Hacking image via Shutterstock

Major security surveys and reports continually show that passwords are one of the greatest weaknesses on enterprise networks. Criminal hackers exploit weak passwords for their ill-gotten gains as do malicious employees and other insiders. Even advance malware can take advantage of weak passwords. Something has to change. But you can’t fix what you don’t acknowledge. That’s why Kevin Beaver’s book, Hacking for Dummies: 4th edition, presents the latest tools and techniques you can use to cover weak passwords in your environment and to minimize password risks once and for all. We have an excerpt of the book on our IT Bookworm Blog.

Since we’re feeling generous, we’re giving away five more copies of the book, all signed by Kevin Beaver himself! To win a copy, tell us “What do you believe is the greatest contributor to information security problems in your organization, or if you’re not into self-incrimination, society as a whole?” Good luck!

Hacking image via Shutterstock

For many IT professionals, ‘hacking’ is one of the scariest words. From passwords to banking accounts, hackers are constantly looking for ways to breach your network. But don’t worry, Kevin Beaver’s book, Hacking for Dummies: 4th edition, takes you into the mind of a hacker and gives you the latest tools and techniques to stop them before they strike. We have an excerpt of the book on our IT Bookworm Blog.

We’re giving away 5 copies of the book, all signed by Kevin Beaver himself! To win a copy, tell us “Of all the challenges that come with working in IT, what are the top three that keep you from getting the most important things done?” Good luck!

Data wranglers, your time has come. But you knew that already. It seems like every day we’re hearing about a new startup or solution aimed at making sense of the mass of data organizations must process.

But that doesn’t mean everyone’s clear on all the options. Like NoSQL. Yeah, it’s a big deal, used by a lot of big data companies, but why, exactly?  Making Sense of NoSQL, a recent e-book from Manning Publications, aims to answer that question and others. We’ve got an excerpt of it up on our IT Bookworm blog right now.

Want the whole thing? Just submit your data management story in our Open IT Forum. We’ll choose our ‘favorite’ scenario (note: we’re not taking pleasure in your pain) and award the prize.

 Re-tweet link

Update: The winner is Mortimer1. Congratulations!

Happy Friday, everyone! If you want to take a break from your hectic day at the office, head over to IT Answers and get some of those competitive juices flowing. We’re giving away Embedded Linux Primer, Second Edition from the Prentice Hall Open Source Software Development Series. If you want this little goody mailed to you next week, answer one of the five questions below and post the link to your answer(s) in the discussion area of this question.

Can’t answer any of those questions but still want a chance to win? Simply retweet this tweet and your name will be thrown into the hat!

1. Enterprise desktop virtualization solution
   
2. To use VRDP of VirtualBox, it doesn’t listen to the VRDP port.
3. NetApp Snap Manager for Exchange Backup troubles
4. Open IT Forum: What would sell desktop virtualization to you?
5. Hyper-V Host Not Responding in SCVMM R2

There you have it. Now get to answering, tweeting, and check back on Monday to see if you’re a winner!

• 1st Prize: 16GB iPad
• 2nd Prize: 16GB iPad
• 3rd Prize: $150 Amazon.com Gift Card
• 4th Prize: $50 Amazon.com Gift Card
• 5th Prize: $25 Amazon.com Gift Card

The Lowdown (i.e. The Rules**)

• Every member who earns 500 knowledge points in the next 4 weeks (between today and Wednesday, February 16th) will be entered into a drawing for 5 names.
• You must have a completed profile including a photo or avatar to be eligible for the drawing.
• In order to be eligible, you must ask at least one question within the 4 week period.

The How-Tos

We’re not just going to shoot the gun and watch you all scramble to the finish line. Keep an eye out for all the ways you can get additional knowledge points in the What’s New? boxes, then sign up for the newsletter and check every Tuesday and Thursday for the latest way to rack up the points. From Open IT Forum questions to editor’s pick of the best IT Knowledge Exchange question, there will be plenty of chances to throw your name in the ring.

**Winners of the recent Xbox contest are not eligible to win. (Sorry, guys.)

The Loot

1st Prize: Xbox 360 with 250GB hard drive & Kinect

2nd Prize: Xbox 360 with 4GB hard drive & Kinect

3rd Prize: Xbox 360 with 4GB hard drive

How can I get it?

There’s always a chance to rack up some knowledge points, so make sure you take advantage.

• IT Answers*: Ask a question for 5 points or answer a question for 10. Approved answers receive an additional 5 points.
• Open IT Forum: Check out our weekly discussion topic to share your knowledge and experience, and we’ll share some knowledge points!
• IT Surveys: Fill out our short survey on IT conferences, and you’ll get 50 extra points if we use your suggestion.
• Spread the word: If you have a tech blog or website, link to the IT Knowledge Exchange homepage and put the link to your site in the discussion area here for a quick and easy 100 knowledge points.

Your best resources for the latest ways to earn knowledge points are the What’s New? box and the IT Knowledge Exchange newsletter, out on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Keep an eye out for featured questions or one-time chances to get more knowledge points and a leg up on the competition!

