In The Know - Charles Van Heusen's Weblog

MS10-002 : IE | Critical – Partner Briefing

I will be hosting a webcast on Monday, January 25th to discuss the Critical patch for Internet Explorer that was announced on January 21st.  We will discuss the details around this vulnerability within the various versions of Internet Explorer and the steps you need to take within your organization as well as at your customer’s site to protect them.

Register for the webcast at  https://training.partner.microsoft.com/learning/app/management/registrationex/LMS_Registration.aspx?UserMode=0&Mode=0&ActivityID=573607

If you would like to get a jump start on the webcast, here are a few resources for you to leverage:

• Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for January 2010  - http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms10-jan.mspx

• KB961747 Detection and deployment guidance for Microsoft Security Updates  -  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/961747

• KB894199 Description of Software Update Services and Windows Server Update Services changes in content for 2010
  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/894199

Additionally, you can keep up with the latest security updates via the Microsoft Security Response Center at http://blogs.technet.com/msrc/

Technorati Tags: MS10-002,Internet Explorer Vulnerability,Windows XP,KB961747,KB894199

Windows XP SP2 & Windows Vista RTM End of Support Information

There are a number of Microsoft support lifecycle milestones on July 13th 2010. We need to make sure customers

are aware of the milestones and plan system and OS deployments to ensure that they maintain access to Microsoft

support and updates.

· Windows XP SP2 will no longer be the supported service pack level for Windows XP computers. Customers

running Windows XP SP2 or a previous version of the OS will need to upgrade to Windows XP Service Pack 3

(or Windows 7).

· Windows Vista RTM will no longer be supported. Customers running Windows Vista RTM should upgrade to

Windows Vista SP2. (or Windows 7).

· Extended support will end for Windows 2000 Server and Professional. Customers running Windows 2000 need

to migrate to a supported version of Windows in order to receive updates or support.

In many cases the cost in time and effort for migrating to a new service pack will justify business and consumer

interest in migration to Windows 7.

Important Dates

Product End of Mainstream Support End of Extended Support

Windows XP SP2 July 13, 2010

Windows Vista RTM July 13, 2010

Windows 2000 Professional SP4 July 13, 2010

Windows 2000 Server SP4 July 13, 2010

What is End of Support?

Support for the product ends. The Microsoft® Support Lifecycle (MSL) provides predictable and consistent support

timelines for Microsoft products, to customers worldwide. The Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy offers a

minimum of:

· Ten years of support (five years Mainstream Support and five years Extended Support) at the supported

service pack level for Microsoft Business and Developer products.

· Five years of Mainstream Support at the supported service pack level for Microsoft

Consumer/Hardware/Multimedia products.

Note: Mainstream and Extended Support is ONLY provided at the supported service pack level. Microsoft will

support products running at the latest Service Pack level and the prior Service Pack level, 24 months after the

release of the latest Service Pack.

Mainstream Support Phase

Mainstream Support is the first phase of the product support lifecycle. At the supported service pack level,

Mainstream Support includes:

· Incident support (no-charge incident support, paid incident support, support charged on an hourly basis,

support for warranty claims)

· Security update support

· The ability to request non-security hotfixes

Extended Support Phase

The Extended Support phase is available after the Mainstream Support phase ends for Business and Developer

products only. At the supported service pack level, Extended Support includes:

· Security update support at no additional cost

· Non-security related hotfix support if the customer has purchased a separate Extended Hotfix Support

agreement (per-fix fees also apply).

Extended support does not include:

· Requests for warranty support, design changes, or new features.

· Support for Consumer, Hardware, or Multimedia products.

What do my customers need to do?

If your customer has Windows XP SP2 currently deployed then they need to migrate to Windows XP SP3.

Customers running Windows Vista RTM should migrate to Windows Vista SP2. In many cases the cost in time and effort for migrating to a new service pack will justify business and consumer interest in migration to Windows 7.

· Windows XP customers should use Microsoft Update or Automatic Updates to download and install

Windows XP SP3. SP3 can be downloaded from Microsoft Update at

http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate.

· Windows Vista customers should use Windows Update to download and install Windows Vista SP2.

Service Packs may not be available through Windows Update on Windows Vista computers until other

available updates have been installed. Customers will need to separately install SP1 before installing SP2.

If your customer is running Windows 2000 Server or Professional edition then they need to migrate to Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7.

Customers who want to migrate to Windows 7 should be provided with the following information:

· The Windows Upgrade Advisor will scan a PC and identify if the system meets Windows 7 system

requirements. The scan will identify known compatibility issues with hardware, devices, and currently

installed applications. It will also provide guidance on what needs to be done prior to migration.

