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Security

Jun 25 2008   3:53PM GMT

Application Performance and Other Investigative Opportunities



Posted by: Joe Coley
Custom software development, IT administration, IT Management, Software Quality, Software testing, Networking, Security

Sometimes I feel more like I’m a detective than programmer/analyst.  Fact is, I believe, that there has to be at least a little bit of detective in every IT person who has the opportunity to evaluate software applications and their sometimes strange behaviors.

As an example of what I mean, I share with you an opportunity I’ve been presented that has surely become a mystery worthy of any good detective - or perhaps a sick mind :-).  Picture this, an application that runs flawlessly and with acceptable speed on a minimally configured server when moved to a new “high-end” server slows down to borderline acceptable performance - clearly and noticeably slower than the old one.  Both systems use RAID 5, both are running MS Server 2003 SBS.  Main difference between new and old is that new uses more powerful chips, faster drives, 4 times the RAM and gigabit network connectivity - none of which cause me to suspect that it should run slower than the old.

The issue was called to my attention after the company “network” guys had all but thrown up their hands and said basically “…it must be the application…”.  It seems very hard to believe that it would be anything other than configuration of “something” on the new server.

As yet the issue remains unsolved - but I use it to highlight one of the great challenges that we in the IT field are presented with .  One need not look beyond the next IT person you talk with to find the next “detective” story or unsolved mystery.  We are faced with them constantly.  We need software and hardware tools, knowledge bases and lots of experience to investigate and solve such issues.  Issues which cross various specialties such as security, networking, programming, application testing and design require us to be “detective” - to ask the right persons the right questions - to find the right tool to identify the cause of the problem, as well as to recognize opportunities to “check into”.

“Lots of luck” also helps!

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Mar 25 2008   6:25AM GMT

Windows PowerShell Rocks



Posted by: Joe Coley
Custom software development, Security, Windows Security, Software application development, PowerShell

Nobody has ever accused me of adopting software or utilities upon their immediate release. Actually, as the plethora of articles about new product or product under development occur, I look them over briefly, but generally don’t give them much attention. With that said, it is no surprise that I had no clue that Microsoft was developing a new tool for administrators — Windows PowerShell.

Having worked within a UNIX and Linux environment for many years, I became very accustomed to creating powerful scripts to accomplish tasks. Even with the limitations of Microsoft’s command shell, I often would find that I could do things much more quickly at a command line than with a graphical interface. Now Microsoft has given me a whole new tool to learn — and I suspect I will find myself using the command line once again more and more frequently.

I only discovered Windows PowerShell today when I was reading the April edition of Microsoft TechNet Magazine. What caught my eye initially was an article regarding PII (Personally Identifiable Information). The article ( Really talking about security on your system) showed various examples of finding PII on your system using Windows PowerShell. As of this writing I am not finding the article on-line however, as it appears to be the March issue that is on-line at this time.

Getting the glimpse I did of PowerShell from the article had me quickly imagining many uses for the power which seemed to be available using this new tool. I searched for, downloaded and have now installed PowerShell on my XP, Vista and server 2003 systems.

If you have not investigated this free tool from Microsoft I’d suggest that you go for it! I have only begun to look at the functionality available, and I am impressed — and it generally takes a bit for me to be this way about a new product.

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Mar 18 2008   6:16AM GMT

Trustworthy Computing



Posted by: Joe Coley
Custom software development, Software Quality, Software testing, Small Business Computing, Security, Software application development

Since reading the white paper entitled “Trustworthy Computing” on the Microsoft link provided by reader Willie Robinson I have been thinking about the concept of “Trustworthy Computing” ever since, almost to the point of distraction — so I figured it was time to blog about it!

I first noted when reading that Microsoft paper that it was dated in the year 2002.  This prompted me to try a Google search on “trustworthy computing”, and I discovered a recent article posted on campustechnology.com entitled “Trustworthy Computing: Examining Trust“.  I found this article particularly interesting because very early on a reference was made to the fact that there is still a long way to go.

I have found myself wondering since reading the Microsoft White paper, just how possible is it to develop the same kind of confidence and trust in our computing environment that we have with our automobiles or telephone?  Computing, however, seems to be an area where there is an every day cat and mouse game being played between the good guys and the bad guys.  What happens when a good guy goes bad?  That has happened!

It seems to me that until the larger issues of global cooperation and trust are resolved, we will not see global trustworthy computing.  On the very first page of Microsoft’s “trustworthy computing” white paper, they state “…  Because computers have to some extent already lost people’s trust…”.  My experience would be that this is a gross understatement.  Significant data breaches have shaken the security foundation to its core, and significantly eroded trust that has been built up in recent years.

If this topic interests you, take a look at this most recent article that I’ve referenced above.  It also is a great read.

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