OCNTUG Newsletter
Volume 2 Number 3
March 1,
2004
Welcome
Members, Visitors and Friends!
I called, or rather tried to call Symantec the
other day, concerning a registration issue for a client, and after a brief bit
of music (muzak!), about six minutes of it, received the recorded message that
they were already deluged with calls about netsky and and various other little
nasties, that the fixes were already being posted on the website, and would I
try my call tomorrow. Just wonderful! Just what I needed, with an already jumpy
customer standing by. Really builds their confidence in us, doesn't it?
Hopefully, this month's speakers will give us something we can use to regain
some of the respect and confidence the public once had for IT.
Inside this
Issue:
Our
Name is Changing!
Meeting
Announcement: March 11, 2004
Previous
Meeting...
Random
Access Department: Safari Books Online
Employment
Opportunities
Email
the Editor
And Now, The News...
Our Name is Changing!
The Orange County NT User Group is
changing its name to the "Southern California IT Professional Association" which
expands the focus of the organization, creating an umbrella organization for
Southern California infrastructure-based user groups. A name change has been in
the works for a long time. Many proposals for a new name were made last year
during Board meetings. Proposed changes were made in consideration of our
group's location, composition, focus, relationship to Microsoft, and Microsoft's
modification of the name of its premier operating systems. Basically, we didn't
want to be left behind.
The reasons for the acceptance of the new name
were discussed at length, over several months. Final decision was based on the
following discussion, exerpted from the Minutes of the Board Meeting of February
12, 2004: "Microsoft created the IT Pro Council to provide information and
resources to a number of regional user groups, who then see that those resources
are made available to specific local groups. Microsoft already identifies SoCal
as a specific region, and the Council identifies our user group as the primary
group in SoCal. The IT Pro Council is currently creating a larger umbrella
organization of which our group would be the SoCal regional focus. We would in
turn spawn other local groups, Riverside, Los Angeles, San Diego, and so on,
under our umbrella, and provide assistance to various other infrastructure-based
groups. (Development-based groups already have such a structure in
place.)
"The result of the organizational change would be to focus funds
and resources from Microsoft's IT Pro Council to provide such services as a
Speakers' Bureau, Cost Reimbursement, and a Security Road Show. In return, the
IT Pro Council needs feedback from the IT community concerning specific needs or
desires."
What does this mean for the average member? More technical
speakers. Closer support from Microsoft. The name change from "User Group" to
"Professional Association" also reflects a similarity to our sister user groups
around the world, which strengthens our public image. You would probably agree
that public regard for IT has lost some respect over the past four or five
years, and that perception is important, particularly in terms of salary.
Membership in a notable professional organization can only serve to enhance that
public perception.
Furthermore, there will be a change in the URL, to
http://www.socalit.org (with .com and .net reserved). We expect the completion
of the changeover to take about ninety days, more or less, and all members will
be notified.
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Meeting Announcement: Thursday, March 11, 2004
WebRoot (http://www.webroot.com/) will be discuss
Spyware and intrusion detection. Raxco (http://www.raxco.com/) will be presenting on
Improving File System Performance.
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At the Previous Meeting...
Suppose your network could head off a virus
attack before your antivirus software received an update for that specific
virus? Suppose your network could recognize and resist a hacker exploit the
moment it was attempted? Suppose you could just apply major service packs,
rather than scurrying around like a head with your chicken cut off, applying
patches and hot fixes? Suppose you could easily prevent evildoers from copying
your corporate secrets to a USB flash disk, and walking off the premises? No,
I'm not smoking something illegal. No, this isn't the future. It's today. It's
the Cisco Security Agents application. And you want it on your network
now. That's right, now!
Creative Business Concepts' Larry Boyd, Senior
Account Executive, (lboyd@cbconcepts.com) and Bryan Nyce, Director of
Professional Services (bnyce@cbconcepts.com) presented a clear and poignant
demonstration of this incredible software package, using current viruses
collected from the Internet. Using VMWare to create a set of virtual machines,
including clients both protected and unprotected by CSA, Bryan launched virus
attacks against these clients. CSA works by recognizing the limited number of
normal processes used by standard software, and then preventing actions that it
considers to be out of the ordinary, unusual, abnormal, or downright criminal.
Cisco calls this a "host-based intrusion prevention system." The software simply
prevents bad behavior. It has hooks into the kernel, the registry, and anywhere
something unusual might occur. It recognizes abnormal process requests, and says
"NO, YOU CAN'T DO THAT!", effectively converting viruses into benign files. It
stops exploits, as they occur, terminating connections. (You must still get the
AV updates and have your AV software delete the viruses, however CSA doesn't
require updates, because it is based on known processes, rather than virus
signatures.)
