Welcome
Welcome to our April, 2005 Quark IT Newsletter - this month brings us the new Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 and a number of other critical updates from Microsoft for their operating systems and applications.
You will find a number of security tips that will help secure your network, as well as a bit more information on "phishing scams" that seem to be all the rage lately.
We also discuss Remote Web Workplace - a feature in Small Business Server 2003 that allows secure, easy remote access to your email and network data.
If you'd like more information about anything covered in this newsletter, please
contact Quark IT.
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In This Issue... |
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Update Zone
The latest update for Windows, Microsoft Office and other important software. |
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The Latest Virus And Worm Information
Phishing scams are making it into the Malware list. A phishing scam is a fraudulent letter appearing to come from (generally) a financial institution... |
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Security Tips
There are many things you can do to help secure your network and its data. |
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Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1
Microsoft has released a major security update for their Windows Server 2003 products. |
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Small Business Server 2003 Features: Remote Web Workplace
Internal website for sharing documents, calendars and tasks. |
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Next Month
We continue our Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 Series by looking at the Shared Fax Service and we'll also
introduce WiFi (wireless networking). |
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Special Offers
Special offers for Quark IT clients. (This link redirects to the Quark IT website.) |
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Signing Off
Final words. |
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Security Tips |
Although much of this is plain old common sense, common sense isn't as common as it should be - especially when computers are involved. Whether protecting from viruses, trojans, worms,
phishing scams or any other way of unauthorised access to your data, there are a few simple tips that you should keep in mind.
- Use a firewall
As your first line of defence, a firewall is a device that sits between the Internet and your protected network and determines whether to allow or disallow certain traffic from entering or
exiting your network. m0n0wall, ISA Server, Cisco PIX and a number of devices such as the LinkSys WRT54GS can be used as a firewall, the needs of your network security and budget are generally
the factors that determine which solution suits your needs.
- Install a good antivirus program
We have been using and recommending NOD32 for a number of years now simply because it is the most reliable antivirus application available. NOD32 is generally the first antivirus application
to detect new malicious software, many times before there is a specific fix. This is due to its heuristics engine - an advanced way of looking at code to see if it is safe or not.
- Use a good anti-spyware application
The current leader in anti-spyware is Microsoft's AntiSpyware (recently purchased from Giant Software). Spyware is becoming a major issue due to the sheer number of different spyware
applications that have been found on computers in both home and business networks that send data to third parties about your browsing, email and other habits. This sort of information can
then be used to target certain advertisements and malware at your network.
- Use spam filters
The vast majority of malicious software and phishing scams are delivered via email. Using effective spam filters will drastically limit your exposure to these dangers by blocking these emails
before they reach your computer.
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- Keep your computer software up to date
Software - all software - has bugs and sometimes these bugs can be used to manipulate the software to perform actions it was never designed for. Generally these exploits are used to take
data from your network or to give a remote user elevated access to your network so they can attack other networks. Either way, ensuring that your software is up to date and the latest
security patches have been installed correctly will limit your exposure to these attacks.
- Be careful with your personal data
Do not reply to any email that seems dubious. Do not give your personal information such as home address, bank account numbers or other financial data to someone asking for it in an email.
Also, if you think an email from your bank is questionable, call the telephone number listed in the White Pages, Yellow Pages or on existing bank statements - not in the email - to discuss
this.
- Don't click on links in questionable emails
If you are unsure about a link's legitimacy, then don't click on it. You could copy and paste it into a browser to see if it is going to take you somewhere safe, but the best move is to just
not follow the link in the first place. Better still, contact the sender or financial institution involved or delete the email.
- Review bank account statements regularly
This is especially applicable if you use your credit cards online, but even if you don't it is still a good habit to form. Banks are not known for being 100% accurate with their transactions
and with the ease of conducting credit card transactions the possibility that someone has obtained your credit card details and used them online increases daily.
- Don't download files you don't need
Downloading and installing applications, jokes, fun screen savers and all other manner of non-essential programs on any business computer only creates the possibility for instability and
insecurity. Applications such as Kazaa simply do not belong on a business network for both security and copyright violation reasons. Never accept files in an MSN chat from someone you don't
personally know.
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Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 |
What it is
Microsoft's Windows Server 2003 platform consists of a number of products - Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter, Web and Small Business. All of these products share common core technologies and code,
and it is this common code that makes this Service Pack applicable across the board. Service pack 1 will install on all of the Windows Server 2003 products (though if you are running Small Business
Server it is recommended that you wait until a SBS 2003 SP1 is released in another few weeks) and enhance the security and functionality of all of these products.
