After investigating public reports, Microsoft has published Microsoft Security Advisory 951306, which describes a vulnerability that affects multiple versions of Windows (including Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2, all supported versions and editions of Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows Vista Service Pack 1, and Windows Server 2008.)

The newly found security flaw could potentially allow a malicious local user (who has authentication) to execute specially crafted code to raise his privilege level to LocalSystem. IIS and SQL Server are the main attack vectors. But other vectors are possible, such as Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MSDTC) on Windows Server 2003.

The vulnerability looks like it basically allows for any process that has the SeImpersonatePrivilege to execute some code and be able to impersonate LocalSystem (which has the NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM SID and a wealth of privileges in its token). For Windows 2003 and beyond the users awarded that privilege are in the Network Services, Local Services, Local System, and Administrators groups. On Vista/Server 2008 you additionally won’t have the privilege unless you’ve elevated. That fortunately reduces the scope of this otherwise highly serious vulnerability, though it still isn’t pretty.

It must be noted however  Microsoft stated in its advisory that- “Hosting providers may be at increased

Ever since i made the change to Vista I have noticed that the browsing of network folders  on my network was slow-with OR without connecting through a domain (esp When browsing Windows Server 2003 shared folders).

When opening the network folder your computer displays straight away but there is  5-6+ second wait before other network computers & shares are displayed…

So what to do? The fix involves changing two settings from the command prompt. You need to run the command prompt as an administrator. You can do this by right-clicking and selecting run as administrator. Type in the following commands:

netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled
netsh int tcp set global rss=disabled

You will need to restart your machine afterwards. The difference is night and day. I wonder what the reasoning was for not having Vista set like this out of the box?If you are unhappy with the changes you can restore the default settings with

netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=normal
netsh int tcp set global rss=enabled

 I saw this fix over at Excalibur Partners

If you are a Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA) or a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) on Windows Server 2003, you can now transfer your skills to achieve multiple Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) certifications or Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) credentials on Windows Server 2008.

For the first time, the transition path is available before the product release. If you have a Windows Server 2008 certification on your resumé, you have an excellent opportunity to catch the eye of early adopter organizations. Microsoft Learning developed this transition path to recognize the investment and expertise you have demonstrated throughout your certification history—don’t miss your chance to take advantage of these new certifications.

Your path consists of one exam, which allows you to earn multiple Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) certifications on Windows Server 2008.
-First step: Take one exam to earn MCTS certification on Windows Server 2008

From there, you can complete the remaining requirements for one or both of the Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) certifications for Windows Server 2008.
-Your transition path from MCSA on Windows Server 2003 to MCITP 
-Click to continue reading "Transition your MCSA and MCSE on Windows Server 2003 skills to Windows Server 2008"

Written by Patrick S on April 22nd, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Jobs and otherSoftware and Learning and Windows Server System.