Microsoft Books

Excellent solution references in WSH, the author use many HELPFULL examples to illustrate the usage. Although it is not an introduction book, it is really useful

There are so many book on the market for the Windows Script Host (WSH) that making a decision on which one is right for your own environment can be very difficult.

What this book is: This is a recipe book for network administrators who have at least a solid beginners experience with the WSH and writing scripts in the XML and VBScript format. This book is full of completed scripts, with each script containing a flow from problem identification and script answer to run-time expectations and script component flow discussion. The book is logically organized into easy to find sections, with a useful table of contents.

What this book is not: This is not a reference guide for the VBScript language. This is not an ideal reference guide for script developers. This is not a learners guide for the WSH; there is no overview of the language or of the scripting object elements. This is not a guide for those only familiar with JScript.

The book gives excellent VBScript script solutions utilizing the native WSH objects (WScript.*, FSO), WMI and ADSI and can complement any administrators toolkit. The reading can be a bit dry, but as the book is not really designed to be read cover to cover, it is not an issue. The author is part of the Microsoft Scripting Technologies Team, and the writing style of the book reads very much like most Microsoft documentation, so be prepared to re-read a few things here and there. The author discusses many of the Microsoft scripting tools available from their web site, so be sure to visit Microsoft to download these before reading about them as the author does not introduce a source of the utilities prior to discussing them and assumes you already have them installed. My only other minor issue with the book is that no CD-ROM was included; you need to visit the publisher's web site and download the code from there.

All in all, this is a very handy title and a recommended addition to the toolkit style of books on the WSH.

The best all round coverage of advanced WSH topics. This book provides a huge range
of information, including ADSI, CDO, WMI, FSO, registry, security, office automation, regular expressions.

Lots of recent topics and techologies not found in some of the older books (I have most of them), such as WSH 5.6, WMI and
ADSI information on IIS5 and Exchange 2000. Also covers topics such as regular expressions (very interesting).

While the topics are covered in 'cookbook' format, there is plenty of discussion on the different topics presented, plenty of lists
of properties and methods for various objects.

Another nice thing is all major tasks are performed using internal Windows objects instead of the Visual Basic
COM object approach some other books take, so no additional objects to register or distribute.

Don't buy this book if you want to learn how to program in VBScript or a general VBScript reference, get Tim Hill's
WSH book for that.

While this book, at first glance may seem like a box of nuts and bolts, the author does a wonderful job of showing you what the heck Windows Script Host can do using almost all of the facilities of Windows.
It tends to look like a coder's paradise but it turns out much of this stuff is really very useful in preparing a medium size enterprise for tools to achieve very very low server and application administration.
I am starting to re-read for the 3rd time - I am only now starting to get the depth this work is capable of taking me to...

I am a technical trainer and have started recommending this book to all of my students. This slim volume helps solve many of day-to-day NT problems and includes a great amount of very useful information. This book has some of the best information I have seen to date reguarding the integration of Windows 95 and 98 clients into NT networks. The author consentrates on useful real world information.

I only wish this book had appeared earlier in NT 4's life. I hope the author has started the Windows 200 version of the book

For years I've been buying books from O'Reilly because they make my job easier. Running a large system across multiple sites, multiple domains, with thousands of users isn't exactly a snap.

Managing Logons is without a doubt the best written O'Reilly book the publisher has ever put out. While many O'Reilly books are filled with excellent technical detail, they're generally not written all that well and sometimes that makes it more difficult to get through them. You have to move slowly because sentences and paragraphs aren't always clear on the first reading. They're also often not very entertaining, which means you tend to read in shorter spurts.

This book is a model of perfect writing. I couldn't put it down. The author writes with clarity, and you feel as if an experienced human being who actually has a personality is having a conversation with you.

The second reason this is the best O'Reilly book on my desk (which has more than a dozen O'Reilly books) is that it provides the best of two worlds, a wonderfully clear overview of the technology in addition to direct instructions on how to perform tasks. Many of the O'Reilly books I have (and treasure) only provide technical overviews, you have to buy another book (or spend time in front of a computer) to learn how to perform tasks. Of course those tasks are easier and safer to perform if you read the overview first, especially if you get your information from the kind of experts that write O'Reilly books.

