Reader to Reader - August 1996

NT Security and the Internet
I'm concerned about the numerous NT servers people are connecting to theInternet. The Administrator password and the NT FTP service are a combinationthat is a serious security hazard.

The FTP service lets all NT accounts transfer files from anywhere!NT Server NT File System (NTFS) is great, but the Administrator user iseverywhere on the disk. The Administrator password can be a maximum of 14characters--not a big problem to hack. So, because the Administrator has accessto the whole server, a hacker who breaks the Administrator password has accessto the whole computer, regardless of the super NTFS security.

My request for NT Server 4.0: Do not let the Administrator log on to anNT Server through FTP! This way, if a hacker breaks the password, the FTPserver will not let the hacker enter the server (via FTP), and no damage willoccur. If the hacker breaks another user's password, the potential damage isn'tas bad because other users have limited access.

I want Microsoft to take this request seriously so I can continue to use NTwith peace of mind. Right now, I'm very worried. Thanks very much. I appreciateyour assistance.

--Raul Lozano

Microsoft and Banyan
Your June Trip Stiles column reported the rumor that Microsoft wasinterested in buying Banyan. I've been in the Banyan world for many years, andmy company is now shipping a product for NT. Here's what I think about theMicrosoft/Banyan deal.

OK, so Cairo isn't shipping yet, and Microsoft is stuck with LAN Manager3.0--oops, I mean NT Server 3.51. Jim Alchin promised StreetTalk IV for NTwithin two to three years. He guaranteed a gazillion features far better thanthose in StreetTalk III. Two years later, things aren't going too well. Theproject is just a little too ambitious.

Microsoft's remedy? Following the company's rule of thumb, Microsoft firsttried to create the solution, LAN Manager. It failed, and one day somebody atMicrosoft said, "Wait a minute. This thing can't do what we really want itto do."

Then someone said something like, "OK, guys. I know we can do this,but we're late and out of time. Who can we buy?"

The reply was, "Banyan. Ten bucks a share and 18 million sharesoutstanding. Offer $18 to $20, about $360 million cash."

For Microsoft, $360 million is petty cash. Banyan owns the large networkingcustomers, so Microsoft would get StreetTalk and own the Fortune 500 networkingworld with a nice growing piece of the Internet.

Everybody wants NT. Every magazine says VINES is hard to install and othernetwork OSs aren't. Of course, nobody mentions what the product does once it'sup and running. And nobody cares that a VINES server can stay up for a yearwithout a reboot, while NT Server usually can't even do a week.

Well, NT is what everybody will get, and they'll get to keep StreetTalk. NThas the fancy autodetection and underlying file and print, and Microsoft doesn'thave to make any effort to provide the most powerful directory service to tieeverything together. Now we're talking.

--Eric Kitchen

Big Bug in Service Pack 4
Service Pack 4 for Windows NT 3.51 has a big bug. We have a Compaq Proliant4000 with dual Pentium 90-MHz processors. Service Pack 4 did the upgrade, but itdid not recognize that the machine had two processors.

We called Microsoft, and the Microsoft engineer said that reports of thisproblem were coming in from around the country. The fix is to install NT 3.51 ina separate directory and copy files for the correct kernel and HAL files fromCompaq SSD 1.17. Thought you'd like to know.

--Perry Lombard

NT/Alpha Support
Contrary to popular belief, Intel is not the only platform that runs NTsoftware. We're on a Digital Equipment Alpha AXP XL 266, and is it hot!

We continually confront the question of which products are available forAlpha and other RISC systems that run NT. Finding product marketing and supportpeople who can answer NT/Alpha product compatibility and availability questionsis often fruitless. Even Microsoft people are confused. What happened to Billand Bob's (Gates and Palmer) grand pronouncements about Microsoft and DigitalEquipment teamwork and coordinated releases across platforms?

We recently bought Microsoft's Visual C++ compiler. The box clearly said "AlphaAXP." The compiler indeed generated Alpha-bits, but would execute only onan Intel platform!

Do other readers join me in wanting Windows NT Magazine's help? I'dlike to see more emphasis on non-Intel product information, including readiness,release dates, and availability. Perhaps this magazine can encourage vendors toprovide Alpha/RISC-ready dates and availability with all product announcements,advertisements, press releases, etc.

--Lorin Ricker

[Editor's Note: All our software reviews include a box with a pointer toeach applicable system type. We are committed to covering Alpha-based systemsand software, so we run more non-Intel product reviews than any otherPC-oriented magazine. We regularly include Alpha-based software listings on ourWeb site.]

[Editor's Note: Share your NT discoveries, comments, problems, andsolutions and reach out to other Windows NT Magazine readers (includingMicrosoft). Email your contributions (under 400 words) to Karen Forster [email protected]. Please include your phone number and a photo (.bmp) ofyourself. We will edit submissions for style, grammar, and length. If we printyour letter, you'll get a Windows NT Magazine t-shirt.]