I was working on a deployment of DirectAccess for a company and of course how to deploy NLS came up. Obviously it is important that the NLS servers always be available, so the plan was to create two virtual IIS servers and put them behind their internal F5 load balancers. This would allow them to take...

I'm happy to announce that the External Collaboration Toolkit for SharePoint has been released and is now available at http://www.microsoft.com/collabkit . This toolkit helps you easily deploy a SharePoint-based external collaboration facility at your organization. Once this facility is in place, end...

My buddies down the hall recently released the Windows Server 2008 Security Guide the other day. This security guide is targeted at the latest Windows Server release (obviously!) and helps you implement the appropriate security settings based on the server's role. You can access the Windows Server...

Employees need to share documents with individuals from other companies, such as partners and suppliers. These documents often contain sensitive information that needs to be kept safe and secure. Microsoft SharePoint products deliver the document collaboration capabilities, but many IT departments have...

Today I conducted what I would characterize as a very successful side meeting at the Peobody hotel. The side meeting was focused on secure collaboration, and ran about 2 hours. We got about 60% of the RSVPs that attended which seems to be about par for the course. Generally speaking, the things we...

I am happy to announce that the we have released the Data Encryption Toolkit for Mobile PCs. This solution accelerator is designed to help you understand the encryption options that Microsoft provides that can help protect laptop data (BitLocker and Encrypting File System), and then deploy and operate...

I'm now envisioning my next project for the Solution Accelerators for Security and Compliance team. As a bit of background, my team provides prescriptive, tested guidance to help customers solve tricky security problems quickly. My new project is going to focus on collaborating securely outside the firewall...

I'm wrapping up my current project in the next couple of weeks and starting to think about my next project. This next project will focus on "Secure Collaboration". I've got some ideas about what we could do in this area, but the most important thing is to help solve our customers' problem. Therefore...

We have made a few bug fixes to the EFS Assistant tool and its Administrator's Guide. We have posted new versions to our CodePlex site at http://www.codeplex.com/EFSAssistant . Please let me know if you find any bugs or you get any error messages when you run the tool.

The Solution Accelerators for Security and Compliance team has released its first release candidate for the Microsoft Encrypting File System Assistant 1.0 (EFS Assistant). This tool helps centrally control EFS encryption on Windows XP SP2 and Windows Vista clients. You can download the Release Candidate...

Are you an IT administrator who wants to do some development on the side? Are you a developer who is interested in IT administration? We're looking for you! My team has created a tool called the EFS Assistant and are putting the source code out on CodePlex (see http://www.codeplex.com/EFSAssistant...

We have migrated development of the EFS Assistant tool to Microsoft's Codeplex site. To celebrate, we have posted a pre-release version of the EFS Assistant on the site. This version incorporates feedback we got from customers and internal reviewers. The EFS Assistant page on Codeplex is here: http...

My team recently released a new guide on Technet focused on protecting data on mobile PCs. The Security Analysis is part of the Microsoft Data Encryption Toolkit for Mobile PCs that is being released in phases over the next couple of months. The Security Analysis can be found at http://go.microsoft.com...

The Solution Accelerators for Security and Compliance (SA-SC) team is currently developing the Data Encryption Toolkit for Mobile PCs (DET). The Toolkit is a collection of guidance and tools designed to help you address specific data security risks that are related to laptop computers. By implementing...

One of the major downsides to EFS, especially from an administrator's point of view, is that it is difficult to manage centrally. My team is creating a tool that will help address that situation. We call this tool the EFS Assistant. Basically, the EFS Assistant is a small software application that is...

If you want to stay up to date with my Data Encryption Toolkit for Mobile PCs project, visit https://connect.microsoft.com/InvitationUse.aspx?ProgramID=790&InvitationID=DESA-QYGY-T4HB&SiteID=14 . If you sign up here you will be notified of any significant updates.

My project team is pleased to announce the release of the Executive Overview for our newest Solution Accelerator, the Data Encryption Toolkit for Mobile PCs. A free Solution Accelerator from Microsoft, the Data Encryption Toolkit for Mobile PCs provides tested guidance and powerful tools to help you...

My current project has released its first deliverable. The Executive Overview for the Data Encryption Toolkit for Mobile PCs is now available at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=81685 . This document is a short introduction to the upcoming Data Encryption Toolkit that we will release later this...

The project I am leading to create a Data Encryption Toolkit for Mobile PCs has released a beta for one of the documents that is part of the solution. The Security Analysis discusses the risks to data presented by laptop computers, and discusses the various technologies that Microsoft provides for protecting...

Microsoft Solutions for Security has released a new guide for using IPsec and group policies to isolate servers and domains on a network. This is really good stuff for those of your that have been told you need to encrypt traffic on the wire and are looking for a way to do so. You can find the guidance...

For those IT security pros out there, a question: has the increase focus on regulatory compliance (SOX, HIPAA, etc.) been an overall positive or negative for you? I am wondering if your companies/clients are using compliance as a reason to fund projects that they should have been doing all along (e.g...

I downloaded the current beta version of MS' new Anti-SpyWare tool yesterday and installed it on my kids' laptop. When I ran the scan, I found something like 16 different types of SpyWare installed. The trigger was starting up IE on the machine and being greeted with something called the "Megasearch...

Members of my team (Microsoft Solutions for Security) presented last week at the RSA Conference, and Infoworld wrote a story on the session . Congratulations Mike and Kurt!

You've probably already read this, but Microsoft recently announced the acquisition of Sybari . This company makes anti-virus and anti-spam products. As of right now, Sybari focuses on AV for email and instant messaging systems; it does not run on desktops or on servers. There's no telling exactly what...

Bill Gates made two big announcements at the RSA Conference in San Francisco yesterday. First, Bill announced that the Microsoft AntiSpyware product (formerly Giant AntiSpyware) will be available free of charge to Windows customers. Second, Bill informed the crowd that Microsoft would release a new version...