Service Pack 1 provides updates for Internet Explorer, Outlook Express and the WebDAV Redirector. Also included are enhancements for a number of key security fundamentals including further locking
down services, support for the new "No Execute" code in modern CPUs, network access quarantining and also auditing functionality to the IIS (web server) component.
New features introduced include Windows Firewall - similar to that in Windows XP SP2, new update functionality and a Security Configuration Wizard allowing an administrator to turn off unnecessary
services based on the roles that this server is taking in your network.
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What this means to you
OK, in plain terms, this Service Pack adds security and functionality to your Windows Server 2003 platform that is really needed in today's world. Microsoft did quite well with the original release
of Windows 2003 as far as security goes (especially considering the history of Microsoft and security) but they still have quite a way to go. Windows Server Service Pack 1 brings them a good distance
along this path.
A lot of the security features that were introduced to Windows XP with its recent Service Pack 2 release have now been made available to the Windows Server 2003 platform with this Service Pack. One
major advantage of this is for Terminal Server users - Terminal Server sessions now have an environment close to the Windows XP SP2 environment as compared to Windows XP SP1, making for safer network
computing environment.
All up, this Service Pack will allow you to feel more comfortable knowing that your Windows Server 2003 platform computers are running in a secured environment - even more so than before the Service
Pack was released. Regular patching, antivirus, antispyware and firewall maintenance will continue to ensure your computer network is as safe as possible.
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Small Business Server 2003 Features: Remote Web Workplace |
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What is Remote Web Workplace?
Remote Web Workplace (RWW) is, as the name suggests a way to access your company's workplace remotely through the web. RWW is the single biggest differentiating component of SBS2003, as
compared to the standalone components (Windows Server, Exchange Server, Sharepoint Services, SQL Server, etc.). The main features of Remote Web Workplace are:
RWW for you and your employees
- A single point of entry to access your network - no more messy URLs to remember nor additional software to install
- An easy way to access your emails and calendar
- Allows those who need or want to work from home to be able to remote control their desktop PC in the office
- Allows your travelling sales staff to have full access to the work network while they are on the road
- Access to your internal SharePoint website
- An easy way to set up a VPN using the Connection Manager and in most cases does away with the need for a VPN altogether
- Easy to follow, customised instructions on how to set up Outlook to access your Exchange Server. This gives mobile users the full Outlook/Exchange experience whether they are in the
office or anywhere in the world
- Numerous security features including SSL/TLS encryption and session timeouts
RWW for your network administrator
- Access to the SBS Server
- The ability to remotely install updates and patches to the operating system and installed applications
- Full access to all Windows XP Professional computers on the network
- Monitoring of the Help Desk component of your SharePoint website
- Administration of your internal SharePoint website
- Viewing of the SBS Server performance and usage reports
- Provide remote assistance to anyone on the network who is running Windows XP Professional
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What this means to your business
Remote Web Workplace offers a number of features that makes it easy for you to be able to access your business email, data and internal website from anywhere in the world. RWW is included only in
Microsoft's Windows Server 2003 Small Business Server - they don't offer this functionality in any other product. This may change in the future, but we got it first! :)
A while back, VPNs were all the rage - a VPN is a secured connection between two networks across the Internet. VPNs can generate large quantities of data and the time to load a document can be
quite long as the document needs to be transmitted across the VPN before you can open it. With RWW, all you need to do is to take control of your office desktop computer and open the document. The
document opens as fast as it does normally and the screen image is sent to your remote computer - its that easy and that fast - no more downloading large quantities of data, its only the screen changes
and keyboard and mouse input that get transmitted.
The use of RWW will also mean that Quark IT needs to spend less time onsite maintaining your SBS network as we can perform the majority of the maintenance from our office. This will mean that your
maintenance costs will be lower, leaving more money for other important things.
Terminal Server
The "Big Brother" of Remote Web Workplace is Microsoft Terminal Server. A Terminal Server is another Windows 2003 Server in addition to your Small Business Server 2003 machine that is
configured to act as an application server for your network. Onto this box you can install the vast majority of applications that you run on your network allowing easy access to this Server from
internal and external to your network. Running applications such as MYOB, Medical Director and Microsoft Office on the Terminal Server means that easy deployment and management can significantly
reduce the costs of network maintenance. You can use existing computers or thin clients to access the Terminal Server, with thin clients making the more logical choice for new computer purchases.
We will cover Terminal Server and its integration with SBS 2003 in a future article.
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