Word 2003 Sample: Creating a Custom Spell Checker with Word 2003 and Visual Basic .NET (Mar 16)
This sample file accompanies the MSDN article “Creating a Custom Spell-Checker with Word 2003 and Visual Basic .NET” which demonstrates using the Word object model in conjunction with Microsoft Visual Basic .NET to create a simple spell-checker whose functionality you can add to your own applications. To view the article, click the link in the Related Links section.
You can tie into the objects and methods of Microsoft Office Word 2003 to create powerful applications. To demonstrate creating and using a spell-checker with object and methods from Word, the article describes how to create an application in Visual Basic .NET that checks a text file for spelling errors.
This download presents a complete example of this sample application.
Download: Word 2003 Sample: Creating a Custom Spell Checker with Word 2003 and Visual Basic .NET
Microsoft Office XP Web Services Toolkit 2.0 (Mar 16)
The Microsoft® Office XP Web Services Toolkit 2.0 brings the power of XML Web services to Office XP by enabling developers to use the Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI) Business Registry or the URL to a Web Services Description Language (WSDL) file to reference XML Web services.
The Office XP Web Services Toolkit 2.0 supports SOAP 3.0 and complex data types. It was updated to support Windows 2000 SP4.
Download: Microsoft Office XP Web Services Toolkit 2.0
Bagle Latches on to Anti-Spam Ploy (Mar 15)
Three new Bagle variants discovered over the weekend differ from previous incarnations by using an antispam trick to try to avoid detection by antivirus software–but experts believe the attempt won’t succeed.
The Bagle worm installs a back door on infected systems and could allow a machine to be used as an e-mail gateway for sending spam. Since the beginning of March, Bagle has arrived under the guise of an encrypted Zip file with a password included in the e-mail text. Within days, antivirus companies updated their products to look for the password and decrypt the Zip file.
But now the Bagle author has released three new versions (N, O and P) of the worm that produce the password in the form of a graphic or picture file, so a simple text scan of the infected e-mail will not find the password. This trick is commonly used by Web sites to hide e-mail addresses from Web bots that trawl the Internet looking for potential spam targets.
Cluley said Sophos updated its systems over the weekend to include detection for the new variant. “We can pick up the password, even if it has been put inside a graphic,” he said.
View: Bagle latches on to antispam ploy
Trustworthy Messaging at Microsoft (Mar 15)
Microsoft needed to use e-mail for transmitting business-sensitive data but was concerned about security and data privacy. Microsoft’s internal IT group deployed a solution they called trustworthy messaging, offering both senders and recipients three levels of protection for their data. These solutions were based on applying Secure Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME) digital signatures, S/MIME encryption, and/or rights management policies.
Download: Trustworthy Messaging at Microsoft
Exchange Server 2003 Site Consolidation: Preliminary Results (Mar 15)
Description of how Microsoft is consolidating its Exchange Server 2003 infrastructure from seventy-two to six geographic sites. By deploying highly available clustered servers in regional data centers, Microsoft has simplified its messaging infrastructure and advanced its strategy to consolidate IT infrastructure.
Download: Exchange Server 2003 Site Consolidation: Preliminary Results
Exchange Server 2003 Security Hardening Guide (Mar 15)
This guide is designed to provide you with essential information about how to harden your Microsoft® Exchange Server 2003 environment. In addition to practical, hands-on configuration recommendations, this guide includes strategies for combating spam, viruses, and other external threats to your Exchange 2003 messaging system. While most server administrators can benefit from reading this guide, it is designed to produce maximum benefits for administrators responsible for Exchange messaging, both at the mailbox and architect levels.
This guide is a companion to the Windows Server 2003 Security Guide . Specifically, many of the procedures in this guide are related directly to security recommendations introduced in the Windows Server 2003 Security Guide. Therefore, before you perform the procedures presented in this guide, it is recommended that you first read the Windows Server 2003 Security Guide.
Download: Exchange Server 2003 Security Hardening Guide
Live Communications Server Architecture and Deployment (Mar 15)
Detailed discussion about how Microsoft IT designed and deployed the live communications platform at Microsoft. Microsoft Office Live Communications Server uses industry standard Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) to provide presence information, encrypted real-time communications, a single namespace across trusted forests, and integration with Microsoft Office and other collaboration programs.
Download: Live Communications Server Architecture and Deployment
Custom solutions and add-ins that integrate with Outlook 2002 are affected after you apply Office XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) (Mar 13)
This article describes the security-related changes that have been made in Microsoft Office XP Service Pack 3 (SP3). These changes may adversely affect custom solutions that integrate with Microsoft Outlook 2002.