I've solved so many problems with this book, some of which dogged me for years. Before I read this book, I applied workarounds that actually reduced efficiency, but at least the errors went away. Now user logons are smooth and I can incorporate all the features I want into the logon processes because I learned how from this book.

I'm not sure I want to migrate my networks to Windows 2000 until Kathy Ivens writes her Windows 2000 version of this book.

Managing NT Logon is not only packed full of good, hard-to-find information, but is concise, well-organized, and beautifully written. Every two or three pages I found myself saying, "ah hah... so THAT'S how that really works!" The section on the boot.ini file was a tour de force. I have a bookshelf with about 2 dozen books on Windows NT, some of them quite thick, yet Iven's book was the first to clearly explain the boot process, related files and functions, and possible problems in a way that connects directly to our network operating environment. Even if you think you know everything you need to about the NT logon process, this book could surprise you. Lucid, useful, satisfying, and an excellent value.

This book really helped us to get things straight when we were trying work out how to manage a lab of computers that were all different versions of windows and all served by an NT server. I recommend this book to people that need help with setting up logins from any type of windows machine into an NT server

VALUE OF THE BOOK:

Already having about a 3-ft pile of computer books, I still found it most valuable about a year and a half ago to borrow and read this one by maranGraphics. For anyone needing to do much work using programs in Microsoft Office 97, I recommend reading this book cover-to-cover. It's a quick reference for sophisticates, and it is a powerful enabler for novices, whether they have used this software for just 1 month or have used it unskillfully for 10 years. Especially valuable is the option of reading the entire book without ever turning on the computer, since nearly every discussed screen, dialog box and drop-down menu is printed in the book. I found this abundant use of printed screens to be a more accurate representation of the actual computer experience. Not having to fumble between the book, the pen and the computer is great, especially for studying on bus or train.

WHY READ THE WHOLE BOOK?

1) It's doable.
2) The reduced frustration in learning afforded by this format nets one more learning per hour.
3) One can better understand each of the MS Office components by reading about all of them.
4) One can develop more of a "computer way of thinking."
5) It leads to a better intuition about how the software probably works.
6) It enables one to choose more efficient methods and programs for one's tasks.
7) The resulting increased familiarity converts the book into a more rapid reference.
8) It helps to prepare one for the reading of material with higher information density.

SUGGESTED STUDY METHOD AND ATTITUDE:

1) Fine print & icons: to make the most of the learning task at hand you will need to be able to read all of the fine print and make out the designs in all of the icons in the pictured program screens. Drug store reading glasses might be helpful. The pictures of computer screens display some very fine print which should not be skipped over.

2) Thorough reading: recognizing that no thick computer book covers all topics or all of every topic, and trusting that the writers have chosen to depict the most useful material, read and strive to understand every detail of the text and the screens - this will enhance understanding and memory.

3) Repetition in the text: welcome it as a memory enhancer.

4) Taking notes: write book notes, or possibly write your own rapid-access help document comprised entirely of one-liner command selection sequences. Example: Scroll bar, horizontal: Tools > Options > View > Horizontal Scroll Bar

5) Workshops: if, for example, you are going to attend an Excel or Access workshop, don't go in there ignorant. Be sure to master the related material in this book first - you will be able to keep up with the workshop pace, you will learn more, and you will experience less embarrassment.

6) Efficiency and attitude: understanding that optimal use of the programs will save hundreds of hours of work, one can more readily accept that a few tens of hours will be needed to master the material. That's not much time considering that thousands of careers have already been expended over decades to develop the software to its present powerful level.

THEORETICAL VS. PRACTICAL:

This book is about gaining a practical understanding and proficiency in the use of the software. Anyone who is disdainful of this concept (but favors a more theoretical understanding) needs to be reminded that he/she probably understands nothing at all about how his or her automobile works - including its computer - but nevertheless judges the simple memorization of the operation of all of the controls as appropriate knowledge.

COULD THE BOOK BE IMPROVED?

While I believe that this book is probably the best for teaching via graphics, I would still call for inclusion of larger pictures at least of featured icons, sometimes with text explanations of their designs. This would make them easier to memorize.

