OCNTUG Newsletter        Volume 02 Number 2          February 01, 2004

Welcome Members, Visitors and Friends!
Whoa...it seems February started without me. Time sure flies when you're having fun...like when the brakes failed as I got onto the freeway...or when the new version of Outlook opened that malicious email in the preview pane, because I forgot to turn the preview off...
Inside this Issue:
QuickStart Offers Upgrade Class to OCNTUG Members at Reduced Rate
Another Villainous Virus
Meeting Announcement: February 12, 2004
Previous Meeting...
Random Access Department: Installing Microsoft® Office 2004 Professional on the fly
Employment Opportunities
Final Notes…
Email the Editor

And Now, The News...

QuickStart Intelligence Offers Upgrade Class to OCNTUG Members at Reduced Rate

Article by Brad Fischl
QuickStart Intelligence is arranging special training classes and rates for Microsoft Authorized Certification classes for OCNTUG members.

The first course we are going to offer will be the 2297 course for people who want to upgrade their MCSA and/or MCSE certifications to 2003.

The retail cost of this course is $2,125 per student. The OCNTUG Member cost is only $995. In order for us to get these special rates we need to have a minimum of 10 students enroll in these courses.

Here is the course outline:

Course 2297 - Planning, Implementing, Managing, and Maintaining a W2K03 enviroment for MCSE 2000 http://www.quickstart.com/html/myqs/my_training/enrollment/coursedescription.asp?productnumber=2297A

We will either offer this course over 5 Saturdays 9-5 or over 8 evenings from 6-10 PM. Please let me know if you prefer Saturdays or evenings (or either).

The seating will be limited to 18 students total.

Please email me ASAP if you would like to participate in this course.

Best Regards,
Brad Fischl
Meeting and Event Coordinator
Director of Education & Certification
OCNTUG
949-330-6839 - direct
949-330-6829 - fax
714-318-2664 - cell
brad.fischl@quickstart.com
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Novarg - Villainous Virus Vexes Virtually eVerybody!

Malevolent miscreants email mayhem with MyDoom...blah, blah, blah... Yeah, I know you've already heard about it, so it's no longer big news. I heard about it on television the day after it happened, and of course, Norton Antivirus software automatically downloaded and updated my system, before I knew it was necessary. Those who heeded my suggestions in the September issue of the Newsletter, also had a fair degree of protection in place, with automatic updates. However, it would really be nice if the AV vendors would send out news-flashes with warnings to all customers as soon as new viruses are detected, but that's probably wishful thinking.

What I find interesting is that before I heard about it on the news, I had already received an email warning! I get a short newsletter called "Computer Tips" by Steve at WorldStart (steve@worldstart.com). Of course, it's an advertising sheet, and most of the tips are aimed at the average user, but I do sometimes find some really useful tidbits in it. This time, I was quite pleased that Steve advised me that the bogus emails would have one of the following subject lines: test, hi, hello, Mail Delivery System, Mail Transaction Failed, Server Report, or Status Error. And as it turned out, I did receive the "Mail Delivery System - Mail Transaction Failed" one. But Steve had also advised me not to open the attachements! He suggested simply deleting the email, and since I couldn't remember sending out an email that could have bounced, I deleted it! Thanks, Steve!

Steve told me something else, that these attachments have decoy file extensions, and that if your system is not set to show file extensions, you'll miss seeing the real ones. Now you and I, as professionals always set our systems to show all file extensions, but often, our users and clients are not so well informed, and don't have their systems set properly. Furthermore, they usually don't have the knowledge to recognize bogus or decoy file extensions, and that they should never open files with .pif, .scr, .exe, .cmd, or .bat file extensions, unless they really know what they're doing. This is why they make the mistake of opening these things, and why we get to waste hours cleaning viruses from their systems, when we have better things to do. Clearly, we need to educate our users, and other than monthly meetings to provide some basic instruction, or telling them one-on-one, while you're at their desk, purging their systems, I'll leave the problem of user education up to you.

But back to Steve. I'd suggest forwarding his Computer Tips to your users, or suggesting they subscribe, since it's free. Yeah, I know, it's an advertising medium...but the tips are good! This is not classic spam. Case in point, Steve's special edition with the virus warning. I was glad to get it. Your users will be, as well. Until the anti-virus vendors send us warnings like this, I'll take a couple minutes to wade through a little advertisement to get to useful information any day!

I don't know who you are, Steve, but thanks again!

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Meeting Announcement: Thursday, February 12, 2004

This month’s presentation is by Cisco Systems. Cisco will be presenting on two very timely subjects; Intrusion Detection Systems and Policies as well as Wireless Security and Cisco's AP1100.

As always please RSVP on the www.ocntug.org website. The link is on the lower left hand side of the home page.



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At the Previous Meeting...

Last month, Paul Falcone of Sybari Software (www.sybari.com) presented Advanced Spam Defense, Sybari's evolutionary solution for the junk-mail problem in a corporate situation. Debbi Clima, Media Relations Specialist for Sybari says, "Sybari leads the market in intuitive, best of breed solutions which protect leading messaging and collaboration servers from viruses and security threats. Today over 8 million messaging and collaboration platform users are virus- and spam-free as a direct result of Sybari's flagship Antigen technology."

