact. But it's unlikely that a little-used browser such as Mozilla Firefox will incur the number of vulnerabilities that IE faces each year. For so many reasons, I think it's time for enterprises and businesses of all sizes to start seriously considering switching to a new browser. IE is just too unreliable and too dangerous to ignore anymore.
==== Sponsor: Download: Be Proactive with Real-Time Monitoring! ====
There are two ways to manage your critical systems: Reactive and Proactive. TNT Software's ELM Enterprise Manager supports the latter. ELM Enterprise Manager is the affordable solution that monitors the health and status of your systems in real-time, provides easy to access Views, and alerts you in time to take prompt corrective action. Be proactive, download you FREE 30 day full featured trial copy of ELM Enterprise Manager NOW and start experiencing the benefits of real-time monitoring.
http://www.tntsoftware.com/winmothersec071304
==========
There are two ways to manage your critical systems: Reactive and Proactive. TNT Software's ELM Enterprise Manager supports the latter. ELM Enterprise Manager is the affordable solution that monitors the health and status of your systems in real-time, provides easy to access Views, and alerts you in time to take prompt corrective action. Be proactive, download you FREE 30 day full featured trial copy of ELM Enterprise Manager NOW and start experiencing the benefits of real-time monitoring.
http://www.tntsoftware.com/winmothersec071304
==== 2. Hot Off the Press ====
by Paul Thurrott, [email protected]
Windows XP SP2 to Ship in Early August
A Microsoft representative told me Monday that the company will release Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) to manufacturing in early August, a date that contradicts various Web stories that are pegging the oft-delayed release as occurring in 2 weeks. Will Poole, senior vice president of Windows Client Business at Microsoft, will announce the release schedule and other XP SP2 details during the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2004 in Toronto. To read the complete story, visit the following URL:
http://www.winnetmag.com/article/articleid/43242/43242.html
==== 3. Networking Perspectives ====
by Alan Sugano, [email protected]
SUS Implementation Tips
As you know, Microsoft Software Update Services (SUS) is a free download that lets you download all critical updates to a Windows 2000 or later server, then distribute them to your network's Windows servers and workstations. You can download SUS from http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/sus/default.mspx. For networks with at least one Windows 200x server, SUS gives the network administrator a way to automate patch management and eliminates the need to manually download and install critical updates on individual workstations. In the second half of 2004, Microsoft will release the successor to SUS, Windows Update Services (WUS). WUS will expand SUS capabilities to include patching server applications such as Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Exchange Server. Because of the recent Download.Ject browser highjack attacks that exploit a MIME Encapsulation of Aggregate HTML Documents (MHTML) and an ADODB weakness, you might want to implement SUS now and upgrade to WUS as soon as Microsoft releases it. For more information about SUS and some tips on implementing it, visit the following URL:
http://www.winnetmag.com/article/articleid/43247/43247.html
==== Announcements ====
(from Windows & .NET Magazine and its partners)
Windows Connections October 24-27, Orlando, Florida
Save these dates for the Fall 2004 Windows Connections conference, which will run concurrently with Microsoft Exchange Connections. Register early and receive admission to both conferences for one low price. Learn firsthand from Microsoft product architects and the best third-party experts. Go online or call 800-505-1201 for more information.
http://www.winconnections.com
Find Out How To Secure Your Messaging Center
Find out everything you need to know to secure your messaging environment including information about antigen antivirus solutions, antispam, and content-filtering. Get access to FAQs, free seminars, and the latest articles. Go to the Secure Messaging Center now!
http://www.winnetmag.com/microsoftexchangeoutlook/securemessaging
New! The Shifting Tactics of Spammers: How to Stop the Newest Email Threats
Stopping new spam techniques requires detection and prevention in real time at the SMTP connection point. In this free Web seminar, you'll learn how spam filters operate as well as real-world examples of spammers' new attacks and threats so that you can learn what you must do to protect your organization. Register now!
http://www.winnetmag.com/seminars/newspamtechniques/index.cfm?code=0712emailannc
==== Instant Poll ====
Results of Previous Poll:
The voting has closed in Windows & .NET Magazine's nonscientific Instant Poll for the question, "Do you subscribe to the Microsoft Security Notification Service?" Here are the results from the 350 votes:
- 76% Yes
- 7% No, but we plan to
- 17% No, and we have no plans to
New Instant Poll: Web Browser
The next Instant Poll question is, "Which Web browser does your organization use?" Go to the Windows & .NET Magazine home page and submit your vote for a) Internet Explorer, b) Mozilla, c) Netscape, d) Opera, or e) Other.
http://www.winnetmag.com/magazine
==== 4. Resource ====
Tip: How can I load more than one third-party disk controller disk during Windows Server 2003 set-up?
by John Savill, http://www.windows2000faq.com
Usually, when you're prompted to press a key during Windows 2003 installation, you can press F6 to boot from the Windows 2003 CD-ROM and install an additional third-party disk controller or alternative hardware abstraction layer (HAL). If you subsequently need to install drivers or a HAL from another disk, pressing F6 again produces the following error message:
The disk you supplied does not contain relevant support files. Press any key to continue.