Bill Norwood

VALUE OF THE BOOK:
Already having about three feet of thick computer software books, I still found it most valuable about a year ago to borrow and read this one by maranGraphics. For anyone needing to do much work using programs in Microsoft Office 97, I recommend reading this book cover-to-cover. It's a quick reference for sophisticates, and it is a powerful enabler for novices, whether they have used this software for just 1 month or have used it unskillfully for 10 years. Especially valuable is the option of reading the entire book without ever turning on the computer, since nearly every discussed screen, dialog box and drop-down menu is printed in the book. I found this abundant use of printed screens to be a more accurate representation of the actual computer experience than the representations in other books. Not having to fumble between the book, the pen and the computer is great, especially for studying on bus or train.

WHY READ THE WHOLE BOOK?
1) It's doable.

2) The reduced frustration in learning afforded by this format nets one more learning per hour.
3) One can better understand each of the MS Office components by reading about all of them.
4) One can develop more of a "computer way of thinking."
5) It leads to a better intuition about how the software probably works.
6) It enables one to choose more efficient methods and programs for one's tasks.
7) The resulting increased familiarity converts the book into a more rapid reference.

8) It helps to prepare one for the reading of material with higher information density.

SUGGESTED STUDY METHOD AND ATTITUDE:

1) Fine print & icons: for the learning task at hand you will need to be able to read all of the fine print and make out the designs in all of the icons in the pictured program screens. If needed, experiment with (drug store, thrift store or prescribed) eyeglasses which will allow you to read at a distance of about 12 inches, for greater magnification.

2) Thorough reading: recognizing that no thick computer book covers all topics or all of every topic, and trusting that the writers have chosen to depict the most useful material, read and strive to understand every detail of the text and the screens - this will enhance understanding and memory.

3) Repetition in the text: welcome it as a memory enhancer.

4) Taking notes: write book notes, or possibly write your own rapid-access help document comprised entirely of one-liner command selection sequences. Example: Scroll bar, horizontal: Tools > Options > View > Horizontal Scroll Bar

5) Workshops: if, for example, you are going to attend an Excel or Access workshop, don't go in there ignorant. Be sure to master the related material in this book first - you will be better able to keep up with the workshop pace, you will learn more, and you will experience less embarrassment.

6) Efficiency and attitude: understanding that optimal use of the programs will save hundreds of hours of work, one can more readily accept that a few tens of hours will be needed to master the material. That's not much time considering that thousands of careers have already been expended over decades to develop the software to its present powerful level.

THEORETICAL VS. PRACTICAL:
This book is about gaining a practical understanding and proficiency in the use of the software. Anyone who is disdainful of this concept (but favors a more theoretical understanding) needs to be reminded that he/she probably understands nothing at all about how his or her automobile works - including its computer - but nevertheless judges the memorization of the operation of all of the controls as an appropriate knowledge level.

COULD THE BOOK BE IMPROVED?
While the book is probably the best for teaching via graphics, I would still call for inclusion of larger pictures at least of featured icons, sometimes with text explanations of their designs. This would make them easier to memorize.

This was my first review of a computer book (quite different from reviewing Glasser's Choice Theory, Fumento's book about AIDS or Levenstein's book about cancer). I hope it will be helpful for you.

Thanks for reading.

Sincerely,

Bill Norwood, Greenbelt MD

Simple for first timers. Easy for advanced to locate answers to questions

This book is absolutely the best way I've seen to learn Office 97. Even better than a video. Very well thought out, very easy to follow, covers a lot of ground. This whole series is the best computer learning tool of any kind I've ever seen. Get this one first.

Great study guide for the ones who want to pass the exam in the first try.

Microsoft Press has left no stone unturned in its attempts to help you study for the 70-218 Managing a Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Environment.

MCSA Training Kit - Managing a Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Environment is organized into two parts. Part 1 of this self-paced book covers every objective prescribed by Microsoft in order to successfully negotiate the 70-218 exam. Each chapter in Part 1 is divided into lessons. Each Lesson begins with a brief summation of what you will learn as well as what you will need to attempt the hands-on labs for that lesson. Each lesson concludes with a lesson summary and review question - these review questions are not to be compared to the actual exam question. The review questions are there to serve as a quiz on what you reviewed in the lesson.

