E-Musings Mon Immorata

Cool, Net Software Makes My Night Converting a server to workstation, Windows XP SP2, worms and bad bots, better email techniques My favorite Internet utilities have been upgraded. The changes may seem cosmetic, but in this post Windows XP world, user interface design is as important as features and functions. Microsoft raised the bar considerably when they commissioned Frog Design to develop a new user interface style manual that all new compatible products had to follow for icons, screens, effects, et cetera. I often wonder how many Windows Server 2003 installations are run in desktop rather than server mode. Windows Server 2003 to the uninitiated is the features, functions and clean looks of Windows XP merged with the stability of Windows 2000 Server and the legacy support of Linux; all without needing to learn arcane commands. After 20 years, Microsoft to this columnist has finally "got IT right!" So if you can afford Windows Server 2003, have a Pentium III or better PC with at least 256 MB RAM, save a copy of Convert Windows 2003 Server to Workstation. Microsoft has also released the Windows XP Service Pack 2 Public Preview. The goal: identify software applications that no longer work with XP SP2's enhanced security. The update also includes a new Alerter and Messenger, Bluetooth support, Client Administrative Tools, updates to Group Policy and Outlook Express, revised Windows Installer 3.0, Windows Media Player 9. And Windows Firewall (formerly Internet Connection Firewall) with enhanced Execution Protection. There's a new worm PhatBot (Gaobot, Agobot, Polybot, Gaobot.RF) that takes advantage of Windows NT/2000/XP/Server 2003 systems missing updates for DCOM RPC vulnerability (Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-026); RPC locator vulnerability (Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-001); WebDav vulnerability (Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-007); or Workstation service buffer overrun vulnerability (Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-049). It's objective begins by locating, and terminating antivirus and firewall running processes, open an IRC channel for a backdoor attack and create a linked bot-net of computers for DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks. The Bagel worm continues to morph into newer, most inventively destructive version. And the latest variant embeds the infected file attachment's password as a bit mapped image into the email body to make it harder for antivirus programs to detect the virus. Bagel is more an annoyance than a threat. But is has resulted in very arbitrary mail server rules that discard more routed email than send it. Which is why using an email program that supports HTML messaging yet blocks scripts from running is a must have. And much as I like the Mozilla project's Thunderbird email client. The latter is still unready. It has an unintuitive mail account setup. A steep learning curve to import mail from other programs like Outlook Express. And has a memory leak the size of China that progressively causes computers with less than 256 MB to slow to a near-non-recoverable crawl! If you are one of the many users "sold" on the continued "efficacy" of Symantec products and have a copy of Symantec's Internet Security firewall installed, you could be vulnerable. An ActiveX control embedded in an HTML document that allows a malicious user to take administrative control of your computer. Another ActiveX control used by Norton AntiSpam is also vulnerable to stack overflows that allow a remote attacker to run arbitrary code on your computer. Which is why I advocate discarding Symantec insecurity products for trustworthy software from other vendors. In recent weeks Opera 7.5 Beta Preview 3 had stolen my heart as it's a joy to use. The page rendering engine is very quick, and manages to open pages even when your ISP experiences slow DNS responses. And more importantly it can render pages built with just about every technology. In the past month plus, since I began using the first Opera 7.5 Beta, just one page www.bharat-rakshak.com has problems and I suspect the page uses some Microsoft code that's still incompatible with Opera! OK, there's an interesting rumor that Time Warner is negotiating the sale, at the very least planning to unload its America Online (AOL) division to Microsoft. All parties in the matter are suspiciously silent. Which leads me to believe that it's probably true, but everyone is still mincing around looking for the best partner. I gauge the information as highly probable, since Microsoft seems to be ramping up its rival MSN Network and plan to release a new MSN Search site come July 2004. Old favorite MyIE2 has undergone an interface revamp. Windows XP and let computers display tabs with rounded edges. The options panel tool now includes colorful icons. As well as other feature enhancements. But the best for this downloading devil is the ability to continue a download even after closing the browser. And much as I like Popcorn for its enhanced functionality, wrapped into a tiny (in comparison) package. However, because its no longer free I'm not giving it as much press time as before. Since the number of users who can access all the features is limited to those who can pay. And frankly despite the warts, Thunderbird is about as good. And if you are a bit adventurous, download (7.7 MB) the latest 0.6 Beta build. That's enough for this week. Stay Safe until next week. Click Here to Email Me