“As you know, if you use Visual Studio, you can already develop in Azure. That’s great news as you can apply encryption to your cloud app. Join Katheryn Baker as she explains the basics behind encryption algorithms and practices used to create cryptographic schemes.

Learn more about symmetric and asymmetric encryption algorithms, the SHA256 hash encryption algorithms, and how to implement in a simple application…”

Presented by Katheryn Baker, Exsilio Consulting on February 5, 2009
Length: 11 minutes 26 seconds

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/security/dd442480.aspx

HTH,

Tom

Thomas W Shinder, M.D., MCSE
Sr. Consultant / Technical Writer

Prowess Consulting www.prowessconsulting.com
PROWESS CONSULTING | Microsoft Forefront Security Specialist
Email: tshinder@isaserver.org
MVP — Forefront Edge Security (ISA/TMG/IAG)

“…By using BinScope, developers and testers will be able to easily and quickly verify that they have built their code using the compiler/linker protections required by the Microsoft SDL. 

BinScope installs in two forms - as a standalone executable or as a Visual Studio add-on In addition, BinScope integrates with Microsoft Team Foundation Server (TFS) to output results into work items.

If your project is using the Microsoft SDL Process Template for VSTS, BinScope will seamlessly integrate with your security work items and SDL Final Security Review reporting…”

Check it out at:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee672187.aspx

HTH,

Tom

Thomas W Shinder, M.D., MCSE
Sr. Consultant / Technical Writer

Prowess Consulting www.prowessconsulting.com
PROWESS CONSULTING | Microsoft Forefront Security Specialist
Email: tshinder@isaserver.org
MVP — Forefront Edge Security (ISA/TMG/IAG)

“Deploy Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 with the newly released Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010. MDT is the recommended process and toolset for automating desktop and server deployment. MDT provides you with the following benefits:

• Unified tools and processes required for desktop and server deployment in a common deployment console and collection of guidance.
• Reduced deployment time and standardized desktop and server images, along with improved security and ongoing configuration management.
• Fully automated Zero Touch Installation deployments by leveraging System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 2 Release Candidate and Windows deployment tools. For those without a System Center Configuration Manager 2007 infrastructure, MDT leverages Windows deployment tools for Lite Touch Installation deployments.

What’s New in MDT 2010
Improvements to the newest version of MDT allow you to:

• Access deployment shares from anywhere on the network and replicate files and settings across organizational boundaries or sites.
• Organize and manage drivers, operating systems, applications, packages, and task sequences with an improved UI.
• Automate UI functionality using the Windows PowerShell command line interface.

Choosing the Right Version
Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 is offered in two versions to support Solution Accelerator component installation on x64 or x86 hosts. Select the version that corresponds with your host hardware type. Both versions of MDT 2010 support deployment of x86 and x64 Windows operating systems.

The What’s New in MDT 2010 guide and Release Notes are available as separate downloads on this page for those who want to quickly evaluate MDT 2010. The full package of guidance is available in .chm format as part of the toolkit. For those who want it in Word format, a separate download is available in the Files in this Download list…”

Check out the new Deployment Kit over at:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?fa...amp;tm

HTH,

Tom

Thomas W Shinder, M.D., MCSE
Sr. Consultant / Technical Writer

Prowess Consulting www.prowessconsulting.com
PROWESS CONSULTING | Microsoft Forefront Security Specialist
Email: tshinder@isaserver.org
MVP — Forefront Edge Security (ISA/TMG/IAG)

“…With the release of Windows 7 operating system to the general public just weeks away, we take a look at the business reasons that make migrating to Windows 7 the logical choice for the majority of IT managers and IT professionals.

Attend this webcast to find out why organizations that chose to skip Windows Vista should now choose to make the move to Windows 7, and learn what is required to make the move from Windows XP to Windows 7.

Join us as technical evangelists, Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs), and others discuss the most exciting client operating system to come from Microsoft in a decade…”

Check out Tim’s very interesting and fun Webcast over at:

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDeta...ode=US

HTH,

Tom

Thomas W Shinder, M.D., MCSE
Sr. Consultant / Technical Writer

Prowess Consulting www.prowessconsulting.com
PROWESS CONSULTING | Microsoft Forefront Security Specialist
Email: tshinder@isaserver.org
MVP — Forefront Edge Security (ISA/TMG/IAG)

It’s all about Windows 7 – that’s what MDOP 2009 R2 is all about.

If you’re not already in on “the know” – MDOP is short for the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack – a collection of very cool and useful tools – the most important ones being related to virtualization:

• App-V – used for application streaming, isolation and virtualization
• MED-V – used to manage virtualized desktop containers (client side virtual machines – a DVC environment)

A couple of things worth mentioning:

• This version of MED-V is just called “MED-V” – some folks have been calling it MED-V7, which is not correct
• This version of App-V is just called “App-V” – some folks have been calling it App-V7, which is not correct

Also, the client side hypervisor used in Windows 7 is called Windows Virtual PC – it is not called VPC7. In fact, VPC7 has been out for quite a while and is actually an Apple Mac application. VPC7 will not work on Windows 7.