Bryan admits that it does require some setup time to tune
the software to your specific needs. Also, it's a little pricey, but not as bad
as you might think. Consider the time and trouble it will save you…not to
mention downtime. What's your time worth? Check out www.cbconcepts.com. Then
give these guys a call.
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Random Access Department: Hunting for tech info? Go on
Safari...
You're pressed for time…you need some technical information
about Kerberos or vpn protocols in a hurry, but you don't have time to run to
three different bookstores, scan a thousand titles and read the first few
chapters of each. Or maybe you want to read the latest book on database
structures, but your wife (husband?) raided your wallet this morning, and when
you get to the bookstore and the sales clerk is ringing up the sale, all you can
do is grin at her and utter an embarrassed, "Well, I thought I had
enough…"
That's all in the past, with your new subscription to Safari (http://search.safaribooksonline.com/).
Now you can track down that technical information in a matter of minutes,
searching all of the books in the Safari library, books from Addison-Wesley
Professional, Cisco Press, O'Reilly & Associates, and Microsoft Press, to
mention a few. This simple online service will quickly match your search
criteria to book titles, from which you can select those you wish to read
online--that's right--ONLINE! (Eat your heart out, Az!) You can select up to ten
books to put on your private bookshelf, to use for a month, after which time you
may deselect any or all of them, and select others. Of course, you don't have to
fill up your bookshelf right away. Choose only what you need. You have plenty of
time to read the texts, either the whole book, or selecting just the pages you
need.
For example, I had a new client who wanted a wireless network set
up. Of course I told him I would research the product lines to develop the most
effective design for his needs. (I didn't tell him I'd never done wifi before…)
That evening, I went on Safari, tracking through the literary jungle, hunting
and trapping just those critters spouting the jargon and detail I needed,
salting them away on my bookshelf, where I could then feast upon the accumulated
wisdom of the ages…well, of the past couple years, anyway…until I was thoroughly
sated in the knowledge required for the task.
Upon login, you are taken
to the My Safari page, which lists the volumes currently on your bookshelf. I
particularly appreciate the expanding nav bar in the left rail, which
continuously lists search categories, and marks the category you are currently
searching in boldface, letting you know exactly where you are. That helps, since
I often forget where I am. (What planet is this?) My Safari provides a place for
taking notes, so you can jot down a few ideas for research, or note what you
have read. The page also lists your most recent searches, assuming you have used
the search engine, and the most recent pages you have read, all as links, making
it easy for you to instantly go back and reread them. There are also bookmarks
you can set, for those who remember to use them. I like the organization this
page offers, similar to a desktop.
I mentioned you can take notes while
you read. Near the top of each page is a little sub-nav bar that enables you to
email, print, view notes, take notes or place a bookmark. In making the notes, I
noted that your may write your own note, or copy a portion of the text into the
note field. This is useful for grabbing a sentence or two, in the author's own
words. Handy.
You may search books by category, by author, of other
minutia (if, for example, you have a penchant for memorizing ISBN numbers as
well as ip addresses). And, believe it or not, you can even purchase hard copies
of the books you want…right there…online! Isn't that amazing!?! What more could
you ask? A lending library, online, that gives you the opportunity to read the
entire book, and decide whether to buy it! (Of course, you'll buy it, because
you can't use the desktop system in the bath…er…reading room. The steam from the
shower shorts out the monitor circuits…)
I even managed to trap an elusive little volume entitled,
Microsoft® Windows® Server 2003 Insider Solutions By Rand H. Morimoto MCSE,
Andrew Abbate MCSE, Eric Kovach MCSE, Ed Roberts MVP (Windows Server)
(Yeah, reread the last name. You should know him, since he opens all of our
meetings! Don't you feel honored, knowing one of the authors. Aren't you
impressed that you can read the book online? And if you decide to buy it, he
might even autograph your copy!)
So don't wait! Click on the link,
or the Safari banner ad on this website. (Ok. Finish reading the Newsletter,
first, then click on the link.)
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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 found at www.SoCalITPro.org
(click on "Job Opportunities") in the top navigation bar.) This is a
free service, so take advantage of it, won't you?
Top
See you at the meeting on Thursday, March 11 2003, enjoy!
Robert Holtzman, Editor
rholtzman@netzero.net
Top
OCNTUG
Newsletter
Volume 2 No. 3
03/01/04
99999