[ISN] Security UPDATE--Patrolling Wireless Networks--May 12, 2004

Thu May 13 05:48:35 EDT 2004

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1. In Focus: Patrolling Wireless Networks

2. Security News and Features
   - Recent Security Vulnerabilities
   - News: Time to Patch Quicktime, iTunes, Mac OS X, and Panther
   - Update: Problems with Microsoft's Patch MS04-011

3. Security Toolkit
   - FAQ
   - Featured Thread

4. New and Improved
   - Firewall Gets Faster and Easier

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==== 1. In Focus: Patrolling Wireless Networks ====
   by Mark Joseph Edwards, News Editor, mark at ntsecurity dot net

The Sasser worm basically fizzled, and I think that so far, its
variants are little more than a nuisance. But that could change in the
future. We'll have to wait and see. In any event, it's a certainty
that someone with misconnected neurons will unleash yet another worm
on the unsuspecting public before people have had time to install the
most recent patches and fix any problems with them. Gee, I can hardly
wait. In the meantime, other matters need attending to. For example,
what's the state of your wireless security?

If you subscribe to "Windows & .NET Magazine," you've probably
received the May issue, which includes "A Secure Wireless Network Is
Possible," an informative article by Randy Franklin Smith. Subscribers
can also read the article at the URL below. In the article, Smith
points out that, "Wireless networks can be secure if you use the right
technologies. To add a secure wireless network to an existing Windows
network, all you need to do is install one or more 802.1x-compliant
wireless Access Points (APs) and one computer running Windows Server
2003. The Windows 2003 server will facilitate 802.1x authentication
between your wireless clients and your existing Windows network. Your
users will be able to gain access to your wireless network simply by
using their existing Windows user accounts."
   http://www.winnetmag.com/windows/article/articleid/42273/42273.html

If you have wireless equipment and Windows Server 2003, consider
implementing the suggestions in the article. Also consider what might
happen if someone plugs in a wireless AP without your knowledge or
someone (inadvertently or not) configures his or her wireless network
card to operate in ad-hoc mode. In either case, your network would
suddenly gain a security hole that you might not want to leave open.
Another problem arises when unwanted wireless clients come within
broadcast range of your wireless gear.

Solutions are available to monitor the airwaves against unwanted
access points and unknown wireless clients, a few of which are
AirDefense, AirMagnet, and Red-M's Red-Detect. These are
hardware-based solutions that can quickly identify broadcasting APs
and clients, help prevent unwanted wireless connectivity, detect
various types of wireless network attacks, and more.

I'm in the process of reviewing these three products for an upcoming
edition of "Windows & .NET Magazine." I wonder if you use one of these
solutions or maybe another solution? If so, I'm interesting in
learning what you think about it and what your experiences have been
to date. Please send me an email with your detailed thoughts about
these products or whichever solution you might use. And please prefix
your message subject with "WIFI:" so that I can more easily find your
responses among the junk mail.

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==== 2. Security News and Features ====

Recent Security Vulnerabilities
   If you subscribe to this newsletter, you also receive Security
Alerts, which inform you about recently discovered security
vulnerabilities. You can also find information about these discoveries
at
   http://www.winnetmag.com/departments/departmentid/752/752.html

News: Time to Patch Quicktime, iTunes, Mac OS X, and Panther
   If you use Quicktime or iTunes software on Windows or Apple systems
or manage Apple desktops or servers, you might want to load the latest
patches.
   http://www.winnetmag.com/article/articleid/42586/42586.html

Update: Problems with Microsoft's Patch MS04-011
   Last week, I wrote about the Microsoft article "Your computer stops
responding, you cannot log on to Windows, or your CPU usage for the
System process approaches 100 percent after you install the security
update that is described in Microsoft Security Bulletin MS04-011,"
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=841382 , released April 28.
   Another Microsoft article, "MS04-011: Security Update for Microsoft
Windows," http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=835732 , was also
released on April 28 and provides links to six articles (including
article 841382) that pertain to problems administrators might
encounter while trying to implement the MS04-011 patch.
   http://www.winnetmag.com/article/articleid/42505/42505.html

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==== 3. Security Toolkit ====

FAQ: Granting Necessary Permissions to AD for SMS 2003 Advanced
Security Mode
   by John Savill, http://www.winnetmag.com/windowsnt20002003faq

Q: How can I avoid errors when I create Active Directory (AD)
containers on a server that runs Microsoft Systems Management Server
(SMS) 2003 in Advanced Security Mode?

A. SMS 2003's Advanced Security Mode removes the requirement for
multiple accounts and instead relies on the Local System and Computer
accounts for all security-related actions (such as interacting with
the file system and updating AD). The Computer account therefore needs
permission to parts of AD when AD integration is enabled--specifically
the System partition of the domain namespace. To grant this
permission, perform the following steps:

   1. Start the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Active Directory
Users and Computers snap-in (click Start, Programs, Administrative
Tools, Active Directory Users and Computers).
   2. Click View, Advanced Features.
   3. Select the System branch from the treeview pane.
   4. Right-click the system container and select Properties.
   5. On the Security tab, click Advanced.
   6. Click Add.
   7. Click Object Types and ensure that only the Computers check box
is selected. Click OK.
   8. In the "Enter the object name to select" text box, enter the
name of the SMS site server. (Alternatively, you can click Advanced,
then click Find Now and select the computer.) Click OK.
   9. The set of permissions is displayed. Ensure that in the "Apply
onto:" list box, only "This object and all child objects" is selected.
  10. Under Permissions, select the "Full Control" check box under the
Allow column. Click OK.
  11. Click OK to close the main System Properties dialog box.

You must also ensure that the computer account of the SMS site server
that uses Advanced Security Mode is a member of the local
Administrators group. To add the account, run the command:

   net localgroup Administrators <domain name>
      \<site server computer name>$ /add

Featured Thread: Exchange--Outbound SMTP Fails
   (One message in this thread)

A reader writes that his company's Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server is
directly connected to the firewall; however, the company wants to
route all Internet traffic through the Microsoft ISA Server system,
which is configured to allow outbound and inbound SMTP traffic. The
Exchange server is a Network Address Translation (NAT) secure client.
The company has no problems with DNS resolution or inbound SMTP, but
outbound SMTP doesn't work at all. Email messages sit queued in the
Exchange SMTP connector.

The reader looked at the ISA log files and saw that outbound SMTP
sessions have a status of 13301, which means that the firewall policy
denied the connection requests. He then installed the firewall client
on his Exchange server and could send messages through the firewall.
But as far as he knows, a firewall client can only function when a
user is logged on to the system on which the client is installed and
he wants to know if that's true or if there's a way around that. Lend
a hand or read the responses:
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