In this Issue
* Perspective: RSA Conference = Security Product Announcements; Microsoft System Center Essentials 2007 Beta 2 Is Successor to MOM 2005 Workgroup Edition; January 2007 Security Pro VIP Articles Available in PDF Format* Coming this Month
* Q&A
* Share Your Security Tips and Get $100
Perspective
RSA Conference = Security Product Announcements
The annual RSA Conference is almost upon us—the US version is February 5-9 in San Francisco—so security product announcements are flying fast and thick. I registered last week as a press attendee, so I'm currently getting lots of emails containing hints about new security products and product upgrades. So far, I haven't heard about anything that seems groundbreakingly new, but maybe vendors are saving their best material to reveal at the show.
One product area that's still pretty hot is network access control (NAC). StillSecure and TippingPoint say they'll be launching NAC products, and Nortel will demonstrate interoperability of its Secure Network Access (SNA) product with Microsoft's Network Access Protection (NAP) framework.
Data security continues to be in the news, with breaches occurring all too frequently. Tizor and Ecora will be highlighting their data auditing products. Application Security says it will announce a new enterprise database security suite "for centralized management of vulnerability scanning, real-time activity monitoring, and encryption." RedCannon, Code Green Networks, and CipherOptics will talk about enhanced technologies for encrypting data on USB drives, endpoints, and networks, respectively.
Risk management companies will also be touting some new features. Relational Security will have a new version of its software that helps companies assess risk based on business and compliance requirements. And Archer Technologies "will be making several announcements centered on...product innovation in the risk management and policy management arena."
Stay tuned to the Windows IT Pro Web site and Security Pro VIP Web site for more information about the RSA Conference and about security products and features announced at the show.
Microsoft System Center Essentials 2007 Beta 2 Is Successor to MOM 2005 Workgroup Edition
Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005 Workgroup Edition gets a good introduction in the January issues of Windows IT Security and Security Pro VIP in the articles "MOM for SMBs" (InstantDoc ID 94361) and "MOM Management Packs." (InstantDoc ID 94671) The successor to MOM Workgroup Edition is Microsoft System Center Essentials (SCE) 2007, currently in Beta 2.
In "Closing the Feedback Loop" (InstantDoc ID 94018), SCE is described by Product Manager David Mills as follows, "With SCE you not only get monitoring for servers, but also monitoring for clients. It's a much more comprehensive package than MOM Workgroup....it's built from the ground up on \[System Center\] Operations Manager \[Ops Manager\] and WSUS architecture. The WSUS side handles updating, software distribution, asset inventory. The Ops Manager side is for monitoring."
January 2007 Security Pro VIP Articles Available in PDF Format
If you're someone who prefers your newsletters in printed form, check out this .pdf. It contains all the security articles posted on the Security Pro VIP Web site in January. Print and enjoy!
—Renee Munshi, Security Pro VIP Editor
Coming this Month
"Stay Safer with Software Restriction Policies" (InstantDoc ID 94876) by Orin Thomas
Hash rules and other implementations of software restriction policies keep unwanted applications—from games to viruses—from running on your systems. This article is now live on the Web.
"Windows Firewall Auditing" by Mark Burnett
Regularly auditing the firewall configuration settings for the systems you manage keeps accumulated misconfigurations from compromising your protection. A useful script lets you easily audit your systems’ firewall configurations. Coming February 8.
Toolbox: "Nmap" by Jeff Fellinge
Leverage the open-source port scanner Nmap and its flexible output features to quickly determine whether antivirus software is installed on the computers within a subnet. Coming February 15.
Access Denied
Randy Franklin Smith answers your Windows security questions. Coming February 22.
Reader to Reader: "Network Monitor Logs Aid Police in Computer Theft Investigation" by Will Willis
When a company's physical security measures failed and equipment was stolen, savvy networking administrators used their network monitor logs to try to track the laptops down. Coming February 22.
Q&A
A Security Pro VIP subscriber emailed the following question, and Mark Burnett, a frequent Security Pro VIP author, provided the answer.
Q: This statement/question is related to Windows Server 2003. It seems that if you have Authenticated Users, Creator Owner, Administrators, and System rights defined for C:\, the Everyone group could be removed without consequence from the default server build. Do you agree?
A: Yes, all user accounts on the system, except Guests, will fall into one or more of the groups Authenticated Users, Creator Owner, Administrators, and System. The Everyone group by default also includes everyone but Guests. The Everyone group is there to make it more convenient to set permissions. You should be able to remove it without any problems, although there's no real benefit in doing so. Also, if you look through various folders on the system partition, you'll see that Microsoft doesn’t use the Everyone group as much as it used to.
Go to the Security Pro VIP home page to ask your question.
Share Your Security Tips and Get $100
Share your security-related tips, comments, or problems and solutions in Security Pro VIP's Reader to Reader column. Email your contributions to [email protected]. If we print your submission, you'll get $100. We edit submissions for style, grammar, and length.
