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[Keith] Welcome to another exciting edition of A Couple Of Admins Podcasting. Now a member of the Blubrry and TechPodcast? networks. I'm Keith Albright

[Rich] and I'm Rich Niemeier.

[Steve] and I'm Steve Murawski.

[Keith] This is Episode 16 recorded on September 11, 2007.

Chit-Chat - What's going on with you?

[Steve]

[Rich]

[Ted]

[Keith]

  • New Apple iPods - What do you think?

STEVE - How badly is the Wi-Fi going to kill the battery? It looks sharp, but 16GB is a bit small for a $400 IPod?.

Housekeeping Items

[Rich]

[Ted]

[Steve]

  • How was the Podcamp?

[Keith]

  • Podcamp Philly was awesome. I met up with Mike Smith and he introduced me to Paul Muller from the Caffination Podcast. Pictures on the blog (Thanks to Mike for remembering a camera on day 1).
  • A lot of informative sessions and networking building. The only disappointment..I didn't win the xBox 360 or the iPhone.
  • Many thanks to the sponsors: Comcast Interactive, KYW1060? radio (384 spots), Otto's Mini of West Chester, Redlasso, Blip.tv, Viddler, Pandora, and Blogger & Podcaster magazine...of which I did not know there was one until Saturday.
  • These people don't sponsor our show, but indirectly they do by supporting Podcamp Philly and the new media in which we operate.
  • Play the promo I made and the one made for us.

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Listener Feedback

From listener....

  • John Gardner from Newscastle Upon Tyne, England, U.K. who posted a pin and a note indicating to "Keep up the great show".
  • Also Larry H. from Beech Grove, Indiana. Larry, I see a lot of sweet looking iMacs behind you in that Frappr picture. Not sure where you work, but it looks fun.
  • I Apologize in advance for getting your name and everything else pronounced wrong, but here it goes. Petri Lopia (Lo-pee-ah?)from Lohja (Low-ja?), Uusimaa (oosimay?) (Finland) who posted a pin on the Frappr map. Cool lightning pictures.
  • Now, this is just plain wrong....Chris from Weston-super-Mare, England, United Kingdom posted a pin on Frappr with a note which says "I listen to your podcasts between episodes of the IT Crowd...". It is not polite to rub it in that you get to watch IT Crowd and we don't. Where are your manners. I don't rub in that we get to watch great shows like The Office, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? or Monty Python....Oh, wait. Never mind.

News Items
OpenID?: Can It Become Single Sign-On For The Web?

-So what is an OpenID?? It's a URL that a user enters into the logon field when accessing a Web site. The framework provides the cryptographic underpinnings to prove that a user owns the URL she's logging in with. The OpenID? specification, now available in a 2.0 draft version, has attracted an impressive list of supporters, including AOL, Microsoft, and VeriSign
-Only a tiny fraction of Web sites--mostly blogs--now accept OpenID? credentials.
-Users who don't want to set up their own servers can obtain an OpenID? from some Internet companies. AOL now issues OpenID? credentials to all its subscribers, and VeriSign's Personal Identity Provider, a free service that supplies users with online identities, supports OpenID?. In addition, Microsoft has promised to support OpenID? in its future identity services, and the Liberty Alliance is working on interoperability issues.

[Keith]

  • Didn't Microsoft fix this problem already with the .NET/Passport accounts? ;^)

[Rich]

[Ted]

[Steve]

  • I don't know about you guys, but I really like the concept of OpenID?. I can control the information I am sharing, my ID can be secured by a Verisign Secure ID (which also secures my PayPal? account). It also can reduce the number of accounts I need to manage. Right now I have to use a password manager to handle all the different accounts and logins I have.
  • It is difficult for many people to maintain strong passwords, since we have to have separate accounts at every site we visit. With OpenID?, you CAN (it's not required) have strong authentication.

Link: http://www.informationweek.com/shared/printableArticle.jhtml?articleID=201803343

SANS reports on a Skype worm.

-A worm is currently spreading which is specifically aimed at Skype users. Known as Ramex, Skipi or Pykspa, it abuses the chat function of Skype to send a short message containing a link to a seemingly benign JPEG file to other users. Users that click on the link will download and run a copy of the worm, and start to infect others.
-Skype's heartbeat has a brief entry on this new malcode which contains manual removal instructions. Samples of the worm have been gathered and are currently under analysis to improve anti virus coverage. In the meanwhile, you may wish to educate your users not to click on these appearingly benign links.

[Keith]

[Rich]

[Ted]

[Steve] I thought this might be interesting, since we use Skype to record this podcast. Bottom line is DON'T CLICK ON LINKS, in Skype or email. I put a link in the show notes for the article from SANS and for the Skype "Heartbeat" blog, which contains the removal instructions.

