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Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Will PatchGuard Stifle Security Innovation?

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=== CONTENTS ===================================================

IN FOCUS: Will PatchGuard Stifle Security Innovation?

NEWS AND FEATURES
- End of Life Near for Firefox 1.5.x
- Webroot Launches New Product, Gains New CEO
- Reader-to-Reader: Use Cmdlets to Monitor Your Security Event Logs
- Recent Security Vulnerabilities

GIVE AND TAKE
- Security Matters Blog: File Recovery Caveats
- FAQ: Getting the Username, Computer Name, and Domain
- From the Forum: Copying Log File Data
- Know Your IT Security Contest

PRODUCTS
- Record RDP Traffic
- Wanted: Your Reviews of Products

RESOURCES AND EVENTS

FEATURED WHITE PAPER

ANNOUNCEMENTS


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=== IN FOCUS: Will PatchGuard Stifle Security Innovation? ======
by Mark Joseph Edwards, News Editor, mark at ntsecurity / net

You've probably heard of PatchGuard, Microsoft's new kernel technology
for 64-bit systems that will make its debut in Windows Vista.
PatchGuard works to help protect access to the kernel, or rather, as
Microsoft states it, PatchGuard makes the kernel completely off-limits
to any modifications. The limitation includes third-party modifications
designed to better protect Windows.

While the new technology will be welcomed by some people, others
(particularly a few companies that make security solutions) think it
goes too far. Symantec and McAfee have both complained loudly about
PatchGuard. These companies say they're worried that Microsoft will
systematically shut them out of certain sectors of the security
software market. Some of the companies' products rely on the ability to
patch the kernel, which doesn't provide the level of functionality
needed by their products.

Other companies, such as Authentium, have worked diligently to find
ways of interacting with PatchGuard that have resulted not only in
security solutions but have introduced a new level of functionality.
For example, the company's VirtualATM SDK can change Windows from a
multiprocessing platform into a single-processing platform. That sounds
completely counter to the purpose of a multithreaded OS, right? Well it
is, and for good reason.

If you can force Windows to only run one process at a time, all sorts
of malware (such as key loggers, sniffers, and Trojan horses) have
absolutely no way to do their work. If their process won't execute,
they're rendered completely ineffective. So VirtualATM becomes
immensely attractive as a tool to use for applications such as those
related to financial transactions or sensitive information input of any
type. VirtualATM, as obvious as the approach is, is truly innovative
and appears to hold incredible value. For more information, go to:

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Authentium is a Microsoft partner, so Microsoft is well aware of what
Authentium is doing with VirtualATM. Whether Microsoft changes
PatchGuard to prevent SDKs such as VirtualATM from working remains to
be seen.

Does PatchGuard go too far, stifling security-industry competition and
innovation? PatchGuard does seem to give Microsoft an advantage in the
security market space. Hopefully, Microsoft won't wield PatchGuard as a
sword against competition. This would thwart innovation, and typically
the best approach to security is a multivendor solution rather than a
single-vendor solution. If Microsoft were to take too much control over
the security market, it might find itself rapidly giving up ground to
other platforms, such as Solaris, Linux, and BSD, that have a healthy
variety of security solution choices.


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=== SECURITY NEWS AND FEATURES =================================

End of Life Near for Firefox 1.5.x
Now that Firefox 2.0 is available, Mozilla said it will cease
updates of Firefox 1.5.x as of April 24, 2007.

http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=40274:886699

Webroot Launches New Product, Gains New CEO
Webroot Software launched Spy Sweeper with AntiVirus for consumers
and announced that board member Peter Watkins will become the company's
CEO.

http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=40275:886699

Reader-to-Reader: Use Cmdlets to Monitor Your Security Event Logs
Many people use a command-line utility named LogParser to
investigate logs produced by Windows products. An alternative exists
for interrogating Windows event logs: the Get-Event-Log cmdlet in
Windows PowerShell. Learn about this solution in this reader-written
article on our Web site.

http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=40278:886699

Recent Security Vulnerabilities
If you subscribe to this newsletter, you also receive Security
Alerts, which inform you about recently discovered security
vulnerabilities. You can also find information about these
discoveries at

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=== SPONSOR: Scalable Software =================================

Reducing the Cost of IT Compliance: Streamlining the IT Compliance Life
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compliance lifecycle, and dramatically reduce your company's costs!

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=== GIVE AND TAKE ==============================================

SECURITY MATTERS BLOG: File Recovery Caveats
by Mark Joseph Edwards, http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=4027D:886699

Once in a blue moon, someone will delete a file that shouldn't be
deleted. Even if you don't have a backup of that file, you might think
you can "undelete" the file by using specialized tools. Some files
can't be undeleted though. Learn more in this blog article.

http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=40276:886699

FAQ: Getting the Username, Computer Name, and Domain
by John Savill, http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=4027B:886699


Q: How can I use a script to quickly get the current username, computer
name, and domain?

Find the answer at

http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=40277:886699

FROM THE FORUM: Copying Log File Data
A forum participant formerly used xp_cmdshell to copy data from a
log file but turned that off for security reasons. Is there another,
more secure way to accomplish the task?

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Share your security-related tips, comments, or solutions in 1000
words or less, and you could be one of 13 lucky winners of a Zune media
player. Tell us how you do patch management, share a security script,
or write about a security article you've read or a Webcast you've
viewed. Submit your entry between now and December 13. We'll select the
13 best entries, and the winners will receive a Zune media player--
plus, we'll publish the winning entries in the Windows IT Security
newsletter. Email your contributions to tipswinitsec@windowsitpro.com.
Prizes are courtesy of Microsoft Learning Paths for Security:

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=== PRODUCTS ===================================================
by Renee Munshi, products@windowsitpro.com

Record RDP Traffic
According to TSFactory, its RecordTS product is the first RDP
recording solution for Windows platforms. It can capture all Remote
Desktop or Terminal Services traffic, record certain users at specific
times, monitor access to sensitive information such as financial data,
and save the data to digitally signed files. The two versions of
RecordTS, Remote Desktop Edition and Terminal Services Edition, are
available for a 30-day trial. For more information, go to

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TSFactory's manufacturing and marketing partner, CNS Software, at
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WANTED: your reviews of products you've tested and used in
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=== RESOURCES AND EVENTS =======================================
For more security-related resources, visit

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Learn the basics of Linux and Windows interoperability, and find out
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Incorporate Virtual Machines into Your Disaster Recovery Plan
Join us for a free Web seminar to learn how incorporating virtual
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BONUS: Register for any Web seminar--live or on-demand--during the
month of November, and you could win a PS3! View a full list of
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=== FEATURED WHITE PAPER =======================================

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=== ANNOUNCEMENTS ==============================================

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