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APT28, the hacking arm of Russia's GRU military intelligence agency has been backdooring Cisco routers by exploiting a remote code execution vulnerability in the Cisco IOS implementation of the simple [...]

It's been common knowledge for years that local Windows Active Directory networks are vulnerable to NTLM relay and pass-the-hash attacks that can allow attackers to move laterally through networks and [...]

Byline: Simon Bisson One of the interesting aspects of moving to a top-down, application-centric way of working is rethinking how we do networking. Much as the application model first abstracted [...]

The article discusses the network and system requirements in using the NetInstall service which are ethernet, high-speed network switch and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). Topics include the ways in connecting NetInstall on a client computer, the capacity of switched ethernet network to support many devices and the steps in setting up DHCP on the server to obtain Internet protocol (IP) address.

The article evaluates several Wi-Fi USB adapters including AirStation WI-U2-866D from Buffalo Technology (UK) Ltd., DWA-182 Wireless AC1200 Dual Band USB Adapter from D-Link Corp. and WUSB6300 802.11ac Wi-Fi client USB adapter from Linksys Corp.

The article offers tips on how to protect the wireless network of the business. Changing the default password is recommended. The author states that business should only use Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) Protected Access 2 (WPA2) encryption. The author also recommends disabling Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS).

The article offers information on how to enhance wireless network. The warning signs that show that the network needs to be upgraded include the slow performance of the network speeds, having dead spots that will not allow get wireless coverage and choppy streaming video. In order for these problems to be solved, it suggests the need to augment the Airport network with wired Ethernet, more Wi-Fi hardware, and powerline adapters. The Gigabit Ethernet is the fastest way to network compatible devices, while the Wi-Fi router is the best connection and support simultaneous dual-band.

The article reviews different Wi-Fi routers such as the Belkin N Wireless Router, the D-Link Wireless N Router, and the Linksys Wireless-N Gigabit Router WNR3500. INSETS: Features to Look For;Intel's 802.11n: No Slouch.

The article outlines the services offered by the Web. Wonder what Yahoo looked like during the dot-com boom? Dial up the Wayback Machine, and you can view cached copies of popular Web sites dating back to 1996. Google offers more than a dozen services, but most are hidden. The GoogleX interface makes all of Google's goodies--such as Gmail, Froogle, Maps, and more--accessible via a nifty Mac OS X-like toolbar. Using Streamload, you can upload gigabytes of music and video files and share them with any other Streamload user you choose. With Mail2Web you can access any Post Office Protocol version 3 or Internet Messaging Access Protocol 4 account, read and respond to messages. On ManiaTV you can submit your own 5-minute video clip; if it is picked, the site will devote an hour of programming to a video of your life. If Windows does not work, but your are unwilling to spend $35 to be aggravated by Microsoft support, the Tech Support Guy can help. Post your question to the site's two dozen forums or search more than 300,000 threads to find an answer. For as little as $15 a month, Constant Contract makes it a snap to create HTML-formatted e-mail newsletters, sign up visitors to your Web site, manage subscriber lists, find out who reads what you are sending out, and identify your most successful marketing campaigns. INSETS: WEBIFY YOUR DESKTOP;MAKE THE BIG SITES WORK FOR YOU;BE YOUR OWN SHOCK JOCK;MAKE $$ FROM YOUR SITE

Tests various networking hardware to determine which works best. Test of both wireless network hardware and those which use power-lines and phone-lines. Evaluation of the network standards HomePlug, HomePNA, Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi5. INSETS: GLOSSARY;How Fast Are They Really?;How Can I Share a Net Connection Cheaply?;How Can I Connect Without Any Wires?

Compares the competing standards of home wireless computer networking systems, HomeRF and 802.11b, which is also known as Wi-Fi. Pros and cons of each; Key features; Costs; Recommendations; Advice regarding the use of public Wi-Fi networks. INSET: Wired Alternatives: HomePNA, HomePlug.

Examines network options for connecting home computers and peripherals. Comparison of traditional wired network, home phone-line networks, and wireless local area networks; Description of Intel's AnyPoint, a networking kit; Speed of Netgear's wired ethernet, the fastest of the networks being compared; Explanation of wireless local area networks and the importance of encryption codes; Options for home server-based networks. INSETS: More Options Are Coming for Wireless Home Networks;Home Servers Serve Up Files for Connect Users.

