[ISN] Security UPDATE -- Add VMware Player to Your Security Toolkit -- October 26, 2005

InfoSec News isn at c4i.org
Thu Oct 27 03:12:15 EDT 2005


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1. In Focus: Add VMware Player to Your Security Toolkit 

2. Security News and Features
   - Recent Security Vulnerabilities
   - Exchange Server 2003 SP2 Improves Security
   - Multiple Vulnerabilities in Oracle Products
   - Buffer Overflow Vulnerability in Snort and Sourcefire
   - Secure Your Wireless Network

3. Security Toolkit
   - Security Matters Blog
   - FAQ
   - Security Forum Featured Thread

4. New and Improved
   - Secure IM for Mobile Users

====================

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==== 1. In Focus: Add VMware Player to Your Security Toolkit 
   by Mark Joseph Edwards, News Editor, mark at ntsecurity / net

VMware is a tool that lets you run various OSs as virtual machines 
(VMs) on a single computer. The Windows IT Pro Web site has many 
articles about VMware, which you can find listed at
   http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=1798C:4FB69

I've been testing VMware Workstation lately, and last week I woke up to 
a pleasant surprise. While doing a little early morning blog surfing, I 
came across a blog I hadn't read before called Wubble. As it turns out, 
the blog author, Philip Langdale, works at VMware. 

In a blog entry, "VMs for Everyone!" (at the first URL below), I 
learned that during the VMworld 2005 conference in Las Vegas (Oct. 18-
20), VMware released a new standalone tool, VMware Player (at the 
second URL below). If you've used VMware Workstation, the VMware 
servers, or VMware ACE (Assured Computing Environment), then you know 
how incredibly useful VMware is. The new Player (which will also ship 
with the upcoming VMware Workstation 5.5) is equally useful for two 
particular reasons. First, it lets you run existing VMs created by 
other VMware tools and supports VMs created with Microsoft Virtual 
Server as well as Symantec LiveState Recovery snapshots. Second, it's 
free. 
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   http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=179A2:4FB69

As with many free tools, VMware Player has some limitations. For 
example, you can't create new VMs and you can't add new hardware to a 
VM. You can learn about other limitations in VMware's comparison chart.
   http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=17996:4FB69

Even with some limitations, VMware Player is a great offering. As you 
might suspect, you can use it to run Windows, Linux, Novell NetWare, 
Sun Microsystems Solaris, and FreeBSD as guest OSs. Another nice thing 
is that if you don't have a VM to run in VMware Player or don't want to 
create one, you can download one from VMware's Web site. Available are 
VMs for Novell Linux Desktop, Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, and 
Red Hat Enterprise Linux, plus several other VMs provided by various 
application vendors. VMware also provides a VM based on Ubuntu Linux 
that's configured as a Browser Appliance and designed to let you surf 
the Internet while protecting your underlying OS from malware. 
   http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=179A5:4FB69 

If you've run a honeypot or a honeymonkey or had to test various 
software and tools, you probably know (or can imagine) how using a VM 
can be of great benefit. For example, you can build your honeypot on 
any supported OS and run it inside a VM. Then if the honeypot is 
compromised, it's not a problem--just shut down the VM and restart it 
again, and any changes made by an intruder are gone. The same goes for 
running a honeymonkey or testing spyware and other forms of malware. 
Plus, you can run Linux-based security tools on a Windows desktop by 
loading them into a Linux-based VM. With VMware Player, you can extend 
your use to other systems quickly and easily--and that's what makes 
VMware Player a great addition for your security toolkit. Check it out. 

====================

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==== 2. Security News and Features ====

Recent Security Vulnerabilities
   If you subscribe to this newsletter, you also receive Security 
Alerts, which inform you about recently discovered security 
vulnerabilities. You can also find information about these 
discoveries at
   http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=17991:4FB69

Exchange Server 2003 SP2 Improves Security
   Microsoft released Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2), which 
includes a number of new features, including some security 
enhancements. Learn about the new features in a news story on our Web 
site (at the first URL below), in Paul Robichaux's article "Exchange 
Server 2003 SP2 Ships" (at the second URL below), and in Tony Redmond's 
article "Exploring Exchange 2003 Service Pack 2" (at the third URL 
below). 
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   http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=17999:4FB69
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Multiple Vulnerabilities in Oracle Products
   Multiple high-risk vulnerabilities exist in Oracle9i Database 
Server, Oracle Database Server 10g, and many other Oracle products. 
They consist of one buffer overflow condition and numerous possible SQL 
injection attacks, many of which could be exploited by an intruder to 
gain complete control of the products. Oracle released a Critical Patch 
Update (at the URL below) to correct many (but not all) of the 
problems. 
   http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=17990:4FB69