To avoid the error, press F6 without a disk in the drive and insert only the second disk when prompted on screen.
==== Events Central ====
(A complete Web and live events directory brought to you by Windows & .NET Magazine: http://www.winnetmag.com/events )
New! Extending Microsoft Office with Integrated Fax Messaging
Are you "getting by" using fax machines or relying on a less savvy solution that doesn't offer truly integrated faxing from within user applications? Attend this free Web seminar and learn what questions to ask when selecting an integrated fax solution, discover how an integrated fax solution is more efficient than traditional faxing methods, and learn how to select the fax technology that's right for your organization. Register now!
http://www.winnetmag.com/seminars/faxsolutions/index.cfm?code=0712emailannc
==== 5. New and Improved ====
by Angie Brew, [email protected]
Offer VoIP Service Through Phone and Fax
Telco Systems released Access211, a Voice over IP (VoIP) gateway that lets service providers offer VoIP service by using standard telephones and fax machines. The product features integrated routing capabilities, unique traffic shaping ability, and implementation of advanced Quality of Service (QoS) standards. The Access211 has two analog voice lines that support two different phone numbers and two 10/100Mbps Ethernet ports: one that connects directly to a PC and one that connects to a cable modem or DSL modem. The Access211 supports DHCP, H.323 VoIP, Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP), Network Address Translation (NAT), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), and T.38 fax over IP. For pricing, contact Telco Systems at 781-551-0300.
http://www.telco.com
Recover IE, Network and Dial-Up, and Outlook Express Passwords
Rixler Software released Password Recovery Toolbox 1.1, a password-recovery application that can recover Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE), network and dial-up, and Microsoft Outlook Express passwords. The software displays Site, User, and Content Advisor passwords and Autocomplete data strings in IE. The Network and Dial-Up Passwords category includes logons and passwords for LAN, Internet, and network access, including modem connections, ISDN lines, and VPNs. Password Recovery Toolbox automatically displays server types, addresses and user logins, and passwords for all email and newsgroup accounts that Outlook Express stores. The product can export all password and logon information to a clipboard or formatted text. You can download a demo version from Rixler Software's Web site. Recovery Password Toolbox 1.1 costs $34.95 for a single-user copy. Contact Rixler Software at [email protected].
http://www.rixler.com
Tell Us About a Hot Product and Get a T-Shirt!
Have you used a product that changed your IT experience by saving you time or easing your daily burden? Tell us about the product, and we'll send you a Windows & .NET Magazine T-shirt if we write about the product in a future Windows & .NET Magazine What's Hot column. Send your product suggestions with information about how the product has helped you to [email protected].
==== Sponsored Links ====
Argent
Comparison Paper: The Argent Guardian Easily Beats Out MOM
http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;6480843;8214395;q?http://www.argent.com/products/download_whitepaper.cgi?product=mom&&Source=WNTTextLink
==========
by Paul Thurrott, [email protected]
A Microsoft representative told me Monday that the company will release Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) to manufacturing in early August, a date that contradicts various Web stories that are pegging the oft-delayed release as occurring in 2 weeks. Will Poole, senior vice president of Windows Client Business at Microsoft, will announce the release schedule and other XP SP2 details during the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2004 in Toronto. To read the complete story, visit the following URL:
http://www.winnetmag.com/article/articleid/43242/43242.html
by Alan Sugano, [email protected]
As you know, Microsoft Software Update Services (SUS) is a free download that lets you download all critical updates to a Windows 2000 or later server, then distribute them to your network's Windows servers and workstations. You can download SUS from http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/sus/default.mspx. For networks with at least one Windows 200x server, SUS gives the network administrator a way to automate patch management and eliminates the need to manually download and install critical updates on individual workstations. In the second half of 2004, Microsoft will release the successor to SUS, Windows Update Services (WUS). WUS will expand SUS capabilities to include patching server applications such as Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Exchange Server. Because of the recent Download.Ject browser highjack attacks that exploit a MIME Encapsulation of Aggregate HTML Documents (MHTML) and an ADODB weakness, you might want to implement SUS now and upgrade to WUS as soon as Microsoft releases it. For more information about SUS and some tips on implementing it, visit the following URL:
http://www.winnetmag.com/article/articleid/43247/43247.html
(from Windows & .NET Magazine and its partners)
Save these dates for the Fall 2004 Windows Connections conference, which will run concurrently with Microsoft Exchange Connections. Register early and receive admission to both conferences for one low price. Learn firsthand from Microsoft product architects and the best third-party experts. Go online or call 800-505-1201 for more information.