*Qualifying answers and questions are at the discretion of ITKE community managers. Check out some tips on asking quality questions.

See IT Knowledge Exchange’s general contest rules for more details.

So, what do we expect in return? It’s simple: All you need to do is ask or answer two Security in 2010 questions**. Put the links to the questions you asked or answered in the discussion area of this question. This contest is first-come, first-served, so get started asking and answering! We have four copies to give away.

Thanks, and good luck!

*Flying colors not guaranteed.

**Qualifying answers and questions are at the discretion of ITKE community managers. Check out some tips on asking quality questions.

Free IT Books? Oh my!

Every Monday, check out IT answers or search the IT books tag for the latest free IT book giveaway. We’ll provide you with a list of five unanswered questions to answer, then once you provide a link to your answer, you’re officially entered into the contest. Books we’ve sent out so far:

Cloud Computing: Web-Based Applications That Change the Way You Work and Collaborate Online – Michael Miller (Winner: Dee101)

VMware VI and vSphere SDK - Steve Jin (Winner: Jinteik)

Networking 2nd Edition (with software) - Jeffrey S. Beasley (Winner: Carlosdl)

The Official Ubuntu Book (Winner: Carlosdl)

A Practical Guide to Linux Commands, Editors, and Shell Programming (Winner: Labnuke99)

This week’s giveaway is for The Official Ubuntu Server Book, 2nd Ed. and you still have until tomorrow at noon ET to enter! Remember: Multiple answers means multiple chances to win, so start answering!

Open IT Forum: We want your opinions!

Each Wednesday, check out IT answers for the latest Open IT Forum question. These questions are meant to compile what the enterprise IT community thinks about certain timely topics in IT, from tape storage to the shifting focus of endpoint security. Search through the Open IT Forum tag to get what today’s enterprise IT professionals are saying about the industry’s standards, shortcomings, and future. Looking for the current industry’s climate regarding Windows operating systems? Get the scoop from an active community; these conversations often cover most angles of the debate.

This week’s Open IT Forum question: What brand(s) of routers/switches do you trust the most for your network?

Have an enterprise IT question you want the community to weigh in on? Simply tag your question Open IT Forum and get everyone involved! Remember: The conversation keeps going, so search through the tag page for conversations you may have missed!

Free CCNA Network Simulator!

This one’s a one-time giveaway: CCNA 640-802 Network Simulator. Awesome, huh? All you need to do is tell us why you want or need it, including your best networking story. We want to hear horror stories, great successes or impressive accomplishments in your studies. Share your stories and we’ll share our loot!

Email me directly at Melanie@ITKnowledgeExchange.com!

Spread the word and we’ll spread the wealth!

We hope you find IT Knowledge Exchange helpful in answering all of your enterprise IT questions. We’re always looking to get more experts in here to help you and your fellow members figure out even the toughest or acute troubleshooting concerns, and we’re requesting your help to get the word out! If you have a blog or website that covers topics you find on IT Knowledge Exchange, post a link to the ITKE homepage and we’ll give you 100 knowledge points in return! Simply post a link to your blog in the discussion area here or send an email to ENichols@TechTarget.com.

Same old, same old

As always, we welcome your feedback and suggestions! Send them to me at Melanie@ITKnowledgeExchange.com.

Melanie Yarbrough is the assistant community editor at ITKnowledgeExchange.com. Follow her on Twitter or send her an email at Melanie@ITKnowledgeExchange.com.

Our goal here is to help spread the knowledge, and we’re doing that by giving away free IT books! We’ll be posting an array of questions for you to pick from and answer. Post the link to your answer in the giveaway’s discussion area and the book is yours!

This week’s giveaway is Michael Miller’s Cloud Computing: Web-Based Applications That Change the Way You Work and Collaborate Online.

Check back in IT Answers each Monday for a new IT giveaway.

Congratulations to this week’s winner, Dee101.

This is the current—and hastily organized—state of Michael’s desk. Help him out? If you want some sweet IT books, head over to IT Answers and get to answering. See a question tagged Windows 7 in 2010 and know the answer? Give it your best shot then send me an email at Melanie@ITKnowledgeExchange.com or send us a message @ITKE with the link to the question, and you’ll get to take your pick of Michael’s deskmates. We’re giving five away, so get started!

Some titles to get you excited:

A Practical Guide to Fedora and RedHat Enterprise Linux 5th ed. (Full Fedora on DVD)

A Practical Guide to Linux Commands, Editors and Shell Programming 2nd ed.

Securing the Borderless Network: Security for the Web 2.0 World

Cisco Unified Computing (UCS)

CCIE Professional Development: Deploying and Troubleshooting Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers

Cloud Computing: Web-based Applications That Change the Way You Work and Collaborate Online

VMware VI and vSphere SDK: Managing the VMware Infrastructure and vSphere

Melanie Yarbrough is the assistant community editor at ITKnowledgeExchange.com. Follow her on Twitter or send her an email at Melanie@ITKnowledgeExchange.com.