Buffer Overflow Vulnerability in Snort and Sourcefire
   Internet Security Systems (ISS) X-Force discovered a buffer overflow 
vulnerability in Snort, which according to ISS also affects 
Sourcefire--the commercial version of Snort. The vulnerability exists 
in the Back Orifice preprocessor; systems that don't use Back Orifice 
aren't affected. Snort 2.4.3 was released to correct the problem. For 
more details about the problem in Snort, read the announcement on the 
Snort.org Web site (first URL below) and ISS's advisory at the second 
URL below. At the time of this writing, no information was available 
about updates to Sourcefire. 
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   http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=179A1:4FB69

Secure Your Wireless Network
   Along with the benefits of wireless networks comes a need to keep 
them secure. John Howie gives you a look at some practical steps you 
can take to secure your wireless networks, methods to automate 
configuration-setting deployment, and tools you can use to probe for 
unsecured and unauthorized wireless networks.
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==== Resources and Events ====

Get Ready for the SQL Server 2005 Roadshow in Europe--Get the facts 
about migrating to SQL Server 2005!
   SQL Server experts will present real-world information about 
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implement a best-practices migration to SQL Server 2005 and improve 
your database-computing environment. Receive a one-year membership to 
PASS and one-year subscription to SQL Server Magazine. Register now.
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Exploit the Opportunities of a Wireless Fleet
   With the endless array of mobile and wireless devices and 
applications, it's hard to decide what you can do with the devices 
beyond providing mobile email access. It's even tougher to know how to 
keep it all secure. Join industry guru Randy Franklin Smith in this 
free Web seminar and discover what you should do to leverage your 
mobile and wireless infrastructure, how to pick devices that are right 
for you, and more!
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Get the Most from Your Infrastructure by Consolidating Servers and 
Storage
   Improved utilization of existing networking resources and server 
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benefits that consolidation technology can provide.
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Deploy VoIP and FoIP Technologies--Win a Starbucks Gift Card
   Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is the future of 
telecommunications and many companies are already enjoying the benefits 
of using voice over IP networks to significantly reduce telephone and 
facsimile costs. Join industry expert David Chernicoff for this free 
Web seminar to learn the ins and outs of boardless fax in IP 
environments, tips for rolling out fax and integrating fax with 
telephony technologies, and more. Attend, and you could win a Starbucks 
gift card!
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What Does It Mean to Be Compliant?
   We've all heard about legal and regulatory requirements, but there 
are other types of compliance that might also affect you--specifically 
email compliance. In this free Web seminar, you'll get insights into 
compliance and policy issues that you need to know about, as well as 
suggestions on what to look for when implementing your compliance 
strategy and more! Register today!
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All High Availability Solutions Are Not Created Equal--How Does Yours 
Measure Up?
   In this free, on-demand Web seminar you'll get the tools you need to 
ensure your systems don't go down. You'll learn what solutions help you 
take preemptive, corrective action without resorting to a full system 
failover, that perform a nondisruptive, automatic switchover to a 
secondary server in extreme cases.
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====================

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====================

==== 3. Security Toolkit ==== 

Security Matters Blog: New Linksys Wireless Adapter Puts a Wi-Fi 
Scanner in Your Pocket
   by Mark Joseph Edwards, http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=179A0:4FB69

The new Linksys Wireless-G USB Network Adapter with Wi-Fi Finder is a 
really slick and innovative product. It has a built-in wireless scanner 
to detect available networks, and it works as a standalone unit so you 
can detect 802.11b/g networks before you power up your laptop. Having 
one of these is sort of like having NetStumbler in a device the size of 
a pack of gum! Check it out in this blog entry. 
   http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=1799B:4FB69

FAQ
   by John Savill, http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=1799E:4FB69 

Q: How can I redirect Microsoft Outlook profiles during cross-
Administrator group mailbox migrations?  

Find the answer at
   http://list.windowsitpro.com/t?ctl=17998:4FB69

Security Forum Featured Thread: Automate Setting ACLs on Folders
   A forum participant wants to know how to configure a Linksys router, 
which is connected to a Zyxel DSL modem, so that it will work with a 
proxy server to filter unwanted sites. The writer has built a similar 
configuration before, but now an application keeps presenting a 
connection error. Join the discussion at:
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==== 4. New and Improved ====
   by Renee Munshi, products at windowsitpro.com

Secure IM for Mobile Users
   Akonix Systems announced L7 Remote User Agent, which provides IM 
security and logging capabilities for mobile employees. When deployed 
on a laptop, L7 Remote User Agent monitors IM use and ensures that all 
IM activity is secured and logged by Akonix L7 Enterprise, minimizing 
risks of attack or noncompliance through unsecured IM access. L7 Remote 
User Agent supports all public IMs--AOL's AIM, Yahoo! Messenger, MSN 
Messenger, ICQ, and Google Talk--and Windows Server 2003/XP/2000. For 
more information, go to
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