DNS name resolution issues continue to be problematic for large numbers of network and firewall administrators because of the inherent complexity of DNS design and deployment. To help solve some of the more common DNS related problems, this article will cover the following issues:

ISA Server 2006 makes it easy to back up the entire configuration or parts of the configuration for backup purposes in case of emergency or to simply back up a configuration to clone this configuration with another ISA Server. ISA Server 2006 uses the VSS (Volume Shadow Copy Service) writer that exports the configuration to an .xml file and instructs the VSS provider to back up this XML-file.

It’s one thing to have administrators generating reports for your ISA Server every week or month and having to extract those logs when managers and architects want to see how and what your ISA Server is doing, but what if they could extract those reports themselves? Here’s how.

Connecting your naked PC to the Internet is like leaving your house unlocked–eventually, someone will wander in, rifle your underwear drawer, and empty the jewelry case. To make your system’s points of entry more Net secure, install one of the many free software firewalls now available, and set up a hardware-based firewall for backup.

Some on-line backup services fail to provide adequate security, meaning attackers can read and even change the data being backed up or restored when it’s transmitted over the internet. Tests by heise Security show that four of the six services tested were vulnerable to attack.

Whilst visiting and exhibiting at Infosec Europe I found hundreds of “mushroom” security companies. These are companies that I find to ride the security band wagon whilst the going is good. Some of these companies are well staffed with good technical people and have great direction. Some of the companies are not and just collect consultancy currency because they are in the right place at the right time. The consensus in the security industry amongst those in the know is that eventually the cream security companies will consolidate into the antivirus vendor type companies and that portion of the security market will become a commodity.

ISA Server 2006 allows the delegation of administrative permissions to individual users to make the Administration model more flexible. ISA Server 2006 uses two different models to assign permissions to individual users. ISA Server 2006 Standard uses a simple model that controls access for specific parts of the ISA configuration. ISA Server 2006 Enterprise uses a more distributed model which lets you assign permissions at the Enterprise level and at array level.