NO LONGER A LUXURY ITEM, 2400-BAUD MODEMS ARE NOW THE MOST COST-EFFECTIVE CHOICE FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS. HERE'S HOW TO FIND ONE THAT'S FAST AND ERROR FREE. Would your business benefit from […]

The article offers information on the launch of digital, Wi-Fi enabled doorbell called iDoorCam. It mentions that iDoorCam will enable its users to see, hear and talk to visitors at their front door using an application on a compatible smartphone or tablet. It discusses the constituents of device which includes a doorbell button, a video camera, a built-in microphone and a speaker to a small housing.

While the Zigbee wireless standard has traditionally ruled the roost when it comes to wireless smart bulb protocols, Bluetooth appears to be gaining momentum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byline: Steve Taylor, Jim Metzler One of the most enduring models in networking is the famous seven-layer OSI model. X.25 roughly, but pretty accurately, is based on the first three [...]

Byline: Matt Hines Microsoft is pushing the improved security of its Windows Server 2008 software package as one of the primary reasons why business customers should upgrade to the long-awaited [...]

Presents tips, tricks and shortcuts for operating a software, computer and operating systems. How to reposition the icons in the computer; security options to consider when changing an Internet Protocol (IP) address; Software needed to make iMac and G3 computer to surf the Internet by voice. INSET: Make AppleWorks Database Buttons.

Byline: Cara Garretson Appliance maker Palisade Systems this week announced an upgrade to its content monitoring product that now scans and blocks sensitive information carried by more than 150 network [...]

Evaluates several protocol analyzers used in identifying trouble on the local area network (LAN). Cabletron Systems' MacLanview; Neon Software's NetMinder series; AG Group's Peek series; Process involved in protocol analysis; Tips in selecting the appropriate protocol. INSET: Protocol analyzers...

Byline: Paul Krill OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards) on Wednesday announced ratification of Service Provisioning Markup Language (SPML) 1.0, which provides an XML-based framework for allocating [...]

Byline: Ed Scannell BOSTON -- Hoping to bring utility computing closer to fruition, 25 companies on Tuesday unveiled a new XML-based standards initiative, called the Data Center Markup Language (DCML). [...]

Byline: Ed Scannell Opsware Chairman Marc Andreessen has never shied away from the bleeding edge. The creator of Netscape, which was one of the fundamental drivers that helped popularize the [...]

Byline: Paul Krill IBM is preparing to advance the XQuery XML query language on two fronts: by submitting with Microsoft a test suite for industry consideration and by working with [...]

This section offers steps on how to start with a service-oriented architecture (SOA). It was learned that SOA builds on the stack of protocols that define Web services. It is a broad, standards-based framework in which services are built, deployed, managed, and orchestrated in pursuit of new infrastructures that respond to shifting business demands. SOA starts with a business promise of enabling enterprises to re-engineer themselves. The more dynamic the business, the more it will benefit from a well-implemented SOA. Before implementation, it is recommended to survey surroundings. An SOA involves a sprawling set of technologies. Another step is the connection of first services. Coming next is the selection and deployment of a registry or repository. The issue of convergence should come next. Security plans must be laid and a messaging infrastructure must be built. The last two steps is the deployment of service management and orchestration.

This article focuses on the continuous growth of Secure Sockets Layer virtual private networks (SSL VPN) in the U.S. industry as of February 2005. Traditionally, providing road warriors and business partners with access to back-end servers and resources has meant deploying an Internet protocol security (IPSec) VPN. For site-to-site communication, IPSec remains the only game in town, but for client-to-enterprise links, it is falling out of favor precipitously. The administrative overhead associated with deploying IPSec client software has become overwhelming given the ever increasing number of clients to support. There is also the potential that IPSec tunneling will allow an untrusted device to punch a hole through the firewall--and directly into the heart of the network. These kinds of basic problems with IPSec are why SSL VPNs are showing up on more and more IT radar screens. With an SSL VPN, there is no client software to install, let alone maintain. Not only does this cut down on IT labor, but it also means remote users aren't limited to specified locations. Public Internet kiosks, partner sites, a borrowed laptop--they all work. More importantly, with an SSL VPN there is no open tunnel to the enterprise. SSL VPNs enforce security policies on each connection, allowing access only to specific resources based on user, location, and/or device. INSETS: Locking Down the End Point;Standardizing Trust at the Edge.