http://www.winconnections.com
Find out everything you need to know to secure your messaging environment including information about antigen antivirus solutions, antispam, and content-filtering. Get access to FAQs, free seminars, and the latest articles. Go to the Secure Messaging Center now!
http://www.winnetmag.com/microsoftexchangeoutlook/securemessaging
Stopping new spam techniques requires detection and prevention in real time at the SMTP connection point. In this free Web seminar, you'll learn how spam filters operate as well as real-world examples of spammers' new attacks and threats so that you can learn what you must do to protect your organization. Register now!
http://www.winnetmag.com/seminars/newspamtechniques/index.cfm?code=0712emailannc
The voting has closed in Windows & .NET Magazine's nonscientific Instant Poll for the question, "Do you subscribe to the Microsoft Security Notification Service?" Here are the results from the 350 votes:
- 76% Yes
- 7% No, but we plan to
- 17% No, and we have no plans to
The next Instant Poll question is, "Which Web browser does your organization use?" Go to the Windows & .NET Magazine home page and submit your vote for a) Internet Explorer, b) Mozilla, c) Netscape, d) Opera, or e) Other.
http://www.winnetmag.com/magazine
by John Savill, http://www.windows2000faq.com
(A complete Web and live events directory brought to you by Windows & .NET Magazine: http://www.winnetmag.com/events )
Are you "getting by" using fax machines or relying on a less savvy solution that doesn't offer truly integrated faxing from within user applications? Attend this free Web seminar and learn what questions to ask when selecting an integrated fax solution, discover how an integrated fax solution is more efficient than traditional faxing methods, and learn how to select the fax technology that's right for your organization. Register now!
http://www.winnetmag.com/seminars/faxsolutions/index.cfm?code=0712emailannc
by Angie Brew, [email protected]
Telco Systems released Access211, a Voice over IP (VoIP) gateway that lets service providers offer VoIP service by using standard telephones and fax machines. The product features integrated routing capabilities, unique traffic shaping ability, and implementation of advanced Quality of Service (QoS) standards. The Access211 has two analog voice lines that support two different phone numbers and two 10/100Mbps Ethernet ports: one that connects directly to a PC and one that connects to a cable modem or DSL modem. The Access211 supports DHCP, H.323 VoIP, Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP), Network Address Translation (NAT), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), and T.38 fax over IP. For pricing, contact Telco Systems at 781-551-0300.
http://www.telco.com
Rixler Software released Password Recovery Toolbox 1.1, a password-recovery application that can recover Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE), network and dial-up, and Microsoft Outlook Express passwords. The software displays Site, User, and Content Advisor passwords and Autocomplete data strings in IE. The Network and Dial-Up Passwords category includes logons and passwords for LAN, Internet, and network access, including modem connections, ISDN lines, and VPNs. Password Recovery Toolbox automatically displays server types, addresses and user logins, and passwords for all email and newsgroup accounts that Outlook Express stores. The product can export all password and logon information to a clipboard or formatted text. You can download a demo version from Rixler Software's Web site. Recovery Password Toolbox 1.1 costs $34.95 for a single-user copy. Contact Rixler Software at [email protected].
http://www.rixler.com
Have you used a product that changed your IT experience by saving you time or easing your daily burden? Tell us about the product, and we'll send you a Windows & .NET Magazine T-shirt if we write about the product in a future Windows & .NET Magazine What's Hot column. Send your product suggestions with information about how the product has helped you to [email protected].
Comparison Paper: The Argent Guardian Easily Beats Out MOM
http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;6480843;8214395;q?http://www.argent.com/products/download_whitepaper.cgi?product=mom&&Source=WNTTextLink
==== Contact Us ====
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About sponsoring UPDATE -- [email protected]
==========
About technical questions -- http://www.winnetmag.com/forums
==== Contact Our Sponsors ====
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====================
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Make sure your copy of Windows & .NET Magazine UPDATE doesn't get mistakenly blocked by antispam software! Be sure to add [email protected] to your list of allowed senders and contacts.
==== This Issue Sponsored By ====
Argent Software
http://www.argent.com/products/download.cgi?product=xxx&Source=WNT
Download: Be Proactive with Real-Time Monitoring!
http://www.tntsoftware.com/winmothersec071304
==========
This email newsletter is brought to you by Windows & .NET Magazine, the leading publication for IT professionals deploying Windows and related technologies. Subscribe today.
http://www.winnetmag.com/sub.cfm?code=wswi201x1z
http://www.winnetmag.com/aboutus/index.cfm?action=privacy Windows & .NET Magazine a division of Penton Media, Inc. 221 East 29th Street, Loveland, CO 80538, Attention: Customer Service Department Copyright 2004, Penton Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.argent.com/products/download.cgi?product=xxx&Source=WNT
http://www.tntsoftware.com/winmothersec071304
1. Commentary: Internet Explorer: Indispensable Business Tool or Horribly Broken Windows Component?
2. Hot Off the Press
- Windows XP SP2 to Ship in Early August, says Microsoft
3. Networking Perspectives
- SUS Implementation Tips
4. Resource
- Tip: How can I load more than one third-party disk controller disk during Windows Server 2003 set-up?
