Ian Hameroff : Secure Client

Did the Easy/Easier Zombies Invade an Apple Store?

ianhamer — Sat, 26 May 2007 20:05:00 GMT

As I've mentioned in the past...my buds down the hall in the Forefront team have one killer (no pun intended) advertising campaign in effect that features a number of different comedic ways to deal with potential office attackers. If you've visited http://www.easyeasier.com, you've likely noticed that one of the groups of attackers featured are zombies.

Well, I was just browsing through one of your humble blogger's feature techienerd web sites (Engadet) and it linked a story/blog posting from C|NET News to its home page about how "Brain-eating zombies invade SF Apple store."

Wonder if these zombies were thwarted by Windows users using techniques featured on in the Forefront advert, and then turned their attention to Macs?

Who knows?

I thought it was just a good laugh for a Saturday morning.

-- hama

Seeing Client Security in Three Dimensions a Second Time

ianhamer — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 02:07:00 GMT

Does that then make it six dimensional then? Moving on: my partner in crime -- Ryan McGee -- and I delivered another webcast on the Secure Client solution I've blogged about before:

Momentum Webcast: Windows Vista, Server and Domain Isolation, and Forefront Client Security

In an effort to save electronics, here's a quick snapshot of the overview:

In this webcast, we explore how Microsoft delivers layered, integrated protection that helps IT professionals protect their client applications against a broad range of threats while simplifying administration and integration into existing infrastructure. Join us to see how the Windows Vista operating system, Microsoft Forefront Client Security, and server and domain isolation solutions work together to help you protect your client applications from a broad range of threats.

Believe it or not, we actually covered all of that <g> In all seriousness, it was a very well received 'cast (garnering great viewer feedback like "Great webcast" </end_shameless_self_promotion>) and worth watching even if you saw the previous one or the replay. The demo has been updated to reflect the latest Forefront Client Security bits, and you can actually see the screens in the replay because I bumped up the resolution during the LiveMeeting.

Enjoy the show!

Meanwhile, we're on to our third "snow storm" here in the Puget Sound. Thank goodness for remote access, because the last two storms I stayed hold up in the home office. This time, I made it in:

Webcasting a 3D Security Solution

ianhamer — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 22:07:56 GMT

Okay, so did your humble blogger fall down some digital mine shaft? What could possibly explain the long delay between postings. Well, I've got a litany of excuses...er...reasons. Perhaps the most relevant one involves the new laptop I ordered and recently received (dead on arrival). I'm not going to mention any names (especially since the laptop has been repaired and does kick some major butt -- love that Core 2 Duo), but I must admit the process of getting this "problem" resolved resulted in more time on the phone than in front of Windows Live Writer.

Enough of my complaining...what I really wanted to write about was the webcast my buddy Ryan McGee (Sr. Product Manager in the Security and Access Product Marketing group, like me) and I delivered on Tuesday about the "Three Dimensions of Client Security". As you'll likely recall, this is part of our recently launched "secure client" solution that you can learn more about by visiting the following MSCOM link:

http://www.microsoft.com/secureclient

The webcast -- entitled "Three Dimensions of Client Security" -- features both a 30 minute presentation on the solution and about a 25 minute live demo of all three dimensions (Windows Vista, Server and Domain Isolation, and Forefront Client Security). I encourage to check it out since, and I don't mean toot my own horn, the eval scores looks great. One satisfied viewer even commented it was "simply great". See for yourself <g>

Simplifying Client Security Without Sacrificing Protection

ianhamer — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 02:38:21 GMT

Following on to my posting from yesterday, the fine folks over in TechNet have published a Security Viewpoint article I wrote about our new "security client" solution offering.

Entitled Simplifying Client Security Without Sacrificing Protection, the article focuses on the three elements of the solution, and how they help reduce the risk of not only network-borne threats, but the risk of increased complexity when attempting to manage several separate security products while applying a defense-in-depth approach to client protection.

Here's a quick preview of the article:

It’s a common challenge faced by IT professionals today: how to mitigate the risk of a growing number of network-born threats without creating a management nightmare. Windows administrators have no shortage of tools to help combat malware, unwanted software, Denial of Service attacks, and other related threats. However, managing these various security products, especially when deployed together, can create a different kind of risk: complexity. Striking the right balance of protection and manageability is not only important; it can ultimately become the lynchpin of a successful, layered security model.

Give it a read and let me know what you think!

A 3-D Solution for Client Security

ianhamer — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 02:19:00 GMT

In case you haven't noticed, there's a lot of cool news coming out of this week's TechEd IT Forum (NOTE: I can never work out how to stick that '·' thingy between the "Tech" and "Ed") event in Barcelona, Spain.

The one that's most relevant to your humble blogger is the announcement of a public beta for Forefront Client Security (Microsoft's enterprise antivirus and anti-spyware solution). Now don't worry. I haven't switched roles -- although I do work in the Security and Access Products group where the Forefront gang lives. Here's the good stuff: we also kicked off a brand new campaign to promote a multi-layered solution for securing Windows clients from that long list of network-borne threats (i.e. things that go "boo" at night on the Internet) that all IT admins have to deal with.

Affectionately called the "secure client" campaign, this solution promotes the combination of:

platform security features of Windows Vista (e.g. Windows Firewall with Advanced Security),
the end-point authentication capabilities of Server and Domain Isolation, and
the aforementioned Forefront Client Security.

Together, we (and here's that marketing side of me) call this the "Three Dimensions of Client Security" and have setup a brand new portal on the solution at http://www.microsoft.com/secureclient.

Checkout all the info up there, like a newly minted whitepaper, and I encourage you to download the beta of Forefront Client Security.

We'll be doing a bunch of things around this solution, including an upcoming webcast on December 12th (details pending) where yours truly will be doing a demo of these three dimensions in action. If things go as planned, my co-presenter Ryan McGee (the mastermind of this campaign) and I will sing one (or more) classics from the 1960s group "The Fifth Dimension". Okay, that may not be a good idea <g>