Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Visual Studio 2005 – Whidbey Beta 1 Released!
Visual Studio 2005, code named Whidbey is the next release of Visual Studio.
Microsoft has released various pre-release builds of Visual Studio 2005 (Alpha release at PDC and new interim builds - Community Technology Previews). At Tech-Ed Europe on June 29, 2004, Microsoft announced the Visual Studio 2005 Beta 1. This Beta 1 release is the most stable pre-release build to date.
Okay. Fine. But what are the new features in Whidbey?
Here is the list for both Whidbey and Orcas (The next version of VS.NET - provide tools support for the next Windows operating system, code name "Longhorn." ):
In General, this release of Visual Studio and the .NET Framework will provide improvements and enrichments to the class libraries, common language runtime (CLR), programming languages, the integrated development environment (IDE) and will provide deep support for SQL Server 2005 (formerly referred to as "SQL Server codename Yukon") by enabling developers to write stored procedures (like me!!!) .
You can find two sets of products for this beta release:
• The full Visual Studio 2005 Beta, available to MSDN Subscribers (Just downloaded!) initially; and by order for non-subscribers for a small fee in the near future.
• The Visual Studio 2005 Express Beta Products, available for free public download (Particularly for academic people like students).
I will post more blogs about the new features in Whidbey soon.
Visual Studio 2005, code named Whidbey is the next release of Visual Studio.
Microsoft has released various pre-release builds of Visual Studio 2005 (Alpha release at PDC and new interim builds - Community Technology Previews). At Tech-Ed Europe on June 29, 2004, Microsoft announced the Visual Studio 2005 Beta 1. This Beta 1 release is the most stable pre-release build to date.
Okay. Fine. But what are the new features in Whidbey?
Here is the list for both Whidbey and Orcas (The next version of VS.NET - provide tools support for the next Windows operating system, code name "Longhorn." ):
In General, this release of Visual Studio and the .NET Framework will provide improvements and enrichments to the class libraries, common language runtime (CLR), programming languages, the integrated development environment (IDE) and will provide deep support for SQL Server 2005 (formerly referred to as "SQL Server codename Yukon") by enabling developers to write stored procedures (like me!!!) .
You can find two sets of products for this beta release:
• The full Visual Studio 2005 Beta, available to MSDN Subscribers (Just downloaded!) initially; and by order for non-subscribers for a small fee in the near future.
• The Visual Studio 2005 Express Beta Products, available for free public download (Particularly for academic people like students).
I will post more blogs about the new features in Whidbey soon.
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
Beware of Phishing scams
Phishing is a high-tech scam that uses spam or pop-up messages to deceive you into disclosing your credit card numbers, bank account information, Social Security number, passwords, or other sensitive information.
Phishing scams are a form of online crime in which spam is used to direct Internet users to websites controlled by the thieves, but designed to look like legitimate e-commerce sites. Users are asked to provide sensitive information such as a password, social security number, bank account or credit card number, often under the guise of updating account information.
Financial services companies continued to be the primary target of the scams, and Citibank customers were the most frequent target.
Taken from :
http://www.techworld.com/security/news/index.cfm?NewsID=1801
To know how to prevent from Phishing scams check this : How Not to Get Hooked by a ‘Phishing’ Scam
Phishing is a high-tech scam that uses spam or pop-up messages to deceive you into disclosing your credit card numbers, bank account information, Social Security number, passwords, or other sensitive information.
Phishing scams are a form of online crime in which spam is used to direct Internet users to websites controlled by the thieves, but designed to look like legitimate e-commerce sites. Users are asked to provide sensitive information such as a password, social security number, bank account or credit card number, often under the guise of updating account information.
Financial services companies continued to be the primary target of the scams, and Citibank customers were the most frequent target.
Taken from :
http://www.techworld.com/security/news/index.cfm?NewsID=1801
To know how to prevent from Phishing scams check this : How Not to Get Hooked by a ‘Phishing’ Scam
Monday, June 28, 2004
Troubleshooting: Error 403.13 (Forbidden: Client certificate has been revoked on the Web server)
If the client certificate is issued from a certificate authority that you cannot connect to, you can use a tool called Adsutil to bypass the check. However, if you bypass the check, you will never receive any certificate revocation lists from that certificate authority. This means that you will always trust all certificates from this certificate authority.
Since the domains might not trust each other or might not be reachable, you must override the Certificate Revocation List.
