what process is using a TCP port in Windows Server 2008

You may find yourself frequently going to network tools to determine traffic patterns from one server to another; Windows Server 2008 can allow you to get that information locally on its connections. You can combine the netstat and tasklist commands to determine what process is using a port on the Windows Server.

The following command will show what network traffic is in use at the port level:

Netstat -a -n -o

The -o parameter will display the associated process identifier (PID) using the port. This command will produce an output similar to what is in Figure A.



With the PIDs listed in the netstat output, you can follow up with the Windows Task Manager (taskmgr.exe) or run a script with a specific PID that is using a port from the previous step. You can then use the tasklist command with the specific PID that corresponds to a port in question. From the previous example, ports 5800 and 5900 are used by PID 1812, so using the tasklist command will show you the process using the ports. Figure B shows this query.



This identifies VNC as the culprit to using the port. While a quick Google search on ports could possibly obtain the same result, this procedure can be extremely helpful when you’re trying to identify a viral process that may be running on the Windows Server.

Source:blogs.techrepublic.com.com/datacenter/?p=453

Small Business Vista Support Deal Extended

Microsoft is extending an offer giving free support to small businesses that upgrade to Vista. The deal will now run to the end of the year, with support offered until 31 January.

The offer, marketed as Small Business Assurance, was originally set to expire at the end of September. It’s not clear why Microsoft is extending the deal; in the FAQ section on its website about the offer, it appears to have simply changed the date in the question about why there’s a time limit in the first place. The answer still doesn’t get particularly specific:

Windows Vista Small Business Assurance is designed to help our small business customers make the transition to Windows Vista today. As Windows XP availability begins to wind down, we want small businesses to know we’re behind them to provide special support during this transition period.

The scope of the deal remains unchanged: it’s still limited to US companies with a maximum of 25 PCs or 50 employees, and is still telephone support only.

Most significantly, the deal still only applies to the Business and Ultimate editions of Vista. As we reported last week, while three-quarters of home users have opted for the Premium edition, a surprising 57% of ‘low-end business PCs’ are now running the Home Basic edition.

From Microsoft’s perspective, these aren’t buyers who need to be talked into buying Vista; instead the key to increased revenue is making sure they opt for the more expensive flavors. Keeping the support deal exclusive to the upscale editions could theoretically sway the smallest of businesses.

The problem with this logic is that there’s a good chance businesses running Home Basic do so because they want to keep both hardware and software costs down, so simply don’t have the computing power to reap any benefits from the small business or Ultimate editions. And in any case, there’s still the risk that making free support seem such an important bonus simply draws attention to the problems buyers perceive they might get in running Vista.

Source:vista.blorge.com/2008/10/13/small-business-vista-support-deal-extended/

Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2: Powering Small Businesses

Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 (SBS 2003 R2) is an update release to the award-winning SBS 2003 product, providing new features to address the growing needs of small businesses.

• Benefits of SBS 2003 R2
• Get the "Green Check" of Software Health with SBS 2003 R2
• How Can You Get SBS 2003 R2?
• Learn More
  

Why Do You Need SBS 2003 R2?

Keep Your Business Up and Running: SBS 2003 R2 helps secure your network, keep it up and running, and protect your business information, allowing you to spend more time focusing on your business and less time and money on technology issues.

Do More with Less: SBS 2003 R2 offers the technology and tools to help you run your business more efficiently, improve employee productivity, and reduce costs.

Connect with Customers: SBS 2003 R2 helps you communicate in new ways and take better care of your customers by providing tools that help you stay more connected, look and interact more professionally, and manage your customer relationships more effectively.

Get the "Green Check" of Software Health with SBS 2003 R2

SBS 2003 R2 delivers all the current product benefits plus new features, including:

The "green check" of software health indicates that your computers running Microsoft software are up to date or the daily report details actions necessary for attaining "green check" status.

Simplified update management to keep your PCs and servers current with the latest updates, enhancing the security of your network, so you can have peace of mind.

Improved e-mail productivity: increased mailbox limits from 16 gigabytes (GB) to 75 GB, so you can get more from your e-mail communications.

Reduced costs and increased flexibility through expanded client access license (CAL) rights: SBS 2003 R2 entitles you to access additional servers in your network (Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Workgroup, Microsoft Windows Server), saving you money and offering you more flexibility in growth.

How Can You Get SBS 2003 R2?

SBS 2003 R2 is available through original equipment manufacturers (OEM), system builders, resellers and select retailers. Microsoft Partners, especially Microsoft Small Business Specialists, are trained to help.
For Existing Customers

Customers with SBS 2003 can take advantage of the following programs:

SBS customers with Software Assurance are able to obtain SBS 2003 R2 without purchasing a new server license1 for a nominal shipping and handling fee.

SBS customers without Software Assurance are able to purchase a version upgrade SKU via retail, which will enable them to cost-effectively upgrade from any previous version of SBS (4.0, 4.5, 2000, 2003) to SBS 2003 R2. Learn more.

Source:microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/sbs/r2/default.mspx

Trend Micro: Don’t buy antivirus software

Trend Micro’s consumer security product manager has recommend people not to buy antivirus products, including his own. But there is a method to his madness, he assures.

David Peterson, consumer segment director for Trend Micro’s ANZ business, said only a handful of the top 10 security threats these days are viruses, with downloaders, Trojans, keyloggers and phishing scams filling up the list.

As such, he believes standalone AV software is best suited for infrequent users of the internet such as dial up users, or those who want protection from nasties on USB keys.

He said standalone AV products are there because the market demands it. “I wish they wouldn’t. I don’t recommend buying antivirus products,” he said, referring to Trend Micro’s and its competitor’s products.

What is important is complete protection. “You are better off get Internet security suites,” he said.

Peterson has support.

“Trend is correct,” said Neil MacDonald, vice president and Gartner Fellow.

“Standalone AV is no longer sufficient for protecting endpoints; however, this does not mean that signature-based mechanisms don’t provide value. They just don’t provide the value they used to and the vendors haven’t adjusted pricing models to reflect the diminished effectiveness of standalone AV,” he said. “The ideal endpoint security product is an endpoint security platform that provides organizations with a variety of styles of protection for endpoints – firewalls, AV, anti-spyware, application control, device control, behavioral monitoring and so on. This enables organizations to pick and choose the styles of protection appropriate to the endpoint – which will likely be different combination for desktops, laptops and servers. Even among severs this will vary by role. “AV is just component of the endpoint security platform.”

Trend Micro joins a swag of security companies to release security suites this month. It’s claims Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security Pro 2009 is significantly faster than last year’s effort. Others released in September include BitDefender Total Security 2009 and BullGuard Internet Security 8.5.

Source:arnnet