5. New and Improved
- Offer VoIP Service Through Phone and Fax
- Recover IE, Network and Dial-Up, and Outlook Express Passwords
- Tell Us About a Hot Product and Get a T-Shirt!
==== Sponsor: Argent Software ====
Free Download: Monitor Your Entire Infrastructure with ONE Solution
The Argent Guardian monitors servers, applications, any and all SNMP-compliant devices as well as the overall health of the entire network at a fraction of the cost of "framework" solutions. Network Testing Labs states that "The Argent Guardian will cost far less than MOM and yet provide significantly more functionality." Using a patented Agent-Optional architecture, the Argent Guardian is easily installed and monitoring your infrastructure in a matter of hours. Download a fully-functioning copy of the Argent Guardian at:
http://www.argent.com/products/download.cgi?product=xxx&Source=WNT
==========
- Windows XP SP2 to Ship in Early August, says Microsoft
- SUS Implementation Tips
- Tip: How can I load more than one third-party disk controller disk during Windows Server 2003 set-up?
- Offer VoIP Service Through Phone and Fax
- Recover IE, Network and Dial-Up, and Outlook Express Passwords
- Tell Us About a Hot Product and Get a T-Shirt!
Free Download: Monitor Your Entire Infrastructure with ONE Solution
The Argent Guardian monitors servers, applications, any and all SNMP-compliant devices as well as the overall health of the entire network at a fraction of the cost of "framework" solutions. Network Testing Labs states that "The Argent Guardian will cost far less than MOM and yet provide significantly more functionality." Using a patented Agent-Optional architecture, the Argent Guardian is easily installed and monitoring your infrastructure in a matter of hours. Download a fully-functioning copy of the Argent Guardian at:
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==== 1. Commentary: Internet Explorer: Indispensable Business Tool or Horribly Broken Windows Component? ====
by Paul Thurrott, News Editor, [email protected]
I've privately and publicly lamented Microsoft's bizarre business decision in the mid-1990s to integrate Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) deeply into Windows. Starting with various OEM versions of Windows 95, IE went from a simple bundled application that could be cleanly removed from the OS to an integral system component. In Win98--and the associated Shell Update Release (SUR) for Windows NT 4.0 and IE 4.0 with Shell Integration for Win95--IE was elevated to become the Windows shell, the GUI responsible for interacting with the user.
Before IE's integration, Windows Explorer was simply a more powerful version of the Program Manager shell from Windows 3.x, with extensible COM-based interfaces that made the environment more powerful and attractive to third-party developers. However, with the IE shell integration, Microsoft was seeking to meld the UI for the Web--a single-click, hyperlink-based paradigm--with the UI for PCs--a double-click, icons-and-windows system that typically dealt with only local and networked files and locations. Microsoft is still working on this integration: In Longhorn, supposedly, IE won't even be a separate application from the end user's perspective; instead, the differences between local and remote resources will be blurred even further.
You can make the argument that melding the UI for local (hard disk-based) and remote (Web-based) resources is reasonable. After all, why should users need to learn two separate sets of UI paradigms? If the Web interface is so easy to use and universal, why shouldn't the company apply it to local file browsing as well? Indeed, these were the questions Microsoft asked as it developed Win98 and IE 4.0. And though the company tried to make the one-click, Web-style UI the default in those products, users recoiled and demanded that the old style be returned as the default. So by the time Win98 shipped with IE firmly ensconced as its UI, Windows Explorer still acted like the old Windows Explorer, despite the technology that drove it. But as a side benefit, the shell was now buggier and less secure.
My problems with Microsoft integrating IE into Windows at the time could be summed up by one word: immaturity. Here was a product, barely a few years old and developed largely by fresh-faced recent college graduates, that was being thrust into one of the most mission-critical situations in IT: It would replace the core Windows UI. And IE's immaturity showed, as the previously rock-solid NT began succumbing to a mind-numbing number of shell-based reliability problems. Microsoft worked furiously to fix these problems over the years, and in NT-based products such as Windows 2000 Server and Windows XP, the IE shell is indeed a lot more resilient and reliable. But NT's previously impressive reliability record was forever tarnished.
Alarmingly, it also seems that Microsoft integrated IE with Windows solely to stave off competition from Netscape, which threatened Microsoft's Windows monopoly by providing a browser-based platform that could potentially render Windows obsolete. Because Microsoft made browsing part of Windows, Netscape had to compete with a dominant OS, rather than an immature browser product, and Microsoft could bring its massive industry strength against the smaller company more effectively. Yes, Netscape, like the Soviet Union, would have fallen apart on its own, eventually. But Microsoft helped it along, and today, we're stuck with the results of that decision.
