Well, here it is: Service Pack 2 Beta for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.

Download SP2 x64 here and SP2 x86 here.

Windows Server 2008 SP2 includes Hyper-V, so you no longer need to download it separately. You also need SP1 installed to install SP2.

Here is a list of improvments in SP2.

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Not all companies have programs or licences for content filtering on their networks. It is arguably worth the $10-$60 per employee/year to licence a content filtering package in terms of increased productivity. What is difficult is selling the idea of spending a large chunk of money to management, especially in this economy. I would imagine a large number of companies can pinpoint their bandwidth and productivity problems to 10 or fewer websites. Facebook, Myspace, Youtube, etc…

Below is a logon script for Windows that will analyze the user’s hosts file and modify it accordingly to block Facebook or any other website you wish. It simply redirects to 127.0.0.1 (home).

Another alternative is to block the IP address of the website using rules on your gateway firewall (Windows or router). The problem with this method is many of the larger sites have multiple IP addresses and adding block lines for each is tedious work. You can block entire ranges of IP addresses. Example: Adding 69.63.0.0/16 would block 69.63.0.0 – 69.63.255.255 (65,536 total addresses – 16bit block). Be careful though, some “good” websites may be in the ranges you block, but in a pinch, it does the job.

Finally, Untangle is an open source gateway that can be run on Windows or on its own dedicated server. It includes content filtering in addition to a multitude of other features. Try it out.

(average: 4.25 out of 5)

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Some might say the greatest requirement of being a consultant is knowledge. While that may be true, there are many other factors that determine a successful consultant from one that is not. Not all consultants choose this line of work for the same reason – some desire more money, some want flexible hours and some need the flexibility of working from home.

I’ve put together a list of questions for myself as well as for others looking to transition to a full-time consulting practice. Answering ‘yes’ to these questions will make the transition from full-time work to consulting easier. You definitely do not need to answer yes to all of them. Reflect on each question and ask yourself whether or not it will truly impact your job satisfaction.

1. Do I have a decent credit rating? You’ll need credit to start up and complete some tasks depending on the field you choose. If you are merely an intelligence consultant, start-up capital will be minimal – cell phone, internet connection, computer – most of which you should have already.

2. Am I self-confident? You will need to sell your services and yourself to potential clients. You must come across being confident in your own abilities in order to land work.

3. Am I organized? In the early stages you’ll find organization will not come easy. You’ll need a good way of organizing your business, contacts, and appointments as well as storing and searching documents.

4. Am I in good health or financial standing? When starting your consulting practice, you’ll have little to no health benefits and possibly several months without a significant source of income.

5. Will my Family support my decision? This is very important. If your family is unsupportive of your choice of work and your ability to produce income in boom/bust cycles, you may find yourself in a poor situation.

6. Do I have the Skills and Knowledge companies will pay for? This is very important. If you are selling your services make sure it is worth it for your clients. Provide value. If they can use Google or their nephew and receive the same or better level of service, you may not be in business long.

7. Am I a self-starter? Can you get out of bed in the morning and start work without any motivation or supervision?

8. Can I work long and/or unconventional hours? Much consulting work results in long days or projects that command a large chunk of your time. Your family may have to adjust to your erratic schedule.

9. Can I deal with all types of people? You may deal with people you do not like or get along with. They may be your clients for months at a time, and if you want referrals and repeat business, you may not have a choice but to take any clients you can get.

10. Can I estimate and manage my time effectively? One of the most difficult parts of consulting will be to estimate job costs and the time-frame. If you estimate too high on costs, you can lose the client. If you estimate too low, it may not be worth your time. If you estimate your time-frame high, you may end up with free time after a job and nothing to fill it with. If you estimate the time-frame too short, you may run into the scheduled start of another client’s work.

(average: 4.00 out of 5)

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I’ve been around the Internet since long before the “Dot-Com Bubble,” when we had to get our MP3s from IRC and use Blade’s Encoder for the command line. Slashdot was just starting up, ICQ was the only instant messenger around, and Winamp really did whip the Llama’s ass. Those were the days…or were they?

Some colleagues and I were contemplating what exactly “ruined” the Internet for each of us. Depending on the era we each signed on to the Internet, we had different ideas of what ruined it. Here are 2 of my own.

1. Inexpensive Domain Name Registrations and the introduction of ICANN

History
Prior to 1999, the only .com registrar was Network Solutions. It was $100 US for a domain. Fast forward to today and there are thousands of ICANN approved registrars (although mostly resellers) selling domains for $5-$10 on average. GoDaddy seems to hover between $6.95 and $9.95.

Why this ruined the Internet
With the arrival of inexpensive domains, it allowed spammers and phishers to setup numerous and ever-changing websites quickly and cheaply. ICANN enforces a 5-day refund policy for domain holders and registrars. What this means is that many people register domain names, use them for phishing, and dump them after 5 days with a refund. Below are two graphs showing the total domains and hostnames registered as of Sept. 2008. According to Verisign – 22% of the registered domains are “parked domains” and roughly 10% are inactive.

2. Pay-Per-Click

History
Advertising agencies in the 90s like Doubleclick, Flycast and Burst paid website owners one of two ways – cost per thousand impressions or pay-per-click. To get approved by almost any agency you needed to prove your impressions and have them audited. Rates were high compared to today’s rates, upwards of $5 per 1000, or $0.10-$0.15 per click. Adwords was started in 2000 and Adsense was purchased shortly thereafter.

Why this ruined the Internet
Adsense is the gold rush of the Internet. If you write a blog, you’ll make money. The promise of almost guaranteed inclusion into the Adsense network by anyone who can cash a check has launched millions of useless websites and parked domains. Because of Adsense’s low payouts, site owners have become increasingly creative in how they manipulate ad space. Duplicate content, misleading ad placement, pop-ups, and pay-per-post blogging (fake reviews) have all contributed to the decline of the Internet and search relevancy. Hundreds of millions of made-for-adsense pages litter search engine results.

Some of the ideas my colleagues came up with were: Flash, RSS, “Cheap” Servers, Frontpage, Marquee/Blink, and anyone with a Slashdot ID over 1,000,000 (ouch!).

References:

http://www.verisign.com/Resources/Naming_Services_Resources/Domain_Name_Industry_Brief/page_002689.html
http://www.verisign.com/static/040767.pdf
http://news.netcraft.com/archives/web_server_survey.html

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The Cisco ASA and PIX line of devices have three independent vulnerabilities that have been discovered and patched a few days ago. Just finished up with my own devices and nothing bad to report. Here’s a summary if you don’t wish to read the long-winded Cisco one.

1. Windows NT Domain Authentication Bypass Vulnerability.

Does not affect IPSec and SSL using external authentication VPN. Only NT domain authentication.

2. IPv6 Denial of Service Vulnerability.

Affects devices configured with IPv6 (by itself or in addition to IPv4). Does not affect devices running versions 7.0, 7.1, 8.0, or 8.1. Devices with versions 7.2(4)9 or 7.2(4)10 are affected only if IPv6 is enabled. It is disabled on all devices by default.

3. Crypto Accelerator Memory Leak Vulnerability.

Memory leak triggered by a series of packets. Only packets destined for device trigger it. The leak occurs in the initialization code of the crypto accelerator. ASA devices running version 8.0.x are vulnerable. ASA devices running versions 7.0, 7.1, 7.2 and all Cisco PIX devices are not affected.

Get more of the details and patches here.

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