· Detailed information about the available Windows 7 editions and how to buy Windows 7. Windows XP

customers can purchase Windows 7 using upgrade licensing but it cannot be upgraded in place.

· Customers who wish to perform the upgrade themselves can use this tutorial.

Please begin speaking with your customers who are currently on

Windows XP SP2 today. They need to be aware of their available options, and this is an opportunity to have a Windows 7 deployment discussion.

What you need to know about Microsoft Security Essentials

If you are wondering what Antivirus package you should purchase for your new Windows 7 , Vista, or XP PC or Laptop, look no further.  Microsoft Security Essentials is a free download that will protect your 32 bit or 64 bit installations.

While Security Essentials is a fairly new offering from Microsoft, its ranking well amongst the IT community with the level of protection it is providing for Virus and Malware protection.  Not to mention, you can’t be the price.  FREE!

Let’s look at the hardware requirements:

Minimum system requirements for Microsoft Security Essentials

Operating System: Genuine Windows XP (Service Pack 2 or Service Pack 3); Windows Vista (Gold, Service Pack 1, or Service Pack 2); Windows 7

• For Windows XP, a PC with a CPU clock speed of 500 MHz or higher, and 256 MB RAM or higher.
• For Windows Vista and Windows 7, a PC with a CPU clock speed of 1.0 GHz or higher, and 1 GB RAM or higher.
• VGA display of 800 × 600 or higher.
• 140 MB of available hard disk space.
• An Internet connection is required for installation and to download the latest virus and spyware definitions for Microsoft Security Essentials.
• Internet Browser:
  • Windows Internet Explorer 6.0 or later.
  • Mozilla Firefox 2.0 or later.
• Microsoft Security Essentials also supports Windows XP Mode in Windows 7. For more information, see the system requirements for Windows XP Mode in Windows 7

As you can see, Microsoft Security Essentials can provide protection for your new laptop, netbook, or PC no matter the Operating system. Keep in mind, Windows XP SP2 is at its end of life with Microsoft Support and will officially end July 13th, 2010.  Upgrading to XP SP3 or Windows 7 is the best way to extend the life of those systems.

Take a Second Shot at Certification and Advance Your Career!

Microsoft Learning is bringing back Second Shot as part of its new Career Initiative, which is designed to help customers and students to get trained and certified on Microsoft technologies.

Certification can help boost your career and Microsoft wants you to be successful when you take an exam. By adding Second Shot to the Career Initiative, you can now register for a free retake (should you need it), and take the exam with less anxiety and fear of not passing the exam. Second Shot is available for IT Pros, Developers and students, and you can use this special offer to pass exams that are directly related to the top IT jobs available in the industry today. 

Job roles, learning paths and clear guidance on getting skilled for these jobs can be found on the Microsoft Student Career Portal and for professionals, the Microsoft Professional Career Portal.

Students, register here: 

Second Shot is available worldwide except India and China Prometric Testing Centers only.

  Professionals, register here:

 Second Shot is available Worldwide at Prometric Testing Centers only.

SharePoint 2010 Training Opportunities

We’re trying to get the word out on several SharePoint 2010 training opportunities for IT Pro’s and Developers.   Here’s what’s coming out in the next few weeks.

Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Ignite – IT Pro  This 300 level, 3 day training targeted towards experienced SharePoint 2007 professionals, covering IT Pro topics for SharePoint Server 2010 including deployment and upgrade topics, such as Topology Planning, Capacity Planning, Security, Governance, Operations, etc. Next course: January 20

Implementing Forefront Protection 2010 for SharePoint and Forefront Protection 2010 for Exchange  This two day course will focus on deploying and configuring Forefront Protection 2010 for Exchange Server and Forefront Protection 2010 for SharePoint in existing Exchange Server and SharePoint Server environments. Takes place January 21-22 in Redmond and February 18-19 in Chicago.

Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Ignite – Developer  This 300 level, 3 day training targeted towards experienced SharePoint 2007 developers, covering developer topics for SharePoint Server 2010 including SharePoint 2010 Services Architecture, SharePoint Development with VS10, changes to Workflows, External Data in SharePoint, Extending the SharePoint 2010 Search Infrastructure, etc. Next course: February 1.

Join us today at 11 am for a Windows 7 discussion on Geek Free Radio

I’ve been invited as a guest on Geek Free Radio to discuss Windows 7 and to answer questions from the listening audience that are considering migrations to Windows 7.

• We’ll discuss the differences between a clean installation vs. an in place upgrade.
• Upgrading from Vista.
• Migrating from Windows XP.
• Application Compatibility
• Understanding XP Mode in Windows 7