Part 2 of this book is organized by the exam objectives. The 70-218 exam has five primary objectives that are covered on the actual exam. Every chapter in this book relates to one of those five primary objectives - or Objective Domains. I like this due to the fact Microsoft Press has made it easier for you to find your weakness and concentrate you energy on studying those areas. The Objective Domains are filled with questions and Case Studies that are vital to pay attention to when studying for the exam. Also Part 2 is filled with recommendation on further reading. This section lists supplements reading material recommended by Microsoft Press to help you thoroughly understand the material covered.

Microsoft Press has left no stone unturned in its attempt to help you study for MCP exam 70-218: Managing a Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Environment. Now with that said, if you are studying for this exam you should already be familiar with a majority of topics covered by this book -- having taken the 70-210 and 70-215 test first. Review them again! If it is in the book, you will more than likely see it on the exam. However, if you feel that you have a firm grip on Windows 2000, utilize the "Where to find Specific Skills in the Book" to help cut your study time and concentrate on the skills you need to learn.

This book is divided into two parts. Each chapter in Part 1 is divided into lessons that include hands-on procedures or expound on a particular concept. Each chapter begins with a "Before you Begin" section. This is a brief summation about the material that will be covered. Along with the overview, there is also a description of what you will need to perform the exercises for each lesson in the chapter. Each lesson concludes with a lesson summary and review questions - these questions are not designed to mimic the exam question, but only to test you on the reviewed material.

Part 2 of this book is organized by the exam objectives prescribed by Microsoft. The objectives are broken down into 5 primary groups called Objective Domain. Each of the 5 Objective Domains cover test skills you will need to master to order to pass the exam. One of the things I liked about this section is each Objective Domain provides suggestions for further reading or additional resources to help you grasp the concepts of each objective.

All in all, with the combination of material, notes, hands-on labs and lesson review questions, this book should prepare you for the 70-218 Managing a Microsoft Windows 2000 Network Environment.

Having dealt with Microsoft over the past 14 years and taken some of their exams, I have found that nothing beats study material that not only covers the objectives but also gives you the ability to learn at your pace and has good hands-on exercises. That is what I found here in this book.

This self paced, 1100 page book has been updated since its initial release so there is improvements within the text itself. In part 1 you have over 60 lessons to work at your pace, work them over and over till you understand the material and then move on.

Part 2, which was my favorite part the book, is the test prep section. This is broken down objective by objective with review questions included. The cd included now has practice exams and a 120-day evaluation copy of Windows 2000 Server.

Overall new updates, better lesson breakdown and an very good exam review section make this a very useful tool to work with.

I read this book and also took a week long MCSE class. I took my 70-270 test today and passed with an 873.

I used the Microsoft 70-270 book for studying, and a few days before the exam, I just felt completely not ready for it. It is not as good as a book as the earlier reviews have said (read my review of it for an honest opinion). To pass the Microsoft exams these days, you need more than one study source.

Two days before my exam, I picked up this book and read it cover to cover. Needless to say, it put in perspective things that the Training Kit made so confusing, and the tables and charts in the book are great for learners.

I passed the exam, and believe that the majority of that success came from this book being read in two days than the Microsoft one being read for a month.

About the only thing the MS book is good for are the Measure Up tests that are included, but you will have to do quite a bit of external research to get things down if you use that book.

While I wouldn't recommend this book as a sole study guide (it wasn't intended for that), I would definitely tell all 70-270 takers to read this book start to end if they don't immediately know that difference between winnt.sif, unattend.txt or RIsetup.exe and RIPrep.exe amongst other things such as Group Policy.

Finally, though I used only this and the Microsoft book, please research other 70-270 study guide books to accompany this book, because the MS 70-270 book is just not enough anymore, not with how much the exam has changed since its first release. I know that Sybex are always good, and that the author of this book (Lisa Donald) also has a Sybex study guide.

Remember, take a lot of practice tests and learn from the mistakes you make on them!

