Release: Mozilla Firefox 2.0 final

Today, Mozilla released 2.0 final of their popular browser Firefox.

The exact version is ‘Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.8.1) Gecko/20061010 Firefox/2.0′, the same as RC3.

Get your en-US copy here.

Review: Nessus Network Vulnerability Scanner

Triggered by a review of eEye’s Retina Network Security Scanner,
I discovered Nessus Network Vulnerability Scanner. Nessus is a free vulnerability scanner that can easily be updated with the latest threads.

Installation
The software is available for the following platforms:

• Linux
• FreeBSD
• Solaris
• Mac OS X
• Windows

The nix platforms offer a web-based GUI for configuration. A Windows client package (NessusClient of NessusWX) offers control of a Nessus ‘appliance’ from a Windows desktop. The Windows version has no web-based GUI, but offers a rich client interface for configuration an control.

The installation is pretty easy. Pre-compiled packages for all platforms are available, so just choose your favorite and install. After installation you should update the plugins. The plugins are the actual code that detect a vulnerability.

To be able to download the plugins, you should register. A free account offers 7-days old plugins and a payed account offers real-time updates.

Download your copy here.

Output
After a comprehensive scan, Nessus generates a report with all discovered vulnerabilities, including web links with verbose explanation and advise on how to close the ‘hole’. The report can be exported in various formats for easy processing.

You can also compare results in time, to check for security improvement.

Conclusion
Nessus Network Vulnerability Scanner is a good alternative for commercial vulnerability scanners that provide you with a good insight of your network security.

Release: Windows Vista RC2

 

The last release candidate of Microsoft Windows Vista has been published to the web. The buildnumber is 5744. You can use your initial beta key to install and activate.

Grab your copy here.

This build feels pretty good on my Dell Inspiron 6400.

Release: SoftGrid 4.1

Friday, Softricity Inc. released SoftGrid 4.1.0.48, after some rework by Microsoft. Former 4.0 releases can easily be upgraded, but 3 releases show some weird MMC removal actions.

Some changes in this release:

• New MMC 3.0 console
• SQL Server Reporting replaced former Crystal Reports engine
• .NET Framework 2.0 is now required
• License (softricity.lic) file no longer required
• Better logging in system and application eventlog
• Sequencer supports Windows Vista as target OS
• Minor bug fixes

My demo 4.0 sequences seem to work fine, so no ‘Open for upgrade’ actions necessary.

Partners and customers can download the new version in the appropriate portal.