Certificate Services in Windows Server 2003 has been renamed to Active Directory Certificate Services in Windows Server 2008. There are several new features. You can download a white paper here that covers these new features.

This information pertains to the following courses:

Course 2823: Implementing and Administering Security in a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network

System Center is Microsoft's family of solutions that can help you centrally plan, deploy, manage, and optimize your IT environment. There are several products in the System Center. You can check them out here. Of particular interest are the System Center Operations Manager and the System Center Configuration Manager. The Operations Manager is the new MOM and is now available as RC2. The Configuration Manager is the new SMS and is currently in Beta 2.

This information pertains to the following courses:

• Course 2823: Implementing and Administering Security in a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network

By default, Active Directory for Windows Server 2003 requires complex passwords. The definition it uses for a complex password has the following requirements:

• The password must be at least 6 characters long
• The password must contain characters from at least 3 of the following 5 categories:
• English uppercase letters
• English lowercase letters
• Base 10 digits
• Non-alphanumeric
• Unicode characters
• The password does not contain 3 or more characters from the user's account name

In a lot of scenarios, this is adequate. However, you may want a more secure customized definition. For example, I may want to ensure that users don't have the company name anywhere in their password. To customize this policy, you have to create your own password filter. Here are 2 products that allow you to create custom filters:

• Specops Password Policy
• Anix Password Policy Enforcer

This information pertains to the following courses:

• Course 2823: Implementing and Administering Security in a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network

One of the best sleep aids that I can recommend is a white paper for a protocol. If you want something a little more interesting, there is a "white paper" on the MIT site that explains Kerberos. What sets this one apart is that it's written in the form of a dialogue in four scenes. Read on as Athena and Euripides discuss the finer points of the Kerberos authentication protocol. Here is the link.

This information pertains to the following courses:

• Course 2823: Implementing and Administering Security in a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network

• Course 2279:Planning, Implementing, and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Active Directory Infrastructure