Link: http://isc.sans.org/diary.html?storyid=3363
Link: http://heartbeat.skype.com/2007/09/the_worm_that_affects_skype_fo.html

Story 4

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[Keith]

[Rich]

[Ted]

[Steve]

Link: http://

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Steve's Topics

-PayPal? offers a Versign SecureID? for $5. Very inexpensive and adds great security to your PayPal? account.
-The SecureID? can also be used for your eBay account and for Verisign's PIP (Personal Identity Provider).
-If you have a PayPal? account and $5, YOU HAVE TO DO THIS!!!
-Link: https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/cps/securitycenter/general/PPSecurityKey-outside
  • About Powershell
-Microsoft's new command line environment.
-Pipes objects instead of text.
-Access to the .NET framework
  • Powershell - Getting Started Guide
-Microsoft has a Getting Started Guide for Powershell, the new command line environment.
-Link: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa973757.aspx
-A nice article with some good tips for getting started with Powershell.
-Remember that commands have a verb-noun format and parameter names start with a -. You can use either / or \ in paths.
-Use Get-Command to get a list of commands and Get-Help to find out help on the commands. You can also pass -? as a parameter to a command to obtain help. Use TabExpansion? (and, optionally, find a TabExpansion? replacement).
-Link: http://www.windowsdevcenter.com/pub/a/windows/2006/11/07/top-10-tips-for-using-windows-powershell.html

Rich's Topics

  • Topic 1
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-Link: http://
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  • Topic 3
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-Link: http://
  • Topic 4
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-Link: http://

Ted's Topics

  • Topic 1
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Keith's Topics

  • Allied Telesis Problems
-It has been over three weeks since I ordered a couple of Allied Telesis switches and they still haven't arrived.
-Friend of mine just did a whole network project using Allied Telesis and the chassis-based core failed on him...NOTE: most likely due to human error involving an un-protected power source..but AT can't come up with a replacement.
-They are having some kind of manufacturing or supply chain issue, so keep it in mind if you order their equipment.
-Rich - Didn't you have a similar experience...and didn't they recommend D-Link as a replacement? My vendor, PQJ...ROT-13 encrypted name of the actual vendor (more on that later) was recommending a D-Link and a 3Com replacement. I hate that.
-It's not a reason to abandon them. I really like their equipment. I'm just not thrilled with the wait.
-Link: http://www.alliedtelesis.com
  • Good Article in NetworkWorld? on UTM - Unified Threat Managament appliances
-UTM is the concept of incorporating any number of things likeIDS, IPS, anti-virus, anti-malware, etc. into your firewall/gateway.
-Raises several key points that I've considered. Can one appliance do all things well? Are they too complex to manage?
-When I view it from a defense-in-depth approach, it makes sense to do it, but naturally, I wouldn't use it as my only defense.
-Link: http://www.networkworld.com/research/2007/090307-utm-enterprise.html?zb&rc=sec
  • NK2View? utility from Casting From The Server Room
-Odd chain of events. I'm listening to Casting From The Server Room and the talk about the NK2? file for Outlook for the name lookup function.
-I knew about the file, but only from a migration to a new PC standpoint.
-3 hours later, I get an email to my personal account from someone at work. I had sent a test to her from the personal account months ago, and she had it in her name cache and used it in sending me a work-related email today.
-I downloaded and fired up NK2VIEW? and went to her PC and removed the entry.
-You can also remove an entry from within outlook by starting to type the name and when the pop-up appears, arrow to the entry and hit the delete key.
-Link: http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/outlook_nk2_autocomplete.html

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Website Picks

Rich - http://

Steve - http://www.kravmaga.com

Ted - http://

Keith - http://web.forret.com/tools/rot13.asp http://web.forret.com/tools/ This is a website that allows you to enter text and encrypt or decrypt it using ROT-13 (AKA the Ceasar Cipher). It also has some other tools, like the Greek Neologism generator that allows you to create new words from root words and even gives you the definition. Example:

Word: auto- pseudo- agora- sophy Description: the self-inflicted pseudo-wisdom of large open spaces kind of

Word: claustro- psycho- sophy Description: the pseudo-wisdom of the mind particularly in small places

Last Call

Anyone....Anyone....Buehler.....Buehler....

Closing

All right, well that is it for the show. For listener feedback; you can email us at RichandKeith? [at] gmail.com or you can post a comment on the main site at ACoupleOfAdmins.com or, if you use iTunes, write a review. Lastly, you can drop any show ideas or topic requests on the wiki. There is a link to the wiki on the main show site. If you would like to participate in the show; either through an interview, a segment contribution, or any other way, please let us know.

Thanks everyone.