I am approaching this review with the understanding that this book is basically a summary of what you need to know for exam 70-270. I also read the Microsoft Training Kit book for this exam. This books covers a bit of information in its 300 pages, but I certainly would not rely on this one book to teach you what you need to know. The enclosed CD contains two practice exams and flash cards. The book's main weakness, however, is in the questions both on the CD and the ones at the end of each chapter. The questions are not the verbose type found on Microsoft exams and they are much easier - too easy in fact to be of much use. If you want to utilize good questions for the exam try MeasureUp and SelfTest. Their questions are of a higher degree of difficulty and provide explanations for both the correct and incorrect answers.

This book fills in alot of the gaps that the Microsoft book leaves out. I believe it is a must to own this book if you are planning to take the 70-270 exam. I must note that the previous reviewer "Jedi" was absoulutly correct in his reviews and he helped me in picking the right books to pass the exam. This book is well written and should be used 2-3 days before going into the exam after using the free Measureup test provided with the Microsoft book. I must say that the Measureup test is VERY good and you will understand alot of it by reading this book and reviewing your answers on the Measureup cd after you get them wrong to see why you got them wrong.

I had no prior expierence going into the exam and used this book along with Microsoft's to pass the 70-270 exam.

I found this book to be a great resource and a good foundational book. I goes into enough detail to get a good understanding of the principals of Active Directory. While I am not sure you can pass the MSCSE 70-294 test with just reading this book it is a great foundation to compliment a good purchased sample test.

The 70-294 Self-Paced Training Kit does an outstanding job in teaching the objectives of the exam. Especially useful are the practice activities at the end of each lesson/chapter. Getting hands-on experience with Active Directory is a must to pass this exam, and this books makes getting that hands-on experience a breeze.

Of all the MSPress books I have bought, this one is the best.

Although this book is larger than most of the other MS exam books, it provides great detail and enabled me to pass the exam the first time and with flying colors. I've had some "issues" with some of the other MS exam books, however, this one MS actually did a good job with.

Piece of Advice for the Exam - Study and KNOW the GPO sections, OU sections (especially design and managment), and RRAS sections. Very little is covered outside of those things, believe it or not.

Good Luck!

This is another excellent book from Microsoft Press. I'm not a native English speaker but the books from Microsoft Press are pretty good to read because Microsoft uses clear technical languages that is easy to understand. The questions, practices and troubleshooting labs are good resources to prepare for Exam.

I would like to recommend this book for any Windows Admins who is going to take the 70-294 exam.

I received this order in a very timely manner and it was properly wrapped and protected for shipping.

I've used Word occasionally over the years, but I've always been more of a WordPerfect girl. I recently started using Word full time for all my transcription work and I really needed to learn some shortcuts. I only had the book open for about two minutes before exclaiming, "This is going to save me soooo much time!" Even if you know Word inside-out, you'll probably still find some time-saving tips you hadn't thought of before.

wonderful i give it a five not only was i cheap but in grat condition and everything it promsed to be

I haven't even begun to go through the vast amount of helpful information in this book. Everything you ever wanted to know about Word but didn't know where to ask. I have already implemented many of the tips in my office job (which has nothing to do with transcription) and have improved the speed of my work -- more time for me!

A very good description of the MSF processes. Concise and essential; before reading this book I even didn't know of the existence of Microsoft Solutions Framework: at the end of the book I have confidence with the processes and the models.
The only thing that could be emproved is the description of Principles and Mindsets, that I found a little bit abstract.
Anyhow I strongly reccomand this book for all MSF neofites.

I got the book as a gift from a friend and found it helpful for my cross-country project. Although I have not done reading this book while writing this review, I found the approach in the book is very practical and would like to share my feedback. Team communication has always been a challenge to my US-Japan-China projects. Not only does everyone have different time-zone, experience, or priority/urgency, but some of us also cover multiple projects at the same time. The book shows an approach and I adopted to evaluate my solution delivery environment. After communicated the assessment and objectives to my team members what to expect and take pre-planning actions for cost control, quality assurance, scheduling, and risk control! Amazingly, the meeting was naturally turned into issue solving and team collaboration discussions. Most of us left for a clearer understanding of what we want to achieve in mind. It was something I was not expecting. It is a good tool to keep in mind!

This book explores version 4 of Microsoft's Solutions Framework, the high-level guidelines Microsoft follows for their software development lifecycle. MSF, and hence this book, is rather abstract. Therefore, it won't tell you step by step what you should do. But hopefully you are aware that there is no such thing as perfect SDLC process- each situation demands finding the best solution for the specific context involved.