IE is also the source of numerous security exploits. An integrated IE means that your Web browser--most people's portal to the outside world--can be the conduit through which viruses, worms, and other Trojan attacks could be launched against your PCs. And IE has definitely been that conduit, with Microsoft releasing dozens of IE-based security patches over just the past few years alone. One of the major "features" of XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), now due in early August, is a set of IE security fixes, including pop-up ad blocking, plug-in management, and low-level security zone changes that minimize the effects of dangerous ActiveX controls.
What's astonishing about this situation is that Microsoft could reverse all the bad effects of IE simply by removing it from Windows, a tactic it has refused to follow. Instead, under court order, Microsoft provided a way to hide IE so that users could choose to use a different Web browser without being bothered by the presence of IE on their systems. Like the overall US antitrust settlement that brought about this requirement, however, hiding IE is a nonanswer to a serious question. Because IE is still installed on your system when hidden, users are still in danger of attacks exploiting IE bugs. And because IE still pops up, unannounced and unwanted, for various tasks (e.g., system updates through Windows Update), it's still an attack vector, even for those people who explicitly chose to get rid of it.
Now, I've received a bit of feedback from people suggesting that my anti-IE stance is a "Chicken Little" response to a more general problem--that removing IE isn't going to solve anything. I've also seen some interesting discussions about the IE "monoculture" that suggest that IE is attacked only because, with about 95 percent of the market, it's an obvious target for hackers. A more balanced market, some believe, with two to three major players, each with nearly identical market share, would be safer for users.
Perhaps. I agree that IE is attacked, in large part, because that's where the victims are. But IE is also a stereotypical Microsoft product that the company cobbled together quickly, then spent the next several years patching repeatedly until the result was a patchwork of poorly designed code that might never be truly secure. In other words, like the Netscape example, IE would have folded under its own weight eventually, but clearly its market dominance attracted hackers to it much more quickly.
What bothers me about all this is that no clear advice emerges. Personally, I feel that you should avoid IE at all costs and design Web sites, intranets, and extranets to be platform agnostic and work equally well with all browsers. Switching to a new browser won't be a cure-all--in the past week, new vulnerabilities in both Mozilla Firefox and Opera Software's Opera highlighted this fact. But it's unlikely that a little-used browser such as Mozilla Firefox will incur the number of vulnerabilities that IE faces each year. For so many reasons, I think it's time for enterprises and businesses of all sizes to start seriously considering switching to a new browser. IE is just too unreliable and too dangerous to ignore anymore.
==========
by Paul Thurrott, News Editor, [email protected]
Before IE's integration, Windows Explorer was simply a more powerful version of the Program Manager shell from Windows 3.x, with extensible COM-based interfaces that made the environment more powerful and attractive to third-party developers. However, with the IE shell integration, Microsoft was seeking to meld the UI for the Web--a single-click, hyperlink-based paradigm--with the UI for PCs--a double-click, icons-and-windows system that typically dealt with only local and networked files and locations. Microsoft is still working on this integration: In Longhorn, supposedly, IE won't even be a separate application from the end user's perspective; instead, the differences between local and remote resources will be blurred even further.
You can make the argument that melding the UI for local (hard disk-based) and remote (Web-based) resources is reasonable. After all, why should users need to learn two separate sets of UI paradigms? If the Web interface is so easy to use and universal, why shouldn't the company apply it to local file browsing as well? Indeed, these were the questions Microsoft asked as it developed Win98 and IE 4.0. And though the company tried to make the one-click, Web-style UI the default in those products, users recoiled and demanded that the old style be returned as the default. So by the time Win98 shipped with IE firmly ensconced as its UI, Windows Explorer still acted like the old Windows Explorer, despite the technology that drove it. But as a side benefit, the shell was now buggier and less secure.
My problems with Microsoft integrating IE into Windows at the time could be summed up by one word: immaturity. Here was a product, barely a few years old and developed largely by fresh-faced recent college graduates, that was being thrust into one of the most mission-critical situations in IT: It would replace the core Windows UI. And IE's immaturity showed, as the previously rock-solid NT began succumbing to a mind-numbing number of shell-based reliability problems. Microsoft worked furiously to fix these problems over the years, and in NT-based products such as Windows 2000 Server and Windows XP, the IE shell is indeed a lot more resilient and reliable. But NT's previously impressive reliability record was forever tarnished.
Alarmingly, it also seems that Microsoft integrated IE with Windows solely to stave off competition from Netscape, which threatened Microsoft's Windows monopoly by providing a browser-based platform that could potentially render Windows obsolete. Because Microsoft made browsing part of Windows, Netscape had to compete with a dominant OS, rather than an immature browser product, and Microsoft could bring its massive industry strength against the smaller company more effectively. Yes, Netscape, like the Soviet Union, would have fallen apart on its own, eventually. But Microsoft helped it along, and today, we're stuck with the results of that decision.