"Sybari’s Antigen is unsurpassed in protecting Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft SharePoint corporate messaging environments. Antigen’s unique architecture institutes a preemptive line of defense from e-mail viruses, worms and malicious code, and is the only server-level antivirus solution that delivers advanced file and content filtering capabilities and multiple scan engine technologies in a single solution. Sybari also offers robust, scalable solutions to reduce, manage and eliminate spam, unsolicited email and malicious content from plaguing corporate networks and servers. Antigen for Instant Messaging is the first product to provide virus scanning, document filtering and message content scanning for Microsoft’s Live Communications Server."

Toward the end of the question and answer session, our members began to drift (stampede?) toward the tables for the Office software distribution. I do hope Sybari's reps did not think we were being intentionally rude... If you didn't get to the January meeting, Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003 will be distributed only to members who attended the September Microsoft Office System Preview Tour or attended the online Webinar, and who have not already collected their copy.


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Random Access Department: Installing Microsoft® Office® 2004 Professional on the fly...

I was sitting down to write the minutes of the OCNTUG Board Meeting for January (and notes for inclusion in the February newsletter), and after a few moments, decided that, as I had just received the Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003 software tonight, (and as it is already 2004, and the software could become obsolete at any second), I should install the thing, and use it to write the present documentation. I began the installation process at 23:35, and after waiting several minutes for the Windows Installation Manager to initialize, was greeted by Product Key entry screen. I dutifully entered the key: TH1S1S-TH3EXC-3SS1VLY-LONG-PR0DUC-TKEYWH-1CHMUS-TB3ENT-ER3DEX-ACTLYAS-CODED9. Then I spent another ten minutes actually reading some of the "THOU SHALT NOT..." statements of the EULA, proceeding on to the section on Activation statement, and then to statements about what data Microsoft will collect, and for what purposes. Bored when the language changed to French, I accepted the agreement, and clicked NEXT, permitting the loading process to continue. The installer first removed the old version of Office from the system, then copied and installed the new files. By 00:10, the installation process was complete.

Of course the thing wanted to immediately connect to Microsoft via the web, to check for updates, and let its internal spyware report back to big brother. I checked OK, but as my system was not connected to the Internet, the browser opened with "i The page cannot be displayed." After typing this, I made the connection to permit the spyware to continue its insideous processes. I am now logged on. And now the installation program tells me that in order for the settings to take effect, the system must reboot. Rats! Haven't we had enough of reboots? I thought this operating system was supposed to eliminate, or at least minimize the number of reboots! Had I been loading this on a server, just now, my users would be very distressed that the network was going dow


Okay. I've allowed it to reboot. Now my once friendly Office Shortcut bar has suddenly lost all the previous shortcuts! I have to re-enter them. As usual, attempting to re-order the shortcut icons is a disaster. I want WinWord first, because that is what I use most often. It won't let me move Word into that position, nor move the Screensaver icon to another location. Nor can I get the other icons into the positions I prefer. Typical. Instead of using arrows to move the icons up and down the list (which translates to right and left on the bar), why can't the designers allow us specify positions with simple numerals...Word in position 1, Excel in 2...and so on?

Next, I opened Word, and of course, it asked for my name and initials. Minor bother. Then it asked, or rather threatened that if it wasn't activated, I could only use the thing forty-nine more times. Well, I fully intend to use it at leastfifty-two more times (and probably more), so I once again connected to the web, and allowed the activation process to procede. Then it wanted me to register. Usually, I have no problem with product registration, but now you cannot register without a passport account. So I began the registration process, but when I read the terms of the agreement, I balked. They ask too much, and provide so little compensation for it, and hackers have already proven that Microsoft's servers are not inviolable. I really don't want personal information spread over the web. I have already been a victim of identity theft, more than once, and I can tell you it fails the definition of fun. I'll forego registration, and they can just lump it.

Then I continued typing the minutes of the meeting, copying certain headings from the minutes of the previous month to save time. Word automatically changed the font sizes, even though I had specified the smaller font size. I hate this! Microsoft's software engineers always assume they know what's best for me, and insist on making alterations in my text that I would never authorize!!! I'm going to have to spend time making serious modifications to the product...time that I hate to waste playing games with unruly software. My annoyance grows, my blood pressure rises. I need to stop. It's 01:19 Friday morning, and I have barely started the Minutes. It should have been finished by now.

Well, the experiment wasn't a complete failure. I now know some of the kinks to be ironed out...and some the things I already dislike about the product. I hope Microsoft takes a few of these comments to heart, in their next incarnation of Office. But...hey! Thanks, Microsoft, for the new Office Suite! I'll spend some more time experimenting with it.


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Employment Opportunities

Employers, please note, we will publish job opportunities in the OCNTUG Newsletter. This publication is released once per month, and can be accessed online at www.ocntug.org.
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Final Notes…

> A HUGE THANK YOU to QuickStart Intelligence and Brad Fischl!!! In re-negotiating their contract for office space, they have included our monthly meeting venue into the contract, thereby reducing our monthly expenses significantly.

> Hey! What happened to the Favorite Third Party Tools Department? I've temporarily run the gamut of common tools that I use. I have repeatedly asked for other contributors to send in articles on tools they find useful, but there has, as yet, been no response. If you have a third party tool you would like to discuss, let me know...

>Apologies to Sybari for our rudeness in walking off before they were officially finished with their presentation.

> And despite my ravings above, a big Thank You to Microsoft for the Office 2003 Professional Suite! (At least I don't have to put up with a talking paper-clip...)

Robert Holtzman, Editor
rholtzman@netzero.net
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OCNTUG Newsletter                                     Volume 2 No. 2                               February 01, 2004

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