This book has some great points - from the foundational principles such as "foster open communications" and "partner with customers" to the way project "phases" are renamed "tracks" to emphasize their overlap. And therein lies the strength of this book - it forces the reader to consider just about everything that should be considered from inception through delivery of a software project.

In terms of drawbacks, the biggest one is that the book focuses virtually exclusively on huge teams in huge projects. The paragraph or two talking about combining advocacies is entirely insufficient. Even when one person handles most of a project, all the aspects need to be considered and covered. One drawback the book avoided was focusing on Microsoft and/or Microsoft technologies. Aside from a couple of minor plugs for specific product, this book is technology and product agnostic.

Overall, this book is well-written and useful.

This is a mandatory reference to anyone who wants to use MSF in projects. In this book, Mike presents all the essential concepts and how to apply them.

Have not read the book totally but I have obtained very useful information from what I read.

Valuable background information for any network admin working with Windows XP or Windows 2003 networks. You can find all information on the Internet but this brings the most usefull information together to quickly get up to speed on how to configure a secure environment

Ben and Brian, (my ex-Microsoft colleagues) have done a great job at providing well-rounded, valuable and actionable coverage of almost all aspects of Windows Security. Good job guys!

Thanks,
Sanjay
Formerly, AD Securty PM
www.sanjaytandon.com

I have previously done a review of the First Edition of the Microsoft Windows Security Resource Kit which I was very impressed with. All what I said for that book still applies. The first book applied to Windows 2000 and XP Pro. Since then there has been a major upgrade for XP in SP2 and the introduction of Windows 2003 which the Second Edition covers. As with the first book this edition is great for anyone that wants to learn how to secure their Windows 2000/2003/XP Pro operating systems/networks and is geared mostly to administrator types though anyone with such interest including power users will find it extremely helpful.

In just under 700 pages no book can be all inclusive about Windows security. The Windows Security Resource Kit goes into detail on many commonly implemented topics like password/account policy and on others it shows you the basics of what is possible and then refers you to online documantation/white papers if you are interested in a full implementaion which keeps the book affordable, readable, and under 10,000 pages. For example there is a full chapter 25 with detailed instruction on how to implement 802.1X security for wired and wireless networks. For Software Restriction Policies there are three pages but that is enough to make a user aware of what SRP is, how it can help you prevent users from installing and running unathorized applications, and the basics of how to implement it. As a MCSE in Windows 2003:Security and a common newsgroup participant I am often amazed at the number of admnistrators that are not aware of many the security features of Windows 2000/2003/XP Pro such as SRP or in particular ipsec. They would benefit tremendously from this book.

The two chapters on privacy were dropped and more room is devoted to W2003/XP Pro. Though a lot of the content is the same as the previous version much as been revised or added. Below are some that I considered of note though my list is not all inclusive of changes.

CH3. A much better table with descriptions of well known sids.
CH8. Using EFS with Webdav to keep files encrypted on the network and sharing of EFS files.
CH9. Full list AND description of all services for Windows 2000/2003/XP Pro.
CH10. Windows firewall including how to configure for scope and exceptions, using Group Policy or scripted intstallations using netfw.inf. Improvements for ipsec in Windows 2003 including default exemption handling.
CH.11 Group Policy for wireless networks and Software Restriction Policies.
CH.12 Interet Explore securtiy and pop up blocker.
CH.15 One of my favorite chapters on auditing. Includes tables with listing of more Event ID's for object access and policy change.
CH.17 Listed specific service recommendations for domain controllers for both Windows 2000/2003 and also listed a recommended ipsec filter for securing a domain controller.
CH.19 Much is changed in 2003 Terminal Servies. - Use of Software Restriction Policies, smart card logon, and SSL for TS with SP1.
CH.22 For RRAS a big change is the cability of remote access quarantine control. A step by step is given with a link to sample scripts to use or modify.
CH.23 Implementation of role separation for certificate authorities.
CH.24 IIS 6.0 is disussed with it's security capabilities such as default install state, Automatic Health Monitoring, and the all important Application Isolation.
Ch.25 A whole step by step chapter on 802.1X for wired and wireless networks including Remote Access Policies, IAS, and deploying user and computer certificates. 802.1X can greatly increase security of WEP by using dynamic wep and forcing key renewal if you still have to use WEP.
CH.27 Briefy discusses Windows Update Services and its advantages.
CH.29 How to install and use the Windows 2003 SP1 Security Configuration Wizard to help select a computer profile for "hardening" to disable uneeded servces, configure audit policy, and use ipsec filters to block uneeded ports! In my opinion this is a tremendous tool that also has a rollback capability. New features of netstat are shown [note that netstat -b can be used to show executeable to port use though not covered in the book]. Two extremely helpful new tools - portquery and port reporter.
CH.31 Great table on using built in and third party tools to capture state of the computer for incident response investigation. I am surprised however that msinfo32 was not mentioned as you can use it to generate a very useful report to a .nfo file.