IE is also the source of numerous security exploits. An integrated IE means that your Web browser--most people's portal to the outside world--can be the conduit through which viruses, worms, and other Trojan attacks could be launched against your PCs. And IE has definitely been that conduit, with Microsoft releasing dozens of IE-based security patches over just the past few years alone. One of the major "features" of XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), now due in early August, is a set of IE security fixes, including pop-up ad blocking, plug-in management, and low-level security zone changes that minimize the effects of dangerous ActiveX controls.
What's astonishing about this situation is that Microsoft could reverse all the bad effects of IE simply by removing it from Windows, a tactic it has refused to follow. Instead, under court order, Microsoft provided a way to hide IE so that users could choose to use a different Web browser without being bothered by the presence of IE on their systems. Like the overall US antitrust settlement that brought about this requirement, however, hiding IE is a nonanswer to a serious question. Because IE is still installed on your system when hidden, users are still in danger of attacks exploiting IE bugs. And because IE still pops up, unannounced and unwanted, for various tasks (e.g., system updates through Windows Update), it's still an attack vector, even for those people who explicitly chose to get rid of it.
Now, I've received a bit of feedback from people suggesting that my anti-IE stance is a "Chicken Little" response to a more general problem--that removing IE isn't going to solve anything. I've also seen some interesting discussions about the IE "monoculture" that suggest that IE is attacked only because, with about 95 percent of the market, it's an obvious target for hackers. A more balanced market, some believe, with two to three major players, each with nearly identical market share, would be safer for users.
Perhaps. I agree that IE is attacked, in large part, because that's where the victims are. But IE is also a stereotypical Microsoft product that the company cobbled together quickly, then spent the next several years patching repeatedly until the result was a patchwork of poorly designed code that might never be truly secure. In other words, like the Netscape example, IE would have folded under its own weight eventually, but clearly its market dominance attracted hackers to it much more quickly.
What bothers me about all this is that no clear advice emerges. Personally, I feel that you should avoid IE at all costs and design Web sites, intranets, and extranets to be platform agnostic and work equally well with all browsers. Switching to a new browser won't be a cure-all--in the past week, new vulnerabilities in both Mozilla Firefox and Opera Software's Opera highlighted this fact. But it's unlikely that a little-used browser such as Mozilla Firefox will incur the number of vulnerabilities that IE faces each year. For so many reasons, I think it's time for enterprises and businesses of all sizes to start seriously considering switching to a new browser. IE is just too unreliable and too dangerous to ignore anymore.
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==== 2. Hot Off the Press ====
by Paul Thurrott, [email protected]
Windows XP SP2 to Ship in Early August
A Microsoft representative told me Monday that the company will release Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) to manufacturing in early August, a date that contradicts various Web stories that are pegging the oft-delayed release as occurring in 2 weeks. Will Poole, senior vice president of Windows Client Business at Microsoft, will announce the release schedule and other XP SP2 details during the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2004 in Toronto. To read the complete story, visit the following URL:
http://www.winnetmag.com/article/articleid/43242/43242.html
==== 3. Networking Perspectives ====
by Alan Sugano, [email protected]
SUS Implementation Tips
As you know, Microsoft Software Update Services (SUS) is a free download that lets you download all critical updates to a Windows 2000 or later server, then distribute them to your network's Windows servers and workstations. You can download SUS from http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/sus/default.mspx. For networks with at least one Windows 200x server, SUS gives the network administrator a way to automate patch management and eliminates the need to manually download and install critical updates on individual workstations. In the second half of 2004, Microsoft will release the successor to SUS, Windows Update Services (WUS). WUS will expand SUS capabilities to include patching server applications such as Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Exchange Server. Because of the recent Download.Ject browser highjack attacks that exploit a MIME Encapsulation of Aggregate HTML Documents (MHTML) and an ADODB weakness, you might want to implement SUS now and upgrade to WUS as soon as Microsoft releases it. For more information about SUS and some tips on implementing it, visit the following URL:
http://www.winnetmag.com/article/articleid/43247/43247.html
==== Announcements ====
(from Windows & .NET Magazine and its partners)
Windows Connections October 24-27, Orlando, Florida
Save these dates for the Fall 2004 Windows Connections conference, which will run concurrently with Microsoft Exchange Connections. Register early and receive admission to both conferences for one low price. Learn firsthand from Microsoft product architects and the best third-party experts. Go online or call 800-505-1201 for more information.
http://www.winconnections.com
Find Out How To Secure Your Messaging Center
Find out everything you need to know to secure your messaging environment including information about antigen antivirus solutions, antispam, and content-filtering. Get access to FAQs, free seminars, and the latest articles. Go to the Secure Messaging Center now!