Office XP SP3 includes a wide variety of security-related changes to help reduce the effects of various forms of malicious attacks on your computer and on your Outlook program. However, some of these changes may restrict the functionality that was available before you installed Office XP SP3. Although Microsoft regrets any adverse affect that these changes may have on custom solutions, these changes are necessary to help reduce risk.
The following issues may occur if you install Office XP SP3 with a custom solution, such as a custom form, a COM add-in, Outlook Visual Basic for Applications, or external code that automates Outlook.
View: Microsoft Knowledge Base Article – 838871
Exchange Supports Broader Range of Storage Solutions (Mar 12)
Microsoft Corp. today announced support for a broader range of storage solutions for use with Microsoft® Exchange Server 2003, part of Windows Server System (TM) . Customers now will be able to enjoy the benefits of Internet Small Computer Systems Interface (iSCSI) and network attached storage (NAS) storage solutions that have qualified for the Designed for Windows® Logo Program. The Designed for Windows Logo helps customers identify products that deliver a high-quality computing experience with the Microsoft Windows Server (TM) operating system.
“Exchange Server customers have been asking us for the ability to utilize iSCSI and NAS storage devices in an Exchange environment,” said Kevin McCuistion, director of Exchange marketing at Microsoft. “These new storage solutions for Exchange 2003 bring exciting benefits to our customers and are especially valuable in small-business and remote-office scenarios.”
With iSCSI support in Exchange 2003, customers are able to take advantage of an industry-standard storage protocol that is designed to transport block-level storage traffic over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. iSCSI enables low-cost solutions that provide businesses with performance, reliability and security for their storage area networks. The capabilities announced today also will enable customers to easily deploy and maintain Exchange 2003 database files on qualified NAS devices, providing new opportunities for storage consolidation and user access from a local area network through network-addressable content.
View full Press Release: Exchange Supports Broader Range of Storage Solutions
Office XP update interferes with spam filters (Mar 12)
Microsoft’s latest set of updates for Office XP is causing headaches for users of two junk mail filtering products.
After installing Office XP Service Pack 3 (SP3), users of Sunbelt Software’s iHateSpam and Cloudmark’s SpamNet are complaining about security warnings popping up with each e-mail message they receive, according to reports on the Windows NTBugtraq mailing list.
Both Sunbelt and Cloudmark acknowledge the problem and have posted support bulletins on their websites. Sunbelt has released an update to its software to fix the problem while Cloudmark said it is working with Microsoft to solve the issue.
Office XP SP3 contains security enhancements for the Office suite in addition to stability and performance improvements.
After installing SP3, each e-mail received triggers a dialogue box alerting the user that a program is trying to access e-mail addresses stored in Outlook and warning that this could be related to a computer virus. There is no indication of what program is accessing Outlook, according to the NTBugtraq posting.
Microsoft is investigating the issue.
View full article: Office XP update interferes with spam filters
Windows Messenger and MSN Messenger update (Mar 12)
Windows Messenger 5.0
Windows Messenger is the instant messaging client of choice for businesses in managed environments.
MSN Messenger 6.1 for Windows
MSN Messenger is an instant messaging program that lets you send instant messages to your friends, and much more.
More NetSky worms. So much for quitting (Mar 12)
Two new NetSky worms appeared on the scene yesterday, despite a promise by the original author this week to refrain from releasing any more versions.
Differences in the code of NetSky-L and NetSky-M from their 11 older siblings have led anti-virus researchers to suspect that they are the work of a copycat. This suggests the source code of the virus has been leaked.
Text hidden inside NetSky-K said that it would be “the last version”, but warned that the source code would be “available soon”. Releasing the source code would make it far easier for other viruswriters to create new versions of the worm, such as NetSky-L.
Like previous versions, Netsky-L, spreads by email in an attachment. But it contains a number of significant differences from its predecessors.
View: More NetSky worms. So much for quitting
Improving Time and Absence Reporting Through Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003 (Mar 12)
Discussion of how Microsoft IT improved the usability of its internal time and absence reporting tool through Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003. The InfoPath solution provides a more intuitive experience for the end user, and has contributed to an increase in compliance for reporting leave and absence data.
Download: Improving Time and Absence Reporting Through Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003
Exchange Server 2003 Transport and Routing Guide (Mar 12)
Microsoft Exchange servers use Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) to communicate with each other and to send messages. SMTP is part of the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 or Windows 2000 Server operating system. This guide discusses basic components of transport and routing, explains how SMTP works in Exchange Server 2003, provides information on configuring a routing topology, discusses deployment scenarios, suggests ways to help secure your infrastructure, and offers troubleshooting tips.
Download: Exchange Server 2003 Transport and Routing Guide
Office XP Alternative User Input Update: KB832668 (Mar 12)
The Microsoft Office XP Alternative User Input Update: KB832668 updates the framework that is used to support advanced text services in Office XP.