There is much discussion throughout the book on use of ipsec to protect your network with either ESP/AH encryption/integrity or the use of an ipsec "filter" policy to manage access to computer ports. Included are examples of ipsec filters for domain controller, wins, and DHCP. As much as I like the book I disagree with the recommendation on pages 375-376 on implementing ipsec for the domain by implementing a client/respond policy for the domain and then a server require ipsec policy for the domain controller container. Refer to KB254949 for more details and be sure to throughly test and ipsec policies on a test domain before implementing. Poorly planned ipsec implementation can cause havoc on a domain. I highly recommend that you read the white paper on Improving Security with Domain Isolation to see ipsec can do to protect your domain with the proper ipsec policies.

All in all I still believe that the Microsoft Windows Security Resource Book is a top notch book for anyone to own who wants to learn how to maximize security on their computer or network within their risk manangement paramaters. The changes in Windows XP Pro SP2 and more so Windows 2003 are very significant. If you already own the First Edtition but have upgraded to Windows 2003 or want to learn more about how Windows 2003 can improve your security then this book is for you.

Book arrived on time and in proper condition.

Just another in a collection of books needed to make a Microsoft world function.

This is, by far, the best Exchange 2003 book I've ever studied!

Jim McBee has done it again by writing an amazing book on Exchange 2003 administration.
That was kind of a generic statement, right? I will dive into it in a bit...promise.

I own a small library of Exchange books, accumulated over 12 years supporting Exchange, and around 15 in the IT biz. If there was one Exchange 2003 book that I had to put on my shelf, this would be it. Many of the principles that Jim goes over may be easily applied to Exchange 2000.

Diving into the "amazing book" stuff a bit further...

Essentially this book bridges the gap between the printed architectural and design books and answers the question "What do I need to know in order to run my day to day operations?" as well as "What can I do to troubleshoot my environment and make it better?"

Many admins are plagued with not having a single book which delves deep into the guts of administering their Exchange 2003 servers and improving their environment. There are plenty of great books out there which will teach you how Exchange functions, how to architect Exchange servers, and how to plan your environment. However, books regarding the operation of an Exchange 2003 infrastructure are limited.

This book brings this type of information and melds it into a single source for operating a production Exchange environment as well as provides a great set of fundamental learning.

While all of the chapters are great and the information is enlightening, the Clustering 101 chapter is my favorite. As organizations need to plan for continuity of operations (COOP), clustering and clustered systems are gaining in popularity. This chapter provides some really great information regarding clustering Exchange.

I am a former Microsoft MVP, who participated with the LCS and Exchange MVP teams. I also participate in the Exchange forums of Experts Exchange. As such, it is easy to see when a great book is written. Jim McBee has written another winner and a great time saver. This book was definitely worth every minute.

-Bob

Firstly I'd like to say hello to Jim, I had the pleasure of attending a personal workshop by the man himself in KL for Exchange 2000...since then I've been a true follower of his books!

Ok lets get down to this book...it's been well written from start to end with concise information from the field, I've used a lot of his advice during my design and deployment phases.

It also provides great information if you are venturing deeper into the world of Exchange...so I'll say this book is for Intermediate to professional. A must have for Consultants planning on designing, deploying and migrating to Exchange 2003.

Overall it's a great book to carry around as a reference. Once again Jim...great book...can't wait for the Exchange 2007 copy!!