This article focuses on the efforts of Asian companies to promote adoption of the next-generation Internet Protocol (IP) called IPv6. The IPv4, limits the Internet to approximately 4 billion unique addresses. Because U.S. companies control the majority of those addresses, there has been no hurry to deploy IPv6 in the U.S. By contrast, however, Asian companies, backed by government investments and mandates, have been aggressively rolling out IPv6. But more than balancing supply and demand, Asian governments and companies also see IPv6 as a business opportunity, an opportunity to innovate and leapfrog the rest of the world. By making it easier to assign Internet addresses to devices and services, IPv6 could accelerate adoption of new applications such as third generation mobile services, gaming, smart consumer appliances, smart sensors, home automation and voice over IP. That potential for innovation may prove to be the biggest driver for IPv6 adoption in the U.S., as Asian IPv6-enabled products make their way westward. The biggest advantage of IPv6 global addressing will be its capability of facilitating applications that require fast, plug-and-play connections among peer devices on the edge of the network. INSETS: Where Are We Now?;VoIp and IPv6: A Perfect Pair.

This article evaluates several Internet protocol (IP) private branch exchanges (PBX). The 3Com, Avaya, Siemens, and Zultys IP PBX were tested at the Advanced Network Computing Laboratory at the University of Hawaii. Each product provides all the familiar telephony functions, from putting people on hold with insipid music, to transferring calls and recording voice mail. But each has capabilities that go far beyond the basics. Even better, these PBX can send phone settings out to the telephone sets attached to the network, providing great control over how the phones work, which features are available to which users, what locations the phones can call and how the phones can be used. The Siemens HiPath 4000 is another mega-PBX that can he configured to support as many as 100,000 users if several of the units arc networked together. The individual HiPath 4000 that we tested can support up to 12,000 users. 3Com VCX V70 provides a Web-based interface for phone users, allowing them to set various parameters for their phones. This means that they can use the Web interface to set up button assignments, forwarding rules, speed dial numbers, and so on. Avaya's S87OO is scalable enough to handle nearly any enterprise. Properly configured, this PBX can support up to 36,000 users per server and up to 1 million by networking multiple servers together. The S8300 is much smaller, limited to 450 users per server or 28,800 per network. The company Zultys says that the MX25O was designed from the ground up as an IP PBX platform, rather than being a telephony platform with IP grafted on, or a computer with telephony grafted on. INSET: Prepping for Networked Telephony.

The article explores the benefits of merging phone systems into an enterprise data network by deploying voice over Internet protocol (voIP). Unlike residential voIP, enterprise voIP is not simply about making cheap international calls over the Internet. Instead, it aims to replace the proprietary private branch exchange (PBX) phone systems and dedicated voice networks enterprises have relied on for years with standards-based call processing servers or appliances that run digitized voice and call control over the packet-based IP data network. Also known as IP PBX, these servers provide most or all features of their legacy PBX predecessors and connect over the local area network or wide area network with IP-enabled phone handsets. IP handsets look and function exactly like their legacy predecessors, but voIP vendors have recently added more personal computer (PC) -like features, such as color displays, Web surfing capabilities and limited access to data applications in some models. IP softphones provide the same handset capabilities in software installed on a PC, notebook or sometimes even a personal digital assistant. In addition to phones and IP PBX, an important component of voIP systems is the gateway, which is used to translate between IP and the time-division multiplexing scheme used by legacy PBX and the public switched telephone network. Most IP telephony systems support a collection standards from the International Telecommunications Union called H.323, which defines how the different elements of an IP telephony system interact. H.323 includes a number of voice compression standards. A competing, up-and-coming standard is called Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). SIP can serve as standard for other Internet applications such as instant messaging, chat and multimedia messaging as well and is expected to be major force driving converged applications. INSETS: Locking Down Voice;VoIP Directory Assistance;How To Speak VoIP;Are You Ready for VoIP?