Do the following on each front-end Web server:
1. Open a command prompt.
2. Navigate to \Inetpub\AdminScripts on the operating system directory.
3. Type "cscript adsutil.vbs set w3svc/virtual_server_identifier/CertCheckMode 1"
D:\Inetpub\AdminScripts>cscript adsutil.vbs
Microsoft (R) Windows Script Host Version 5.6
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation 1996-2001. All rights reserved.
Usage:
ADSUTIL.VBS [ []]
Description:
IIS administration utility that enables the configuration of metabase properties
Supported Commands:
GET, SET, ENUM, DELETE, CREATE, COPY,
APPCREATEINPROC, APPCREATEOUTPROC, APPCREATEPOOLPROC, APPDELETE, APPUNLOAD, AP
PGETSTATUS
Samples:
adsutil.vbs GET W3SVC/1/ServerBindings
adsutil.vbs SET W3SVC/1/ServerBindings ":81:"
adsutil.vbs CREATE W3SVC/1/Root/MyVdir "IIsWebVirtualDir"
adsutil.vbs START_SERVER W3SVC/1
adsutil.vbs ENUM /P W3SVC
For Extended Help type:
adsutil.vbs HELP
To find the virtual_server_identifier, do the following:
1. Open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
2. On the Internet Information Services management console, expand the tree view.
3. Click Web Sites.
4. In the details pane, the virtual_server_identifier is listed in the Identifier column for the virtual server. For example, the identifier for Default Web site is 1.
Another one common problem:
Error 403.16 (Forbidden: Client certificate is ill-formed or is not trusted by the Web server)
Solution:
If you attempt to use a certificate that has multiple levels of certificate authorities, you might need to install one or more certificate authorities in the intermediate certificate authority store for your server. To do this, use the SSL Diagnostic Utility Download for IIS (described in the next section) to diagnose the missing certificate authority in the chain. Installing the missing certificate authority should correct the problem. See your certificate administrator for more information about how the certificates for your organization are configured.
If the client certificate is issued from a certificate authority that you cannot connect to, you can use a tool called Adsutil to bypass the check. However, if you bypass the check, you will never receive any certificate revocation lists from that certificate authority. This means that you will always trust all certificates from this certificate authority.
Since the domains might not trust each other or might not be reachable, you must override the Certificate Revocation List.
Do the following on each front-end Web server:
1. Open a command prompt.
2. Navigate to \Inetpub\AdminScripts on the operating system directory.
3. Type "cscript adsutil.vbs set w3svc/virtual_server_identifier/CertCheckMode 1"
D:\Inetpub\AdminScripts>cscript adsutil.vbs
Microsoft (R) Windows Script Host Version 5.6
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation 1996-2001. All rights reserved.
Usage:
ADSUTIL.VBS
Description:
IIS administration utility that enables the configuration of metabase properties
Supported Commands:
GET, SET, ENUM, DELETE, CREATE, COPY,
APPCREATEINPROC, APPCREATEOUTPROC, APPCREATEPOOLPROC, APPDELETE, APPUNLOAD, AP
PGETSTATUS
Samples:
adsutil.vbs GET W3SVC/1/ServerBindings
adsutil.vbs SET W3SVC/1/ServerBindings ":81:"
adsutil.vbs CREATE W3SVC/1/Root/MyVdir "IIsWebVirtualDir"
adsutil.vbs START_SERVER W3SVC/1
adsutil.vbs ENUM /P W3SVC
For Extended Help type:
adsutil.vbs HELP
To find the virtual_server_identifier, do the following:
1. Open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
2. On the Internet Information Services management console, expand the tree view.
3. Click Web Sites.
4. In the details pane, the virtual_server_identifier is listed in the Identifier column for the virtual server. For example, the identifier for Default Web site is 1.
Another one common problem:
Error 403.16 (Forbidden: Client certificate is ill-formed or is not trusted by the Web server)
Solution:
If you attempt to use a certificate that has multiple levels of certificate authorities, you might need to install one or more certificate authorities in the intermediate certificate authority store for your server. To do this, use the SSL Diagnostic Utility Download for IIS (described in the next section) to diagnose the missing certificate authority in the chain. Installing the missing certificate authority should correct the problem. See your certificate administrator for more information about how the certificates for your organization are configured.
Sunday, June 27, 2004
Lessen the Virus – Worms – Trojan Horses attack by increasing your security settings in Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Outlook, and Microsoft Outlook Express!
Follow the following four items to increase the security settings:
1. Set Internet Explorer security level to High
2. Add Web sites you consider safe to Trusted Sites
3. Use plain text to read the e-mail messages you receive
4. Block pop-up windows in your browser
For more details check here: http://www.microsoft.com/security/incident/settings.mspx
Be prepared and protect your PC from the malicious hackers and virus writers!
