[Macpartners] IS Software Update for August 2003

[Deb Bowser]

Date: Wednesday August 27, 2003
To:  Members of the MIT Community: itpartners at mit.edu, macpartners at mit.edu, 
winpartners at mit.edu, sw-release-announce at mit.edu, ed-tech at mit.edu
From: Software Release Team <swrt at mit.edu>
Subj: IS Software Update for August 2003
Cc:  infosys at mit.edu, itag at mit.edu


Anti-Virus Software is one tool that can help keep your computer from being 
compromised.  In order for your anti-virus software to be effective, it 
must stay current.  MIT distributes VirusScan Enterprise 7.0 for Windows 
and Virex 7.2.1 for Mac OS X with features to automatically update their 
virus definitions file.  A virus definition file, also known as a DAT file, 
is what the anti-virus software uses to detect and identify the viruses 
hopefully before they invade your machine.  Since new viruses are released 
every day, particularly for Windows machines, it is critical that you 
update your DAT daily.  Take a few minutes now and check that your DAT is 
up to date with those linked to from <http://web.mit.edu/is/topics/virus/>.


Given all the recent communications over Windows vulnerabilities and 
critical updates, we would like to remind colleagues of Information 
Systems' (IS) position on vendor released patches and updates.  IS 
recommends that you apply all critical updates and patches with the 
exception of service packs when they are released by the vendors.  We do 
not have the resources available to test every critical update in the 
various test environments in a timely fashion.  We are committed to testing 
and reporting known issues with your help on the major updates, such as 
service packs and major Mac OS X upgrades.

Microsoft and Apple have update tools in place to automatically check for 
and apply updates.  We recommend that at a minimum, you configure your 
machine to check for updates at least once a week, preferably daily.  For 
more information on setting this up visit the following sites:

Windows 2000 & XP
http://web.mit.edu/net-security/www/one-sheets/winhack.html

Mac OS X
http://www.info.apple.com/support/downloads.html

If you are supported by local IT staff, check with them in regards to plans 
for applying patches and upgrades.  When feasible, critical updates should 
be applied to a test machine for a few days prior to a department-wide 
update to ensure no significant negative impacts.

Spotlight:
-------------------------------------------------------
MIT Information Systems recently announced the release and support for 
Oracle 9i Client Software and BrioQuery 6 for the Windows platform.  Oracle 
Client Software is enterprise middleware that allows third party 
applications to connect to Oracle databases, such as BrioQuery and Roles 
Database Access.  BrioQuery is a reporting tool that allows you to access 
data in SQL databases (such as the MIT Data Warehouse) for analysis, 
decision-making, reporting, and other purposes.

To obtain BrioQuery or Oracle, please go to:
http://web.mit.edu/software/


Recent Releases (Macintosh)
--------------------------------------------------------
Eudora 5.2.3 - August 18, 2003
Virex 7.2.1 - July 29, 2003


Recent Releases(Windows)
--------------------------------------------------------
Eudora 5.2.1 - August 18, 2003
FileZilla 2.1.9 - August 26, 2003
KfW 2.5 - August 18, 2003


Volume Site License Distribution
--------------------------------------------------------
Look for the newest releases of Maple 9 and Mathematica 5, in early 
September.  The web page will show availability and ordering instructions 
http://web.mit.edu/is/products/vsls/. As always existing department users 
(licenses on MIT_owned machines) will receive the upgrades automatically 
through interdepartmental mail.


Software Release Efforts Underway (Macintosh)
--------------------------------------------------------
Fall 2003 CD - Gone to press - August 2003
Preparing to support enterprise applications on Mac OS X 10.2.6


Software Release Efforts Underway (Windows)
---------------------------------------------------------
Fall 2003 CD - Gone to press - August 2003
SecureCRT - 4.0.7 - Sept 2003
SecureFX - 2.1.6 - Sept 2003
HostExplorer 8.x  - Release effort on hold - TBD
Windows 2000 SP4 - Release effort underway - Sept 2003


To view any of the product release notebooks, please visit our page:
http://web.mit.edu/swrt


Contact Us
-----------------
How are we doing?  Please take a moment to let us know and provide valuable 
feedback to the team:
http://web.mit.edu/swrt/feedback.html


If you prefer to send e-mail, we would appreciate any questions and 
comments you may have. Please send them to the Software Release Team at 
<swrt at mit.edu>.


Deb Bowser
IS Software Release Team