BizTalk 2006 RTM

Microsoft recently released BizTalk 2006. The new version features more that 20 new adapters. The Enterprise and Standard Editions of BizTalk Server 2006 include adapters for popular applications such as SAP, Siebel, Peoplesoft, Oracle Database, and JD Edwards at no extra charge. In addition, the following features are also included:

• Simplifeied installation
• Server Health Monitoring
• Enhanced BAM (Business Activity Monitor)
• Flat File Wizard

For more information on the new features, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/biztalk/evaluation/overview/default.mspx.

To download a trial version of BizTalk 2006, go to http://www.microsoft.com/biztalk/evaluation/trial/default.mspx

Microsoft Offers Virtual Server for Free

In a strategic move in the virtualization market, Microsoft is now offering Virtual Server 2005 R2 Enterprise Edition free of charge to the public. This product is similar to its client counterpart Virtual PC, but is intended for server products. To learn more about the differences between the 2 products, go to http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/4/d/14d17804-1659-435d-bc11-657a6da308c0/VSvsVPC.doc

To download Virtual Server, go to http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/virtualserver/software/default.mspx.

Brulant Game Night

BRING YOUR "A" GAME....BRULANT GAME NIGHT!

You're invited to test your gaming skills against your fellow technology gurus. Our first event was such a success, please join us again for networking, food, drinks, and the chance to win bragging rights as the master of:

* Texas Hold 'Em
* Halo 2
* Chess
* Foozball
* Madden
* and more!

Throughout the night, we'll be giving away great prizes. Feel free to suggest any other games we might consider, and bring a friend, the more the merrier!

When? Wednesday, April 5th, 5:30 p.m.-?

Where? Brulant's NEW Headquarters3700 Park East Drive, Suite 300Beachwood, OH 44122

To Register: Visit http://www.brulant.com/events/event.asp?id=508, and click on the "register" button for each person that plans on attending!

Microsoft Anti-Cross Site Scripting Library

Microsoft has recently released an Anti-Cross Site Scripting Library to help prevent cross site scripting attacks. To download the Anti-Cross Site Scripting Library, go to http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=9A2B9C92-7AD9-496C-9A89-AF08DE2E5982&displaylang=en

A Cross Site Scripting attack (XSS) occurs when a hacker inserts a link in an e-mail or web forum that appears to be legitimate (i.e. cnn.com, google.com). However, the link actually a malicious script code embedded in the URL. When the unsuspecting user clicks the link, the script is executed on the host web site. The script code maybe used to transfer cookies from the victim's PC to the hacker's machine. The cookies may contain user ID's, passwords, or possibly credit card information, all which can be used for illegal purposes. To read more about this security attack, visit http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/workshop/author/dhtml/httponly_cookies.asp

Error while trying to run project: unable to start debugging on the web server

Q: When I tried to debug my ASP.Net project (VS 2003), I received the error "Error while trying to run project: unable to start debugging on the web server." How do I correct this?

A: Depending on the remainder of the error message, there are different methods of resolving this error. For more detailed information on fixing this issue, go to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306172.

What is the difference between classes and modules?

Q: What is the difference between classes and modules?

A: Visual Studio.Net stores code in either classes or modules. Classes are used for items that define their own storage and have persistent data. In addition classes must be instantiated before they're used, unless the keywords "Static" (C#) or "Shared" (VB.Net) are used.
Modules, on the other hand, can be viewed as simple code libraries where the methods can be called directly.

Site Context Search Box in SPS

Microsoft has recently made available sample code for creating a site search box in SPS (SharePoint Portal Server). Use the search box sample to customize the Windows SharePoint Services site-level Search box to return Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server Search (SharePointPSSearch) results. This download contains sample Microsoft Visual C# code for creating the custom search box and a deployment package (CAB file) for installing the sample. You can modify this sample code to fit your needs. To download the sample code, visit http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=DE65EB72-3BB3-4D32-98C2-F2C94458C957&displaylang=en

Bug Found in McAfee's Update Program

The McAfee update (DAT 4715) released on Friday was designed to protect computers against the W95/CTX virus. But because of a programming error, the update also incorrectly identified renamed and quarantined hundreds of legitimate executables including popular ones such as excel.exe, lsetup.exe, uninstall.exe, shutdown.exe and reg.exe.

For companies that had configured their McAfee antivirus program to automatically delete bad files, the error resulted in the loss of hundreds, and in some cases even thousands, of files on systems in which the update had been installed, said Johannes Ullrich, chief technology officer at the SANS Internet Storm Center (ISC) in Bethesda, Md.

The full article can be found at http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/story/0,10801,109525,00.html?source=NLT_AM&nid=109525

MDAC Component Checker

As a follow-up to yesterday's post, I found a Microsoft utility used to check the MDAC components and provide detailed information on all the related files. The utility can be downloaded from Microsoft.com at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=8f0a8df6-4a21-4b43-bf53-14332ef092c9&displaylang=en&Hash=S9VTW5B

MDAC Version

Q: How do I find out what version of MDAC I have on my machine?

A: MDAC is short for Microsoft Data Access Components. The MDAC version information is stored in the registry in KEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\DataAccess\Version. To download the latest version of MDAC (currently 2.8), go to http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?DisplayLang=en&FamilyID=6c050fe3-c795-4b7d-b037-185d0506396c.

Detecting Network Sniffers

I came across a cool utility on the MSDN web site. PromqryUI (short for Promiscuous Query User Interface) is a GUI tool that detects network interfaces running in promiscuous mode (i.e. network sniffers). To download this free utility, go to http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=1a10d27a-4aa5-4e96-9645-aa121053e083&DisplayLang=en

SQL Server Report Pack for SPS 2003

Microsoft produced a report pack specifically aimed at SharePoint 2003 site utilization. This is a set of 8 Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services reports that work with a sample database of information extracted from a SharePoint Portal Server environment.

The Report Pack includes the following reports:

1. Storage ReportShows a listing of the virtual servers and the number of collections, sites, areas, lists, files and size. Also shows a size distribution and storage usage chart, and a top 20 sites based on size.
2. Storage Trend ReportShows four charts illustrating the virtual server storage trend, site collection growth trend, area growth trend and list growth trend.
3. Site Trend ReportShows hit counts for virtual servers, collections, areas and lists. Also shows the top 20 sites based on hits.
4. Comprehensive Site Collections ReportShows the list of site collections, who owns the collection, configurable characteristics about the owner and the date the collection was last accessed.
5. Detailed Site Collection ReportShows top 20 pages accessed (based on hit count) for this site collection.
6. Detailed Page ReportShows users who have access to the page, when they last accessed it, any referrer URL and number of hits. Also shows two charts illustrating user distribution and referrer distribution.
7. Best Bet KeywordShows top 20, top 10, bottom 10, or bottom 20 keywords used for searching. Also shows which keywords have best bets.
8. Search TermsShows top 20, top 10, bottom 10, or bottom 20 search terms used for searching. Also shows which search terms match a defined keyword.

For more info, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/technet/technetmag/issues/2005/11/ReportingTools/default.aspx.

To download the Report Pack, go to http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=49159368-544B-4B09-8EED-4844B4E33D3D&displaylang=en

Computer Myth Busters

I came across this link on Yahoo discussing computer related myths (http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1740&ncid=1729&e=1&u=/ttpcworld/20060223/tc_techtues_pcworld/124807).

I thought it was worth while to post to show how the general public perceives computers. Let me know what you think.