What Else You Can Do to Secure Your Computer
The following articles are a sampling of resources to help you remain secure:
1. 3 Steps to Help Protect Your Computer
2. Tips for Fighting Computer Viruses
3. Keep Your Windows Software Up-to-Date
4. Install a Firewall
Follow the following four items to increase the security settings:
1. Set Internet Explorer security level to High
2. Add Web sites you consider safe to Trusted Sites
3. Use plain text to read the e-mail messages you receive
4. Block pop-up windows in your browser
For more details check here: http://www.microsoft.com/security/incident/settings.mspx
Be prepared and protect your PC from the malicious hackers and virus writers!
What Else You Can Do to Secure Your Computer
The following articles are a sampling of resources to help you remain secure:
1. 3 Steps to Help Protect Your Computer
2. Tips for Fighting Computer Viruses
3. Keep Your Windows Software Up-to-Date
4. Install a Firewall
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Viruses vs Worms vs Trojan Horses - How to Avoid!
Viruses, worms, and Trojan Horses are malicious programs that can cause damage to your computer and information on your computer, slow down the Internet, and use your computer to spread themselves to your friends, family, co-workers, and the rest of the Web. The good news is that with an ounce of prevention and some good common sense you are less likely to fall victim to these threats. Think of it as locking your front door to protect your entire family.
What is a virus?
A virus is a piece of computer code that attaches itself to a program or file so it can spread from computer to computer, infecting as it travels. Viruses can damage your software, your hardware, and your files.
Virus :: Code written with the express intention of replicating itself. A virus attempts to spread from computer to computer by attaching itself to a host program. It may damage hardware, software, or information.
What is a worm?
A worm, like a virus, is designed to copy itself from one computer to another, but it does so automatically by taking control of features on the computer that can transport files or information. Once you have a worm in your system it can travel alone. A great danger of worms is their ability to replicate in great volume. For example, a worm could send out copies of itself to everyone listed in your e-mail address book, and their computers would then do the same, causing a domino effect of heavy network traffic that would slow down business networks and the Internet as a whole.
What is a Trojan Horse?
Just as the mythological Trojan Horse appeared to be a gift, but turned out to contain Greek soldiers who overtook the city of Troy, today's Trojan Horses are computer programs that appear to be useful software, but instead they compromise your security and cause a lot of damage. A recent Trojan Horse came in the form of an e-mail that included attachments claiming to be Microsoft security updates, but turned out to be viruses that attempted to disable antivirus and firewall software.
Trojan Horse :: A computer program that appears to be useful but that actually does damage.
Although viruses, worms, and Trojan Horses have very different characteristics, there are three main ways you can help protect yourself against all of them.
Step 1: Never open an e-mail attachment from a stranger.
Step 2: Never open an e-mail attachment from someone you know, unless you know exactly what the attachment is.
Step 3: Always keep your antivirus software up-to-date.
Step 4: Keep your Microsoft software current using our online resources.
Taken from the link: http://www.microsoft.com/security/articles/virus101.asp
Viruses, worms, and Trojan Horses are malicious programs that can cause damage to your computer and information on your computer, slow down the Internet, and use your computer to spread themselves to your friends, family, co-workers, and the rest of the Web. The good news is that with an ounce of prevention and some good common sense you are less likely to fall victim to these threats. Think of it as locking your front door to protect your entire family.
What is a virus?
A virus is a piece of computer code that attaches itself to a program or file so it can spread from computer to computer, infecting as it travels. Viruses can damage your software, your hardware, and your files.
Virus :: Code written with the express intention of replicating itself. A virus attempts to spread from computer to computer by attaching itself to a host program. It may damage hardware, software, or information.
What is a worm?
A worm, like a virus, is designed to copy itself from one computer to another, but it does so automatically by taking control of features on the computer that can transport files or information. Once you have a worm in your system it can travel alone. A great danger of worms is their ability to replicate in great volume. For example, a worm could send out copies of itself to everyone listed in your e-mail address book, and their computers would then do the same, causing a domino effect of heavy network traffic that would slow down business networks and the Internet as a whole.
What is a Trojan Horse?
Just as the mythological Trojan Horse appeared to be a gift, but turned out to contain Greek soldiers who overtook the city of Troy, today's Trojan Horses are computer programs that appear to be useful software, but instead they compromise your security and cause a lot of damage. A recent Trojan Horse came in the form of an e-mail that included attachments claiming to be Microsoft security updates, but turned out to be viruses that attempted to disable antivirus and firewall software.
