I really like to lay down fresh copies of operating systems and re-install the programs. This has been the tried and true practice for fixing serious W98 problems. W2K and WinXP have minimized my need to install fresh copies so I decided to try and see if a SBS2K to SBS2K3 upgrade would work. As expected it kind of worked but is unacceptable. I believe I met all of the prerequisites so there must be something else going on. I worked on the problems yesterday and have decided to install a clean copy today. The problems I was not able to get around are:

1. Exchange failed tp complete during the upgrade. It had a problem with installing the DAV subcomponent which is related to registering exoledb.dll which is probably related to oledb32.dll not registered. I found a KB which suggested that I manually register several dll's including oledb32.dll. I got an error when I tried to register oledb32.dll.
2. I could not upgrade the server components. I kept getting authenticode errors claiming a parameter error. It finally ended in a loop I had to use task manager to end.
3. I was generally uncomfortable with the authenticode errors. The only time I expect to see them is when I am installing a third party hardware driver. These errors were popping up during the installation of microsoft software.

Why is Linux a winner when it comes to utility computing?

Nevatia: Utility computing makes hardware less relevant. It doesn't matter if it's proprietary, a mainframe or a commodity Intel box. The operating system doesn't matter either, and that makes Linux a winner. You don't care what you're running as long as you reach your service levels. Utility computing levels the playing field for Linux. Linux promotes commoditization, and it comes out a winner.

I think that Linux makes sense primarily from the licensing cost standpoint. Service levels seem to be very similar. Support issues still weigh in M$ favor. So the big difference is whether M$ will adjust their licensing to compete with Linux in utility computing. As Linux makes inroads and Linux support issues drop, M$ loses its monoply pricing and the easy money. Small businesses is M$ saving grace.

Yesterday I installed the latest Baseline Security Analyzer and started applying patches. This version is much more useful than the previous version and HFNETCHKLT. The big reason is that it can scan more products. As an example it pointed out that I was missing the latest patches for Exchange 2000, SQL 2000, MDAC, and MSXML. Windows Update identified that the MDAC patch was missing.

MBSA can scan for security updates in the following products:

• Microsoft Office 
• Exchange Server 2003
• MDAC 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, and 2.8
• Microsoft Virtual Machine
• MSXML 2.5, 2.6, 3.0, and 4.0
• BizTalk Server 2000, 2002, and 2004
• Commerce Server 2000 and 2002
• Content Management Server 2001 and 2002
• Host Integration Server 2000, 2004, and SNA Server 4.0

“The Bush Administration never saw the war in Iraq as either a stand-alone operation or as distinct from the generalized war on the Islamist movement that al Qaeda was part of. As clumsy, and at times, as devious the public presentation of the war was, it had a clear logic. Despite ongoing tactical problems in and around Baghdad, the broad strategic goals of the Iraq campaign are being realized. Therefore, the question now is: What will the next stage of the U.S.-Islamist war look like?“

I have to admit that I am very tired of the recent media buzz about faulty MWD intelligence. I am developing a mild case of cyncism toward the administration and the quality of the intelligence community even though I feel Saddam got what he deserved.

This stratfor article is an intriguing analysis of current Iraqi and al Qaeda events. I am looking forward to seeing how well the forecast for Saudi Arabia and Pakistan pans out over this election year. If he is correct this will be a great year for the newscasters.

Distribution Release: Knoppix STD 0.1. The first stable version of Knoppix STD has been released: “I'm pleased to announce Knoppix-STD 0.1. Boot the CD and hit Alt-F7 for an introduction to the new features.” Download: knoppix-std-0.1.iso (497MB);… [DistroWatch]

This is a customized version of knoppix that looks slightly better for the security consultant. It has a lot of forensic(i.e. legal hacking tools) pre-installed

I installed Adobe's Photoshop Album SE yesterday. I was looking for some wrestling photos I have taken recently and I was having trouble finding and organizing them. I also needed to adjust the lighting and resize a few of them before sending. I thought there had to be a better way to organize my photos. I downloaded the SE version a couple of days ago when Acrobat reader told me there was a new reader and asked if I wanted to download both. I was pleasantly surprised. Although I like Adobe's software I find their products to be overpriced. The full version costs $39.95 and the ability to add new categories. I could use the categories to organize my horse photos. Both the SE and full version display the date and time the photo was taken from the EXIF info. You can search for photos based on date, caption, or note. The packaging of the photos into different formats is cute but of limited interest for me. I would like to repeat searches of the network drives and track the copyright also. I will play with it for a few more days before I decide but it has some real potential.