This article reports that managing 50 network devices can be a challenge, managing 5,000 is allegedly nigh impossible, and many modern networks allegedly exceed even such figure. Allegedly, in most large network environments, heterogeneous hardware is the rule, and simple tasks such as changing simple network management protocol strings, implementing and verifying best-practice guidelines, and managing configuration changes across the enterprise allegedly become enormous problems. In addition, many network administrators allegedly rely on custom tools to manage devices en masse. Although such may allegedly be appropriate for some enterprises, others are clamoring for a better mousetrap. Three companies are allegedly looking to provide such service. Allegedly Rendition Networks' TrueControl 3.0 product, AlterPoint's DeviceAuthority Suite 1.1, and Tripwire's Tripwire for Network Devices 3.0 all aim to be the network device management tool of choice. All three allegedly offer centralized management of heterogeneous network devices, supporting network devices from multiple vendors. The management tools for different vendors allegedly vary wildly. From Cisco-style command-line interfaces to Web-based configuration tools, every vendor allegedly has its own view of how a device should be managed.

Presents a comparison between the IPSec and the Security Socket Layer (SSL) virtual private network (VPN) standards. Advantages of SSL VPN over IPSec VPN; Differences between IPSec and SSL when it comes to controlling access back-end servers and other resources; Risks of SSL. INSETS: Should You Outsource Your VPN?;Virtual Network of Peers.

Discusses issues concerning the addition of blockers, spammers and services like Verisign's SiteFinder on the Internet. Problems caused by SiteFinder according to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers; Arguments against adding intelligence on the Internet; Concerns over the deployment of Internet protocols. INSETS: How to Cut Network Interference;Who Runs the Internet Anyway?.

Reports on the emergence of Session Initiation Protocol for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions (SIMPLE) and the open-source eXtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) from the Internet Engineering Task Force. Challenge of stitching availability awareness into a variety of systems; Capabilities of SIMPLE; Advantages of XMPP.

John Ridley is stuck between the old world of circuit-switched telephony and the new world of voice over IP. How soon the Coca-Cola network executive can move forward depends largely [...]

Byline: Ed Scannell THE OASIS STANDARDS organization on Tuesday announced it has formed a technical committee responsible for making distributed systems management over the Internet. The mission of the newly [...]

One challenge faced in today's data center is management of multiple interconnect standards. Current data center servers support as many as three different interconnects: an Ethernet or proprietary connection for [...]

Resource Reservation Protocol has been designed to provide end-to-end quality of service to Internet data flows. Typically all IP traffic on the Internet is delivered on a best-effort basis. This [...]

Another security flaw identified in Microsoft's IE 5.5 and 6.0 Web browsers has the potential to give a remote user access to a host computer, according to security company Online [...]

This protocol could lead to less expensive, faster WAN connections. By JOEL SNYDER, NETWORK WORLD GLOBAL TEST ALLIANCE In a drafty warehouse south of the San Francisco Airport, the world's [...]

SEATTLE - As voice over IP gains momentum in large organizations, experts say forward-thinking network executives should familiarize themselves with three letters: S, I and P. Session Initiation Protocol was [...]

IPX routing: relevant or relegated to the junk heap of networking? Some recent events have brought forth this question. From the beginning of 'LAN time' through the late 1990s, the [...]

'SOAP Version 1.2 provides the definition of an XML document which can be used for exchanging structured and typed information between peers in a decentralized, distributed environment. It is fundamentally [...]

LDAP was originally created to be a trimmed-down, lower-overhead version of another directory protocol -- the international X.500 standard -- and is considered to be an easy key to the [...]

IPSec is a security protocol set by the IETF for securing the transmission of data across IP networks. It operates at the network layer of the Open System Interconnection standard, [...]

Internet capacity has increased significantly in the past two years, but the explosive growth in Internet traffic has been accompanied by bottlenecks, especially in the 'middle mile' of Internet-based networks. [...]

DAVE WINER IS the keeper of the flame of 'simple.' He's the co-author of SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol). In his day job, he's the architect of Radio Userland, a [...]