http://www.winnetmag.com/microsoftexchangeoutlook/securemessaging
New! The Shifting Tactics of Spammers: How to Stop the Newest Email Threats
Stopping new spam techniques requires detection and prevention in real time at the SMTP connection point. In this free Web seminar, you'll learn how spam filters operate as well as real-world examples of spammers' new attacks and threats so that you can learn what you must do to protect your organization. Register now!
http://www.winnetmag.com/seminars/newspamtechniques/index.cfm?code=0712emailannc
==== Instant Poll ====
Results of Previous Poll:
The voting has closed in Windows & .NET Magazine's nonscientific Instant Poll for the question, "Do you subscribe to the Microsoft Security Notification Service?" Here are the results from the 350 votes:
- 76% Yes
- 7% No, but we plan to
- 17% No, and we have no plans to
New Instant Poll: Web Browser
The next Instant Poll question is, "Which Web browser does your organization use?" Go to the Windows & .NET Magazine home page and submit your vote for a) Internet Explorer, b) Mozilla, c) Netscape, d) Opera, or e) Other.
http://www.winnetmag.com/magazine
==== 4. Resource ====
Tip: How can I load more than one third-party disk controller disk during Windows Server 2003 set-up?
by John Savill, http://www.windows2000faq.com
Usually, when you're prompted to press a key during Windows 2003 installation, you can press F6 to boot from the Windows 2003 CD-ROM and install an additional third-party disk controller or alternative hardware abstraction layer (HAL). If you subsequently need to install drivers or a HAL from another disk, pressing F6 again produces the following error message:
The disk you supplied does not contain relevant support files. Press any key to continue.
To avoid the error, press F6 without a disk in the drive and insert only the second disk when prompted on screen.
==== Events Central ====
(A complete Web and live events directory brought to you by Windows & .NET Magazine: http://www.winnetmag.com/events )
New! Extending Microsoft Office with Integrated Fax Messaging
Are you "getting by" using fax machines or relying on a less savvy solution that doesn't offer truly integrated faxing from within user applications? Attend this free Web seminar and learn what questions to ask when selecting an integrated fax solution, discover how an integrated fax solution is more efficient than traditional faxing methods, and learn how to select the fax technology that's right for your organization. Register now!
http://www.winnetmag.com/seminars/faxsolutions/index.cfm?code=0712emailannc
==== 5. New and Improved ====
by Angie Brew, [email protected]
Offer VoIP Service Through Phone and Fax
Telco Systems released Access211, a Voice over IP (VoIP) gateway that lets service providers offer VoIP service by using standard telephones and fax machines. The product features integrated routing capabilities, unique traffic shaping ability, and implementation of advanced Quality of Service (QoS) standards. The Access211 has two analog voice lines that support two different phone numbers and two 10/100Mbps Ethernet ports: one that connects directly to a PC and one that connects to a cable modem or DSL modem. The Access211 supports DHCP, H.323 VoIP, Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP), Network Address Translation (NAT), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), and T.38 fax over IP. For pricing, contact Telco Systems at 781-551-0300.
http://www.telco.com
Recover IE, Network and Dial-Up, and Outlook Express Passwords
Rixler Software released Password Recovery Toolbox 1.1, a password-recovery application that can recover Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE), network and dial-up, and Microsoft Outlook Express passwords. The software displays Site, User, and Content Advisor passwords and Autocomplete data strings in IE. The Network and Dial-Up Passwords category includes logons and passwords for LAN, Internet, and network access, including modem connections, ISDN lines, and VPNs. Password Recovery Toolbox automatically displays server types, addresses and user logins, and passwords for all email and newsgroup accounts that Outlook Express stores. The product can export all password and logon information to a clipboard or formatted text. You can download a demo version from Rixler Software's Web site. Recovery Password Toolbox 1.1 costs $34.95 for a single-user copy. Contact Rixler Software at [email protected].
http://www.rixler.com
Tell Us About a Hot Product and Get a T-Shirt!
Have you used a product that changed your IT experience by saving you time or easing your daily burden? Tell us about the product, and we'll send you a Windows & .NET Magazine T-shirt if we write about the product in a future Windows & .NET Magazine What's Hot column. Send your product suggestions with information about how the product has helped you to [email protected].