Trojan Horse :: A computer program that appears to be useful but that actually does damage.
Although viruses, worms, and Trojan Horses have very different characteristics, there are three main ways you can help protect yourself against all of them.
Step 1: Never open an e-mail attachment from a stranger.
Step 2: Never open an e-mail attachment from someone you know, unless you know exactly what the attachment is.
Step 3: Always keep your antivirus software up-to-date.
Step 4: Keep your Microsoft software current using our online resources.
Taken from the link: http://www.microsoft.com/security/articles/virus101.asp
Thursday, June 17, 2004
Checklist: ASP.NET Performance
To improve the .NET Application Performance and Scalability
check this checklist:
http://www.msdn.microsoft.com/asp.net/default.aspx?pull=/library/en-us/dnpag/html/scalenetcheck03.asp
For complete details on the common issues, design guidelines, and coding techniques to improve the performance of your ASP.NET pages and controls check this document
Improving .NET Application Performance and Scalability.
To improve the .NET Application Performance and Scalability
check this checklist:
http://www.msdn.microsoft.com/asp.net/default.aspx?pull=/library/en-us/dnpag/html/scalenetcheck03.asp
For complete details on the common issues, design guidelines, and coding techniques to improve the performance of your ASP.NET pages and controls check this document
Improving .NET Application Performance and Scalability.
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
XBOX - Virtual Green Gaming World!
Just now I have played the XBOX game HALO with my friends.
Wait!!!!
What is XBOX?
The Xbox video game console is Microsoft's future-generation video game system that delivers new and unforeseen gameplay experiences.
Key Features – First time features in the Console Gaming industry!
1. An Intel 733MHz processor, the most commanding CPU console.
2. It has an internal hard drive, so you can store a lot of game information.
3. Rich compelling graphics performance than any other console with the help of an NVIDIA graphics processing unit (GPU)
4. Multiplayer Gaming facility with four game controller ports.
5. An Ethernet port for rich, fast-action online gaming via a broadband connection
6. You can also feel the real vibration!
7. Rich Stylish Look
8. More than 5000 Games!
Check the website www.xbox.com for more info!
Wait wait !!!
How it looks like?
See this: :)
The Xbox console and controller
My favorite game is Halo
Just now I have played the XBOX game HALO with my friends.
Wait!!!!
What is XBOX?
The Xbox video game console is Microsoft's future-generation video game system that delivers new and unforeseen gameplay experiences.
Key Features – First time features in the Console Gaming industry!
1. An Intel 733MHz processor, the most commanding CPU console.
2. It has an internal hard drive, so you can store a lot of game information.
3. Rich compelling graphics performance than any other console with the help of an NVIDIA graphics processing unit (GPU)
4. Multiplayer Gaming facility with four game controller ports.
5. An Ethernet port for rich, fast-action online gaming via a broadband connection
6. You can also feel the real vibration!
7. Rich Stylish Look
8. More than 5000 Games!
Check the website www.xbox.com for more info!
Wait wait !!!
How it looks like?
See this: :)
The Xbox console and controller
My favorite game is Halo
Tuesday, June 08, 2004
The next-generation of Windows Media Player!
Windows Media Player 10 Technical Beta
New features includes:
1. Sleek New Design.
2. Enhanced Device Support.
3. Choice of Online Stores.
4. Improved All-in-One Smart Jukebox.
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
Today I am so happy to see a nice blog about my book ".NETSecurity and Cryptography" in the blog: http://www.secureblog.tk/ with the title "BEST SELLER". You can see a lot of constructive and interesting security information in this blog site.
Some other interesting international reviews about my book are:
1. Visual Studio Magazine - Book Review
2. The #1 ASP.NET Community : Book Review
3. GlobeTechnology-Book
Check this! :)
Some other interesting international reviews about my book are:
1. Visual Studio Magazine - Book Review
2. The #1 ASP.NET Community : Book Review
3. GlobeTechnology-Book
Check this! :)
Tuesday, June 01, 2004
WinHEC Build 4074 Optimization Guide
Are you using WinHEC Build 4074 build and trying to optimize it?
Check this article by chris123NT and Nightawk. It is really good.
Longhorn has some new system services, some of which can cause slowdowns and lockups. To speed up Longhorn, this article shows you how to to disable a number of un wanted services and increase the performance.
Are you using WinHEC Build 4074 build and trying to optimize it?
Check this article by chris123NT and Nightawk. It is really good.
Longhorn has some new system services, some of which can cause slowdowns and lockups. To speed up Longhorn, this article shows you how to to disable a number of un wanted services and increase the performance.