Note that the version of MED-V that will support Windows 7 will come out in first quarter of 2010, and it will be called MED-V 1.0 SP1.

For more information on all the good stuff that MDOP 2009 R2, check out this blog post from the MDOP blog over at:

http://blogs.technet.com/mdop/archive/2009/09/14/m...7.aspx

HTH,

Tom

Thomas W Shinder, M.D., MCSE
Sr. Consultant / Technical Writer

Prowess Consulting www.prowessconsulting.com
PROWESS CONSULTING | Microsoft Forefront Security Specialist
Email: tshinder@isaserver.org
MVP — Forefront Edge Security (ISA/TMG/IAG)

“…In this session we take a tour of the capabilities of the Microsoft cloud platform by building and running a simple service using the platform SDK. The sample service highlights some of the features of the platform including service management, storage, and an integrated developer experience. This is a demo-heavy session…”

Check out this presentation over at:

http://channel9.msdn.com/pdc2008/ES01/

HTH,

Tom

Thomas W Shinder, M.D., MCSE
Sr. Consultant / Technical Writer

Prowess Consulting www.prowessconsulting.com
PROWESS CONSULTING | Microsoft Forefront Security Specialist
Email: tshinder@isaserver.org
MVP — Forefront Edge Security (ISA/TMG/IAG)

This guide was written in May 2007 and updated October 2, 2009

“The PCI DSS Compliance Planning Guide is designed to help organizations address the requirements of version 1.2 of this standard using Microsoft products and technologies.

This guide is intended to extend the IT Compliance Management Guide, which introduces a framework–based approach to creating IT controls as part of your organization’s efforts to comply with multiple regulations and standards.

The IT Compliance Management Guide also provides configuration and operation guidance for Microsoft products and technology solutions that you can use to implement IT controls to help address PCI DSS requirements, and many other regulatory obligations…”

Check out the PCI solution accelerator over at:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee623029.aspx

HTH,

Tom

Thomas W Shinder, M.D., MCSE
Sr. Consultant / Technical Writer

Prowess Consulting www.prowessconsulting.com
PROWESS CONSULTING | Microsoft Forefront Security Specialist
Email: tshinder@isaserver.org
MVP — Forefront Edge Security (ISA/TMG/IAG)

This paper introduces the reader to the Online Services Security and Compliance team, a part of the Global Foundation Services division who manages security for the Microsoft cloud infrastructure.

Readers will gain an understanding of what cloud computing at Microsoft means today and how the company delivers a trustworthy cloud computing infrastructure.

Check it out at:

http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/security/d...09.pdf

HTH,

Tom

Thomas W Shinder, M.D., MCSE
Sr. Consultant / Technical Writer

Prowess Consulting www.prowessconsulting.com
PROWESS CONSULTING | Microsoft Forefront Security Specialist
Email: tshinder@isaserver.org
MVP — Forefront Edge Security (ISA/TMG/IAG)

“Disk2vhd is a utility that creates VHD (Virtual Hard Disk - Microsoft’s Virtual Machine disk format) versions of physical disks for use in Microsoft Virtual PC or Microsoft Hyper-V virtual machines (VMs).

The difference between Disk2vhd and other physical-to-virtual tools is that you can run Disk2vhd on a system that’s online. Disk2vhd uses Windows’ Volume Snapshot capability, introduced in Windows XP, to create consistent point-in-time snapshots of the volumes you want to include in a conversion.

You can even have Disk2vhd create the VHDs on local volumes, even ones being converted (though performance is better when the VHD is on a disk different than ones being converted)…”

For more information about the excellent and easy to use tool, check out:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-nz/sysinternals/ee...).aspx

HTH,

Tom

Thomas W Shinder, M.D., MCSE
Sr. Consultant / Technical Writer

Prowess Consulting www.prowessconsulting.com
PROWESS CONSULTING | Microsoft Forefront Security Specialist
Email: tshinder@isaserver.org
MVP — Forefront Edge Security (ISA/TMG/IAG)

Tired of Symantec charging your credit card without your approval?

Tired of using “free” AV software that horks your computer?

Tired of finger pointing when you AV software conflicts with your OS?

Then how about giving Microsoft Security Essentials a try? MSE is a new offering from Microsoft that gives you free AV and AM without the mess of installing a personal firewall that breaks half of your applications. And you don’t have to worry about finger pointing, since Microsoft is responsible for MSE and your OS.

Best of all, MSE uses the same AV engine as the Microsoft Forefront Client Security solution, which is an enterprise based AV/AM security system that protects enterprises across the world.

Check out MSE at:

http://www.microsoft.com/Security_essentials/

HTH,

Tom

Thomas W Shinder, M.D., MCSE
Sr. Consultant / Technical Writer

Prowess Consulting www.prowessconsulting.com
PROWESS CONSULTING | Microsoft Forefront Security Specialist
Email: tshinder@isaserver.org
MVP — Forefront Edge Security (ISA/TMG/IAG)