==== Sponsored Links ====
Argent
Comparison Paper: The Argent Guardian Easily Beats Out MOM
http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;6480843;8214395;q?http://www.argent.com/products/download_whitepaper.cgi?product=mom&&Source=WNTTextLink
==========
by Paul Thurrott, [email protected]
A Microsoft representative told me Monday that the company will release Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) to manufacturing in early August, a date that contradicts various Web stories that are pegging the oft-delayed release as occurring in 2 weeks. Will Poole, senior vice president of Windows Client Business at Microsoft, will announce the release schedule and other XP SP2 details during the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2004 in Toronto. To read the complete story, visit the following URL:
http://www.winnetmag.com/article/articleid/43242/43242.html
by Alan Sugano, [email protected]
As you know, Microsoft Software Update Services (SUS) is a free download that lets you download all critical updates to a Windows 2000 or later server, then distribute them to your network's Windows servers and workstations. You can download SUS from http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/sus/default.mspx. For networks with at least one Windows 200x server, SUS gives the network administrator a way to automate patch management and eliminates the need to manually download and install critical updates on individual workstations. In the second half of 2004, Microsoft will release the successor to SUS, Windows Update Services (WUS). WUS will expand SUS capabilities to include patching server applications such as Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Exchange Server. Because of the recent Download.Ject browser highjack attacks that exploit a MIME Encapsulation of Aggregate HTML Documents (MHTML) and an ADODB weakness, you might want to implement SUS now and upgrade to WUS as soon as Microsoft releases it. For more information about SUS and some tips on implementing it, visit the following URL:
http://www.winnetmag.com/article/articleid/43247/43247.html
(from Windows & .NET Magazine and its partners)
Save these dates for the Fall 2004 Windows Connections conference, which will run concurrently with Microsoft Exchange Connections. Register early and receive admission to both conferences for one low price. Learn firsthand from Microsoft product architects and the best third-party experts. Go online or call 800-505-1201 for more information.
http://www.winconnections.com
Find out everything you need to know to secure your messaging environment including information about antigen antivirus solutions, antispam, and content-filtering. Get access to FAQs, free seminars, and the latest articles. Go to the Secure Messaging Center now!
http://www.winnetmag.com/microsoftexchangeoutlook/securemessaging
Stopping new spam techniques requires detection and prevention in real time at the SMTP connection point. In this free Web seminar, you'll learn how spam filters operate as well as real-world examples of spammers' new attacks and threats so that you can learn what you must do to protect your organization. Register now!
http://www.winnetmag.com/seminars/newspamtechniques/index.cfm?code=0712emailannc
The voting has closed in Windows & .NET Magazine's nonscientific Instant Poll for the question, "Do you subscribe to the Microsoft Security Notification Service?" Here are the results from the 350 votes:
- 76% Yes
- 7% No, but we plan to
- 17% No, and we have no plans to
The next Instant Poll question is, "Which Web browser does your organization use?" Go to the Windows & .NET Magazine home page and submit your vote for a) Internet Explorer, b) Mozilla, c) Netscape, d) Opera, or e) Other.
http://www.winnetmag.com/magazine
by John Savill, http://www.windows2000faq.com
(A complete Web and live events directory brought to you by Windows & .NET Magazine: http://www.winnetmag.com/events )
Are you "getting by" using fax machines or relying on a less savvy solution that doesn't offer truly integrated faxing from within user applications? Attend this free Web seminar and learn what questions to ask when selecting an integrated fax solution, discover how an integrated fax solution is more efficient than traditional faxing methods, and learn how to select the fax technology that's right for your organization. Register now!
http://www.winnetmag.com/seminars/faxsolutions/index.cfm?code=0712emailannc
by Angie Brew, [email protected]
Telco Systems released Access211, a Voice over IP (VoIP) gateway that lets service providers offer VoIP service by using standard telephones and fax machines. The product features integrated routing capabilities, unique traffic shaping ability, and implementation of advanced Quality of Service (QoS) standards. The Access211 has two analog voice lines that support two different phone numbers and two 10/100Mbps Ethernet ports: one that connects directly to a PC and one that connects to a cable modem or DSL modem. The Access211 supports DHCP, H.323 VoIP, Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP), Network Address Translation (NAT), Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), and T.38 fax over IP. For pricing, contact Telco Systems at 781-551-0300.
http://www.telco.com
Rixler Software released Password Recovery Toolbox 1.1, a password-recovery application that can recover Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE), network and dial-up, and Microsoft Outlook Express passwords. The software displays Site, User, and Content Advisor passwords and Autocomplete data strings in IE. The Network and Dial-Up Passwords category includes logons and passwords for LAN, Internet, and network access, including modem connections, ISDN lines, and VPNs. Password Recovery Toolbox automatically displays server types, addresses and user logins, and passwords for all email and newsgroup accounts that Outlook Express stores. The product can export all password and logon information to a clipboard or formatted text. You can download a demo version from Rixler Software's Web site. Recovery Password Toolbox 1.1 costs $34.95 for a single-user copy. Contact Rixler Software at [email protected].
http://www.rixler.com
Have you used a product that changed your IT experience by saving you time or easing your daily burden? Tell us about the product, and we'll send you a Windows & .NET Magazine T-shirt if we write about the product in a future Windows & .NET Magazine What's Hot column. Send your product suggestions with information about how the product has helped you to [email protected].
Comparison Paper: The Argent Guardian Easily Beats Out MOM
http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;6480843;8214395;q?http://www.argent.com/products/download_whitepaper.cgi?product=mom&&Source=WNTTextLink
==== Contact Us ====
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==========
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=========================
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