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New user interface and new probes. TNM allows you to control network performance.In my last article I discussed the BitLocker to Go features from a user’s perspective. Today I will take a closer look at the features that are of interest from a system administrator’s point of view.
I think it is important to have just one USB stick encryption solution in a corporate environment because it simplifies the work for help desk personnel. If an end user calls because he or she is unable to access the data on an encrypted memory stick, and you don’t even know what encryption software has been used, things can get difficult.
Performance is quite impressive. This article is about Windows Vista SP1. Quite comprehensive.BitLocker to Go is a new feature in Windows 7 that allows you to encrypt data on removable drives such as USB sticks. I believe that BitLocker to Go will be more popular than BitLocker for fixed-drive encryption, which I reviewed in my last article. Portable drives get lost much easier simply because they are smaller than laptops. Because they often contain important business data, unencrypted memory sticks pose a considerable security risk for any organization.
Of course, flash drive encryption isn’t anything new. Many portable storage devices come with their own encryption software and there are also free tools such as TrueCrypt that support USB stick encryption. However, in corporate environments, BitLocker to Go has some important advantages over these free solutions. In this article, I will discuss BitLocker to Go from the end user’s perspective. In my next post, I will cover the management features.
BitLocker was introduced with Windows Vista and, as far as I know, it was not very popular. This might be because it is available only for Windows Vista Ultimate and Windows Vista Enterprise. But the main reason probably is that it is complicated to set up. I compared BitLocker to TrueCrypt a year ago and concluded that the Open Source tool is the better drive encryption solution. BitLocker in Windows 7, however, has significantly improved. In this article I discuss BitLocker’s system drive encryption, and in my next post I will review BitLocker-to-Go, the new encryption solution for removable storage devices.
BitLocker for Vista was too complicated to set up once the operating system is installed. Users had to shrink the system partition to make space for the BitLocker partition. Microsoft acknowledged that this was too difficult for end users, and too time consuming for administrators, and released the BitLocker Drive Preparation Tool, which is part of the Ultimate Extras and is also available for Windows Vista Enterprise.
One of the most often criticized features of Windows XP and Windows Vista are the constant, work-interrupting balloon messages in the notification area. Usually they pop up when you are in the midst of something that requires your full attention. Often they keep complaining about things you are quite aware of anyway, such as the firewall is turned off, UAC is disabled or updates have to be installed. The perseverance of Windows in these matters is amazing. Only a wife who wants you to take out the trash has comparable staying power.
This excel sheet explains 1472 IE 8 settings. One of the reasons why Windows 7 performs better. I reviewed version 2.1.0 a couple of days ago. New: Regional and Language options, Services Panel, Network Connections, Automatic UpdateThe Action Center is a new feature in the Windows 7 Control Panel that could prove useful for system administrators. It is a replacement of Vista’s Security Center and gives an overview of security and maintenance-related status messages.
Before I start reviewing the Action Center, I want to say a word or two about the changes in the Control Panel. At first sight, it looks pretty much the same as in Vista; however, Microsoft moved quite a few applets to different positions. I don’t know whether the new configuration makes more sense than the old one, or if it makes it easier for newbies to find an applet. But one thing is certain: Vista users who just got used to the new Control Panel will start searching again.
In my last article I gave an overview of AppLocker. In this post I will give you some tips on how to test AppLocker.
You can try AppLocker in a Windows domain environment using Group Policy or you can test it with the Local Security Policy snap-in. If you want to work with Group Policy, then you should install the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) for Windows 7 first and then add the Group Policy Management Tools through the Windows Feature applet. This allows you to define Publisher Rules with the Group Policy Editor under Windows 7. You can also configure Publisher Rules on a Windows Sever 2008 R2 domain controller. But to do this you need a reference file of the application that might be unavailable on the domain controller.
AppLocker is a new feature of Windows 7 that allows you to restrict program execution via Group Policy. It is comparable to—but better than—the Software Restriction Policies of former Windows versions, which are still supported in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Software Restriction Policies are not very popular among admins, because configuring them is time-consuming although it can easily be circumvented. AppLocker promises to address both downsides to Software Restriction Policies. In this article, I will give an overview of the capabilities, and in my next post, I will explain how to use AppLocker.
AppLocker supports three types of rules: Path Rules, File Hash Rules, and Publisher Rules. Path Rules and Hash Rules are already available as part of the Software Restriction Policies.
A real life experience. Interesting. Nothing revolutionary, but interesting.I suppose many of you are now trying Windows 7 and Windows Sever 2008 R2. The first thing that will catch your eye is the new taskbar, the so-called Superbar. The video below demonstrates how it works and what you can do with it. I have been playing with Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 for a couple of days now and I am not yet decided if I like or dislike the Superbar. It appears to be an improvement for the average computer user, but I am not sure if this change is really helpful for IT pros. But before I share my thoughts about the new taskbar, I would like to know your opinion.
Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 SP1 and Sun xVM VirtualBox are both free hardware virtualization tools that can be used for testing purposes. If you plan to try Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2, you should consider using a virtualization tool. Testing in a virtual environment has many advantages even if you have PCs for testing purposes. I guess most Windows admins tend to use Virtual PC simply because it is from Microsoft. However, VirtualBox is by the far the better tool, which is the topic of this article. VMware Workstation is certainly an even better choice if you are willing to spend $189.00. But for occasional testers, VirtualBox is sufficient.
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