Microsoft has issued a warning today about an unpatched issue with their DNS service. There's a mitigation which is pretty easy to do, I'd suggest you do it ASAP if you run a Windows-based DNS server. Unfortunately, the security guy at the Washington Post doesn't seem to understand the vulnerability, as he's reporting it as a problem with their web server, which is wholly inaccurate.
You know that stupid chain letter that says Bill Gates will give money to each person you e-mail? Well it's a lie. But this is the truth:
Microsoft is donating money to charity for your instant messages as part of their I'M initiative. Put the tag for your charity of choice in your nickname field, and Microsoft will donate money to that charity for each of your instant messages. You need to be on Windows Live Messenger 8.1 to do this, but it's an easy (and free!) to way to help out a worthy charity, and they have several to choose from.
The badge in the upper right corner of this blog will take you there, as well as tell you who I'm currently donating to.
The patches I applied to my various systems seem to have all worked for now. The only Daylight Savings Time bug I've seen has been with NetBackup 6.0MP4. For some reason, I had some backups run about 7 times last night, over and over and over again. Fortunately they were differential backups, so they were very small and fast, and didn't use a lot of tape. Apparently I'm not alone, and since we all experienced this for the first time on the same day, we're guessings it's related to the time change.
We're starting to near capacity on our tape library at work, and I'm itching to buy a new system to augment it. Ultrium 4 (or LTO 4) is right around the corner, but no vendor can tell me yet when they're going to have the drives. Ultrium 3 is available now, but if I can wait a few months to double the capacity of my library and increase the speed of my drives by 50%, I'm inclined to wait.
We've been using Ultrium 2 for the last four years, and while it has worked well, a full backup of the servers I do backups for is now approaching 30 tapes, and storing and moving them is getting to be a pain.
First one to show up on my door with an LTO 4 library gets the purchase order...
My security key arrived last night from PayPal/eBay. I've activated it, and it seems to work pretty well. They're in the early stages of deploying this, but for $5, my accounts are a lot more secure.
Their implementation requires you to login with your username and password, the way you do today, but then also requires you to push the button on the front of your keyfob and enter the six-digit code that appears there. The code changes every 30 seconds, so that even if someone does see your code, they have very little time to do something with it.
If you use PayPal or eBay much, I'd suggest ordering yourself a key as an extra layer of security on your accounts.
And this blog has now been upgraded to MovableType 3.34, with no apparent casualties...
The UNITalk website is back up and running, after being on hiatus for a couple years... If you're a member of the UNI community, here's a forum just for you.
I took the plunge today and installed the release version of Windows Vista Business on my work computer. So far, most things work, though I hit a nasty bug during the installation that left me unable to see anything on my screens, though I found a workaround.
So far, the only app that won't work (refuses to install) is the RASM software for managing our Enterasys Roamabout Wireless Switch.
I've updated this blog to MovableType 3.33, and if you use the same software, you should do the same, as there are some security holes in previous versions.
Yesterday, I started my new position as "Senior Systems Administrator". Today, we begin the search for my replacement, Systems Administrator.
CHARACTERISTIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Assists Senior Systems Administrator in maintaining the UNI active directory and ITS servers; installs, maintains, and updates application software packages that are critical to the ITS core mission; writes code to help automate manual functions (i.e. web based monitors, backup reports and data collection); evaluates and recommends updates of application software; coordinates with application users and other system administrators to ensure a smooth installation/update process; and troubleshoots server side problems and works with client support staff to ensure proper functionality.
2. Assists Senior Systems Administrator in maintaining centralized campus backup system; and works with other system administrators from across campus to ensure network backups and restores are performed in an optimal and reliable manner.
3. Consults with college and divisional system administrators on current standards; and assists with the planning, acquisition, implementation and maintenance of file, print, web, and application servers to prevent possible adverse effects on the central network.
4. Assists Computer Network Manager in troubleshooting and correcting problems associated with the UNI campus computer network; assists in troubleshooting wireless network connectivity issues; researches, evaluates, and recommends new technologies and determines their effect on the UNI computing environment; recommends network operating systems, hardware configurations, application software, and central monitoring systems; and helps establish installation and implementation standards.
NECESSARY QUALIFICATIONS: Bachelor’s degree plus at least four years of Microsoft server administration and experience with a large TCP/IP network environment required.
